KTVB.COM | KTVB.COM Video | Idaho News Video | Boise Video Think about the real problem...the PEOPLE who choose to be the HOA dictators and want to force you to comply with their arbitrary, ideosyncratic, bs rules....or they can basically put you in a financial hole.
Anyone who knowingly buys into a housing complex with a HOA (home owners association) has no one to blame but themselves for their woes when the HOA takes aim upon them. HOA's are unamerican, and suck big time.
Moved into one about 30 years ago. Took us almost a year to get out of there. Nasty. Give a person a little power and you might as well give them a throne.
The problem with covenants is not the rules, it's who is in charge of enforcement and having words like "in the opinion of" some elected oaf(icial) in the HOA structure. Like any contract, the fine print is the gotcha if you don't read and understand the rules before plunking down the coinage. Case extant, the lady should have known, and she's going to lose unless a rule change is put in place. (I imagine she does not have the financial resource for that, but we know that money talks.)
I agree, mostly....they suck, and you'd have to be out of your right mind to ever agree to buy a place in one unless you're of the "hive" mentality. But unAmerican ? No, I wouldn't go that far...it's simply a contract, and the problem comes when somebody thinks contracts mean nothing. Take the vet that put up a flagpole and flies the flag. Violated his HOA rules, but he got a LOT of sympathy ( not mine ) because: A. He was a vet B. The Flag C. Lot of idiots don't understand the different in a PRIVATE CONTRACT ( HOA ), that you willingly sign onto, and a zoning/code restriction imposed by a local weenie govt authority "for your own good" ( and the children I guess ), and of which, you have NO say in the matter, and could be imposed on you after you bought the property. The latter is truly unAmerican.
I figure if yer dumb enough to buy a home that in doing so you have to give up the rights to do with it as you want, then you deserve what you get. I'd NEVER buy into a HOA!!! Cuz surely theres sum other house just as good or better, without having to let petty lil pissants tell you what you can & can't do with it.
The main argument that has always been used for HOA's has always been "property values", but with the collapse of the housing market since 07', I would have to say that the real reasons have surfaced, but as some of the above posters have stated, you have to be a real ding bat to sign away your own property rights.
I live in a neighborhood with a HOA. Been there for nearly 11 years. Never had a problem. Like anything else in life, you simply need to make sure you understand your HOA's rules and use them to your advantage.
Sure...but the power is there for HOAs to wreak havoc on your life. Yours may be laid back, but if someone were to be more pro-active, that could change. You own your land and have never had a problem before, but through Eminent Domain, the govt. DOES have the ability to come an confiscate it for the greater good. The point is, the LEGAL vehicle is there to force things on your personal property that the Founders would start a fight over.
When my wife and I were still searching for another place, a couple of years ago, I was surprised to encounter HOAs out in the country. I expect them in the suburbs, but this was twenty miles from a decent sized town. We were looking at a twelve acre parcel, with a creek. It looked great, and then we bumped into the HOA. It seems the land was part of an equine community, and our fencing would have to conform to their established type, our house plans would have to be submitted to the HOA for approval, and even our barn plans would have to be approved. They wanted to dictate building style, materials, and even the square footage of the barn. When my wife and I stopped laughing, we told the realtor that he could stop talking; we'd heard more than enough. We couldn't cross that place off of the list fast enough.
A HOA is a Pox I'd prefer not to lumber myself with. A HOA is a Pox I'd prefer not to lumber myself with....there is no vaccine for it, and self quarantine is the only way of avoiding its ill effects. Goodness, I'm surprised that the HOA didn't demand minimum standards of everyday dressage wear! : O
Also found one of that type in Virginia, way out in the sticks. Turned out to be a cult. Quite a well off cult, they were buying up all sorts of things to make the little restaurant / post office their own enclave. Did I get gone?
It was Rutherford County. Strange, huh? It wasn't even anywhere near Lake Lure. It seemed like an area where normal people would live. Well, if you consider "normal" to be rednecks like me who think it's my own darned business what I do on my property. An "equine community" is one of the reasons that we're moving from where we are, here in Mill Spring. When we moved here in 2002, land was selling for about four thousand an acre. "The Farms at Mill Spring" established itself down the road from me, and now, miraculously, land is selling for for eighteen thousand dollars an acre. Folks, driving Navigators and Hummers are moving in, building huge homes, and doing bad things to the water table. The people to the left and right of me have already had to drill new water wells. Hopefully, we can get over to our new property this year, and I can leave this area to the "Farms at Mill Spring," and the city dwellers who want to live in the country with all the conveniences of the city. The "Squires" can prance around in their five hundred dollar riding breeches, doing their country-gentleman thing. Us Rednecks will move a little farther out into the woods.
I'm not sure that they didn't. We didn't look far enough into it to find out. Actually, around here, the word "dressage" would be enough to send us packing. The rednecks ride western, and the elite ride english. Most of the folks who have been here for a couple of generations would think a "dressage" event would be one of those New York fashion shows.
We here in The South are seeing more and more of these 'self-contained communities', where all homes follow The Plan, you can't park your truck in your own driveway, you work, shop and use the health and entertainment venues in the community. It's like an 'assisted living facility' for the younger set. WEIRD. Or like "The Village" from the old "Prisoner" TV series. Land values sky-rocket while their actual ability t be used is reduced.I am five miles outside town, and it's getting bloody crowded! Used to be "Bubbaville" out this way, now it's Yuppyville with the occasional McMansion tossed into the mix.
Here the mountains are filled with gated communities. Many of them are empty or with a few homes. As the community is private they own the roads and utilities. In the past, the developer maintained everything until all the lots were sold when he turned it over to the HOA. When the developer goes bankrupt before all the land is sold the the HOA gets ownership. To some, that means 5 homeowners are responsible for the infrastructure of a 30 home community. There is one of those self contained exclusive communities; there is 3 really opulent homes, a bunch of empty lots and a lovely "village mall" filled with empty stores . It is a bloody mess no matter how one looks at it.
