HOA President 0, MMC household 1...

[Deleted]

Our HOA President is a real winner..  This is what we went through..

September letter telling us to stain our fence.  The fence is 2 1/2 years old and had started to discolor as any aging wood does.
We spoke with the management company and received a PDF back with the "approved colors".
We picked an "approved color" and stained the fence
November letter from HOA saying we stained an unapproved color and we must restain or apply for a variance.
We applied for a variance.
February meeting they denied variance (we didn't know we were on the meeting agenda and didn't attend)
I asked for an appeal and to speak to the board
Wednesday night I spoke to the board in open session.  I supplied the email thread with the management company showing that we were mislead.  I explained how we used a solid stain instead of a semi-transparent one because the HOA irrigation had discolored the bottom of our fence.  The board ruled 3-1 with 1 abstention to approve my variance.  The HOA President of course was the nay vote and she made a big deal in open forum how my wife used to be an HOA board President and that I also was on the board (another property) and that we should know better..

Now, lets see how they like the next phase of our landscape plans. 

[Deleted]

OMG i'm so glad i don't live in an HOA...

More power to you...

[Deleted]

There is a group of homeowners organizing and effort to recall the HOA President also.  The President also has an active police investigation on her    And she is a lawyer..  SHE should know better.. 

[Bob Ross]

If you have a dog, take it for walks and let it take a on her lawn.

If she looks out her window and spots you, smile and wave like nothing's amiss. 

[swamp]

Flaming bags of poo.

[Bob Ross]

My dad used to be president of his HOA back in the day.  Some of the stories he could tell...

It's amazing how many people in HOA communities are GIANT A-HOLES who want nothing more than to rule over their neighbors with iron fists, over the stupidest sh*t like twigs (yes literally, twigs) crossing over their property lines.

I will never, ever live in a community with an HOA.  Never, ever, ever, ever (times infinity).

[Deleted]

During homeowner's forum, a resident brought his laptop and a projector.  He showed a video of the HOA President driving by his house taking pictures.  In the video, his young children were running away scared from the "stranger" taking their picture..

I had to control myself from laughing at loud at her smug @ss..

[Bob Ross]

Mar 28, 2014 12:03:27 GMT -5 @mmc said:

During homeowner's forum, a resident brought his laptop and a projector.  He showed a video of the HOA President driving by his house taking pictures.  In the video, his young children were running away scared from the "stranger" taking their picture..

You need to sample a pic from this, caption it "Stranger Danger" and get t-shirts made.

[tskeeter]

Mar 28, 2014 11:08:39 GMT -5 @mmc said:

Our HOA President is a real winner..  This is what we went through..

September letter telling us to stain our fence.  The fence is 2 1/2 years old and had started to discolor as any aging wood does.
We spoke with the management company and received a PDF back with the "approved colors".
We picked an "approved color" and stained the fence
November letter from HOA saying we stained an unapproved color and we must restain or apply for a variance.
We applied for a variance.
February meeting they denied variance (we didn't know we were on the meeting agenda and didn't attend)
I asked for an appeal and to speak to the board
Wednesday night I spoke to the board in open session.  I supplied the email thread with the management company showing that we were mislead.  I explained how we used a solid stain instead of a semi-transparent one because the HOA irrigation had discolored the bottom of our fence.  The board ruled 3-1 with 1 abstention to approve my variance.  The HOA President of course was the nay vote and she made a big deal in open forum how my wife used to be an HOA board President and that I also was on the board (another property) and that we should know better..

Now, lets see how they like the next phase of our landscape plans. 

If the approved color pallet didn't specifically say you have to use a semi-transparent stain, I'd tell the HOA to pound sand (and I'm a member of my HOA board of directors).  If the requirement is semi-transparent, I'd demand that the HOA fix and maintain it's irrigation system so that the HOA wasn't damaging my fence.  Or, replace the portions of the fence damaged by the HOA irrgation system at HOA expense, so that the specified stain can be used.  Since the HOA would control both the irrigation system and the stain specifications, they can choose which issue they want to fix.

HOA's can get interesting to deal with.  You can have the "I want to control everything" personalities on the board.  And you can have community management companies who think they really make all the decisions and who think that it's a good thing to collect fines from your friends and neighbors, like one management company I dealt with did.  Fortunately, when the board made it clear that the board was the decision making and policy setting body, not the management company, that management company decided they didn't want our business any more.     

