Just when you think folks can't get any dumber

[Deleted]

Y'all know I've been volunteering with my HOA for 5 years, including one as VP and two as Prez.  And I've definitely heard more than my fair share of stupid during that time.  But Friday absolutely topped the charts.  I got an email from our attorney with the subject line, "The dude flat out offered a bribe", which certainly got my attention in a hurry.  Now, bribery attempts are nothing unusual but this is the only fool who's actually called the lawyer and pitched it straight out.  Aside from the obvious issues of ethics and legality, the fool was only offering $3,000 which comes down to $167 each for 14 directors and 4 staffers at the law firm.  Oh sure, we're all going to risk civil and criminal prosecution, loss of license, etc. for $167!  Stupid and cheap is a really bad combo.  Can't wait to get to the courthouse on this one; he'll probably offer a couple of hundred to the judge.  Best part will be when the judge asks if any attempt has been made to settle the issues, and our attorney says, "Well, yes, Your Honor, we did receive a settlement offer of........."  

After dealing with the fine citizens of my community for 5 years, I'm increasingly interested in the remote reaches of wherever because the local wildlife will probably have more brain cells that my current neighbors.  At least the critters won't tell me I'm going to burn in hell forever because I don't demand the neighbors remove their Halloween decorations and I won't have to explain that the US Constitution allows political candidate signs even if you don't like the candidate.  

Thanks for letting me vent 

[Tennesseer]

[chiver78]

hugs, donethat. I remember those days. I remember wanting to go across the table at one of the residents that basically said her time was more valuable than ours because her work was important, and how she was taking time away from that work to come to our meeting to argue against some rule we were instituting that she didn't like. that did not land well, and the property manager was still talking about it when I turned in my resignation after I sold my place. lol... it's a good thing I was sitting against the wall in the President's dining room. had I been on the same side of that table as that resident, I might have a different story to tell. lol.. 

[Bonny]

You can't fix stupid.

This will seem funny over cocktails one day.

[TheOtherMe]

Not HOA related but when I worked for the IRS, we had to be aware of bribes.  We used to joke around how large the bribe would have to be before we considered it.  It would have had to have been large enough to move me out of the country and keep me living in the style to which I had become accustomed and nobody ever offered me more than a soda or a cookie, etc.  We were allowed to keep take those.

[grits]

Become a civil servant, you'll see things that make the bribe offering idiot look smart. 

[milee]

I didn't really understand the title.  I've never been under the impression that people couldn't get any dumber.  

And as for dealing with an HOA.... that's exactly why we live in a nice neighborhood that doesn't have a mandatory HOA.  

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Oct 15, 2017 19:14:32 GMT -5 milee said:

I didn't really understand the title.  I've never been under the impression that people couldn't get any dumber.  

And as for dealing with an HOA.... that's exactly why we live in a nice neighborhood that doesn't have a mandatory HOA.  

Ditto.  The community down the road from us is a huge, HOA covered community, but we are considered the same areas on the city in NextDoor.  

I dont know what planet these people live on.  The most current argument going on is whether you can have bird feeders out when the county laws say do not feed the wild animals (we have a buttload of deer in the area).  The law says wild mammals, but apparently most flunked freshman biology And never learned the difference between birds and mammals.

Next week, it will be another inane argument.

[toomuchreality]

I don't think I'd last a week on an HOA board.  I'm not sure whether it would be me or 'them' but someone would be bound to end up dead!  

[Deleted]

Oct 16, 2017 0:59:24 GMT -5 toomuchreality said:

I don't think I'd last a week on an HOA board.  I'm not sure whether it would be me or 'them' but someone would be bound to end up dead!  

That's exactly how I felt when I got home last night at 9 after our Board meeting.  And this morning a neighbor asked if we were responsible for another neighbor's extensive Halloween decorations being removed.  NO, we were not!  His wife found him doing what he shouldn't have been doing, and took their two boys and the Halloween decorations for parts unknown.  In fact, I haven't even received one call this year demanding we have "pagan" decorations removed.  Perhaps that's because of my response last year to the resident making that request, which ProBoard's won't let me repeat. 

[dee27]

This year is the last one for DH's term, and I doubt that he will run again in the near future. Some of the new neighbors have a unique way of breaking the HOA rules by not applying for a variance: Decorating lawn in common areas with large landscape rocks (barrier to lawn service), permanent fencing around their condos (because they are too lazy to walk their dogs), painting patio red or planting large trees on community property (they wanted to). All of these items would not be approved by the HOA, and, the board notified the offenders that these additions will have to be removed at their expense. 

[Deleted]

Oct 17, 2017 19:02:58 GMT -5 dee27 said:

This year is the last one for DH's term, and I doubt that he will run again in the near future. Some of the new neighbors have a unique way of breaking the HOA rules by not applying for a variance: Decorating lawn in common areas with large landscape rocks (barrier to lawn service), permanent fencing around their condos (because they are too lazy to walk their dogs), painting patio red or planting large trees on community property (they wanted to). All of these items would not be approved by the HOA, and, the board notified the offenders that these additions will have to be removed at their expense. 

I feel his pain. I have a countdown clock on my phone which shows 74 days, 2 hours, 17 minutes........  Yet, for me, it's been an amazing experience in many, many ways.  I've been forced so far outside my comfort zone it's crazy (chairing monthly community meetings with 100+ attendees, testifying in court, speaking before City Council, giving media interviews), and I've met so many incredible community leaders and volunteers. I'm fortunate to have served with some truly amazing women (our executive corps is informally known as "the girls" and we've hugged, cried, prayed and texted through a lot of challenges together).  The downside is the anger and hate, often over issues I couldn't solve even if I wanted to.  We are an aging community that's experienced decades of change, the sort of change much of America has seen.  I have to cope with those of a certain age who are not comfortable with the changing demographic, the neighbor who looks so different and does not speak English.  And yes, I recognize your concern that the former Church of Christ site is now a Buddhist temple, but that's not something I could affect even if I wished to.  There are those who curse and condemn because I/we don't roll back time, and those that threaten because our actions disrupt their livelihood (I never knew about the Backpages website until we had to work with law enforcement on some houses that aren't just houses  .  In a strange twist of fate, I will chair my last community meeting, a huge Thanksgiving potluck where we elect new directors and officers, on the night of my 70th birthday. And the very next morning I'll begin the tedious process of changing documents, websites, contacts, authorizations, etc. so that, come January 1, someone else signs paychecks, receives daily security patrol reports, responds to resident emails, executes documents to file lawsuits, and all the other things that insure a seamless transition and a positive neighborhood life.