I hate HOA's

I had to vent because my HOA is ridiculous.

So I bought a house a few years ago in an HOA, when I bought the house the lawn was perfect (I'm on an end unit so it has a "common area" with trees and bushes).

Now, the bushes aren't trimmed, there's a small dead tree, and I've caught the landscapers blowing neighbors lawn debris into the common area which is basically my side yard. They've left a zero turn on my patio, and have left 10 wheel barrows in my actual yard over night.

I reached out to the HOA to have them clean up the area. Instead of fixing the problems, they now inspect my house constantly. I get inspections once a month and they hit me for everything. Dog poop, dirty gutters, a small crack in a window sill, its crazy.

I can see them on the cameras walk directly to my house, inspect, and leave. Nobody else gets this extra attention.

Now im bummed that I basically painted a target on my back, and the yard still looks like shit.

That's my rant for today, and screw HOA's, I'll never live in one again.

 

Yup!
Never have and never will!!

 

I've learned my lesson. Old ladies with nothing better to do are not who you want ruling over your house haha

 

I would appreciate the gift of a free zero turn and 10 wheelbarrows.

 

I read several years ago about a guy who put a political sign in his yard. HOA said the sign was too big. Homeowner refused to take it down.
HOA stood their ground and took the homeowner to court. Homeowner won and it cost the stubborn HOA $400,000 (four hundred thousand dollars!!)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/2013/02/09/d46f9bec-6652-11e2-93e1-475791032daf_story.html

 

We gotta rid of our HOA…

 

We're looking at houses right now and the first thing I've been doing is scrolling down to the info section and seeing if there's an HOA.

Fuck no!

We're focusing more on rural settings so it's mostly a non issue, thankfully.

 

Most HOAs have elected board members from the neighborhood. Get yourself elected to the board and make some changes.

 

Yeah but 98% of that money probably went to the lawyers.

 

I looked into that. They have a pretty sneaky way to block out pretty much anyone else. If you have any pending violations you can't run. So basically if you try, they'll just write a violation.

 

There is no way, if I buy a house, anyone is gonna tell me what I can or cannot do. I don't intend to sell the one I'm in. I'm happy except for the fact that I'm in city limits. Being a shooting sports enthusiast, that is the only drawback. NO HOA though!

 

Friends never let friends buy in HOA. I’m Canadian and I know better. HOA here don’t have that kind of power. In the US, it’s disgusting.
One thing I would do, I would walk around and point out every irregularities I see anywhere. For a few weeks. Everyday. And I would make it clear it’s because you are targeted.

 

My hoa isn't all that terrible, but they're also pretty useless. The house next door has been a rental property since 2012. Every successive tenant seems to be a worse version of an unwashed anus as the previous. "Neighbor's car blocking your driveway you say? Sorry we can't help." But every time they see a weed in the yard they send a notice. $62 a month for that lol......

 

Never again!

 

My first requirement when looking for a new house is no HOA. My second requirement, NO HOA.

 

The HOA my mom was in was horrible. Old men would walk around the neighborhood with rulers, grass couldn't more than so tall, and write people up for the dumbest infractions. I would never move into a HOA neighborhood.

 

What happens if you just say fuck it? HOA isn't a government entity...? What ability do they have to actually enforce fines and such? Can they do a tax assessment?

 

The one I'm in is not my first, but it's deffinantly the worst. Personally think most who run for office here do so because they don't have a life.

 

I need to dig more into but ultimately I'm pretty sure they can assess fines, and if those fines go unpaid they can take your home in order to pay the fines. That's like super extreme though.

 

fwiw - If it gets out of hand and you feel forced to consult or hire an attorney? Be very very careful whom you select (if they specialize in HOA matters)because they're all connected at the hip.

 

I have been in one since 2002. We made sure to pick a non gated HOA so that have less power/authority. Right now it feels more like a semi-powered org focused on renters and not owners. But the one on the other side of the main blvd is gated and CRAZY! Can’t park in the street, can’t park in the drive way. If you have a rig that won’t fit in your garage you have to park outside the gates. F that crap

 

HOA's is the main reason I will never buy a property no matter how much I like the house.

Our first house had an HOA and it was ridiculous. I also had a corner lot and had to maintain the strip of grass on the side walk. I also had a hollow tile wall around the property so I could not see this strip unless I walked around my house. Which did not happen everyday.

- Summer time when it practically never rains. Hint of brown on the grass and I get a letter.
- Someone elses dog shits on the strip of grass and I get a letter
- Want to paint your house? Gotta be from a set of approved HOA colors.
- Want to make modifications to your house? Needs to be HOA approved.
- Bitch to the HOA? They will come by your lot more often.
- They made the garage side of my house a "private road" so you can't have your car tires touching the pavement when parking or get towed.

Thankfully we moved. I built a roof over my patio and just finished extending my driveway all without any ones approval.

 

If you live in California and want to screw with your HOA…build an in-laws quarter or bungalow in the back. The state passed a law 2 years ago and every HOA in my area fought it and they all lost. Build it just to piss people off if you want, that are not allowed to stop you.

 

https://www.realtor.com/advice/buy/things-your-hoa-cant-do/

 

Half of my neighbors have those bumshacks in their backyards.

We don’t have an HOA, we have $5 million mansions next to rundown shitholes with cars in the yard.

 

No HOA, but we do have homeless roaming the neighborhood at night going thru trash cans, a public park in the neighborhood that attracts shady people and some mf’er that sets off fireworks every single night in the neighborhood from early March to August.

This is the first house we’ve bought that wasn’t in an HOA. Only one of the previous HOAs we had was a pain in the ass. I’d happily pay a little money to keep the trash out.

 

I live in an HOA. It's good and bad. Good because they keep certain types of people out. Like the kinds that play loud music all night, never cut their grass so it's taller than the house, leave their RV's on the street. I seriously hate people who own RV's and park them on the the street. Either have a place to park it on your property or don't own one!

The bad is that we have security cameras in front of the garage and they told us to take them off. They also said we couldn't have desert plants in the yard and no potted plants either.

Some HOA's are worse than others. Maybe try talking to the neighbors before buying a house to get an idea of what the HOA is like there.

 

The HOA was 100% correct and that guy didn't deserve a penny. He just got lucky by finding a judge that shared his politics.

 

I HATE HOA's but look @ our neighbors house. They just did this today. It is a duplex and they hate us because we own & want civility. They do everything they can to anger us knowing we cannot make a complaint to their landlord because we are not a renter of theirs (we have called).
All weeds, tons of trash & last year a couple was f*(*ing in the pool (glad we don't have children).
What can I do...?
Sorry to rant. You don't want these neighbors!
Ryan.

 

F an HOA. my gf lives in one and they are pretty lax but mostly because everyone who lives there is nice and keeps their property up. the monthly fee is low and they do a lot of decent landscaping work. BUT i cant stand the crap that they make you do or try to fine you for. i already have her convinced to move out in 4 years so we can go live at the beach or something cool haha