Some of the ugliest disputes around are those that arise between neighbors, often over something that is completely trivial.
That said, though, these folks bought a home that was subject to restrictive covenants. They knew before they bought that they had certain obligations to their neighbors, and they agreed to them, or pretended to. They acted anyway, then ignored all court dates and mediation attempts? Boo hoo for them. I wouldn't wish neighbors with those attitudes on anyone (except maybe each other...).
Why I can't stand living in a sub-division: Crews Demolish Mailbox
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Gee folks, can't we all just get along :^)
Human nature being what it is, not always. There's barking dogs, neighbor cats spraying your door and killing birds at your feeder, neighbors who can't do anything outside without some sort of noisy engine (but of course my air compressor isn't that noisy :^), neighbrs who like checking tuning on their 2 stroke dirt bikes by riding up and down the street, neighbors who can't do anything outside at night without half a dozen mercury-vapor lamps lighting up 5 yards, the Corvair owners with 4 cars in the yard, the ones with the big moldy RV, the ones who think cleaning their yard means blowing the grass and leaves into the street, etc.
I've seen neighbors paint huge unhappy faces on the side of their house after a neighbor's new addition took away their view, portions of whole neighborhoods almost riot after the local animal shelter gave a live trap to someone who complained about cats in his yard, and he actually used it for several months. I recall articles in the LA Times about a lady that cashed out and moved to a rural town, and instantly it was lady vs the town. When she gave up and posted a moving sale in the local paper lots of friendly neighbors showed up to help out :^) Ranchers in Montana needed to establish zoning to keep the property from being subdivided for 5 acre McRanches.
One prospective businessman in our neighborhood actuaully received death threats when he proposed opening an amusement park with go karts in some adjacent property with commercial zoning. It's incidents like that that don't allow me to lsiten very long to anyone talking about how 'civilized' we are.
k1xv said:
"When you move into a community with covenants, it is to preserve a degree of uniformity and to prevent anyone's property from falling outside the norm.
I guess that is fine if you are afraid that your neighbor will paint his house polka dot colors, or you don't like the sight of clothes on a clothes line, or don't like metal/plastic swing sets in the back yard.
I would hate to live under oppressive rules like that. But, it represents a mutual agreement among all in that subdivision to abide by the rules.
So, if you don't like those kinds of rules, you should not move there."
I agree. I can't stand people who want the rules applied to everyone but themselves.
I'd never live in an area governed by a homeowners' association and a bunch of ridulous rules. You need to check out the rules before moving into such an area, and be sure that they are reasonable and you can live with them.
"When you move into a community with covenants, it is to preserve a degree of uniformity..."
The area where I live has covenants that prohibit non-whites from buying property. (Invalidated in 1963.)
Convenants are not mutual agreements. The are coercive instruments that an individual has no choice in joining if he/she wishes to live in a subdivision. Its just another version of someone else giving themselves the power to control property you are paying for. I have lived in a couple of communities like this and it seems the reins are inevitably held by some control freak that makes it their business to monitor every little infraction and make everyone's life miserable. While things like runaway dogs, children, and kid racing in the streets are ignored.
Dan
Audity quote:
"If a house has commitments to the neighborhood attached to it that you don't like (perfectly understandable), the solution is easy, don't buy it."
I dont agree, many people are restricted by choices for school, distance restrictions, etc...
dont buy it is not a choice some people have due to these other restrictions. When I lived in a convenant subdivision, there was no choice, the only way you could buy a house in that price range was by having a covenant. I was free to buy, but only under conditions someone else set--and they, at law and practically controlled what I could and could not do on my property. There was no choice, therefore no freedom. Freedom is the freedom to choose say no. Otherwise Freedom is meaningless.
Dan
I've got a condo that I rent out. I'm on the HOA board.
We don't allow clothes to be hung on the outside railing to dry. Not really because it's unsightly, but we want to encourage use of the community washer/dryer (which is coin operated)...because the HOA pays for water.
Use the coin-op machine = helps offset water bill
FWIW, there are neighborhood HOAs in Southern CA that won't let you wash your own car in your driveway. And your garage is for parking, not storage, and not for working on your car. I would never live in such a neighborhood.
quote:i thought they were all like this? im from san diego so... even the apartment complexes i lived at didnt allow you do do anything to your car but drive it...if you wanted to wash it, go pay $8 at a car wash....change your own oil? manager points you to jiffy lube at $35 a change... thats why cars in so-cal are not worth buying used.
FWIW, there are neighborhood HOAs in Southern CA that won't let you wash your own car in your driveway. And your garage is for parking, not storage, and not for working on your car. I would never live in such a neighborhood.
Dan, I agree that it's a problem if it doesn't leave any real alternative in the community of your choice. I hadn't heard of it going that far, but...not good.
vairox,
While most apartments are like this, I'm referring to housing tracts, houses that you own/buy. I'd never buy in such a neighborhood.
"We don't allow clothes to be hung on the outside railing to dry. Not really because it's unsightly, but we want to encourage use of the community washer/dryer (which is coin operated)...because the HOA pays for water.
"
Are those appliances fueled by natural gas, by any chance?
The lack of restrictive covenants and negative easements were very decisive factors when it came time to go house-searching. I happen to live in an area totally surrounded by platted subdivisions but my house is one of five that missed them all! YIPPEE!
Dan, "mutual agreement" is the exact definition of a covenant. It's what a covenant is.
They are an expression of the freedom people have to choose how they live.
If a house has commitments to the neighborhood attached to it that you don't like (perfectly understandable), the solution is easy, don't buy it.
While covenants are sometimes obsessed over by hypervigilant nitwit neighbors, they are in no way coercive in the sense of being thrust on anyone. Trouble arises in two different ways: when people violate them (shed & mailbox), and when they are enforced to a ridiculous degree (see nitwit neighbor, above). Other than that, they tend to work very well, and enhance property values.
oilyriser - that is a good question, I don't know if the dryer is gas or electric. But the water heater is gas.
There's nothing I hate more than associations and a street full of houses that look exactly the same. I'm in the market for a house right now, and no matter how great of a deal a house is, if it's in a place like that it's no sale.
"I don't know if the dryer is gas or electric. But the water heater is gas."
Hanging clothes to dry outside saves money, by using solar heat. Clothes can also be washed using cold water if the detergent has the right enzymes. Maybe you can instead charge a monthly, per-person fee for those who want to hook up their own washing machines to the building's hot water supply. I'm assuming you mean the HOA pays for heated water to the units.
Maybe there's even a way to make a coin washing machine have a cold water setting that costs 25 cents less.
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