HOA'S and do's and don'ts
#1
Joined on April fools day
Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2012
Location: 30 miles from a decent grocery store.
Posts: 10,642
HOA'S and do's and don'ts
All home owner associations have rules. I am curious as to what standard or unique ones apply to you. A few of mine are trash, recycle @ yard debris stored out of sight. No unlicensed vehicles in sight, no commercial vehicles, no boats, trailers, travel homes etc. No cars parked anywhere except the street or driveway. Grass must be mowed on a regular basis. And finally no farm animals such as goats, chickens, ducks etc.
#2
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Feb 2004
Location: Midlands - MA - CO-CA
Posts: 2,770
Re: HOA'S and do's and don'ts
Ours has no more than 3 dogs or cats. No washing lines. That one I object to, so I put up the airer on the deck to dry clothes on warm sunny days. They're not paying our electric bill, after all. Keep the lawn mowed. Keep the dividing fences in good repair. There's more, but I can't remember them all.
#4
Re: HOA'S and do's and don'ts
No cars parked in street overnight, no basketball hoops at front without written permission, no washing hanging out, specific colours for outdoor paint, blinds had to be up within a month of moving in and had to be white or cream. There is a 1" book of 'rules'. Dogs have to be kept quiet from 10pm (I have had to use that to my advantage unfortunately for a neighbour who let their Alsation bark all bloody night!!)
#5
Re: HOA'S and do's and don'ts
The thing about that one is they might not have jurisdiction over city streets. If its in your drive, then its an enforceable covenant - we had neighbors who had an HVAC work truck parked at night in the street - wise ol' HOA tried to stop them but they told them to go (away) as it was a public city street and not a private HOA owned, maintained road. Its probably something which differs all over.
#6
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Feb 2010
Location: Temecula, CA
Posts: 4,759
Re: HOA'S and do's and don'ts
Threads like this are great learning material. No HOAs for me. I don't care how nice the house might be.
#7
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2012
Location: CA
Posts: 472
Re: HOA'S and do's and don'ts
All of the above - I know they are trying to keep the neighbourhood up but some are just ridiculous.
When we first moved in they sent us a letter because we put the trash out "too early". Pick up is Monday morning and they wanted us to put trash out on Sunday but after 6:00pm??? A lot of us complained so they changed it to can only be left out for 24 hrs.
The other is they want to be notified if you are going to trim your trees - screw that. Unless they are paying for it I'll do what I bloody well want with my trees!
Ooo, also they want to be notified if we should get the following breed of dogs: pitbull, rottweiler or Husky's.
And you PAY for the luxury of these rules.
When we first moved in they sent us a letter because we put the trash out "too early". Pick up is Monday morning and they wanted us to put trash out on Sunday but after 6:00pm??? A lot of us complained so they changed it to can only be left out for 24 hrs.
The other is they want to be notified if you are going to trim your trees - screw that. Unless they are paying for it I'll do what I bloody well want with my trees!
Ooo, also they want to be notified if we should get the following breed of dogs: pitbull, rottweiler or Husky's.
And you PAY for the luxury of these rules.
#8
Re: HOA'S and do's and don'ts
I live in a condo complex and I own my own unit, but still need to adhere to the HOA rules. Some years ago I needed a new patio screen door, and after looking around at the cheap ones, I decided to go with a heavy-duty metal screen door that covers the whole sliding door area, it has a door with a handle, is way more secure, and won't fall apart in the hot dry weather. It cost a bundle, but I paid for it and Home Depot put it on order.
A friend of mind asked if it was OK with the association if I put up a back screen door that was different from everyone else's. Ugh. I never even thought to check. So I called and had to submit specs, photos, and a letter requesting permission to install. I told the girl, I hope it gets approved, cause I already ordered the thing!!
Fortunately, this kind of screen door is specified as a security door. It took the association a while to get back to me, but they finally approved it. I'm sure they were thinking if we *don't* approve it, and someone breaks in, we're responsible because we denied a security door. So, approved it was, and it looks great on my door!
Rene
A friend of mind asked if it was OK with the association if I put up a back screen door that was different from everyone else's. Ugh. I never even thought to check. So I called and had to submit specs, photos, and a letter requesting permission to install. I told the girl, I hope it gets approved, cause I already ordered the thing!!
Fortunately, this kind of screen door is specified as a security door. It took the association a while to get back to me, but they finally approved it. I'm sure they were thinking if we *don't* approve it, and someone breaks in, we're responsible because we denied a security door. So, approved it was, and it looks great on my door!
Rene
#9
Re: HOA'S and do's and don'ts
I forgot we do have a condo committee that issues rules for our condo in Toronto. Recently they sent a note out that only white window blinds were allowed.
#10
Rootbeeraholic
Joined: Aug 2009
Location: Houston, Tx
Posts: 2,280
Re: HOA'S and do's and don'ts
Ours is pretty standard; external changes/buildings require approval from architectural committee, trash to be put away, cars to be on drive or garage (I think there's a 48 hr exception for guests), no farm animals, yards to be maintained to a common standard, minimum of 2 trees in front yard etc.
#12
Re: HOA'S and do's and don'ts
No HOA here which is just as well as our chickens seem to be 'free ranging' again. It seems to me that most HOA's are made up of buzzybodies with too much time on their hands.
#13
Re: HOA'S and do's and don'ts
Almost +1. Wouldn't actually rule it out, but it'd be a heavy negative in the decision.
Most of the sensible stuff the HOA covers.....is already in your city/town local ordinances. The rest is Margot insanity.
Most of the sensible stuff the HOA covers.....is already in your city/town local ordinances. The rest is Margot insanity.
#14
Some Where in the Desert
Joined: Jul 2006
Location: AZ
Posts: 247
Re: HOA'S and do's and don'ts
At one point ours had a rule that you could only fly an American flag, this was because the state brought in a law stating that an HOA could not stop you flying an American. It took me almost four years to get that rule thrown out.
#15
Account Closed
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 0
Re: HOA'S and do's and don'ts
On the other hand it makes our property look really good