British Expats - HOA'S and do's and don'ts

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Re: HOA'S and do's and don'ts

Quote:

Originally Posted by joto (Post 10197958)

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.

Joto, your HOA can't actually prohibit your clothesline. Many states (including colorado) have laws which trump such HOA attempts. Here's Colorado:

Quote:

Â§ 38-33.3-106.7. Unreasonable restrictions on energy efficiency measures--definitions
(1)(a) Notwithstanding any provision in the declaration, bylaws, or rules and regulations of the association to the
contrary, an association shall not effectively prohibit the installation or use of an energy efficiency measure.
(b) As used in this section, â€œenergy efficiency measureâ€ means a device or structure that reduces the amount of energy derived from fossil fuels that is consumed by a residence or business located on the real property. â€œEnergy efficiency measureâ€ is further limited to include only the following types of devices or structures:
(I) An awning, shutter, trellis, ramada, or other shade structure that is marketed for the purpose of reducing energy consumption;
(II) A garage or attic fan and any associated vents or louvers;
(III) An evaporative cooler;
(IV) An energy-efficient outdoor lighting device, including without limitation a light fixture containing a coiled or straight fluorescent light bulb, and any solar recharging panel, motion detector, or other equipment connected to the
lighting device; and
(V) A retractable clothesline.

From this site. Other states can be found via this site: http://daily.sightline.org/2012/02/2...-in-19-states/

Re: HOA'S and do's and don'ts

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jerseygirl (Post 10206933)

I must admit I have never encountered an IO in a bad mood or being crabby. Even though they ask the questions...they are not terse or rude.

Last year was the first time I got an attituDE from one of them. I'm a green card holder - asks me how I got my green card (17 yrs ago). Who sponsored me - where that person is now, where I work now, how long, went on for a while.

He didn't get the reaction he wanted - I think he was trying to upset me but the 12 hr flight mixed in with Dramamine wasn't going to get any emotion.

Re: HOA'S and do's and don'ts

When I've gone through LHR on my US passport, I quite often get a "welcome back" from the passport control/immigration folks. On the other hand, for all the years we had to go through Logan in Boston, with a UK passport then a US one, I think we only got a semi/nice person about twice. The people at Denver International have been mostly ok, fairly straightforward, but not nasty either.

Avanutria: That's good to know, so when they moan about it, I can show them the bylaw or whatever it's called.

Re: HOA'S and do's and don'ts

All this makes me think we're just lucky with our HOA. Mind you, of all the folk we know here in Colorado, I've only heard one HOA grumble.

Our HOA seems to have been given a helluva fright by the wildfire. They held a public meeting on wildfire mitigation and were actually really helpful in clarifying what the rules were in relation to trees. They're setting up fire safety assessments too where they'll come and look at your property and make recommendations. According to the Fire Marshall, our area is basically a nightmare waiting to happen because the the number of trees.

Re: HOA'S and do's and don'ts

I remember a classic local case years ago where an HOA try to ban someone from having a satellite dish; whereupon the person ignored them and told them to go and stick it. Since someone on the HOA knew someone at the city, the city decided to stick their nose into the affair and stick up for the HOA. The person loved that and then named the city in the law suit too. One call to,and help from the FCC, there was an undisclosed settlement from the hoa and the city. Cha-ching.

You may find that Xeroscaping is also an area where upon an HOA can't impose harsh restrictions.

Quote:

Originally Posted by avanutria (Post 10206943)

...

probably the caveat is 'retractable' ie not permanent.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadRad (Post 10208680)

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your insurance company could have more say... in mountain areas, they'll probably want no trees within X feet of the house; otherwise they might try to deny a claim etc. Insurance premiums for property in the foothills/mountains caused issues in the past, which lead to the introduction to the insurability clause in the contracts.