HOA's

Probably some Clark Griswald shit this Florida man was tryna pull, but I stand by my original stance.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/natio...s-early-moffa/


A family put up their Christmas lights in early November. They now face fines from 'Grinch’ HOA.



In an effort to make this holiday season the best one yet for his family of five, Michael Moffa vowed to have their Christmas lights professionally installed and not miss out like they had the past two years.

9 home maintenance tasks for your November to-do list

To do so, Moffa agreed for a Tampa company to put up their lights earlier than usual on Nov. 6, nearly three weeks before Thanksgiving, as it was the only time the business had availability. The early holiday spirit had brought joy to the family this month — until they got a letter from their homeowners association threatening them with up to $1,000 in fines for putting up their lights too early and violating their HOA agreement.

“I’m like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ It’s Christmas lights,” Moffa, 40, told The Washington Post. “I’m not taking them down, even if the guidelines said I put them up too early. Everything looks so nice and for them to be a Grinch like this, it’s just unheard of.”

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A necessary evil at best. A thread like this dredges up memories that make me want to swallow the front end of a 12 gauge.


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Some seem attracted to communities because the HOA has done a good job, and after buying in bitch about the rules or getting themselves sued because they built a car port out of solar panels, for instance.

My buddy is like several posters above so he found a lot w no CC&R or HOA and built the garagemahal right next to 2 classic carolina brick homes. The neighbors must have been sick when he built it.

The shit show with the Florida condo building that collapsed because the residents couldn't agree on needed, very expensive work should tell you all you need to know about HOA's.

https://scontent-atl3-2.xx.fbcdn.net...fe&oe=61BDF83A

Not sure how many on this thread are old enough to get that pic but I laffed.

I was in the military for 20 years and the rare times we had military housing, it was like the HOA from hell. That being said, when I retired, we promptly bought a house in a planned community with a very active HOA. We knew it going in and never made an issue out of some of the petty things that went on. Nobody held a gun to my head and said I had to buy into that HOA. It was our choice and we have to live with the choices we make. Most of our neighbors complained constantly; I never got that. The HOA rules and covenants were established before the first foundation was dug. Everybody had to sign an affidavit attesting that they had read the rules and covenants and would abide by them before they could purchase a house in that community.

Nobody holds a gun to your head and says you have to buy into an HOA...

If you don't want to, don't. It's that simple.

My dog is going crazy, but I can't place a fence to keep her in my yard
Attachment 393502
Attachment 393503
Should cross-post to wildlife thread

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Originally Posted by bagtagley

I live in an old, HOA-free neighborhood, and there's a guy two doors down that works on cars that is sort of the epitome of why HOAs were created. It's a nice neighborhood with really good folks, and we're not going anywhere anytime soon, so it doesn't really bother me. He's also a pro with small engines and charges pennies, if anything.

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10 years later and I own the house two doors down. Neighborhood is a little prettier but I sometimes miss having a small engine mechanic nearby.

The McMansions they’re cramming into my back yard are uglier than anything I’ve seen parked in people’s yards. Apparently their HOA doesn’t cover bad taste.

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Originally Posted by liv2ski

BAM, $50k special assessment for something they should of planned for 20 years ago and you have lived there 2 years and take a ramming with no lube. Fuck that.

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My family sold their ski place and 2 years later there was a $20k special assessment for siding. Like who could have possibly known the buildings would need sided? Thankful they got out when they did.

End of the day, other than the obvious pool, clubhouse, tennis courts stuff.. HOAs are for people who can't stand the thought that what they find attractive or acceptable looking might be different than what their neighbor does and want to control for that factor beyond their property line. I guess Trump/Nazi flags or BLM/Pride signs would be the most obvious example.. As for the stuff like non running cars junkyard, non mowed grass.. city ordinances are usually enough to prevent those hazards and "eyesore" matters. It's the aesthetics a HOA meddles with beyond the local law that are the deal breaker for me with HOAs.

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Originally Posted by schindlerpiste

My dog is going crazy, but I can't place a fence to keep her in my yard

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Have you considered an invisible pet containment system? With proper training, your dog will stay.

Can HOA’s suck, sure. But sometimes shit can go south fast, without proper management.

Our dog respects the invisible fence to a point but would bolt across to chase those in a heart beat. Then sit just outside the line waiting for me to come out in my robe and take the collar off so he could come back in.


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Originally Posted by old goat

The shit show with the Florida condo building that collapsed because the residents couldn't agree on needed, very expensive work should tell you all you need to know about HOA's.

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HOA’s and condo associations are two entirely different beasts.

Not going to elaborate. I’m sure you know.

Never wanted to own in a HOA but had no choice buying a condo in our ski town.
Best thing we ever did.
There is no way we could take care of our place living 300 miles away.
Snow removal, landscaping, pool and spas.
Trash removal etc... A set of eyes watching your place for you is the best thing.
Our HOA and manager are awesome too.
Helping if you need something special done.
My manager and foreman helped me load 2400 pounds of wood flooring up to our second story condo 2 weeks ago.
I hate being told what I can do at my primary house and basically do what I want regardless of our city hall bullshit.
But for our vacation home its the best thing ever for us.
There is a place for HOA'S.
We found that sweet spot.
Just a FYI.
Our HOA'S ARE $392 a month and considered cheap in our ski town.
We have friends
paying $850 a month father up the hill.
Its not cheap there.

