Damn homeowner associations

[rgarry]

Live in Florida and pretty hard not to have a hma. Had some guest and parked behind my wife's car and blocked sidewalk by about 18". The bastards towed my car. Spent morning reading rules and regs and you can't block street but nothing mentioned about sidewalk. Also, says you need to give reasonable notice. Tow was 165. Told them I spoke with a lawyer and that got there attention. They are also building another "family" orientated community in town and if I don't get satisfaction, I will take a full page add out in the paper telling everyone how wonderful they are. Somebody, talk some sense into me or tell me I'm not over-reacting.

[Prairiepiss]

Go gettem. I date HOA's

Last one I was in. They threatened me with numerous letters of towing my work van that was always parked in my drive way. The last one I got said you have 3 days to comply. I took it walked right down to the HOA presidents house. Handed him the letter and said. Did you get one of these. Because you have a van just like mine in your driveway. He looked at me funny. And I told him they needed to back off of me. If he didn't do the same that was requested of me. And same goes for the 20 other commercial vehicles parked in our neighbors driveways. He handed me back the letter and said done. Never heard back from them again.

HOA's are full of grudged school hall monitors. That have nothing better to do. Then torment others.

[LWTCS]

I follow the ten commandments as good as I can. Recon if yer military you follow yer general orders too...The rest is fuckin bullshit......

[Prairiepiss]

I follow the ten commandments as good as I can. Recon if yer military you follow yer general orders too...The rest is fuckin bullshit......

You can say that again. True how very true.

[LWTCS]

Sorry bout my bad langwedge,,,...Do apologize.

[Prairiepiss]

I apologize for reporting his bad language. But I still agree with it fully.

[rgarry]

I really don't have a temper, so I have been very polite with dealing with them. With that said I will try to make them think twice before messing with us "simple" folk. I will give them till end of next week to make this right and if not will have a lawyer read my ad to make sure they can't come after me for slander. They have a full page ad in the paper every Sunday and the newspaper will let me put my add right next to theirs

[Frosteecat]

Sorry bout my bad langwedge,,,...Do apologize.

Quick, before you post again, go shoot some craps! 7777!

[Panda]

LOL, would love to see people try this shit in Australia. I really feel for you guys sometimes

Neighbor left a nasty letter in our mail box saying she was reporting us to council if our dogs didn't stop barking within the week

Missus went next door and told her That because her cat in our yard was the reason they bark that we will be baiting the cat within the week to fix the problem. Council was never called

[emptyglass]

Whats a "Home owners association"?

Sounds like a group of people with nothing better to do but look out the windows. Those type of people often benifit from looking in their own backyard as much as they look at others. A group of dobbers. The same kind that ratted on you in 5th grade. Once a dobber- always a dobber.
If we had HMA's here, my neighbor would try and be the captain. They hide behind a group and use it to do their bidding.
Individualy, they are weak as piss.

If it was me, I'd find out which bastard dobbed you in, then watch him like a hawk. Maybe even give him a visit to let him know. He'll mess up soon enough. Then dob on him- dobbers hate that. Won't help your current predicament, but should stop him repeat offending.

[Durace11]

I had a situation where a group of birds were pooping all over my patio furniture. So I put up an umbrella to protect the furtniture. Then the HOA drops me a letter sayin the umbrella covered in poop can be seen over the fence and is "unsightly" and needs to be removed. I tell them I'll remove the umbrella if they get rid of the birds. About a month later they tell me to remove the umbrella again, so I tell them again to get rid of the birds. Well, turns out they can't remove the birds because they are a protected species and can't be disturbed from their nesting area. So, I'm stuck with a poop covered umbrella that I clean every weekend and it's covered in poop again within 24 hours. It took the HOA about 6 months of sending me weekly letters to figure out this situation wasn't going to change. They finally stopped sending letters.

[DAD300]

"What are Home Owner's Associations?"

A homeowners' association (abbrev. HOA) is an organization created by a real estate developer for the purpose of controlling the appearance and managing any common-area assets during the marketing, managing, and selling of homes and sites in a residential subdivision. Later the HOA is to be controlled by an elected Board of Governors, all being residents of the Development.

I have some unbelievable stories from mine.

It seems it's the pricks with nothing else to do, that want to run HOA's.

At the closing for the property, I asked if there was any such Association. Assured there was not. Never signed any agreement to join or live by their by-laws.

Two years later they started demanding $200usd a year dues, and in arrears.

Owners aren't allowed to rent or lease their houses. Then the Developer got stuck with a few he can't sell, and suddenly they are for lease.

You can't park any vehicle in your own drive way, in front of your house for more than four hours. If it is visible from the street, it must be behind the front wall of the house. Boats, trailers and RV's must be behind a fence.

