HOA Stories. Whatcha got?

[Caveman Jim]

Not my sorry, but one I remember hearing. To keep it short, this guy's neighbor decided a tree in his backyard was blocking her view of the mountains and per some regulation or another, it became his responsibility to pay to remove it. He liked the tree and wanted to keep it, certainly didn't want to pay to remove it being very old and very big.... On a hillside. Last I knew he got sued for it

Then if they lived through that...

 

[Caveman Jim]

I just had a thought, there's another thread "Dark Humor" that I frequent sometimes but am stuck on this one. Is this my dark humor for reading each & every post & laughing (with you) while I step put into the back yard & relieve myself...

 

[Lazyfaire]

Come on guys, I can't be the only one......

You would be a great neighbor to live next too, and certainly the most entertaining! Don't have an HOA, thank goodness!

 

[Lazyfaire]

HOAs are not about the neighborhood. They are about power for powerless people. Wait? Are they socialists?!!

 

[nehalemguy]

My little neighborhood is only eight homes. Initially we had some pretty cumbersome CCRs that we gutted once the last home sold and the developer was out of the picture.

Then we had a block party to celebrate.

E

 

[CoastRange57]

My parents have a house on CCR and have dealt with there stupid HOA.

My stepdad put a flood light on his shop.
A neighbor complained to the HOA and it was a buge deal for months going back and forth.
The thing is they live waaay out, no neighbors, except across the street, about 300-400 yards from the shop, and the light isn't even facing his house.

Took months, my stepdad won after a lot of frustration.

So he bought a much brighter one and put up.

Action at CRR is complaint based which is good to some extent. There are no CCR types running around looking for issues, but if your neighbor gets a hard on about something you do, it can go bad fast. This does nothing for the light blue houses, pink houses, and the pigs 50 feet from somebodies house, and the 10 cars stacked up broken down.

The light thing comes up now and then, but I can give you multiple examples of it. Our house will be over 300 feet off the road, and not visible from the road. I will put my lights up, I will put my flag pole up and nobody will see it. F them.

 

[Stomper]

The town I live in actually has an ordinance that prohibits flying more than two flags on a flagpole.... so, I've been flying these out front of my house for several years now.




I've been waiting the entire time for some City Hall pencil-neck to step on the property and "set me straight".....

 

[Boboclown]

I asked my HOA if I could drop a 48' trailer in front of my house.

They said I was allowed to.

I have 0 interaction with HOA beyond that.

 

[Lazyfaire]

When remodeling our kitchen I had a 20ft container dropped in the street for storage of current and future s**t. No driveway space for it. No HOA in the subdivision but 'heard about it' after 3 weeks. Screw em. It stayed till I was done!

 

[pharmseller]

I asked my HOA if I could drop a 48' trailer in front of my house.

They said I was allowed to.

I have 0 interaction with HOA beyond that.

Who's gonna say no to a clown?

We all know how that ends...



P

 

[Boboclown]

Who's gonna say no to a clown?

We all know how that ends...



P

You get a balloon and get to float.

 

[Lazyfaire]

The town I live in actually has an ordinance that prohibits flying more than two flags on a flagpole.... so, I've been flying these out front of my house for several years now.

View attachment 554252 View attachment 554253


I've been waiting the entire time for some City Hall pencil-neck to step on the property and "set me straight".....

You can never trim or cut down any part of that tree though. That'd be against the rules unless you have permission.

 

[BaggerRyder]

My old HOA seemed to only care about things that meant the least amount of work and research for them.

When I had a new roof put on the house I filled out the request for architectural change, didnt hear back from them within two weeks. So house was re-roofed.

When I had some siding replaced and had my house painted I submitted the colors and architectural change. Didn't hear back from them within two weeks so house got some new siding and new paint.

When I cut down a tree I submitted a request for architectural change. Recieved an email from them requesting the type of tree that would be planted to replace the tree I was cutting down. I sent them a picture from their "approved trees" list and never heard back from them. Cut down the tree, ground the stump, planted some grass.

Got a notice saying I was in violation for having my garbage can, yard debris can, and new bright blue, Waste Management mandated recycle bin on the side of my house visible from the street. Wrote them back saying my garbage and yard debris wasn't going in my garage and I didn't request the recycle bin, it was forced upon me, so it stays where is sits. A little back and forth and ended up with the blue recycle bin in the garage.

