HOA Help!

[BookstoreEscapee]

We have a particularly... 'fun' HOA.

I'm reminded of a thread I saw a long time ago, I think it was on Etiquette Hell. The person lived in a house that was on the edge of a newer development. Her property was not in any way part of the development; if I remember correctly the house was an older farmhouse and the land around used to belong to it and was sold off, and the first lot in the development butted up against the back of their yard. So the HOA of the development (and the neighbor in the house behind them) was constantly harassing them for "breaking the rules" when they did not fall under the HOA rules in any way, shape or form, and had been there long before the development or the HOA were even formed.

[LewisLegion]

I think I remember that story too. It ended up going to court because the HOA eventually sued the farmhouse owner for not complying with the HOA rules that it wasn't even part of.

Well, my stepdad was leaving this afternoon after finishing the floors and met the head of the HOA. He was at my neighbor's house buying some veggies (she sells fresh veggies out of the garage). My neighbor dragged the Head over to meet my stepdad and said 'maybe he can explain what she wants to do with the fence'. So my stepdad explained my plan to fence in the side and side portion of the front yard in order to basically double the yard size available to the dogs. The Head of the HOA said 'yeah, that won't be a problem at all, we usually don't refuse anyone anything, she just needs to fill out a request'.

So apparently they ARE very lenient. My stepdad didn't mention to them that I wasn't actually a member of the HOA and that if I could at all help it, I wouldn't BECOME a member of the HOA.

My broker, realtor, and the signing lawyer are going over all the paperwork with a fine-toothed comb right now to see if there's mention of an HOA anywhere in there. I looked online and found nothing but I may stop by City Hall (we have the cutest little city hall...did I mention that I'm moving to the sweetest little mountain town ala Stephen King's Castle Rock? ) again and see what I can find there.

[BookstoreEscapee]

Sounds like a nice place to live...(Stand By Me is one of my favorite movies).

My mom mentioned last week that I might think about buying a condo or something soonish (we were talking about my comment to my roommate about assuming we would still be in our apartment by Christmas, as I was hitting the submit button on the signup for the Christmas card exchange). It might be something doable with my finances (especially if my roomie wanted to rent a room from me) but there's no way it would happen before we need to renew the lease (which is up in November). This conversation was Sunday and the lease renewal came in the mail yesterday. Rent goes up another $18..woohoo!

But we'll see what happens with my job (my boss is moving to a new department and we don't know who will replace him yet) and I have an aunt who is a retired real estate agent, and a cousin who is also in real estate (works for her in-laws' agency) so I have some resources to consult and maybe consider it in the year to come. One reason I would like to have my own place is so I can get a pet

[Rapscallion]

Even if it's private property, I'm hard pressed to believe it's YOUR private property and therefore your responsibility.

A very valid point, all done and said. If it's not in the deeds, you shouldn't have to pay for it.

On the plus side, the initial encounter with your step-father suggests that they're not unreasonable, though that's a small sample size.

Rapscallion

[Sliceanddice]

My neighbor dragged the Head over to meet my stepdad and said 'maybe he can explain what she wants to do with the fence'. So my stepdad explained my plan to fence in the side and side portion of the front yard in order to basically double the yard size available to the dogs. The Head of the HOA said 'yeah, that won't be a problem at all, we usually don't refuse anyone anything, she just needs to fill out a request'.

So apparently they ARE very lenient. My stepdad didn't mention to them that I wasn't actually a member of the HOA and that if I could at all help it, I wouldn't BECOME a member of the HOA.

i dont care if they sound like the freaking Care Bears, DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING. when we lived at one of our last houses we had to be a part of the HOA and we got written permission to close in out porch to make a Den. after we got the exterior walls up, we got HOUNDED B Y complaints right and left be the HOA who approved it.

[draftermatt]

The HOA forced us to repaint the house- with our money of course- even though they had OK'd the color beforehand.

If they approved it they have no ground to stand on.

I'm on an HOA board, I figured if I'm paying money I want to be a part of how it's spent.

Anyway, when something is approved it cannot be "disapproved". And if something is approved for one person, it has to be always from there and out.

For example, the 1st house in our neighborhood has black shutters and a red door. When the houses were built all shutters/doors matched. But now because we approved that 1st house we have to approve all (unless the color's don't match, are off the wall, etc).

ETA: If you have a signed something saying it was approved. If it was verbal then you're screwed, but if it was signed take it to them saying "sorry you approved it you want it changed you pay for it". Could even take that one to court I'd bet.

We've actually gone to court over someone getting something approved and then building their shed bigger and in a different part of their yard, and won.

Even though I'm on the board, I still hate HOA's, but when they are lenient like mine it's not so bad.