You can't have your garage door open for more than four consecutive hours.

The architectural committee has to approve the color if you want to change the color of your house, new fence(s) or landscaping.

No commercial business from your house. Unless you're the Developer, who ran a cabinet shop from his garage. Until he blew the house up while spraying lacquer in a closed garage.

No more than five domesticated animals per property. These lots are all close to or over an acre. They didn't like my six chickens, although they are in a pen. But one of the officers has a puppy mill and regularly walks six to ten dogs every day. Which sh%$ in my yard.

There is no parking on the street. If you got caught, they would put an 8" x 11" peel and stick, sticker on your windshield. Took a long time to get it off on a hot day.

If they deem you're not mowing your yard enough, they have it mowed and send you a bill.

They have put nuisance leans on houses in arrears for dues. The court won't help them collect, but it scares off potential buyers.

Think I don't like my HOA?

I absolutely hate messing with people. But if you're going to fool with me, I'll certainly fool with you.

Now the good news...all most all of them have a poison pill or two written in by the lawyers.

Most can be dissolved with a majority vote. Wait until enough people get pissed, get them to give you their proxy vote and ask for a vote to dissolve or file a petition to dissolve with the county court.

Figure out how to use their own rules against them. Ours had a minimum number of board members to have a vote or take any action. Without the minimum they couldn't conduct any business. Our board is never full. Tell them that at the next meeting!

The Developer had an exemption from the HOA dues for three years. Now he pays $200 a year for each unbuilt lot he owns (20ish), just like me.

The Developer had a permanent sign about four times the size allowed in the HOA rules (no more than 2 square feet). Someone else now has a nicely painted piece of plywood and some 4"x4" poles.

This particular property is in the county jurisdiction, not a city, where it is legal to shoot a gun. The sheriff will not enforce any noise complaints in the development...my motorcycle suddenly got some straight drag pipes, I shoot when I fell like it, I have shot clays (trap) from my back porch, I have a small but very loud cannon!

It gets worse, what some people will do, but they probably won't be putting it in writing.

[rgarry]

In Florida, they are every where. I sent them an emailing asking for reimbursement for the tow and one hour of my time. They sent it to their lawyers and will get back to me. They will undoubtably pay more in legal fees then Then they will pay me. I already have the small claims paper work filled out in case they don't reimburse me. Then I will be on a mission to make their life hell. They opened a new community 5 months ago and have 300 homes to sell. I'm sure bad press won't help them sell in this economy.

[Frosteecat]

When they come around here my neighbors and I just tell them to f*ck off. If they come a second time, I make sure my .357 is on my hip...preferably while wiping down the Harley. They don't stop to chat.

[Marshwalker]

I grew up in the sticks down on the bayou...never had any troubles but it was all unrestricted acres... When I got married, my wife lived in the city...well suburbs...it's city to me... anyhow, I agreed to build a house up here in the "city" to appease her.... boooooy O boooooy was that a mistake!! about a couple months after movin in here, I had my cousins pop up camper on side the house cleaning it up and airing it out to get it ready for hunting season... well, i come home from work one day and there is a card on my mailbox with a phone number from the contractors telling me to call them... so i went inside and gave um a ring. This lady tells me that the neighbors are complaining about the pop-up camper... i said "which one"...she wouldn't tell me.. so i told her this "you call that neighbor and tell them to come over and pay my house note....until that happens, tell them I said to shove it up there ass!!"... she was shocked... i don't know if they have one of them ordinances in this neighborhood or not.. i don't pay any fees and haven't had them tell me anything anymore... had the lady from the "model home" in the front pass by and give me a crazy look one day because me and my daughters were in the drive way skinning some bull frogs I caught the night before ...but thats bout it... most of the neighbors come over and drink a beer and look at some of the stuff i'm building or fish i caught.... but in all, this kind a livin ain't for me... i'll be sellin this place before long and moving back in the sticks... can't wait!!! I can't cut my grass in my draws, while drinkin a beer no more...man's gotta get a tan ya know

[ipee7ABV]

i grew up in a small town with no restrictions. when the wife got the new job in chicago we moved to a subdivision. now our subdivision has been around since the 1900's so some of the rules are outdated. i think yall got it wrong. i am the president of our subdivision just so i can keep an eye on the board to keep those sob's from making stupid rules.

[OlympicMtDoo]

Damn rgarry, you opened up a real can of worms, hell lets go fishin. I live in the sticks, allways have but I deal with these hoa's quite a bit in my work, I feel for ya, if ya keep your cool and read them over real good you can usually find something in there to stick right back in their face. Good Luck OMD

[RumRaider]

i grew up in a small town with no restrictions. when the wife got the new job in chicago we moved to a subdivision. now our subdivision has been around since the 1900's so some of the rules are outdated. i think yall got it wrong. i am the president of our subdivision just so i can keep an eye on the board to keep those sob's from making stupid rules.

