OT: Reason #985 to avoid HOA’s
- Thread starter nitanee123
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Meanwhile I'm willing to bet other residents of the community don't cut their grass like they should, allow their dogs to crap over everything and not clean it up. Put out their trash way too early, have window unit AC's. Have screen doors falling off or missing, have cars with flat tires or expired tags sitting around. And the most egregious, IMO, outstanding HOA or Condo dues.
This seems to be the standard MO for most associations. Go after the least offensive.
And yes I hate my HOA.
I call BS on this. If the photo was accurate, where are the tire marks for her leaving the parking space? You can see tread marks for the car pulling in behind this spot. But, none for this car.
I don’t really see it. Now the people in an hoa do suck. Especially the retirees who have nothing else better to do then gripe about someone else. I was fined in Raleigh for my grass. It was dormant but for some reason it didn’t meet the requirements. I told them I wasn’t touching it. Just moved into another and it seems like a nice smaller community. Very low hoa.
Meanwhile I'm willing to bet other residents of the community don't cut their grass like they should, allow their dogs to crap over everything and not clean it up. Put out their trash way too early, have window unit AC's. Have screen doors falling off or missing, have cars with flat tires or expired tags sitting around. And the most egregious, IMO, outstanding HOA or Condo dues.
This seems to be the standard MO for most associations. Go after the least offensive.
And yes I hate my HOA.
I've been president of my HOA for four years and on the board for over eight. I can assure you, we chase down outstanding dues, fine people who have cars on jacks, flat tires, etc., have damaged garage doors, trailers for more than 24 hours, messy front yards / porches / driveways (I refuse to trespass unless a neighbor complains), moldy / dirty siding, weeds, wrong color mulch and many other offenses.
People get angry with us. There is a Facebook page devoted to outrage toward the HOA. But, if we didn't stay on top of all the stuff mentioned above, what else would people do to their homes that would devalue the homes in our neighborhood? If you don't like HOA's, don't live in a neighborhood with a HOA.
A current events mashup.
For reference: https://bwi.forums.rivals.com/threa...-dipping-testicles-in-customers-salsa.233638/
You must run a good board. Mine sucks ass.
And try finding a hood that doesn't have an HOA. Maybe you can in your area but its pretty difficult in MD.
Also I think thou doth protest too much.
Yes, I do protest too much (on this topic). Or at least I get very sensitive about it. Annoys me that those who complain most on Facebook never show up for meetings to voice their displeasure to the board (or offer alternative solutions to the problem). And they also never volunteer to help in any way to improve our neighborhood (we have several committees that require a minimal amount of time).
You want a better HOA? Be active in HOA activities. Make the changes you think are needed. This is why I've been on the board for so long. I didn't like the direction things were going, so I stepped up and did something about it.
That's really all I have to say on the subject.
I absolutely understand the about the ones not involved. I wont comment on Facebook since I have never been a part of that.
I am active and unfortunately only 1 of about 4 who attends our HOA meetings and attempts to keep our board under control.
I think HOAs are bullshit for Single Family home neighborhoods. It's my property and I will do what I damn well please. HOAs for townhome developments and condos, I understand, but not for Single Family home neighborhoods.
I actually really love my HOA, it is the residence who are driving me bananas lately.
I live in a big brooklyn apartment complex. Our old HOA was crap, and let things get out of control with the handymen. They were getting paid ridiculous amounts of overtime and costs were skyrocketing. So there was a vote and a new board was put into control.
The new board found out that several of the handymen were living in rent free apartments that they had an "agreement" with the prior board that they could live there. Nothing on paper, not contract. So the new board decided to evict them because the apartments they were living in could sell for $700,000 or mroe.
Im consider myself a lefty, but in this part of Brooklyn, I might as well be Ronald Reagan. There have been protests etc about the "eviction" of the handyman and how it was "against all human decency" to throw someone out of their home. The dude wasn't fired. He makes full union wages with 30 years on the job. He is doing better than most of the residents, not that it matters.
Luckily there is a very large majority who agrees with the board but is afraid to talk.
I actually had my career threatened because I was VERY vocal in support for the board.
Imagine how I was for the tax situation, but aimed at the crazies. (boardline obnoxious, I know)
I live in a big brooklyn apartment complex. Our old HOA was crap, and let things get out of control with the handymen. They were getting paid ridiculous amounts of overtime and costs were skyrocketing. So there was a vote and a new board was put into control.
The new board found out that several of the handymen were living in rent free apartments that they had an "agreement" with the prior board that they could live there. Nothing on paper, not contract. So the new board decided to evict them because the apartments they were living in could sell for $700,000 or mroe.
