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  • HOA's.

    We recently painted our driveway dark blue. Despite us getting compliments on it, our HOA told us that it's "not an approved color" and threatened to fine us if we don't change it. So we begrudgingly did.

    I never understood the point of HOA's. You are basically paying money per month to some busybody who's going to tell you what you can and cannot do with your property.

    I get the "they prevent someone from painting their house bright pink" but in reality, if the guy is not harming anyone by actually painting the house bright pink, what's the problem?

    There is an equestrian community in the county north of me where all the homes are on at least 4 acres. If I was to win the lottery, I would have loved to consider a home there so I could build a detached building big enough for an RV and classic cars. But then I took a look at the HOA bylaws and saw this: "No additional buildings other than a barn of approved look and size." If I have the money to buy a house with acreage, why should a derp in an office tell me no to a garage?

    But here are some examples of HOAs acting, well, derpy. Some were personally told to me, others I found on the interwebs:

    1. I used to dream of moving to a city known for it's "park-like" nature (hint: It's infamous for a school shooting last year). Until a friend told me, "You're a car guy, stay away from the HOA communities." I asked him to elaborate. Apparently, a buddy of his has a classic Camaro or something similar. All his neighbors thought it was cool... except for one dipshit who kept complaining about the exhaust note. Apparently, just starting the car was a problem. The HOA sent him a letter saying "we received multiple complaints" and to either put back the factory exhaust (Impossible to do as it was a restored car, the OEM was long gone) or find another place to store it (When you pay a lot of money for a house with a 3 car garage that's not going to fly). He sent the letter back saying exactly that. About a week later a tow truck shows up. Owner was puzzled until the tow truck driver says "we're here to remove a nuisance vehicle." Owner says, "like hell you are" and it took a while of fighting the HOA but they finally backed down. Yes, it really was the same guy lodging complaints to the HOA. Sad thing? It wasn't even about the exhaust. Turns out he was a member of a local environmentalist group who felt the classic car was "polluting the environment and he didn't like that." The owner of the car moved to a non-HOA community shortly after.

    PS: Yes, there are non-HOA communities in this city but they are expensive as shit.

    2. A man is interviewed by the HOA of a house he wanted to buy. I guess it was in a “higher end” type of community. He asked the board members if it’s OK to install security cameras on the outside. He must live in a state where state law supersedes any HOA rules. The board tells him, “Well legally we can’t say no but we prefer that you don’t.” The man asks why, seeing as homes with security cameras are 3-5 times less likely to be broken into. The board tells him, “Because when people are being shown homes in the neighborhood it might make it look like the area is prone to break-ins.” Needless to say, he didn’t buy the house.

    3. Another security camera story. Guy gets permission to install security cameras. He picks Nest IQ cameras – one of the best cameras you can buy. Seriously. Not a single bad review. A neighbor asks the homeowner about some of the tech specs, so he thinks nothing of it and gives it to him. A little over a week later the HOA sends him a letter saying that a neighbor is not comfortable with the fact that the cameras capture audio and record to a cloud server owned by Google. They actually asked the homeowner if he can consider installing a different brand. The homeowner sent a letter back saying, “Since they are used I cannot return them and will have to sell them for a loss, not to mention I’m out the cost to install them. Plus the expense of having to buy a different camera system that is not as good. If the neighbor is willing to pay back the difference in diminished value, the cost I paid to install them and also is willing to contribute to a different system, I would be more than happy to consider.” The HOA never bothered him again.

    4. An HOA wanted homeowners to park all cars in the garage between I think 12AM-6AM. Not only would this be logistically impossible if a family has 4 cars and only a 2-space garage, but it would make the neighborhood look abandoned.

    5. One story that went viral recently was a condo association (They are the worst) that asked all owners to leave their garage doors open between 9AM-5PM. Why? So a board member can look inside to see if anyone illegally converted their garage into a living space after a resident was caught doing so. The HOA had to back down because the city told them it’s a safety violation (You think?!).