I agree there is a "sweet spot" for HOAs. I live in a place with an HOA and the HOA does a great job keeping this a great place to live. There were issues with short term renters causing issues like excessive noise, blocking vehicle access, crashing into stuff and leaving trash outside the dumpsters (this is an area with lots of bears) and the HOA got the rental agents to take responsibility for the short-term issues. The HOA also manages an annual group bulk purchase of propane during the summer when commodity rates are low, and owners pay by the gallon as they use it for substantial savings. I'm sure there are plenty of HOAs staffed by officious and petty people, but not all HOAs.

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Originally Posted by Talisman

I agree there is a "sweet spot" for HOAs. I live in a place with an HOA and the HOA does a great job keeping this a great place to live. There were issues with short term renters causing issues like excessive noise, blocking vehicle access, crashing into stuff and leaving trash outside the dumpsters (this is an area with lots of bears) and the HOA got the rental agents to take responsibility for the short-term issues. The HOA also manages an annual group bulk purchase of propane during the summer when commodity rates are low, and owners pay by the gallon as they use it for substantial savings. I'm sure there are plenty of HOAs staffed by officious and petty people, but not all HOAs.

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I'd say with dumpsters ... and attached condo/townhome style living that's a different animal of HOA and warrants a LOT more need to regulate. That's more like an apartment community than individual property lots. I concede that's definitely different than HOAs where people tell people on totally different property lots with their own mailboxes and dumpsters to behave in ways that are otherwise completely legal according to local laws and building codes.

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Originally Posted by detrusor

Our dog respects the invisible fence to a point but would bolt across to chase those in a heart beat. Then sit just outside the line waiting for me to come out in my robe and take the collar off so he could come back in.


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Young dogs with a strong prey drive can require a lot of training. I’d probably get a Garmin training/tracking collar, if I was training one now.

For a few years I was only renter in a condo building with an obtuse HOA. As a straight white male I’ve never really felt what true discrimination feels like, but that might have been close.


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Nowhere does the saying "The squeaky wheel gets the grease" apply more than in a HOA.

HOAs are the norm for subdivisions in my little slice of Paradise.
There's a buttload of common greenspace here, and the City does not plow or maintain our streets so an HOA is essential
About half of the homes in our 'hood are vacation homes. STRs are verboten

Only problem is the board is not at all sophisticated. They did a shitty job of holding the developer's feet to the fire at handoff four years ago, so now the HOA is stuck with future costs the builder should have covered.

And they haven't done a reserve study - ever. Only one ever done was 10 years ago, when the developers sold the first homes. A bunch of changes have occurred since then.

Further, they haven't prepared audited financial statements, despite it being required under the HOA bylaws

And now they want to do a bunch of common area landscape improvements. They say the (as yet undisclosed) costs for said improvements will come from the "well funded reserves". I'm a little skeptical given the lack of a recent reserve study, the lack of financial statements (their monthly compilations are worthless) and the fact that the reserves declined by 33% this year due to some unanticipated repairs.

The Board was not pleased when I brought these issues up. Annual meeting is Dec 9, will see what happens then.

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Originally Posted by TBS

HOAs are the norm for subdivisions in my little slice of Paradise.
There's a buttload of common greenspace here, and the City does not plow or maintain our streets so an HOA is essential
About half of the homes in our 'hood are vacation homes. STRs are verboten

Only problem is the board is not at all sophisticated. They did a shitty job of holding the developer's feet to the fire at handoff four years ago, so now the HOA is stuck with future costs the builder should have covered.

And they haven't done a reserve study - ever. Only one ever done was 10 years ago, when the developers sold the first homes. A bunch of changes have occurred since then.

Further, they haven't prepared audited financial statements, despite it being required under the HOA bylaws

And now they want to do a bunch of common area landscape improvements. They say the (as yet undisclosed) costs for said improvements will come from the "well funded reserves". I'm a little skeptical given the lack of a recent reserve study, the lack of financial statements (their monthly compilations are worthless) and the fact that the reserves declined by 33% this year due to some unanticipated repairs.

The Board was not pleased when I brought these issues up. Annual meeting is Dec 9, will see what happens then.

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Just go to the meeting strapped with an AR 15…….:fmicon:

I would, ‘cept it’s gonna be virtual…

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Originally Posted by dannynoonan

A family put up their Christmas lights in early November. They now face fines from 'Grinch’ HOA.

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Good. I wish my condo HOA would enforce its rule banning xmas lights and Halloween decorations more than a month out. A few homeowners here had Halloween decorations up in early Sept, and put their Xmas stuff up when they put the Halloween decorations away.

All I ask for is a month off in November from all that shit.

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Originally Posted by evdog

Good. I wish my condo HOA would enforce its rule banning xmas lights and Halloween decorations more than a month out. A few homeowners here had Halloween decorations up in early Sept, and put their Xmas stuff up when they put the Halloween decorations away.

All I ask for is a month off in November from all that shit.

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Ha! We put our xmas stuff up in October usually because the weather sucks in Dec. Who cares? A few of our neighbors have some awesome displays that are up for a month or two. When they overlap it is cool too. Right now they have a 25' tall skeleton and a 25' tall Santa Claus up at the same time!

I love living in a non-HOA neighborhood where people can do whatever the F they want. Much better than the alternative. And it sure as hell hasn't negatively affected property values!

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Originally Posted by Name Redacted

Ha! We put our xmas stuff up in October usually because the weather sucks in Dec. Who cares? A few of our neighbors have some awesome displays that are up for a month or two. When they overlap it is cool too. Right now they have a 25' tall skeleton and a 25' tall Santa Claus up at the same time!

I love living in a non-HOA neighborhood where people can do whatever the F they want. Much better than the alternative. And it sure as hell hasn't negatively affected property values!

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I leave the lights on the house year round and only take down the ones on my front fence. Fuck the haters, some people around here already have yard decorations up but there’s no HOA here