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The HOA is coming after your truck

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I can see the appeal of HOAs, and it sounds like it started as a reasonable idea that was far too frequently co-opted to insane ends. For example, if you live in a small subdivision or down a cul-de-sac, knowing in advance that a neighbor will be expecting guests and they will use up basically all available parking is useful information for everyone to know. That's called being a good neighbor. But what I don't understand is why you can't just expect that the neighbor who is using up all the parking will simply go around to the various houses and say, "hey Bill, got some folks coming by on Saturday, we're going to be using up a bit of parking, so if you want to rope off a spot in front of your house I can help you out." And if someone has a party and fails to do that, why can't you just go talk to them directly and say, "Hey, looks like you had fun this weekend; could you give us a heads up in the future so we'll know that parking is going to be tricky?" Whatever happened to being a good neighbor without needing to rely on a faceless organization to handle all interactions with the people you live around?

HOAs seem to have morphed to be about control and cowardice. If you have a problem with your neighbor, why not just talk to them about it? No, can't do that, I better file an anonymous complaint and get them fined by an organization that upholds my standards about how people around me should live. Now it's just organizations that exist solely to uphold rigid limitations on what is deemed an acceptable way to live and settle petty squabbles between people who see everyone around them as a personal inconvenience. If freedom means other people get to do things I don't like, I want no part of it!

But at least they keep the pickup trucks out.
 
Many cities enforce appearance codes and if you don't keep the lawn mowed they will mow it and send a bill. Many cities also have ordinances against parking on your grass so an HOA doesn't sound too different.
 
Atomic Playboy said:
I can see the appeal of HOAs, and it sounds like it started as a reasonable idea that was far too frequently co-opted to insane ends. For example, if you live in a small subdivision or down a cul-de-sac, knowing in advance that a neighbor will be expecting guests and they will use up basically all available parking is useful information for everyone to know. That's called being a good neighbor. But what I don't understand is why you can't just expect that the neighbor who is using up all the parking will simply go around to the various houses and say, "hey Bill, got some folks coming by on Saturday, we're going to be using up a bit of parking, so if you want to rope off a spot in front of your house I can help you out." And if someone has a party and fails to do that, why can't you just go talk to them directly and say, "Hey, looks like you had fun this weekend; could you give us a heads up in the future so we'll know that parking is going to be tricky?" Whatever happened to being a good neighbor without needing to rely on a faceless organization to handle all interactions with the people you live around?

HOAs seem to have morphed to be about control and cowardice. If you have a problem with your neighbor, why not just talk to them about it? No, can't do that, I better file an anonymous complaint and get them fined by an organization that upholds my standards about how people around me should live. Now it's just organizations that exist solely to uphold rigid limitations on what is deemed an acceptable way to live and settle petty squabbles between people who see everyone around them as a personal inconvenience. If freedom means other people get to do things I don't like, I want no part of it!

But at least they keep the pickup trucks out.
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There's 2 things I see....


1) I'm NEVER going to a neighbors door to ring it simply to say "Hey Bill, mind considering your neighbors next time instead of being an asshat and not telling anyone?"

2) The PROBLEM... OVERALL.... is simply the party thrower not being the initiator. Anyone who isn't a dumbass that is going to have a big party... should be inviting their neighbors as well. "Hey Bill, we are having a party our place tomorrow - feel free to join us!" <--- That is the correct statement. Most neighbors don't want to trouble other people at their party, but it does give the solid friendly underlying warning of "Hey, there's going to be cars parking out here on X day. Just wanted to let you know". It also gives an underlying message of "Hey bud, please don't call the cops either. If you have a problem feel free to drop by and tell us to be quiet".

It NEVER was the duty of the neighbor to say anything. It WAS/IS the duty of the party thrower to say something.
 
DCal430 said:
My HOA prohibits using our garage as storage. All vehicles must be parked in the garage with the exception of 1 oversized vehicle being allowed on the driveway. Some trucks are too long to park in a garage.
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Where the hell do you people keep your lawnmower and other items that people typically store in their garage? Sounds like a micromanaged HOA for no good purpose. So, if I have 3 cars, I can park 2 in the driveway. But, if I only have 2, God forbid I park 2 in the driveway. Absolutely idiotic.