[sarcasticgirl]

What kind of person feels high and mighty while chastising people over a fence stain color?!?! 

[Nazgul Girl]

   I would have laughed my ass off at her.   Also, it doesn't matter whether wife used to be the former condo association president, or the former queen of England.   Neither is relevant to the matter of your evil decision to use the wrong type of stain.

   Our subdivision voted some time ago to change from single-family condos to houses.   However, we still have an HOA.    Our old management company had some type of hook-up ( probably by marriage ) with a couple of fixit guys who drove around the neighborhood in big, late-model pick-ups.   They were the lords of creation.   They would get residents cited for little problems, and then a flyer would appear on the front door offering the services of said handymen.

   The biggest problem was an announcement made last year that they were going to do a "walk-through" of our properties, not only the outside, but the INSIDES, to make sure we were " conforming."   Huh !?!    We spoke with our attorney, since my understanding was that under the Constitution,  a person cannot come into my house which I own unless I'm committing a crime and the police need to make an entrance, the police have a warrant, or I invite the person on my front steps to enter.  

  Our attorney assured us that the "association" reps cannot only not walk through our homes, but that now, they can't even trespass on our lots, looking for violations.   He said that if they could spot a violation from the street, that they could cite us.   Cool.

  Also, we wisely changed management companies.   Now, they only worry about things like not parking on the streets overnight and people not taking in their garbage containers soon enough.   Life is good.

[Bob Ross]

Mar 28, 2014 12:23:52 GMT -5 sarcasticgirl said:

What kind of person feels high and mighty while chastising people over a fence stain color?!?! 

HOA people.

People join them innocently enough, but the festering rage and holier-than-thou self-righteousness inherent in the system soon propagates like a virus.  No one is spared.  No one. 

Or you can be like me, happily HOA free and firing wadded up used diapers into my neighbors' yards with a potato gun. 

[swamp]

Mar 28, 2014 12:23:52 GMT -5 sarcasticgirl said:

What kind of person feels high and mighty while chastising people over a fence stain color?!?! 

a sad little person who needs more sex in their life.

[whoisjohngalt]

Thank you LORD we don't have HOA or any other association or covenants or ANYTHING.

I could paint my house bright pink with purple polka dots and no one can tell me not to.

I would end up in a loony bin if I had to deal with HOA

[Deleted]

I want to set up an HOA that lets me do what I want but makes some of my trashier neighbours do stuff the way I want. That's what HOA's are for right?

[Nazgul Girl]

    This HOA brings back a memory.   In the 1970's,  my first husband & I were renting a townhouse that was governed by condo association.  (The developer had had trouble selling out the development, so they would rent out units for one year, in hopes that the renter would buy in later ).    



   The president of the HOA lived across the way from a unit owned by a young single guy who was kind of a stud.   She got quite obsessed with the number of " young women " who were his guests at his home, and kept a close count of of the ( wait for it ) ins and outs.    He evidently liked quite a bit of variety.   She tracked seven or eight different "young women " in one week !

   The reason why I know about this is because my husband & I were attending the next condo association meeting, and as board president, she tried to introduce a resolution that would "limit" the number of females that could "visit" a condo owner in a week or month !    She was really upset because he had had " three in one day in there ! "

  The guy was there and just smiled at her.   The resolution didn't pass, and the men gave him a big grin.   

[Deleted]

Mar 28, 2014 12:51:29 GMT -5 Nazgul Girl said:

    This HOA brings back a memory.   In the 1970's,  my first husband & I were renting a townhouse that was governed by condo association.  (The developer had had trouble selling out the development, so they would rent out units for one year, in hopes that the renter would buy in later ).    



   The president of the HOA lived across the way from a unit owned by a young single guy who was kind of a stud.   She got quite obsessed with the number of " young women " who were his guests at his home, and kept a close count of of the ( wait for it ) ins and outs.    He evidently liked quite a bit of variety.   She tracked seven or eight different "young women " in one week !

   The reason why I know about this is because my husband & I were attending the next condo association meeting, and as board president, she tried to introduce a resolution that would "limit" the number of females that could "visit" a condo owner in a week or month !    She was really upset because he had had " three in one day in there ! "

  The guy was there and just smiled at her.   The resolution didn't pass, and the men gave him a big grin.   