Im consider myself a lefty, but in this part of Brooklyn, I might as well be Ronald Reagan. There have been protests etc about the "eviction" of the handyman and how it was "against all human decency" to throw someone out of their home. The dude wasn't fired. He makes full union wages with 30 years on the job. He is doing better than most of the residents, not that it matters.
Luckily there is a very large majority who agrees with the board but is afraid to talk.
I actually had my career threatened because I was VERY vocal in support for the board.
Imagine how I was for the tax situation, but aimed at the crazies. (boardline obnoxious, I know)
We have an HOA at the house in MA. We have had zero problems with them because we don't act like assholes and we don't tolerate assholes- and the HOA understands both points. It works well for us because they do all exterior maintenance and we aren't there all the time. None of ours try to do stupid shit because people like that won't get voted in.
HOA's in MD are awful. Had to move out and paid up to do it but I'll save my $ and put it towards my larger mortgage. I had my storm door glass broken by a rock from their idiot groundskeepers and they had the nerve to make me pay for it. Lawyer got my out of that as thankfully the security system in place proved he did it. Damn HOA people were corrupt as the PA gov't.
I'm on the board of my HOA. If I didn't agree to be a member, the board would have been controlled by a management corp so I reluctantly agreed. Unlike some other owners, I fully understood that uniformity would be required of the residents when I moved in. In our case only inconsiderate owners have gotten a well deserved tap on the shoulder from the board, and I could care less if they aren't happy.
Yeah, right? Here's the thing. The board didn't write the rulebook. The developer wrote the rulebook. As people have approached the board with things they don't like, we've given consideration to making changes. We have in fact changed several things already.
The idea of mulch color has come up. The association does all the mulching in common areas and also does all of the street trees. All of that is done with black (dark brown) mulch. Since in many instances, the street trees and the front mulch bed is separated only by a sidewalk, it was decided to keep all mulch beds the same color. It would look sloppy if the tree had black mulch and the regular bed had red mulch.
We have a similar issue with some townhomes. The homeowner of each end unit owns 5 feet from the end of their house. In several places, that means the homeowner's mulching responsibility transitions right to the HOA responsibility. It would look awful if the HOA put down black and the homeowner used red. Same with neighboring townhomes sharing the same front mulchbeds. The transitions would look like crap.
So it's best to keep things uniform throughout. And those who have attended meetings have agreed. Or at least no dissenting opinions were ever voiced out loud at a meeting.
All that said, I honestly don't get bent if someone uses brown. They'll get a letter notifying them that they used the wrong color and to use the correct color the next year. Nobody has ever tried red. One guy threw down stones, which drew several complaints from neighbors before I even noticed. We did have that homeowner remove the stones and replace with mulch.
Right. Most municipalities have ordinances and that’s just fine. I see HOA’s as a group of people that want everyone else around them to live by how they want them to live. 95% of adults who can afford to Purchase a home know how to live neatly without having someone constantly looking over their shoulder while wagging their finger say “no you can’t do that”. F you. I’ll do what I want.
I have no interest in mingling with my neighbors on a regular basis. I mind my own business and the ones around me except the guy across the street minds theirs. The guy across the street is always looking for something to complain about but I don’t give him any reason to do so. I don’t need a board of people to tell me what any other civilized human being doesn’t already know.
I would not ever for one second consider living in a development with a HOA.
Damn if I’ll allow some neighborhood nebnoses dictate to me and jack up the assessments whenever they please.
Besides they’re all crooked. I’m not making connected insiders and Mark Dambly wannabes rich.
Damn if I’ll allow some neighborhood nebnoses dictate to me and jack up the assessments whenever they please.
Besides they’re all crooked. I’m not making connected insiders and Mark Dambly wannabes rich.
One of the really "awesome" things my board did was rewrite the bylaws so they could rent more units than when I signed my agreement 25 years ago.
Ironically neither the Board President and one other Board member live in the community but now rent their units out.
We've also been over run by Section 8 housing (happened after they started imploding the public living towers in the city in 1996). and moved them into the outlying counties.
The other "event" that really screwed my area was them closing many of the military bases in NJ and having them move to Harford County for the Proving grounds.
The thing is many of them really didn't move and just decided to Rent and then up and leave after their stint is over. Many of them don't care how it looks or how they leave it because they never got rid of their properties in NJ.
Mulch attracts bugs and is a cost burden every year. It washes out in heavy rain. It’s a mess. Hell, most of the time the shit fades to gray in 2 months and ends up looking like ass anyway.
Stone is neutral, aids in drainage, and doesn’t have to be purchased every year.
So if you don’t like mulch, find another neighborhood? Pretty cult like to me.
Are HOA’s involved in the purchase and selling of the homes? Do people have the opportunity to see the rules and regs they’re singing up for before they make an offer or is it all thrown into their laps after the fact?
I have no idea so it’s a legitimate question.