    The issue is that in my area, the homes without an HOA are few and far between (Very tough to find a home newer than 20 years that isn’t in one) and if you are lucky to find one there is a price premium. There is a house for sale in my town right now that isn’t even in the best area (Okay, you don’t have to wear a bulletproof vest to take the trash out but it’s not “great” either) and it’s around 40 grand overpriced because it isn’t in an HOA. Guess they figure if you’re desperate enough to not live in one you’ll pay any price.

    Personally, after dealing with our HOA over a damn driveway color and after reading/hearing these stories if I had a price range and one home was $400K but it had an HOA and another home was $440K and it was HOA free, I’d rather spend the extra $40K!
    AKA sld72382 on customerssuck.

  • #2
    Originally posted by HEMI6point1 View Post
    3. Another security camera story. Guy gets permission to install security cameras. He picks Nest IQ cameras – one of the best cameras you can buy. Seriously. Not a single bad review. A neighbor asks the homeowner about some of the tech specs, so he thinks nothing of it and gives it to him. A little over a week later the HOA sends him a letter saying that a neighbor is not comfortable with the fact that the cameras capture audio and record to a cloud server owned by Google. They actually asked the homeowner if he can consider installing a different brand. The homeowner sent a letter back saying, “Since they are used I cannot return them and will have to sell them for a loss, not to mention I’m out the cost to install them. Plus the expense of having to buy a different camera system that is not as good. If the neighbor is willing to pay back the difference in diminished value, the cost I paid to install them and also is willing to contribute to a different system, I would be more than happy to consider.” The HOA never bothered him again.
    This one, I can kind of understand. Personally, I would not be comfortable, either, if my neighbors had external security cameras that might record me or my family talking outside in our yard, and record that to Google. This is a legitimate issue, IMO.
    "You are who you are on your worst day, Durkon. Anything less is a comforting lie you tell yourself to numb the pain." - Evil
    "You're trying to be Lawful Good. People forget how crucial it is to keep trying, even if they screw it up now and then." - Good

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    • #3
      In all honesty, do you really think that your neighbors would care about your conversations? People who install external security cameras just want to catch bad guys trying to break into their house, and with the Nest IQs they can intercom them so they can scare them away.

      I have researched security cameras, and the ones that don't record audio are oftentimes the "el cheapo" brands that typically break after only a short time of typical usage.
      AKA sld72382 on customerssuck.

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      • #4
        I agree 100 percent on the HOA issue. I hate them and if I ever bought a house would NEVER buy within an HOA. Screw them, they pick on stupid shit. If I own my house and property I'm going to do what I damn well please with it.
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        • #5
          Originally posted by HEMI6point1 View Post
          In all honesty, do you really think that your neighbors would care about your conversations? People who install external security cameras just want to catch bad guys trying to break into their house, and with the Nest IQs they can intercom them so they can scare them away.
          My neighbors probably won't, no. That still doesn't mean that I want my family's private conversations on a Google server. Servers get hacked, people are careless with passwords, and shit happens.

          In Germany, you cannot set up private security cameras that cover anything other than your own property. Cameras that record sound on the neighbor's property? Not a chance.
          "You are who you are on your worst day, Durkon. Anything less is a comforting lie you tell yourself to numb the pain." - Evil
          "You're trying to be Lawful Good. People forget how crucial it is to keep trying, even if they screw it up now and then." - Good

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          • #6
            HOAs are the freaking devil. My mom and dad bought a house that was in a non HOA neighborhood. Years later the neighborhood voted to go HOA. As my parents did not want to go HOA the A couldn't force them. After my dad passed they started harassing my mom about every little thing. "Oh your lawn isn't to our standards, oh your garage is a storeroom for your mail order business that's not okay"

            They couldn't actually fine her or anything else because again not a member of the HOA so they started having their kids vandalize the house any chance they could get. Constantly egging the outside. One of the little shits conned my older brother into letting him in claiming to be a friend of our younger brothers and he egged inside of the house.