Years later, his 22 children morned his passing from antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea

[Bob Ross]

Mar 28, 2014 12:51:29 GMT -5 Nazgul Girl said:

    This HOA brings back a memory.   In the 1970's,  my first husband & I were renting a townhouse that was governed by condo association.  (The developer had had trouble selling out the development, so they would rent out units for one year, in hopes that the renter would buy in later ).    



   The president of the HOA lived across the way from a unit owned by a young single guy who was kind of a stud.   She got quite obsessed with the number of " young women " who were his guests at his home, and kept a close count of of the ( wait for it ) ins and outs.    He evidently liked quite a bit of variety.   She tracked seven or eight different "young women " in one week !

   The reason why I know about this is because my husband & I were attending the next condo association meeting, and as board president, she tried to introduce a resolution that would "limit" the number of females that could "visit" a condo owner in a week or month !    She was really upset because he had had " three in one day in there ! "

  The guy was there and just smiled at her.   The resolution didn't pass, and the men gave him a big grin.   

Since it was the 70's, she could've been sly and instead tried to place a ban on magnificent mustaches and rampant chest hair.  That would've kept all of these ladies at bay.

[sarcasticgirl]

when I was in HS i lived with my father... who was going through chemo and radiation for cancer. He had a really severe issue that landed him in the hospital for a couple of weeks. apparently dying of cancer is no excuse to let your lawn go uncut for 14 entire days.

Even though they were informed of the situation and that it would be remedied on the following weekend by a neighbor kid, someone from the HOA met us at the car when we pulled in from bringing my father home from the hospital.  

I believe my father said something to the effect of "unless you want to tell your wife and kids you got your ass kicked by a cancer patient, I suggest to turn around and go back home" 

[8 Bit WWBG]

...:::"a sad little person who needs more sex in their life":::...

Hey... I'm just a rep.  I'm not on the formal board or have that kind of decision making power.

I don't think all HOAs are created equal.  Yes, I bet there are plenty out there made up of imperialistic control freaks who get their jollies from making rules and issuing fines.  On the other hand, some truly do protect the values of homes and the look and order of the neighborhood.  I've seen a few properties have corrective actions taken against them quickly thanks to HOA involvement.

Whether or not anyone would try to get away with painting orange polka dots, I don't know...

[Deleted]

Mar 28, 2014 12:38:46 GMT -5 swamp said:

Mar 28, 2014 12:23:52 GMT -5 sarcasticgirl said:

What kind of person feels high and mighty while chastising people over a fence stain color?!?! 

a sad little person who needs more sex in their life.

Her lesbian lover is 15 years her junior and quite attractive (to my male eyes).  So who knows..   

But in the big picture, who couldn't use more sex in their life?

[Nazgul Girl]

Mar 28, 2014 13:00:44 GMT -5 @mmc said:

Mar 28, 2014 12:51:29 GMT -5 Nazgul Girl said:

    This HOA brings back a memory.   In the 1970's,  my first husband & I were renting a townhouse that was governed by condo association.  (The developer had had trouble selling out the development, so they would rent out units for one year, in hopes that the renter would buy in later ).    



   The president of the HOA lived across the way from a unit owned by a young single guy who was kind of a stud.   She got quite obsessed with the number of " young women " who were his guests at his home, and kept a close count of of the ( wait for it ) ins and outs.    He evidently liked quite a bit of variety.   She tracked seven or eight different "young women " in one week !

   The reason why I know about this is because my husband & I were attending the next condo association meeting, and as board president, she tried to introduce a resolution that would "limit" the number of females that could "visit" a condo owner in a week or month !    She was really upset because he had had " three in one day in there ! "

  The guy was there and just smiled at her.   The resolution didn't pass, and the men gave him a big grin.   

Years later, his 22 children morned his passing from antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea

I'm sure.   But, I don't think he was worried about that in the 70's !   

[Nazgul Girl]

Mar 28, 2014 13:06:00 GMT -5 Bob Ross said:

Mar 28, 2014 12:51:29 GMT -5 Nazgul Girl said:

    This HOA brings back a memory.   In the 1970's,  my first husband & I were renting a townhouse that was governed by condo association.  (The developer had had trouble selling out the development, so they would rent out units for one year, in hopes that the renter would buy in later ).    



   The president of the HOA lived across the way from a unit owned by a young single guy who was kind of a stud.   She got quite obsessed with the number of " young women " who were his guests at his home, and kept a close count of of the ( wait for it ) ins and outs.    He evidently liked quite a bit of variety.   She tracked seven or eight different "young women " in one week !