Common color mulch and paint is fine but then work out a deal with the store that the HOA purchases it from so that the ordinary Joes get it for the same price. Dont make me have to buy burnt mahogany wood stain for $60/gallon from the ONE store in the state that sells that exact color.
I stained the boards 'mahogany', no difference in the color at all, but the jagoffs called the store to see if I had purchased it from them as I guess you have to register when you buy it. I told them that I borrowed it from my neighbor since you only need less than a quart and they had some left over. They were not happy and noticed me, saying I needed another coat as it was not dark enough. Bastards had some kickbacks coming, it was pretty obvious.
From my experience it really depends on the state. When I lived in Texas I never heard of HOA's.
But moved to MD and try and find a development or community that doesn't have one. Its almost impossible.
I have no clue what this even means. I get paid $0 per year for probably around 100 hours of work.
I wish my neighborhood had that written in for the homeowners. But we have 196 apartment units, some commercial units and as of now, about 175 single family homes, townhomes and duplexes (I don't know the mix off the top of my head).
In order for us to change the rules, we'd have to jump through a ridiculous amount of hoops including getting a response from every single homeowner in the neighborhood. Good luck there since at any given time, there are multiple homes in the foreclosure process. And those who already have rentals aren't likely to respond either.
Most will get a "packet" of the by laws upon purchasing the home.
BUT that doesn't mean the Board will not rewrite them. If many are like mine and you don't have a quorum (because most people don't attend) the Board can vote on it themselves. I think there are 2 shots to get a quorum and after that its up to the Board themselves. Now that may differ in other communities or states.
The other problem again then is renters. The owners have the bylaws but seldom if ever give it to their renters or force their renters to follow them.
Some of the boards in MD, not mine but my bosses, do get paid for sitting on it. He said he is entirely made up of Russians and its almost impossible to get rid of them. I forget where his condo is but its not too far from Mt. Washington.
Wow that is a pretty big development.
My community lost its FHA approval (at least I think its FHA) because we now have more renters than owners.
As I said already, the topic came up and it was decided by those who cared to attend the meeting that no change was necessary. It's pretty democratic to me.
The rules and regs are available in advance. We've been asked by a few people who wanted to install fences or pools but wanted to know the rules prior to purchase. We have always provided when asked.
I'll have to take back my statement about my bosses board members getting paid. I just asked and he said no they don't get paid but there were paper trails leading to the Contractors they were hiring and they were getting kick backs from them.
Thats what he meant by "getting paid".
Sorry for my confusion.
I live in a hood in MD that doesn't have an HOA. We do have an architectural control board, which I'm a member. We've met once in 25 years and it was quite the party.
That's interesting. I will change my story though. I don't get "paid", but I do get to use the fitness center and pool for free (I think it's worth $300 or so per year). I have my own fitness center in my basement, but I do use the pool. So I get about $200 worth of payment for my 100 or so hours of work -- less per hour than those servers discussed in another thread. And I don't get tips either.
We have some in Austin. I'm in an area without one, but I have to deal with an optional neighborhood association that isn't a formal HOA. They don't (can't) yell at residents for things they do on their property but this group is full of retirees with nothing better to do than fight the city on every single thing that might change the way of life in our neighborhood. As you'd expect, the group get attendance from less than 1% of the actual residents and consists primarily of retired white people. I think a typical meeting includes fewer than 20 people and the same president has been in place for 20 years, it's ridiculous. There's almost no diversity and it's full of group thinking people that are out of touch with modern Austin. They fight things like dense housing options because they want to have single family homes which they feel will protect their home values, but also contributes to the high cost of living here due to lack of housing supply. Of course the same people complain about housing prices and tax rates in the next breath.
Sadly these people have good connections to our city council representative and they often have a loud voice in the media, and will publicly claim to represent thousands of residents when the reality is they really represent a small percentage of like minded individuals in my neighborhood. They drive me crazy but fortunately there isn't much they can do to directly impact my property.
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I was worried about HOA hood that we moved in 5 years ago. But I wouldn't change for the world the 2 notes we got to put back our trash cans for anything like I had it. We lived in a historic district prior with all types of houses, some very valuable, others not so much. Frustration with having 10 cars parked around, neighbor building a 3 story (yes that is correct) garage that totally blocked everything in our backyard, barking dogs, wandering dogs that crap everywhere, lawn ornaments / furniture that you only see on tv, etc. Don't miss any of that and drive past all the time and grin. Totally agree with those who say join the HOA volunteer groups. Rewarding and you have insight into what goes on and ability to step in and make change in some instances. I joined the pools committee last year and plan to do more good things this year with it.
LOL, I would call that a "perk".
My boss said that they found out his board President was leaking the lowest bids to his friend so his friend could under bid the others and then they were splitting the profits. Now Thats what I would call a "kickback".
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