Darwin333 said:
No shit, I'll be damned if I ever voluntarily own a home in which I have to ask permission, or even inform someone, to have visitors. That's just insane and exactly the type of micro-managing HOA I'd avoid like the plague.
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Hell, given some of the requirements, I'm surprised they don't need 24 hour advanced permission from their association to have pizza delivered. Come to think of it, do they allow pizza deliveries in their neighborhood??
 
DrPizza said:
Where the hell do you people keep your lawnmower and other items that people typically store in their garage? Sounds like a micromanaged HOA for no good purpose. So, if I have 3 cars, I can park 2 in the driveway. But, if I only have 2, God forbid I park 2 in the driveway. Absolutely idiotic.

Hell, given some of the requirements, I'm surprised they don't need 24 hour advanced permission from their association to have pizza delivered. Come to think of it, do they allow pizza deliveries in their neighborhood??
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I will be honest, I do hate people that store shit in their garage instead of cars.

I have a lawnmower, edger, shitloads of tools, etc... But we still manage to fit 2 full-size cars. It's not the fact that you used your driveway for car storage, it's that you do so _EVERY_DAY_. Then said people have kids... and their kids get cars... and they start parking on the grass... or on the street. I despise of people that park on the street everyday because it turns my drive home everyday into a rollercoaster of left right left right to avoid all the street parking.

And don't bother trying to move around when it's Cinco de Mayo.... so much street parking it's like 1 lane in the middle, 2 cars never can go side-by-side.
 
s0me0nesmind1 said:
It NEVER was the duty of the neighbor to say anything. It WAS/IS the duty of the party thrower to say something.
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Then it's also not their duty to go bitching to some third party organization. If you have a problem with a neighbor's behavior, talk to them about it. Anything else is cowardly. HOAs are for people who can't seem to accept that their neighbors are actual people that they may occasionally have to interact with at some point, because that's what goddamn adults do, not run off and tattle to an authority figure. Now, I will make an exception for people who are clearly violating the law or are openly hostile or confrontational when you've made attempts to contact them in the past... but there are already courts to deal with those disputes. HOAs are largely unnecessary.
 
s0me0nesmind1 said:
I will be honest, I do hate people that store shit in their garage instead of cars.
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Same here, especially when the driveway is always so full of cars that they block the sidewalk and pedestrians have to walk around them and into the street.

However, I don't have the authority, legally or morally, to do anything about it nor would I want to join or create an HOA to do so.
 
child of wonder said:
Same here, especially when the driveway is always so full of cars that they block the sidewalk and pedestrians have to walk around them and into the street.

However, I don't have the authority, legally or morally, to do anything about it nor would I want to join or create an HOA to do so.
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100% Agreed.

I just made my post on hating it because I hate what I have to do to get around it (and slightly for the negative image of the neighborhood). That and I swear if you catch those people with their garage open once in a blue moon... you will see they are HOARDERS!!!! It's full of boxes of shit stacked to the ceiling I swear 😀
 
DrPizza said:
Where the hell do you people keep your lawnmower and other items that people typically store in their garage? Sounds like a micromanaged HOA for no good purpose. So, if I have 3 cars, I can park 2 in the driveway. But, if I only have 2, God forbid I park 2 in the driveway. Absolutely idiotic.
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yup, HOA's arent for me. I have a car, my wife has a car, my daughter has a car, my other daughter has a car and my son will be 16 in july so he will have a car soon. Plus i have a old minivan i keep because it still runs and i like having a "hot spare" in case one of our cars breaks down.

so 6 cars in total for me. but i planned ahead 16 years ago and bought my house with no HOA and driveway big enough for all the cars.
 
OrByte said:
No. People move into areas with HOAs volunarily. We move into HOA-controlled areas because we don't want a bunch of rednecks polluting the residential landscape with commercial vehicles, private businesses operating out of garages, boats on trailer hitches, discarded automobiles rusting on lawns, huge satellite dishes, uncontrolled dogs barking, and other nuisances that essentially say, "I don't give fuck that I'm making life miserable for my neighbors and lowering property values; I'm going to do exactly what I want to do.
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funny, you must live in a shithole because my town has things called laws and code enforcers who do their job. I see none of that shit you spell out.
 
OutHouse said:
funny, you must live in a shithole because my town has things called laws and code enforcers who do their job. I see none of that shit you spell out.
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Different states do things differently. Some states (mostly western ones) decided that zoning was an evil governmental imposition upon their god-given property rights so they don't have zoning. But to keep neighbors from putting a McDonald's next door to your McMansion those states tend to rely on HOA and deed restrictions. In that case by buying the property you agree to be bound by the HOA rules.

