I currently live in the country, but use to live in a very tight urban community where everyone lived in town homes. Believe me, we needed a HOA there to restrict the rights of the meat heads that though that if they didn't want to mow their lawns, or paint their houses....Now, that being said, yes, HOA's can go overboard.
I've lived in my current house for 18 years. It is part of a HOA, mainly due to the streets being to narrow for public use. So we have to pay to get the streets paved every once in a while. Our dues are $63.00 per month and have stayed the same for the last 3-4 years.
They have some rules about satellite dishes, front doors, and window coverings--sometimes it does seem a little overboard.
But the good thing is that the front yards are maintained by a gardener/landscaper. We don't have anyone with a yard full of weeds.
Everyone has to paint their house every 7-8 years and use the same color scheme as they had before. That way, someone can't paint their house lavender with pink trim that they think looks good.
I can't park my TT there--but I knew that before I bought it. Our driveways are too short to park anything longer than a very small popup anyway. I think I'm the only RVer in the whole development, as I've never seen a RV here except mine (I load and unload it at the house for trips).
HOAs aren't for everyone--but they do have their advantages. My buddy (without a HOA) has to look outside his front window at the 1970s Class C motorhome parked across the street. It is in poor shape, but the owner moves it 2' every 72 hours to remain within the city parking regulations.
My buddy pays $$$$ to store his boat AND toy hauler at a local storage yard. He is more than a little angry at the neighbor--but there isn't anything he can do about it.
Except move.
MFinCA
2004 Homestead Settler 255RS
1999 Chevrolet Suburban 2500
I'd rather live under an overpass than under a HOA.
Of course, I could make the people running it rip their hair out by following the LETTER of the rules and openly flouting the SPIRIT.
John
1984 Ford B-700 school bus conversion, Thomas body
A bunch of other vehicles
3 nutty cats (Maya, Vierna, Briza)
One lazy dog (Marmaduke)
One wife (Liz)
"A wasted youth is better by far than a wise and productive old age"
-Jim Steinman
Jarlaxle wrote: I'd rather live under an overpass than under a HOA.
Of course, I could make the people running it rip their hair out by following the LETTER of the rules and openly flouting the SPIRIT.
Well, yeah, that is one way to handle it, become the neighborhood vigilante, reporting every infraction to the board, no matter how minor.
I like the way we handled it better, though. I asked about CCRs and HOAs at every house we looked at. The one house we really liked had 2 pages of CCRs, but no HOA. Acceptable. One of the restrictions, though, wouldn't allow any truck over 8000 GVW to be parked in the subdivision. That meant I couldn't have my truck at home (GVW 14,000). I told the Realtor that the house suddenly became totally worthless in my opinion.
This place we bought has one short page of CCRs that we can live with, and no HOA.
That's the way we like it.
CM1, USN (RET)
'94 Dodge 3500 4X2 CTD, Std. cab, LB, 5 speed, 4.10 LS diff., Jacobs Rambrake, 273,000 Miles
'99 Monaco McKenzie 32' triple slide
'95 Tioga 29H Ford-based Class C
Daily driver: '06 Jeep Liberty CRD
Towed: '06 Jeep Rubicon Unlimited
Heir Max wrote: I'm proud of my HOA(Home On Acreage). I park my tractor in my driveway if I want.
We are too! Make that a lawn & garden tractor in our case... it goes nicely sometimes with the travel trailer & boat.
Cat
(Jim just reads the forum once in a while)
Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some sort of battle.... Live simply, love wholly, give generously, care deeply, speak kindly.
I lived in an HOA in Alaska and it was all wood and brush when we bought and that was the reason we bought. The the HOA decided they wanted all homes to have nice grass yards I told them when they start paying my mortgage then they can tell me what to plant. I gave up sold and moved and will never live in a area again with the stupid small minded HOA (by the way these were all 5 acre or bigger lots and we could only see grass about 4 mos a year)
Chuck & Linda
Fred & Molly
2007 Four Winds Hurricane 33h
WH Chassis 8.1L Chevy
look out world here we come
I look at HOAs (Home Owners Associations, not Homes on Acerage) this way. You're doing us a favor so that we know who wants to pay higher property taxes .
CBChannel 17Space Ghost '1991.5Dodge W-250 Power Wagon - Club Cab Long Bed V8 5.9L 4spd H.D Auto 4x4 4.10 Gears '1974KIT Kamper 1106 - 11' Slide-in '1987Pullman Mini Camper '2004Bi-Mart 4x8 Cargo Trailer
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