I hate my HOA...another corrupt HOA

[Spydermag68]

i have to say that tonight's HOA meeting had me fuming. Two months ago the HOA president stepped down. The next meeting, which I did not attend, one of the new board members was removed for not being at the meeting in person. He was on the phone and several other board have done this in the past.

The last months HOA meeting was canceled since not enough board members could attend the meeting. We were down to 3.

Tonight just after the board meeting started the ex-president of the board asked to be reinstated as president. It was quickly nominated by one board member and seconded by another. The odd man out on the board protested and I also chimed in about it. Next month we are going to vote on new board members anyway what difference does it make if we vote for two or three. This year the president slot and the secretary slot are up and the then the ousted board member would also be open. Once the ex-president was voted to back onto the HOA board she asked another homeowner if he wanted to fill the spot the ousted board member. He agreed. The odd man out voted no and the other board members voted the homeowner on the board and he would be on it for the next year.

I hate my HOA.

 

[13Gigatons]

They really are pretty silly.

 

[esquared]

Something doesn't sound right. How many members in your HOA?
Do you have a company that manages your HOA?

http://www.hoamanagement.com/

 

[lxskllr]

HOAs; The pleasure of living in tyranny in a nominally free country. A manufactured East Germany for all who want it.

 

[drinkmorejava]

Just trying to to clarify here. Depending on the bylaws, it's pretty typical that someone appointed to a seat will serve out the remainder of the term for that seat before facing an election. In this case, they appointed someone to a board seat not up for reelection (despite there being an election soon), so they get a free pass for a year.

Yes, it's annoying, but are these people actually bad at what they do? Was the ex-president removed for some reason and now they're trying to grab power again?

 

[Muse]

I have never been in a position of being subject to an HOA beyond visiting a relative who may have. To me it would be fairly anathema. I hope I never fall under one of those umbrellas. Imagine, people telling me if it's OK to do this or that, plant this or that in my front yard, have an antenna in whatever position on my roof, paint my house a certain color, etc. Moo Moo Moo Moo Moo Moo ... Wha? = me.

 

[skull]

I'm having trouble following, whats the issue? Besides the fact you live in an HOA in the first place.

 

[dud]

Expected more drama. Few HOAs are perfect as the board members are humans and they too are imperfect. My HOA is far from perfect. Many complain of having a "Nazi" regime in place. In our case, the HOA is not effective enough and has a liaise faire attitude about issues within the neighborhood. They are simply too hands-off, and the neighborhood suffers because of it.

You hardly ever hear of a "good" HOA ...

 

[brshoemak]

If you're not happy with the situation then quit.

It doesn't sounds like much is actually accomplished by these HOA meetings except for political jockeying for a position that has little actual impact on the residents of the community. The 'laws' are already written and established, so there can't be THAT much which actually changes much.

In most cases, the HOA's main duty is to create what is seemingly almost the exact same budget year-over-year and then invoice the residents accordingly. The rest of it is talking for way too long and passionately about manufactured issues by people who need a cause to feel important.

 

[PottedMeat]

I hate my HOA.

look up how to dissolve it ( probably needs a lawyer and a few months ), send out letters to the community to attend the next meeting if they're interested and tell them how much money the can keep every month/year

or go hardcore
hire/beer a very large friend to look intimidating next to you for your next meeting
disappear your opponents
make a chair out of plastic flamingoes, lawn gnomes, basketball hoops, etc. that you've confiscated for residents violating the cc&rs

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Folks who complain about the HOA'S they live in are exactly where they deserve to be.

 

[MtnMan]

HOAs are just another layer of government like control with a free rein operate like a high school clique of the popular kids and bully everyone else.

 

[whm1974]

I never understood those people who complain about City Hall buy who are willing to live under a HOA. Everything I had ever heard about HOAs, it seems that are far worse then anything City Hall could come up with.

 

[Kaido]

HOAs; The pleasure of living in tyranny in a nominally free country. A manufactured East Germany for all who want it.

It works...when you fit in...my buddy is a busy working professional, divorced, son doesn't live with him - the area he lives in isn't so great, but he's in a gated HOA so it's reasonably safe, and of course, clean. He just pays the contractors to do the lawn & stuff, and never customizes anything outside so he doesn't step on anybody's toes. He likes it...nice house in a safe place with uniformity, no real work to maintain it because he just pays for lawn services, and isn't stuck living in a crummy apartment with noisy neighbors.

