HOAs

[klwa]

I've never lived in an HOA, but there's one place nearby that has one and the drama that occurs on Facebook and Next Door because of overzealous HOA staff there is hilarious as a bystander. Apparently, no play equipment (so swing sets, etc.) should be seen from the front of the house. So multiple people got fined for having a play set in their back yard, but set to one side of the back yard. There's two separate sections of the subdivision, one by "the lake" and one on "the golf course", and there's all sorts of drama at the fact that golf course people aren't supposed to use certain amenities even though all the dues are the same. The lake side is gated, with only one entrance/exit, and the people who live at the backside of the lake want the emergency gate opened but still gated (RFID) but the people up front think that's a waste of money, etc. Fun times.

ETA: OH! And the most fun is the discussions about the elections. Because apparently their board has changed the candidacy rules to make it where they can never be voted out. Or so the people who don't like them say.

[mmsmom]

There's two separate sections of the subdivision, one by "the lake" and one on "the golf course", and there's all sorts of drama at the fact that golf course people aren't supposed to use certain amenities even though all the dues are the same. The lake side is gated, with only one entrance/exit, and the people who live at the backside of the lake want the emergency gate opened but still gated (RFID) but the people up front think that's a waste of money, etc. y.

We did just go through some gate drama... many people want the neighborhood gated. It comes up every few years and came up again recently after a robbery incident. But what people don’t realize is if we gate the neighborhood then it makes the roads private and we then have to pay for road maintenance. They did some research and we needed $4 million to cover installing gates and then having a reserve for road maintenance. It meant a $6-7,000 assessment each then a 400% increase for annual dues. They took a vote and majority said no so it’s not happening for now but I was surprised how many were willing to spend the $. We can have play equipment but it has to be wood and not visible from front.

[doberbrat]

Here they are on Amazon Pink Inc. SR2 SantaMingo ReinMingo Pair https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00480MZRY...7EM0SXSFX4ATNN

I also got 2 extra reindeer. We take off the Santa outfit after Christmas, but the flamingoes stay up year round

We also have a light up flamingo and blow up flamingo for Christmas decorations.

The neighbors who are in on the original joke love it. They put out similar decorations for Christmas



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Those are awesome thanks for sharing

[belovedgandp]

Both of the homes we've lived in had an HOA. The first one we lived at for 19 years. There were around 200 houses. Dues were $150 per year the entire time we lived there. Biggest expense was upkeep for common grass/landscaped areas at the entrances. The process to change a rule was ridiculous. There weren't many and most had a more general or common sense tone to them. But fences were extremely specific having to be dog-eared cedar and no more than 6' tall. I'm sure the idea was no chain link, but that was how it was written. A homeowner backed to a wooded area and wanted a much nicer coated metal fence along the back of their property. To change the by-laws required 75% of home owners to vote in favor of the new/changed by-law. Of ALL home owners, so those not voting counted as no. Plus, votes had to be notarized and if there were multiple people owning a home (as most were with couples), ALL owners had to vote yes with notarized signatures.

There is an HOA very close to me that made the national news a couple of years ago when a battle over a retaining wall was finally resolved after almost 10 years of lawsuits. A gentleman decided it was the hill he was going to die on and the HOA battled back. The two of them racked up almost $1 million in legal fees. The HOA in this area is crazy - no overnight parking in your driveway, restrictions on flower pots, and so much more. I used to walk through this area when my kids had a class close by and they definitely were not the friendliest.

[lizzywednesday]

We have an HOA, but the dues are very low compared to other HOA communities in our area because we have very few amenities - there's a tennis court, but it desperately needs to be resurfaced & the net likely needs to be replaced, a tiny play structure that probably ought to be replaced, and a couple of picnic tables that haven't been maintained well.

The dues go towards maintaining the public areas - there are grassy open spaces around the playground/tennis court that require regular landscaping - and paying for the electricity that runs the handful of path lights leading through this area.

DH was (briefly) the HOA President and during his term, I learned about several owners in the neighborhood (which is small; it's maybe 30 duplexes, so ~60 homeowners) who are Extremely Behind in their dues payments. The HOA lost out on at least two owners' dues because they went into bankruptcy/foreclosure before they could move ahead on any claims, although, in recent years, they have taken a couple of owners to court over their back-dues.

But beyond that, there's very little drama/power grabbiness.

One note: our HOA bylaws were written in 1996, so there're a lot of things that appear in them that are extremely outdated now, like bans on satellite dishes and so on.

[zukeypur]

I have never lived in an HOA, and I don't think I would like it. I specifically looked for a non-HOA property when we were house shopping 8 years ago because I wanted a chicken coop, and I knew that none of the HOA's would allow it. Our neighborhood has a few problem homes, but for the most part, most everyone takes care of their property. I like that the homes in our area have personality.

[legaleagle]

We have an HOA but they don't really do that much - no pool, no rules on architecture or yard condition. Dues are only $70/year - there are several hundred homes plus 2 townhouse communities that have their own separate HOA as well. That said, despite them having very little power, my husband joined the board and there is ridiculous drama because everyone else on the board are old crotchety men with nothing better to do.

[niccig]

I have zombie flamingos for Halloween lol if you want to keep the trend going

Yes!! This we need to have!




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[carolinamama]

We have an active HOA and have never had any problems with it. I haven't read the covenant in years but the basics are about maintaining yards, the type of allowed fencing and whatever. We've never been cited for anything and I don't imagine many others have either. Our boat will occasionally spend a few days in our driveway so we can do a deep clean. It's against the rules to park any sort of trailer in site but we've never heard a complaint. I don't think I've ever driven by a house without a well-maintained yard. Guessing those who move into a 'hood with detailed guidelines plan to follow along. There is an architectural review approval process for large changes to a property, which we've gone through for a large backyard project. It was painless after submitting all the plans.

We have two pools, one with multiple slides and play areas. Our hoa keeps them running very smoothly and provides extensive maintenance each year. All common grounds are landscaped and manicured. We feel like we benefit plenty from our hoa and their work. But I've definitely heard horror stories, just never experienced them myself.

[JBaxter]

our HOA isn't bad they keep up the common area the community pool and club house and do send letters for violations. You have to have a pretty BAD weed issue to get a letter or your lawn has to be brown and crispy. They seem reasonable folks.