Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire how to get back at your HOA

Even at our 43 acre place at high altitude where the 200 acre "neighborhood" was completely surrounded by national forest (forest boundary on 3 sides of our acreage) the people that sold the parcels had created covenants, and also a "Landowners Association" to oversee the covenants. But, their legal work was sloppy and in no way was the "Association" legally obligated to enforce the covenants.

So, we proposed and got the votes to pass a Bylaws revision which made the body strictly a road association - set the dues and all income had to be spent on road improvements - removed all language having to do with enforcement of covenants (rules). Consequently, there was no formal entity for enforcement - zero power structure for any that got hungry.

The protective covenants still stood, and if the landowners as a body wanted to confront another landowner over covenant violations, they had to figure out how to get together as fellow owners and resolve the issue. Made for better neighbor relationships and better behavior.

I love the sound of impacts. It reminds me of this...

I am no longer fond of living in an urban or suburban community.

I am also no longer fond of most people.

Very few people or communities offer things that Laura and I actually need anymore.

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My old boxing coach told me years ago "Your fellow man is a fool to be avoided... family and friends are tough enough."

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I am exceedingly kind to "Biscuit Girl" at Hardees, the tobacco clerk at Food Lion, my mechanics and tradesmen... most others get zero words.

If I heard the words “Home owners association” during my search for property, I would look elsewhere. It’s the suburban version of “co-op board”, and I have no tolerance for either.

It must be a LIEberal construct, because NOBODY likes telling others how to live, and what to do more than a 21st Century LIEberal.

“Your mailbox is out of spec., and must be removed, or you will incur massive fines”…….. GFY!!!!

When we bought it said no HOA. Now they are trying to put one in. I don't know why, we don't have any common area to take care of. They have changed the covenants several times the last few years and are trying to hold us to new ones not the ones we signed.

Right after we built a large home the reduced the square footage required to build in our neighborhood by about 500 square feet. All the sudden several smaller homes started going up around us when we were told the minimum home size had to be 3700 ft, 1850 on each level, main with basement or 2 story. At least 50% of our home front had to be rock or brick too. Now some neighbors have no rock or brick at all. They did just raise the size required up to 1800 per level but only after about 20 homes snuck in under their temporary change to 3200 ft total.

What's the point of having covenants if a few people can arbitrarily change them on a whim to benefit themselves or their friends. It's like having democrats in charge of the justice system. The rules aren't consistent and they pick and choose who to enforce against and who not to based on their personal feelings or financial incentives or who knows what.

They just came after me because I didn't have their architectural committee approve my chicken coop before I built it. I told them the covenants I signed didn't require it. They finally brought me a copy of the new ones. They told me I may have to take it down if they decide it doesn't meet their standards. I said they need to tear down about 20 new homed in the neighborhood while they're at it because they don't meet my standards or the covenants I agreed to when I bought.

Bb

I have successfully avoided HOAs to this point in my life but I do have to wonder how many of you would be on the phone with your city or county if somebody parked Cousin Eddy's RV in front of your house and told you he isn't moving it.

Because make no mistake, that (or similar) is what caused most HOAs.

THIS. HOA's are where the KARENs proliferate...

I live on Lk.St. Clair in a subdivision that there is not and never will be a Home Owner Association required....its a very old area that was vacation cottages and has turned into full time multi-million dollar residents....
There's over 800 residents now there is just over 50 that belong to there Home Owner Association but under Michigan Law every land owner must agree to join....it is very frustrating to new people that move here and want a HOA....Thankfully there are many that live here and don't want a HOA I'am one of them and moved here for that very reason....
Under Michigan law the only way that a HOA would be required is if ever land owner wanted to have one....
They have even stupid so low as working with a real-estate agent bringing paper work to closing to join the HOA and making new land owner sign to join....

It goes beyond that. My luck, I would buy a nice quiet 30 acres somewhere only to have someone open a coon hound kennel or set up a chicken farm on the nearest property line. There goes your peace and quiet.

25% of American residences are in some form of an HOA. The overwhelming majority of those homeowners are happy with their HOAs. HOAs can be a blessing or a curse. For most people they work out well.

Pussies.


Just say you don't want me living next to you.

Yeah God forbid anyone do something they enjoy on their own land.

The biggest problem with HOA's is who are the officers? Who's willing to take the job? How often is it an older woman with little else to do other than play nursemaid over all her neighbors who aren't behaving exactly like she wants them to?

Our daughter & family live in an HOA in NM. They have a community pool and the HOA rules specify that the HOA will maintain the pool to health dept. specs. Last week, all 3 of her boys got a skin infection from the pool. When she confronted them, they said that their budget ran out and they couldn't do the required maintenance. Now what would the HOA say if she didn't maintain THEIR property according to the rules?

Are you fugking stupid?

No kidding....it's not like he is gonna dress like a mobile pride parade and block traffic or something inconsiderate like that.

The nerve!

Oh, you mean like a legislature?

TN Declaration of rights:

Section 8. That no man shall be taken or imprisoned, or disseized of his freehold, liberties or privileges, or outlawed, or exiled, or in any manner destroyed or deprived of his life, liberty or property, but by the judgment of his peers, or the law of the land.

Section 21. That no man’s particular services shall be demanded, or property taken, or applied to public use, without the consent of his representatives, or without just compensation being made therefore.

Your peers include the HOA if you choose to go there...be careful who you elect.

I'd greatly prefer cousin eddy's RV and dandelion factory to a "Single Family Dwelling" leased out to 3+ single people. Not a big deal until their lack of parking-planning and resultant nearly always feeble snow-removal efforts start to make it a large pain in the rear and turn a "through street" into a single-lane 2-track.

Twice in the 20yrs we've been here there's been men who decided our 1-block long cut-off street was going to be their own personal motorcycle drag-strip. The first was a nice young college kid, I complemented him on his bike, told him it looked like fun, and politely asked him to "open it up" somewhere other than our 1-block long residential street. He was immediately embarrassed, apologized and I don't think he ever broke 20MPH after that. The 2nd guy made the mistake of making one of his "runs" while the neighbor and I were out front BS'ing. After a less-polite, shorter, and more direct conversation, he didn't ride up/down the street anymore, he lived on a corner and rode such that he got into his driveway with a minimum of travel on our block.

I believe that would fall under "or similar."

You don't want me living next to you.

Happy?

When we bought this place in '95, it was a hay field. There are quite a few acreages around us that are all in an HOA but our place is outside of it somehow. The place next door was part of the same hay field but it's in the HOA and we aren't. We get the advantages of all the other places being maintained without having to deal with it ourselves.

Around here, if you want an acreage, you need to spend some serious time on Google Earth looking north and west of the place you're shopping. You're looking for dairies. There are a bunch of them here and you really don't want to be downwind of one. The smell can carry for miles.