            Of course it was never their precious children doing that and wouldn't my mom love the protection of an HOA. They knocked it the eff off when I moved back home. Apparently a bunch of asshole suburbanites didn't want their kids tangling with her ex-military son.

            The vandalism always targeted the stuff they'd be pressuring us to change. For example my mom's running van that was parked on the street because our family had multiple vehicles.
            Last edited by jackfaire; 01-29-2019, 02:37 PM.
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            • #7
              Like everything else, I suspect HOA's have started as something that was useful, and eventually got prostituted into the hot mess that most of them are today.


              I live in a house that was built in the mid 1950s. It's also part of a HOA that existed since when the neighbor was developed when the house was built. My HOA doesn't have any authority over the resident's proprieties. If you want to paint your house bright pink with green and purple polka dots, knock yourself out, HOA can't do a damn thing about it. The only reasons it exists is because it runs the neighborhood swimming pool, and park area. They also organize about a dozen neighborhood wide events a year, like 'Poker night at the pool' or 'Movie night' in the park, but that's it. Only thing you are required to do , is pay the yearly dues (less then $300USD) No PITA HOA rules to worry about, or some asshole neighbor turning you in, because your shrubs are quarter inch to tall. A year after I moved into my house, the HOA president told us a story about someone who called him, because the caller's neighbor. had left a garden hose out overnight in the front yard. They wanted the HOA to 'take care of it'. His response was 'Nothing we can do, if it bothers you that much, call the city'.
              “The problem with socialism is that you eventually,
              run out of other people’s money.” – Margaret Thatcher

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              • #8
                Originally posted by drunkenwildmage View Post
                Like everything else, I suspect HOA's have started as something that was useful, and eventually got prostituted into the hot mess that most of them are today.
                IIRC, from reading about their history HOAs were started in the south before the civil rights movement to keep minorities out of the white neighborhoods.

                So of course like a lot of crappy entities they had a racist beginning...
                AKA sld72382 on customerssuck.

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by HEMI6point1 View Post
                  IIRC, from reading about their history HOAs were started in the south before the civil rights movement to keep minorities out of the white neighborhoods.

                  So of course like a lot of crappy entities they had a racist beginning...

                  Oh wow.. didn't realize that. Just did a quick look up on Wikipedia, and it talks about deed restrictions and covenants were set up right after WWII and was used to control who could move into the neighborhood, but that got quickly tossed out by the courts. From what I can tell, the covenants morphed into what is now known as HOAs.
                  “The problem with socialism is that you eventually,
                  run out of other people’s money.” – Margaret Thatcher

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by HEMI6point1 View Post
                    I get the "they prevent someone from painting their house bright pink" but in reality, if the guy is not harming anyone by actually painting the house bright pink, what's the problem?
                    I think the argument is a property value one. If your neighbor paints their house bright pink, people might view the house as an eyesore and move out of the neighborhood, and you might have trouble getting people to move in, and that would lower property values.

                    HOAs are nothing but small people on BIG power trips.

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by mjr View Post
                      I think the argument is a property value one.
                      If someone wants to pay less for my house because one of my neighbor's has a pink house they can bugger off.
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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by jackfaire View Post
                        If someone wants to pay less for my house because one of my neighbor's has a pink house they can bugger off.
                        But that's the problem, though. It wouldn't just be your house. It would be everyone's house on the street/in the neighborhood.

                        Personally, I don't care if someone wants to paint their house pink. My neighbors might care, though.

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by mjr View Post
                          Personally, I don't care if someone wants to paint their house pink. My neighbors might care, though.
                          And my neighbors shouldn't get a say. If my neighbors want to live in a place where they can dictate how everyone else lives their lives they need to buy a huge plot of land and become a landlord. Otherwise they can get over themselves.
                          Jack Faire
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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by jackfaire View Post
                            And my neighbors shouldn't get a say. If my neighbors want to live in a place where they can dictate how everyone else lives their lives they need to buy a huge plot of land and become a landlord. Otherwise they can get over themselves.
                            I agree with you. They really need to get over themselves.
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