Man Sets House On Fire, Dies In It, After Losing Home To..........

[datalink7]

Within 4 miles though. I want all of it it right outside my door. Within walking distance for my kids and the dog.

4 miles isn't very far. My dad walks that every day, and he's 60 pounds overweight and diabetic (he was 90 pounds but the walking has been working for him to lose it).

Besides, it's not like everyone in a HOA has a pool/park/etc. right across the street. Some of them have to go some distance.

 

[Zebo]

Fool. You kill HOA pres and burn his house down not yours.

 

[Zebo]

He sure showed them.

This.

 

[Vette73]

Guess dues are going up now to clean up. Or the new owner can have at his ash.

 

[Cogman]

Wow. Crappy HOA. Sorry but his house looked very well kept. Fining and suing him was total fail on the HOAs part.

 

[rudder]

Not all HOAs are bad. The rule should be if you're buying a home with an HOA, better do some research to see if it's run by nutjobs.

The first time someone here tries to sell a home and the neighbor parks a rusted out camper in their driveway.. they would likely cry for an HOA. I've been there. I live where there is a HOA. Basically it just says keep your lawn mowed, don't build outbuildings, dont park commercial trucks in your driveway, no making your driveway a repair facility, etc.

I got a letter bitching about my directv antenna.. they said it needed to go in the back of the house. I was able to ignore them because they rules say it can go anywhere if needed to get a good signal. Plus here in TN.. at least with this HOA.. they do not have the power to really do a whole lot.

 

[Thump553]

Thankfully I now live in New England, where we have zoning and not HOA. From my experience with real estate law, HOA and condo associations are usually (a) in their early stages, controlled by the developer and underfunded or (b) in their later stages are dominated by busybodies and authority freaks. Until they go overboard in a big public way, that is the only types that seek this sort of unpiad position. Give me a clear set of zoning regs, an impartial zoning officer (usually) and access to courts for review anyday over a HOA.

I wonder how many of the apologists for HOA in this thread would cry bloody murder if it was the government (ie, town's zoning official) that was leaning on this guy for that stupid little fence.

 

[AMCRambler]

Geez man. His house looks different from the other houses in the neighborhood because of a fence. Oh noes! He's being an individual and not conforming! It's BS but he did sign the agreement when he bought the house and thus he knew what he was getting into. I don't sympathize with anyone in this story.

If the HOA was a little more tactful maybe they wouldn't have to look at a burned out hulk of a house now. I'm willing to bet that's worse than any stupid fence the guy put up.

 

[Cogman]

Geez man. His house looks different from the other houses in the neighborhood because of a fence. Oh noes! He's being an individual and not conforming! It's BS but he did sign the agreement when he bought the house and thus he knew what he was getting into. I don't sympathize with anyone in this story.

If the HOA was a little more tactful maybe they wouldn't have to look at a burned out hulk of a house now. I'm willing to bet that's worse than any stupid fence the guy put up.

The guy was old, it is quite possible that he didn't understand what he was signing into.

 

[dud]

The guy was old, it is quite possible that he didn't understand what he was signing into.

Let's stop making excuses for people and start taking personal responsibility for our actions. If you do not understand what you are signing ... you simply do not sign it. I'm not making excuses for anyone but ...

... all those complaining about the HOA probably have NEVER needed one. Try living next to the "Family from Hell" and you will get the idea. It is at those moments when you will fully understand why HOAs exist.

HOAs are run by people, your neighbors, etc. People make mistakes ... therefore HOAs can make mistakes. In the case of this man something could have been worked out but neither side was able to meet in the middle. It takes a lot of time and a lot of paperwork to get to the point of settling a lien on a person's house. This guy probably ignored the letters, etc. and let it get out of hand.

 

[God Mode]

The guy was old, it is quite possible that he didn't understand what he was signing into.

So if you're old, fat or lacking in education etc etc, we can assume the person is a liability and an idiot so we should give them the responsibilities and priviledge of children?

Contracts and such are too complicated? When does the excuses end? Nothing will work in society if everyone has an excuse to back out on contracts.

 

[Deeko]

Within 4 miles though. I want all of it it right outside my door. Within walking distance for my kids and the dog.

Within a half mile of my house - where there is no HOA - there are three parks, two with playgrounds and community centers. The neighborhood I grew up in also had multiple parks within easy walking distance. What strange part of the country do you live in that doesn't have public parks, and you can't get amenities like that without paying for a H.O.A.?

 

[911paramedic]

I am convinced that Judge Judy was never actually a judge, but the president of a HOA. She is the exact type of person you find in that type of position.

 

[Numenorean]

Yeah, too bad he burned the wrong home.

Here is the home on google street view. It's just horrible looking, and I can see why nobody would want that in their neighborhood. Thank goodness for HOA's protecting everyone.

WTF

Everyone's yard is total shit and is dead. And they were worried about a fucking fence? How can they allow everyone's yard to be so dead?

 

[MrPickins]

WTF

Everyone's yard is total shit and is dead. And they were worried about a fucking fence? How can they allow everyone's yard to be so dead?

It looks like it's winter to me. The grass is probably in a dormant phase.

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

this is why people get shanked.

 

[Numenorean]

It looks like it's winter to me. The grass is probably in a dormant phase.

But the HOA can't allow that. They should be forcing everyone to plant grass which is green no matter when. Otherwise new grass turf should be laid down once more than 40% of the lawn is brown. It just looks better.

 

[Wreckem]

I don't think there is a minimum limit where they can foreclose on you. I bet in many areas a $700 fine is enough to let the HOA take your house.

States are starting to come around on this with the increase of foreclosures. I expect several state to severely limit a HOAs ability to foreclose in the next year or two.

