*sigh* I am that person I swore to hate: The HOA Nazi.

[SunnyD]

Just sent another letter to our HOA manager about issues in the community. While the 1st one revolved around something that affected the entire community, the second one involved one rather irresponsible neighbor and this latest one continues that. But at least it also includes a few other questions (such as regarding the non-existent recycling pickup, half-done utility installs sitting idle for months, and people parking on the streets, particularly IN intersections).

Yep... I've become the person I swore to hate the most.

But at least I'm not going around the neighborhood documenting every single little individual homeowner issue, right?

 

[DaveSimmons]

And thanks to your irresponsible neighbors you now see with living without a HOA can be even worse than having one.

"It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried."

 

[Aharami]

those seem legitimate questions. If you're paying monthly dues, you have the right to question why your money isnt being used as they said it would.

 

[Texashiker]

OP - I bet you're the guy who measures your neighbors grass with a tape measure. 1/8 inch too tall and you file a complaint.

 

[SunnyD]

OP - I bet you're the guy who measures your neighbors grass with a tape measure. 1/8 inch too tall and you file a complaint.

Nope. Mostly because my lawn looks like shit (the builder's landscapers did a fucking shitty-ass job grading my yard before they put the sod down), so I'm pretty much jealous of all my neighbors' lawns.

 

[darkewaffle]

You should be ashamed of yourself!

 

[Atomic Playboy]

And thanks to your irresponsible neighbors you now see with living without a HOA can be even worse than having one.

"It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried."

The local government can get involved without any form of HOA. My fiancee had some nasty roommates a few years back who got hit with fines from the city for failing to keep their lawn up to code. My roommate just got ticketed for his apparently "abandoned vehicle" (which he still drove, but left parked the wrong way on the street every day). If you put in a call to the city, they can deal with issues of neghbors not maintaining a basic standard of care. HOAs are only useful if they're not terribly restrictive, and most are anything but.

 

[DrPizza]

And thanks to your irresponsible neighbors you now see with living without a HOA can be even worse than having one.

"It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried."

It doesn't take an HOA to deal with violations like that. Parking too close to an intersection - ticket. The police will happily come out (at least in my neck of the woods) and issue a ticket or at least warn the owners.

Heck, I live out in the middle of nowhere. My kids had one of those portable basketball things that they pulled up by the road to play basketball. The kids kept leaving it right at the edge of the road; next thing I know, a state trooper was knocking on our door asking us to move it a few feet back when the kids weren't playing, so that a truck wouldn't accidentally clip it. (Not that there are ever trucks on my road, save for the snowplow in the winter, UPS, and the occasional logging truck.)

 

[DougK62]

You pay the HOA - don't feel bad about using it.

 

[Zebo]

The whole reason HOAs exist is to keep close proximity housings value up. Nothing wrong with using it. Course I weld in my front yard and burn brush in driveway hence no HOA.

 

[theevilsharpie]

...and people parking... IN intersections

 

[SunnyD]

No, I'm not even joking. Granted, several of the "roads" that come off the main road in our neighborhood are only stubs for later development, but there's this one guy who ALWAYS parks right in front of the stop sign at the first intersection in the community. My best ASCII-Art depiction:

.....|   |
.....|   |
-----/   |
         |
-----\  X|O <-- stop sign here, that's where the car parks every day.
.....|   |
.....|   |##### <-- That's their driveway.

 

[dud]

OP, you've got to do what you've got to do and none of us should judge you. I, unfortunately have had to "leverage" the HOA where I live when things get really bad. Some of my stories would amaze you.

HOAs exist because some people are irresponsible, selfish morons who work to lower joint property values.

 

[OutHouse]

OP - I bet you're the guy who measures your neighbors grass with a tape measure. 1/8 inch too tall and you file a complaint.

when i lived in air force base housing, the housing people would do that shit. I got a citation for having grass growing where the concrete curb meets the asphalt of the road.... wtf thats in the street!! god that pissed me off because it required me getting called in my squadrons First Sergeants office.

 

[SlitheryDee]

The recycling bins and utility installs are one thing, but don't screw with your neighbors unless they are actually doing something intrusive.

 

[SunnyD]

The recycling bins and utility installs are one thing, but don't screw with your neighbors unless they are actually doing something intrusive.

Their dogs get out regularly, mostly because their back fence fell down a few months ago, and they just got around to "propping" it back up after my last complaint, even though the fence is still missing several planks which their dogs STILL continue to get out of their yard from. Their dogs routinely chase my kids when they're outside playing - and just to piss Fausto off, one of the dogs is a pitbull puppy. Yeah, no. (It's actually their other dog, some shitzu-poodle mix thing that's really nasty)

 

[zzuupp]

Nope. Mostly because my lawn looks like shit (the builder's landscapers did a fucking shitty-ass job grading my yard before they put the sod down), so I'm pretty much jealous of all my neighbors' lawns.

You know that your lawn would be fine, if those darn kids would just stay off of it!!

 

[PrinceofWands]

*shrug* I'll just never understand the HOA culture. They're so polar opposite to everything I believe in it's like an entirely different race/nation. For people that like/want them, more power to ya. I just don't 'get it'.

 

[SunnyD]

You know that your lawn would be fine, if those darn kids would just stay off of it!!

:hmm:

Damn good point.

 

[lupi]

Hoa lol

 

[ussfletcher]

It doesn't take an HOA to deal with violations like that. Parking too close to an intersection - ticket. The police will happily come out (at least in my neck of the woods) and issue a ticket or at least warn the owners.

Heck, I live out in the middle of nowhere. My kids had one of those portable basketball things that they pulled up by the road to play basketball. The kids kept leaving it right at the edge of the road; next thing I know, a state trooper was knocking on our door asking us to move it a few feet back when the kids weren't playing, so that a truck wouldn't accidentally clip it. (Not that there are ever trucks on my road, save for the snowplow in the winter, UPS, and the occasional logging truck.)

When I was doing construction in the summer I was driving around trucks with ladder racks. Well, the height of these ladder racks put it pretty even with a basketball hoop. As I was driving around a narrow residential street (where it is illegal to park in the road) I had to avoid a car on the left side and next thing I know I'm dragging a basketball hoop down the road.

 

[IcePickFreak]

OP at the next HOA meeting...

If he had his way, he'd have all of them shot.

 

[SunnyD]

OP at the next HOA meeting...

If he had his way, he'd have all of them shot.

NEIN!!!

 

[HardcoreRobot]

i hate hoas, but i also hate what people do without them

 

[ZaneNBK]

No, I'm not even joking. Granted, several of the "roads" that come off the main road in our neighborhood are only stubs for later development, but there's this one guy who ALWAYS parks right in front of the stop sign at the first intersection in the community. My best ASCII-Art depiction:

.....|   |
.....|   |
-----/   |
         |
-----\  X|O <-- stop sign here, that's where the car parks every day.
.....|   |
.....|   |##### <-- That's their driveway.

Ugh, we've got someone doing that in our subdivision. Drove by his truck parked there yet again the other day and noticed his mirror (the kind that stick out pretty far) was busted. I'm guessing someone hit it while trying to squeeze through with oncoming traffic. Yay.