That said, I'll echo everyone else. If you were'nt told of an HOA at settlement it's not an HOA, unless it was added later.

My grandmother-in-law's old neighborhood has about 200 homes and about 10 belong to the "HOA". But legally it's not a registered with the IRS HOA so they can't force people to sign up or pay dues.

[ditchdj]

Yeah we're trying to get a foreclosed home in a subdivision. We specifically made sure there was NO HOA. I even told the realtor that story about the "Unknown HOA" and the wheelchair ramp and she jaw about dropped!

And after I told her I said, "So yeah, that's why I wanna make sure there's no HOA!"

Later we found out that it was orginally mortgaged out to a Hispanic guy that had like 15 other people staying there and throwing wild and loud beer parties almost every night. So yeah I'm really sure there's no HOA there to deal with.

[Jester]

be prepared to call 911 right away, because most of the times people wont take no for an answer.

I hate to be the voice of reason, but I have to jump in here and point out that 911 is for emergencies only. A removed (even stolen) wheelchair ramp does NOT constitute an emergency, unless the OP or one of their housemates is, in fact, in a wheelchair. Since the OP indicated that they would probably be removing said ramp, I would say it is safe to assume that none of the future house residents are wheelchair bound. Therefore, no emergency.

Someone not taking no for an answer is also not a 911-worthy event. It is hardly even a police matter, unless the house owner tells said people to leave and they refuse, thus becoming trespassers.

Frankly, I see the ramp as an annoyance and nothing more, since the OP did say they were planning on removing it anyway. The HOA is also an annoyance, but one that can likely be dealt with. Check the local laws concerning the situation....it is very possible that the HOA is voluntary, even if they try to paint themselves as mandatory, and thus the OP can opt out. If not, well, make sure you know what their rules are and what you are being forced into. And if that happens, definitely pursue legal action against the seller and their real estate agent for whatever the local laws determine their fraudulent selling technique to be.

Well, HOAs do have some benefit, in certain situations.

HOAs for detached houses with yards, where they're nothing more than an attempt to keep properties more or less identical - they need to be nuked from orbit, they do.

That is an opinion, and one that belongs in fratching. However, as you yourself said, HOAs do have some benefits, even in non-townhome neighborhoods.

For example....

Later we found out that it was orginally mortgaged out to a Hispanic guy that had like 15 other people staying there and throwing wild and loud beer parties almost every night.

Do you really think an HOA would allow such shenanigans in their little slice of the universe? Of course not. This is one excellent argument for an HOA, to keep various people and behaviors OUT of the neighborhood. Exclusion of "undesirables" is NOT always a bad thing.

[Sliceanddice]

I hate to be the voice of reason, but I have to jump in here and point out that 911 is for emergencies only. A removed (even stolen) wheelchair ramp does NOT constitute an emergency, unless the OP or one of their housemates is, in fact, in a wheelchair. Since the OP indicated that they would probably be removing said ramp, I would say it is safe to assume that none of the future house residents are wheelchair bound. Therefore, no emergency.

my 911 warning was for if they refused to leave their property, not theft

[Barracuda]

For non emergency police situations in most areas call 311.

[Aethian]

For non emergency police situations in most areas call 311.

Whats 311?

[BookstoreEscapee]

Whats 311?

Like 911 for non-emergencies.

Also, and alt-rock band.

[Jester]

my 911 warning was for if they refused to leave their property, not theft

Even if the HOA reps refused to leave the property (something I find hard to believer), if they were not threatening the homeowner or presenting some imminent threat, it would still not be an emergency. Police matter? Sure. 911-worthy? No. Not really.

[CoffeeMonkey]

It must depend on where you are. Around here, we call 911 for anything where we need police.

My mom tried to call the regular police line when she saw a little old lady wandering around the neighborhood, looking lost. Not an EMERGENCY, but she looked like she might need help. They told her to hang up and call 911. When my car was broken into at work, there was no emergency, but I needed to make a report. Ditto.

In our area, if you need police, you have to call 911 cuz that's how you get the dispatcher to send you someone.

[draftermatt]

Even if the HOA reps refused to leave the property (something I find hard to believer), if they were not threatening the homeowner or presenting some imminent threat, it would still not be an emergency. Police matter? Sure. 911-worthy? No. Not really.

One of the guys on the HOA board with me is a police captain. He's always said if it's not an emergency to call the local police/sheriff/constable on the local number.

But if you don't know it/can't look it up, etc call 911. That's what they're there for.

Last night I spoke to the President of my HOA (who used to sell mortgages). He said that if there is no legal charter then they don't have a snow balls chance in hell of making you join.

If there is a legal charter and you weren't informed then the title company who did your settlement is ultimately at fault for not doing their due diligence in finding this information out.