My own experience with HOA's is that they're awful and I would never ever ever want to do it again

 

[Spydermag68]

Drinkmorejava,


The ex- president stepped down 3 months ago stating she had to focus on her family and being apart of the HOA board was taking up too much of her time. And she was stressed out over the job.

We were down to 4 board members.

The next month one of the remaining board members was ousted because he could not attend in person. The ex president was the one who brought this up.

This left us with two people on the board that are friends with the ex president and one that is not.

Out voted 2 to 1 she got her position back on the board. She then asked another homeowner to join the board for the ousted member.

I am not a member of the board.

 

[BurnItDwn]

you live in an HOA in the first place.

Nailed it!

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

There are 2 types of people on a board for HOA...

Old people - They can be senile and sometimes picky, but overall I would prefer this over...

Dumbass children stuck in an adult's body - These are all the same, they are just people essentially looking for a "power grab" to act like they have the power to command their neighbors and anyone they want. In reality, it's a joke - and no one attends the meetings. Congrats, you can tell people to mow their lawn.

 

[Capt Caveman]

There are 2 types of people on a board for HOA...

Old people - They can be senile and sometimes picky, but overall I would prefer this over...

Dumbass children stuck in an adult's body - These are all the same, they are just people essentially looking for a "power grab" to act like they have the power to command their neighbors and anyone they want. In reality, it's a joke - and no one attends the meetings. Congrats, you can tell people to mow their lawn.

Or people who want a say in any decision making, idiot.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I've lived in an HOA community for almost 20 years. Honestly, they don't really do much and I think we have received one letter from them during that time because we killed a large section of our front lawn due to a weed infestation.

They keep the area landscaping looking nice and the parks and tot lots maintained. The fee is nominal so I don't really mind living in an HOA community at all.

 

[highland145]

Or people who want a say in any decision making, idiot.

Or people like a friend of mine. About the most laid back guy I know. People bitched about his HOA for years. They wouldn't enforce rules, played favorites, etc, etc. Someone had the bright idea that he should be the president. He insisted that they did not want him but a majority thought it was a good idea so he relented. He told them that they knew the rules and that they would be enforced. He gave one of his neighbors a written warning for parking on the street. The next time he had his neighbor's car towed. He did warn them.

 

[Darwin333]

If you're not happy with the situation then quit.

It doesn't sounds like much is actually accomplished by these HOA meetings except for political jockeying for a position that has little actual impact on the residents of the community. The 'laws' are already written and established, so there can't be THAT much which actually changes much.

In most cases, the HOA's main duty is to create what is seemingly almost the exact same budget year-over-year and then invoice the residents accordingly. The rest of it is talking for way too long and passionately about manufactured issues by people who need a cause to feel important.

Depending on how the bylaws are written, if you stack the board properly that board can change them as they see fit with very little involvement or input from the members. That is something that would concern me, it does sound like the ex-president saw an opportunity and seized it.

 

[Darwin333]

Or people like a friend of mine. About the most laid back guy I know. People bitched about his HOA for years. They wouldn't enforce rules, played favorites, etc, etc. Someone had the bright idea that he should be the president. He insisted that they did not want him but a majority thought it was a good idea so he relented. He told them that they knew the rules and that they would be enforced. He gave one of his neighbors a written warning for parking on the street. The next time he had his neighbor's car towed. He did warn them.

Damn, thats messed up, more on the rules than the enforcement. I was under the impression that most HOA's were only able to levy fines not actually tow vehicles.

 

[Red Squirrel]

The concept of HOA is very unconstitutional. If I wanted to live in a dictatorship I'd go live in a country that is one, like China. It's bad enough that bylaws have stupid rules about what you can't do on your own property but HOAs add an extra layer on top of it. It's the most ridiculous concept.

 

[highland145]

The concept of HOA is very unconstitutional. If I wanted to live in a dictatorship I'd go live in a country that is one, like China. It's bad enough that bylaws have stupid rules about what you can't do on your own property but HOAs add an extra layer on top of it. It's the most ridiculous concept.

The city decided some years back that we lived in an historic district. Our house is just old, not noteworthy. They threatened to lock me up over a picket fence. Once the city appoints someone to the board, they have complete authority over their decisions. Even the city can't overrule them. You have to sue them in court if you disagree.

 

[dainthomas]

Why would someone want to be on an HOA board? I don't get the motivation.