Letters every summer for letting my front yard turn brown. I didn't have a sprinkler system and I wasn't fond of wasting money watering. Around late July, early August I'd get letters telling me to green up my lawn or I'd be fined. I'd send a response that the natural tendency for grass is to go dormant in the summer months cuz it's hot as balls and that they could send me the $100 "fine" for two months, since that would be cheaper than paying my water bill. Or they could always have the neighborhood landscapers put in a sprinkler system for me. Never got that sprinkler system but also never got an actual fine.

Other than that, no issues in the 10 yrs I lived there.

 

[Member 34319]

Just got another love letter today.

Says I need to trim my bushes to 3'.

After years of my bushes being well over 3' as are virtually all the neighborhoods bushes.

I'm getting rather annoyed with them.

I know I'm being targeted from standing up to them in prior years.

I'm going to raise hell this time.

I'm tired of the harassment over how someone else wants my yard to look.

May get some legal consoling for this one.

I'm about done.

Just needed to rant.

 

[pharmseller]

I'll trim my bushes after everyone else has trimmed theirs.

I promise.



P

 

[AMT]

Just got another love letter today.

Says I need to trim my bushes to 3'.

After years of my bushes being well over 3' as are virtually all the neighborhoods bushes.

I'm getting rather annoyed with them.

I know I'm being targeted from standing up to them in prior years.

I'm going to raise hell this time.

I'm tired of the harassment over how someone else wants my yard to look.

May get some legal consoling for this one.

I'm about done.

Just needed to rant.

3' ? That's it???

What do the CCR's say?

I agree with you about "fighting them" because of everyone else that has it too, especially if no one else has received notice. If they are singling you out, it can be construed as harassment. Ask the others in the neighborhood if they are receiving the same letters for their bush height. You might "have a case".

You might be right about "being targeted" because of standing up to them in the past. The pin-heads that usually end up on boards for associations are usually the people that wear little gloves and have small shoe sizes! Or folks like us that want to "fight from within".

 

[AMT]

........ Got a notice saying I was in violation for having my garbage can, yard debris can, and new bright blue, Waste Management mandated recycle bin on the side of my house visible from the street. Wrote them back saying my garbage and yard debris wasn't going in my garage and I didn't request the recycle bin, it was forced upon me, so it stays where is sits. A little back and forth and ended up with the blue recycle bin in the garage.........

I was searching for something TOTALLY off topic, but ran across these ideas. If ANYONE in my association complains, I am building one of these two fences.....

 

[leadcounsel]

Just got another love letter today.

Says I need to trim my bushes to 3'.

After years of my bushes being well over 3' as are virtually all the neighborhoods bushes.

I'm getting rather annoyed with them.

I know I'm being targeted from standing up to them in prior years.

I'm going to raise hell this time.

I'm tired of the harassment over how someone else wants my yard to look.

May get some legal consoling for this one.

I'm about done.

Just needed to rant.

I'd dig into the regs. I'd go take lots of pictures of the HOA board members' properties and scout for any infractions. I'd go around the neighborhood and take pictures to any infractions that are unaddressed.

Having found probably dozens or hundreds of infractions, I'd respond accordingly. Probably along the lines of "kick rocks."

This is not legal advice, of course.

 

[Member 34319]

3' ? That's it???

What do the CCR's say?

I agree with you about "fighting them" because of everyone else that has it too, especially if no one else has received notice. If they are singling you out, it can be construed as harassment. Ask the others in the neighborhood if they are receiving the same letters for their bush height. You might "have a case".

You might be right about "being targeted" because of standing up to them in the past. The pin-heads that usually end up on boards for associations are usually the people that wear little gloves and have small shoe sizes! Or folks like us that want to "fight from within".

Our lovely CCRs state the HOA must create an ARC. Architecture review committee. Within that portion it states the ARC has sole discretion to make decisions on landscaping and architectural changes.

We are only 26 homes and there are only two current HOA members as the worst one moved.

This 3' rule must have been the discretion clause.

I know others have taller bushes.

I've caught them targeting me before.

We have one of our two meetings a year next week, I'm going to see about trying to get some new folks to go and we will all vote for each other as all 3 positions are up for vote. Try and vote these people out.

 

[Member 34319]

I'd dig into the regs. I'd go take lots of pictures of the HOA board members' properties and scout for any infractions. I'd go around the neighborhood and take pictures to any infractions that are unaddressed.

Having found probably dozens or hundreds of infractions, I'd respond accordingly. Probably along the lines of "kick rocks."

This is not legal advice, of course.

Did this in the past as well as petitioned my neighborhood. I got more than the required signatures last time and I still was denied. I almost lawyered up then too as they circumvented the neighborhood.

They are real dictator types.