 

[Wreckem]

Let's stop making excuses for people and start taking personal responsibility for our actions. If you do not understand what you are signing ... you simply do not sign it. I'm not making excuses for anyone but ...

... all those complaining about the HOA probably have NEVER needed one. Try living next to the "Family from Hell" and you will get the idea. It is at those moments when you will fully understand why HOAs exist.

HOAs are run by people, your neighbors, etc. People make mistakes ... therefore HOAs can make mistakes. In the case of this man something could have been worked out but neither side was able to meet in the middle. It takes a lot of time and a lot of paperwork to get to the point of settling a lien on a person's house. This guy probably ignored the letters, etc. and let it get out of hand.

The problem is, HOA fines quickly escalate to absurd levels, leaving the only option of further protesting/litigating. I've read stories where $50-100 fines quickly escalate to thousands of dollars. On top of that you keep accruing fines while you are protesting/appealing the original fine. There are cases of where $500 turned into $20,000, well before the courts go involved. That is ridiculous.

 

[alkemyst]

That's funny.. with how right-of-center you come off as being, you're perfectly willing to submit to some arbitrary authority here and give up your right of doing whatever the hell you want to something you bought.

HOAs can take over someone's property because they don't like how the aesthetics of a house won't mesh with the surrounding houses? They can go fuck 'emselves.

Hmm the rules work both ways. If you don't agree to the HOA bylaws nor want to be active in the HOA take your chances elsewhere.

I live in a non-HOA and currently due to the economy we are dealing with businesses buying cheap homes to park commercial vehicles and multi-family moving in to single family homes.

The town's fines are to low to make it break the deal.

 

[tk149]

Sounds like the guy who died had other problems besides violating HOA rules. An HOA doesn't usually decide to put a lien on your house and force a sale in just one day. My guess is he had some mental illness. R.I.P.

A few things I've learned from reading ATOT HOA threads:

- very few anti-HOA posters actually live in HOA's.
- of those who do live in an HOA, very few have ever read the actual agreements or had to deal with the HOA directly.

- This is the part that cracks me up. Of those who say they hate HOA's, many are completely fine with GOVERNMENT making the rules and paying taxes to fund their amenities (e.g. parks). We all know how cost-efficient and lean government is...and how every law is just and fair...and how the laws are enforced equally...

If you live in an HOA, you almost certainly have a GREATER say in what is bought with your money (an HOA usually only encompasses a single subdivision - a town/city encompasses numerous subdivisions and HOA's), and what rules are made. Your vote counts more percentage-wise (e.g. 1 out of 100 instead of 1 out of 10,000).

Personally, I prefer that my vote counts for more than for less when it comes to drafting rules regarding my home.

If you don't like your HOA rules (like one poster has said), then go ahead and get together with some of your neighbors and change the rules. Your odds of getting rules changed with an HOA are a lot better than getting them changed with the town or county, that's for sure.

 

[sourceninja]

Sounds like the guy who died had other problems besides violating HOA rules. An HOA doesn't usually decide to put a lien on your house and force a sale in just one day. My guess is he had some mental illness. R.I.P.

A few things I've learned from reading ATOT HOA threads:

- very few anti-HOA posters actually live in HOA's.
- of those who do live in an HOA, very few have ever read the actual agreements or had to deal with the HOA directly.

- This is the part that cracks me up. Of those who say they hate HOA's, many are completely fine with GOVERNMENT making the rules and paying taxes to fund their amenities (e.g. parks). We all know how cost-efficient and lean government is...and how every law is just and fair...and how the laws are enforced equally...

If you live in an HOA, you almost certainly have a GREATER say in what is bought with your money (an HOA usually only encompasses a single subdivision - a town/city encompasses numerous subdivisions and HOA's), and what rules are made. Your vote counts more percentage-wise (e.g. 1 out of 100 instead of 1 out of 10,000).

Personally, I prefer that my vote counts for more than for less when it comes to drafting rules regarding my home.

If you don't like your HOA rules (like one poster has said), then go ahead and get together with some of your neighbors and change the rules. Your odds of getting rules changed with an HOA are a lot better than getting them changed with the town or county, that's for sure.

My vote counts for the HOA. If I can find out about the meetings (it seems they always tend to not get those announcements out until the day of) and then can sway enough people to vote me on the board (only board members get to vote on policy). It's a good old boys club of nosey old women who think their world view is the only one that matters. In fact, one of their new proposed rule changes is that all backyard gardens must be attractive. WTF does that mean? I'm planting peppers and tomatoes in rows, is that attractive? According to the lady I talked to, no it is not. It should be decorative, after all you can go to the store to buy food. Never mind we are also forced to have privacy fences so the bastards can't even see it unless they look over my 6 foot tall wooden fence!

 

[KMFJD]

yeah, there has been a long subtle change over the past 100 years, from homes being places to live to places that people see as personal banking accounts and investments. This is definitely a double-edged sword, as when market bubbles happen it can have some positive economic benefits but at the same time drive all home prices up due to speculators and flippers turning what was an $80k house into a $130k house. Then the young family going to buy their first house has to pay a crapton, and if they get an arm (dumb, should be illegal) they suddenly get their mortgage payment jacked to the moon, and as was recently the case, their home value might drop back to $80k while they're paying a huge percentage more per month in mortgage now. Bingo, mega forecloseure rates, along with the speculators who bought 10 homes thinking things were going to go up forever. Hoas as a structure are generally designed to try to keep home prices up. This can be a decent thiing for people who are fully aware of the big picture and want what this deal offers, but at the same time i have to think :

Isn't the primary function of a home to serve as a place to live? Why then do we go through so much trouble to make it so expensive as a society? Would be better for many people if home prices were 1/4 of what they are now, if people were paying $250/mo in mortgage rather than $1500/mo, there would be more $ for consumer spending and actual savings.

qft