   The reason why I know about this is because my husband & I were attending the next condo association meeting, and as board president, she tried to introduce a resolution that would "limit" the number of females that could "visit" a condo owner in a week or month !    She was really upset because he had had " three in one day in there ! "

  The guy was there and just smiled at her.   The resolution didn't pass, and the men gave him a big grin.   

Since it was the 70's, she could've been sly and instead tried to place a ban on magnificent mustaches and rampant chest hair.  That would've kept all of these ladies at bay.

  Actually, he did have a magnificent mustache and chest hair/gold chains showing.   I didn't think he was all that hot, but plenty of ladies ( I mean chicks he picked up at the local watering hole ) evidently did !

[Deleted]

am I the only run that lives in a community with an HOA that isn't totally whacked?  Our monthly fees have never increased by more than $5 a year and in some years they've decreased from the previous years.  nobody tries to flex their muscle and deviate from the CC&Rs. we have a great pool (3 actually), walking trails, volleyball and basketball court, well maintained common areas, tot lots, etc.  they plan great activities throughout the year for minimal cost. they do yearly inspections and most people are written up for normal maintenance things (siding falling off, etc.).  In return, I don't have to live next to someone who keeps a toilet in their yard, a rusty truck up on blocks or pains their house green and black stripes.

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

Mar 28, 2014 17:15:06 GMT -5 @singlemominmd said:

am I the only run that lives in a community with an HOA that isn't totally whacked?  Our monthly fees have never increased by more than $5 a year and in some years they've decreased from the previous years.  nobody tries to flex their muscle and deviate from the CC&Rs. we have a great pool (3 actually), walking trails, volleyball and basketball court, well maintained common areas, tot lots, etc.  they plan great activities throughout the year for minimal cost. they do yearly inspections and most people are written up for normal maintenance things (siding falling off, etc.).  In return, I don't have to live next to someone who keeps a toilet in their yard, a rusty truck up on blocks or pains their house green and black stripes.

Well, what fun is that?  

[motherto2]

When I first moved in my neighborhood, I was at the bus stop with DD and talking to one of the local moms while waiting for the bus.  A truck drove slowly by and I asked the lady if she knew who that was. Apparently he was the president of our HOA for years, but was no longer. I told her that I was getting ready to call the cops on him, because I had noticed him several times driving very slowly past my house (I'm a corner lot, and he would hit both sides). I thought he was a perv. We got a letter telling us we needed to put a screen in front of our gas can (that could only be seen from the side road). Go figure. It's not like it had been there for months. It had only been a week or so. Then my neighbor across the street started getting letters about violations from the HOA. Apparently it was a lady that had a beef from her from their daytime jobs. She went around and took pictures of all kinds of things that other folks had that weren't to code, to include the two mattresses sitting out by the driveway for several months by my next door neighbor. She went to one of the meetings and showed her pictures, and they weren't really happy with the lady on the board. She should have been after all of the folks violating rules, rather than fixating on the one neighbor for things that weren't even violations.

But other than that, I haven't had any real problems with anything. They take really good care of everything in the neighborhood, to include the pool, three lakes, rec center, pavilion at the main lake, and playground, etc. They can serve a good purpose, but watch out when you get a loon!

Congrats on the win!

[TheOtherMe]

After the HOA communities where I have lived and where friends have lived, one of my criteria when I was house hunting was NO HOA.  So far, everybody here takes pride in their homes and yards.

[Deleted]

Mar 30, 2014 20:04:42 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

After the HOA communities where I have lived and where friends have lived, one of my criteria when I was house hunting was NO HOA.  So far, everybody here takes pride in their homes and yards.

So much that!!! We were in a crappy condo with the world's most useless association. all 4 units, and I just couldn't take it anymore. Nobody gave a crap about things that needed to be done. Of course, one unit's owners live on the other side of the country and are happy being slumlords. Another unit has a little man who thinks he's big. He's not.

I love where we live now. No HOA/association of any kind. Our neighbors love us because we, meaning I, got rid of the Enchanted Forest that was growing in our backyard for at least 27 years. Took 2 months to hack that sucker down but I DID IT!!! It's wonderful. Neighbors behind us had to get used to it because the crap had been there for so long it was weird to actually be able to see our house. If I had know about their little garden statuary collection, I might have thought twice. I hate gnomes.