Personally I like governmental zoning better because it is subject to constitutional limitations, whereas there is little (other than the marketplace) to restrain HOA.

You can have HOA in zoning jurisdictions-an additional layer of irritation/regulation, but they are relatively uncommon (excluding condos and co-ops).
 
senseamp said:
This thread should be moved to the Garage, just like the truck. Out of sight, out of mind.
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Along with all those poor or barely middle class, even normal working folk that simply can't afford another vehicle because they can barely afford the one they require for work, peasants that you so despise seeing, or even seeing proof of their existence, anywhere near your home. Out of sight, out of mind indeed.
 
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werepossum said:
Yep, me too. I don't see how these people avoid getting daily ass whoopings.

Yeah, I've got a visitor for your ass, a Mr. Wolverine size 10 steel toe.
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Probably something in the rules about $20,000 fines for retaliation or maybe even complete forfeiture of your property. That section alone is probably 20 pages so you better read it a few times before you proceed, wearing work boots in their vicinity might be an even bigger fine. They go home to escape all those regular working folk, how dare you remind them by so inconsiderately wearing, gasp, work attire in their presence?!
 
We have an HOA area just at the end of our street and the place is perfect! No cars on the street, no cars in the driveways, no skateboarding, no bicycles, no kids, with perfect yards with perfect houses in a few approved colors that all look the same. It's perfectly horrible, it looks like a ghost neighborhood where people go to die. The neighborhoods around may be alive with activity but these souls are safely partitioned away from it.

At least until the ambulance comes to haul them away.
 
Darwin333 said:
Along with all those poor or barely middle class, even normal working folk that simply can't afford another vehicle because they can barely afford the one they require for work, peasants that you so despise seeing, or even seeing proof of their existence, anywhere near your home. Out of sight, out of mind indeed.
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And guys called Rusty.
 
shira said:
In other words, you're defending those who sign documents stating that they understand and agree to abide by the HOA CCRs, and then willfully violate their agreement. And I'm an asshole for insisting that those who make legally binding agreements be held to account when they violate them.
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No, not really. You're an asshole for a bunch of reasons.
 
Darwin333 said:
Probably something in the rules about $20,000 fines for retaliation or maybe even complete forfeiture of your property. That section alone is probably 20 pages so you better read it a few times before you proceed, wearing work boots in their vicinity might be an even bigger fine. They go home to escape all those regular working folk, how dare you remind them by so inconsiderately wearing, gasp, work attire in their presence?!
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lol!
 
Dennis Rader the BTK killer was a dogcatcher and compliance officer when he was finally caught and arrested. He was fired five days after he was arrested.
 
s0me0nesmind1 said:
I will be honest, I do hate people that store shit in their garage instead of cars.

I have a lawnmower, edger, shitloads of tools, etc... But we still manage to fit 2 full-size cars. It's not the fact that you used your driveway for car storage, it's that you do so _EVERY_DAY_. Then said people have kids... and their kids get cars... and they start parking on the grass... or on the street. I despise of people that park on the street everyday because it turns my drive home everyday into a rollercoaster of left right left right to avoid all the street parking.

And don't bother trying to move around when it's Cinco de Mayo.... so much street parking it's like 1 lane in the middle, 2 cars never can go side-by-side.
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Hate them?
 
When you buy a house with HOA you sign a contract that requires you to follow all the stupid rules they make, no matter how stupid they are. If the HOA, by vote of members, doesn't like the way your ugly truck looks they have every right to pass and ordinance against it. Don't like it? Don't buy a house in an area with a HOA, most don't have one.


It's that simple. The whole point of the HOA is to prevent hicks like OP from driving their lifted F150s right onto their unkempt lawns.
 
OutHouse said:
yup, HOA's arent for me. I have a car, my wife has a car, my daughter has a car, my other daughter has a car and my son will be 16 in july so he will have a car soon. Plus i have a old minivan i keep because it still runs and i like having a "hot spare" in case one of our cars breaks down.

so 6 cars in total for me. but i planned ahead 16 years ago and bought my house with no HOA and driveway big enough for all the cars.
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You're doing it wrong. You need to buy too much house with an HOA so that you can barely afford the mortgage and HOA fees. That way, when you can't afford 6 vehicles and their maintenance, and lots of toys to fill your garage, you can complain online about your neighbors parking on the side of the street, which challenges your navigation skills as you drive home.
 
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