Beautiful. Sometimes you can beat them by joining them.everybody wins.

[rgarry]

The community is still new and the builder hasn't turned it over to us yet, so they run it. My big stick is that they have the new community and have a lot of homes to sell and I am prepared to spend the money to make their life a living hell. I think they will see that they are wrong and will pay the tow and one hour of my time. I was very nice with the towing company since they were just doing their job. Their lawyers are looking at it now. I will keep you guys posted. I moved from New England down here. Wow, what a change.

[LWTCS]

ya they are ("planned/gated communities') everywhere down here....Seems they quit building regular houses for regular folks to live in...?

[theholymackerel]

LOL, would love to see people try this shit in Australia. I really feel for you guys sometimes

Neighbor left a nasty letter in our mail box saying she was reporting us to council if our dogs didn't stop barking within the week

Missus went next door and told her That because her cat in our yard was the reason they bark that we will be baiting the cat within the week to fix the problem. Council was never called

Back when I lived in Angelina County, Texas, I had a neighbor with two huge black mutt dogs that would come over onto my 19 acres and "tree" my ex's cats ontop of a metal shed with no shade or water. The dogs would lay in the shade by the water bucket and make sure those cats didn't come down.

I went over to his house and politely asked him to keep his animals off my land cause they were gonna eventually kill my wife's cats. He very softly cussed me out, showed me a shotgun which he didn't point at me, and told me to get off his land.

A couple weeks later I get home and one cat is dismembered in my driveway and the other one is dead of exposure and dehydration on top of the metal shed roof. I calmly go in my house (so as to not scare off the dogs) and get my 20 ga/ .223 over-under. I shoot one of 'em in the head with the .223 and gut shoot the other with the .20 ga as he runs off. I remove the tag from the head-shot dogs collar and take it to the Constable and make a complaint. Then I wrote a note saying his other dog is gut-shot and hiding in the woods and better not come back to my property... I also write he better stay off of my property too. I tucked the note under the dead dogs collar and toss the carcass on the ass hole's driveway. He wacked out and I come to find he went to the constable to report me, only to get served with papers from my complaint. LOL!

He left and went back to new jersey after a few months.

[DAD300]

Out in the country, dogs are seen a little more as tools than pets.

If my dog roams, chases your cow or horse, and you shoot him, my bad for letting him roam. No issue with shooter. And I expect the same if I shot your dog on my property eating chickens.

In a development with an HOA, don't make rules you can't or won't enforce. And don't be an ass about the enforcement.

Don't spend my dues on unnecessary things, that don't benefit everyone.

[rgarry]

Well, haven't heard from them. I will give them 7 days more then will sue in small claims. Sucks that I have to go this route.

[crossedrifles08]

My opinion on HOAs.... You don't own my house, I do. So I don't give a damn what you want or think I should do. And if anyone where to tow my vehicle from my driveway, I'd have theirs towed. The next time I would not be as nice. I will not be told what to do on my own property.

[ThrownOlive]

This is why we shouldn't let businesses have so much power in our lives, while govt ain't perfect at least they are elected and can be held to a higher level of scrutiny than these private fiefdoms

[EINY]

I have a small but very loud cannon!

This made me chuckle.

[pounsfos]

I Live in New zealand,

All I CAN SAY IS WOW!!!!

It's your property, do whatever the f%#k you want to do on it,

if they don't like it, well tough, I don't know what rules you have in america, but stupid stuff like this is why It's not on my list of places to live (although the very loose gun laws make up for it)

We have a name for people like that in aussie/New Zealand, "ASSHOLES", we deal with them face to face and if they have a problem and it's on your property, well they can harden up, although depending on what it is, sometimes you do come to some sort of agreement (like me not playing heavy metal at 4am in the morning on a saturday night)

a homeowners association, thats made my day, thats just really funny

[gicts]

How'd the situation ever turn out?

[rgarry]

Well, I ended up hiring a lawyer. He reviewed all the records and felt it was a slam dunk. He then said, sit on it and I will call you in 3 wks. It would cost me about $1500 to get back $160. We then discussed small claims and I would lose 1-2 days of work. I probably will not pursue it further but I have all the small claims paper work filled out and if I get mad enough, well then I will fire them. The good news is the weather down here in Fl is starting to cool off which means, time to dust off the still.

[johnny108]

Have you checked the rules to see what they say about leaving someones' head on a pike in your front lawn as a lesson to others?