Random Fail: First World Problems

[Tyrath]

Really? Even if it had a significant impact on the value of your property? HOAs can be pretty terrible but there are aspects that have a reasonable purpose.

But that's the thing. It's YOUR property, if you wanna fuck up the value of your own property, you should be allowed to. FREEDUM and stuff.

[Acevalefor]

HOAs are nothing but ridiculous and a complex or a managed neighborhood can simply charge fees for management of the public spaces without attaching any sort of "code of conduct" to it. There is never a good reason HOAs to exist. If you want to tell me what I can and can't do to my own house, you can pay the mortgage.

When I lived in Texas, I was young and stupid and joined a HOA because it was required to buy the house I really wanted. 3 months after moving in, I got a citation for having an ATV inside my garage. There was a huge shitstorm from myself and other residents that caused the HOA to all but dissolve when we forced the resignation of the board members. It helped that the director went apeshit and got herself arrested. After all that happened, I decided to never again be a part of any sort of community enforcement association.

[Mojo]

But that's the thing. It's YOUR property, if you wanna fuck up the value of your own property, you should be allowed to. FREEDUM and stuff.

You can bring your neighbors property value down too. That's the point of the HOA.

[Cliron]

Obligatory: http://amypatton.org/wp-content/uplo...730o1_500.jpeg

Its like a recipe for disaster. Give a bunch of untrained people with too much time on their hands, who are self-obsessed and have a strong conviction for their actions the ability to police people. Oh lawd.

[Mojo]

Yeah, people are often stupid about it. Demanding that you can't park your ATV in your own garage is fucking dumb and goes too far, but requiring you to maintain some decent care over your front yard isn't unreasonable if you agreed to live in a community with a HOA.

[bluefan]

I'll shovel for 2 hours in the cool air before I mow/weedwack for 15 mins in the blazing sun and 80% humidity.

^

I don't mind shoveling as long as there isn't a lot and winds not whipping around. But dear God do I hate mowing the lawn when the Sun is having a fit.

FWP: I'm still using a shovel instead of just buying a snowblower. I am literally the only one on the street of 120 houses without one haha.

[arus2001]

Yeah, I'll take winter woes over summer when it comes to property care. Easier to just slap on the layers and keep warm than it is to cool off when the sun wants to fry you like an egg. But I also burn easy, so I guess that plays into it.

[Ksandra]

^

I don't mind shoveling as long as there isn't a lot and winds not whipping around. But dear God do I hate mowing the lawn when the Sun is having a fit.

FWP: I'm still using a shovel instead of just buying a snowblower. I am literally the only one on the street of 120 houses without one haha.

Get a riding lawnmower and a shovel attachment.

Also, fuck shoveling snow. If I never have to do that in my life again I will be the happiest person on earth.

[Melena]

Didn't Neph have a hillarious story about how a HOA member was prowling around his house cause Neph had a huge case of I don't give a fuck about your garage door and curtain rules and put him under arrest?

[Acevalefor]

Didn't Neph have a hillarious story about how a HOA member was prowling around his house cause Neph had a huge case of I don't give a fuck about your garage door and curtain rules and put him under arrest?

I live in a burb of D.C. that has a fairly strict HOA. They mostly complain about shit on the yard, making sure the exterior looks nice and you cut your grass, etc. They drive out college kids because they've effectively put a strangle-hold on the noise ordinance and don't like young people moving in (Most of them are over the age of 40, retired military, DoD, or lawyers/doctors so well-to-do people). They had a C.O.P. (Citizens on Patrol) that would do shady shit like run through your back yards and sneak around your house. Till some of the laws changed and D.C. got pissed off at stupid assholes trying to take the law in to their own hands.

In D.C., everything outside of the entrance to your house was considered public space, even if it was gated. If you could see it from the sidewalk or street, you could be there. As long as you didn't cross the threshold, you were fine.

Well one day we got the jump on a nice foreclosure in the neighborhood that was the perfect house for us. Think I might have been 25, 26 when we grabbed it and all was grand. Was a good mix of white, black, some Asian, and mostly the aforementioned lawyers/doctors, retired DoD but there were a few cops and firefighters. Well the HOA invited me to a community meeting so I decided to go and meet everyone. I noticed none of the cops or firefighters showed up and asked one of the other younger looking guys what the deal was and he said "Some of our community don't believe in our standards." I knew it was going to be some shit so I tried hard to listen. This was some of the "Criteria and Sanctions" they imposed on people living in that community (it was not gated either or private road-ways like some people have mentioned):

-Grass cannot be longer than 1 1/2 inches in length in the front, 2 inches in the back. No gates/fences over 4 feet tall and privacy fences strictly forbidden. First offense: warning. Second offense: $100.00 fine.
-Yards must be picked up daily for leaves/garbage. Leaves must be placed in to black plastic bags and left on the curb till leaf pickups every Tuesday. No piles. First offense: $50.00 fine.
-No pools/sprinklers. No watering of lawns. Vehicles may be washed but water consumption is strictly monitored. First offense: $200.00 fine (Could understand this one as it's a district law except the pools thing).
-Garages must be kept orderly. Garage doors must be kept open when owners are home for inspection/security. First offense: Warning. Second offense: $200.00 fine.
-Noise ordinance strictly adhered to. No loud music/talking will be tolerated after 8pm (the local D.C. Ordinance is 10pm). Every violation will result in a $300.00 fine (D.C. citations for noise violations are $300.00).
-First floor curtains must meet the color scheme for the month and kept open for security reasons during the day. They may be closed at night. First offense: $25.00 fine. Color scheme determined by the association.
-No BBQ pits, charcoal grills, wood burning grills, and fireplaces cannot be used at any time between March-October. First offense: $500.00 fine and a citation from the D.C. Fire Marshal.
-No Pets whatsoever. Non-negotiable.
-No Floodlights that will compromise the privacy of neighbors.

Let's just say that I did not join the HOA after that first meeting (Isn't a requirement by any extent of the law to join it, just nice benefits). I still have my dog who stays in our 6 foot privacy fence that encompasses our back yard, I have flood lights everywhere, I have security systems in place on every corner of the house, my curtains are kept closed as is my garage door at all times (yes, I am paranoid), I have a charcoal grill, I park my take-home vehicle on the street (which is a violation but I don't care), and I have a blow-up pool. I do cut the grass and rake the leaves though and don't really have any problems with the neighbors. Except the guy across the street who decided to sneak around my house one night because he said he "Heard a noise". I made sure to scare the ever living shit out of him by sticking my 870 in to his face, ratcheting it, and then cuffing him and letting him sit on the front curb for 3 hours while the cops took their time investigating him.

Good times.

[Moss]

You can bring your neighbors property value down too. That's the point of the HOA.

Thank you. If your neighbor's yard is full of weeds and tall grass and their house is falling into disrepair, you better believe it is decreasing the value of your property and everyone else's around it.

[Ksandra]

Tough titties tbh.

My parents go on vacation during the summer for a few weeks. Would be pissed if someone flipped out over their unmowed lawn while they are gone.

[BaneTheBrawler]

Thank you. If your neighbor's yard is full of weeds and tall grass and their house is falling into disrepair, you better believe it is decreasing the value of your property and everyone else's around it.

The correct response to this situation is to politely ask if they would take better care of their place (some people don't realize it's a thing). Failing that, offer to help or do it yourself (particularly if they're ill or gone). Only then should you bitch about it to anyone else. This is known as "being a decent person."

Also, if it only takes you 2 hours to shovel, you don't have very much snow.

[Deadgye]

Thank you. If your neighbor's yard is full of weeds and tall grass and their house is falling into disrepair, you better believe it is decreasing the value of your property and everyone else's around it.

If it gets your panties in such a big bunch, then you can go mow their lawn yourself like my neighbor did to another house when he was selling his.

[Eurell]

If you want to let your house look like shit, dont live in an HoA neighborhood lol. Expecting someone else to do mow your lawn because you are too lazy is the most ridiculous shit I've ever heard of.

[Brill Weave]

^

I don't mind shoveling as long as there isn't a lot and winds not whipping around. But dear God do I hate mowing the lawn when the Sun is having a fit.

FWP: I'm still using a shovel instead of just buying a snowblower. I am literally the only one on the street of 120 houses without one haha.

Dude you live in Winnipeg. You see the sun three times a year at best.

[BaneTheBrawler]

If you want to let your house look like shit, dont live in an HoA neighborhood lol. Expecting someone else to do mow your lawn because you are too lazy is the most ridiculous shit I've ever heard of.

man, you're really good at this not-reading thing. no one said they should expect it.

[Ksandra]

If you want to let your house look like shit, dont live in an HoA neighborhood lol. Expecting someone else to do mow your lawn because you are too lazy is the most ridiculous shit I've ever heard of.

Uhh they are saying they don't want their neighbor's house to look like shit.

[Jaybar]

Owning a home comes with responsibilities that are not the same as owning/renting an apartment/condo/city-size lot. It's like these people move into a home to escape the density of an urban life but refuse to take on the responsibilities of maintaining a home. In the previous abodes you had no modicum of responsibility when it came to maintenance except to call the landlord. You could afford to be a lazy sack of potatoes in your apartment because it was your private residence. When you own a home you have responsibilities not only to your own private dwelling but to the public domain (and in this instance we are talking about front yards). It might be your lawn but it is still part of the public.

Failure to take care of your own property shows a disrespect to your neighbors and a disservice to yourself. Property value is what most people tend towards when it comes to these issues because money, but I believe respect of your property and neighbors is more important than what your land is worth.

And to Ksandra's parents - hire a trustworthy local teen to mow the lawn/trim hedges/whatever twice a month in the summer.

I am not apologizing for HOA measures that have come up in this thread and previous posts with ridiculous statutes.

[Eurell]

man, you're really good at this not-reading thing. no one said they should expect it.

The post right under your previous one pretty much implied it lol. Noone should have to mow someone else yard because their neighbor is a lazy asshole.

Uhh they are saying they don't want their neighbor's house to look like shit.

yes...? and my post would be directed at those neighbor's whose houses look like shit lol.