This is why I dislike homeowners ASSociations

[sherob]

Originally Posted by DenverTaco07

HOA's are democratically run..., if the management company isn't doing right by the owners, fire them, if you want to ammend rules, ammend them.

go around, campaign your neighbors get them on your side and get elected.

some might say it's a freedom thing, and that's fine, but freedom to me is to have a home that increases in value at a nice pace. Knowing that someone can't move in and subsequently be a nuisance and drive property values down. We bought our home in 2008 and it's curently 50% higher in value. to me, that's freedom to make money / have a substantial net worth.

they aren't for everyone though and that is ok, we are all free to live in one or not.

Freedom Of Choice!

[mlee]

Originally Posted by Coleroad

HOA's just go overboard. Lots of them are run by people who just want to control others. Some areas you can't hardly find a house that doesn't have one. We are moving to Denver area next week. You can't find a place even in smaller surrounding towns without HOA's. You have to go rural to get that. For work my wife and I need high speed internet, and not with usage limits. Natural gas is much cheaper than Lp gas. I get wanting the neighborhood to look nice. having to go to the hoa to get approval to paint your house the same color it is now, is utterly ridiculous. HOA's that try to control what can be seen inside through your windows. I know the hoa we are moving into says no street parking, or you will be towed. We this hoa, the roads are maintained by the county, not the hoa. They have no legal rights to a public street. Not that I plan on parking in the street, but they obviously like to try and overstep their bounds. Obviously we agreed to the hoa when we bought, and will have to live by their terms, but I don't have to agree with them.

I've never heard of an HOA that requires approval to paint the same color or replace anything to new condition of what it was before. (I'm sure they exist somewhere) But I definitely understand most of what you about county owned roads and all. There are somethings like no soliciting or no parking on street signs they can put up, but it's not enforceable. Just helps them keep that kind of stuff down.

[Tenring]

Originally Posted by mlee

I've never heard of an HOA that requires approval to paint the same color

We will find out shortly, our house needs painted in the near future. So today I spoke to two of my neighbors trying to get a recomendation on a good painting company.

I told them we want to use the origional colors. Both neighbors said the HOA won't let you use the same color......those colors are no longer approved.

This could get interesting, after hearing that, I am pretty dam sure I want the origional colors!
.

[90503]

Of course you can't paint it the original color. Gossipy, jealous and nosey neighbors are bad enough....but if they have the power over your desires on top of that through an hoa, you're doomed.

You should have spread the word you wanted to paint it pink. Then they would insist, and snicker behind your back, that you must paint it the original color. Usually the only happy hoa members are the ones who get morbid pleasure out of pissing you off.

Good luck. I'll take my chances with neighbors that have freedom of choice, mind their own business, and choose to do the right thing...not be forced to. Good fences make good neighbors. I'll keep my side of the street clean, hopefully they do the same.

Good luck.

[mlee]

Originally Posted by Tenring

We will find out shortly, our house needs painted in the near future. So today I spoke to two of my neighbors trying to get a recomendation on a good painting company.

I told them we want to use the origional colors. Both neighbors said the HOA won't let you use the same color......those colors are no longer approved.

This could get interesting, after hearing that, I am pretty dam sure I want the origional colors!
.

That's pretty crazy... go to their website and review the rules yourself beforehand. They law says that stuff has to be posted.

Originally Posted by 90503

Good luck. I'll take my chances with neighbors that have freedom of choice, mind their own business, and choose to do the right thing...not be forced to. Good fences make good neighbors. I'll keep my side of the street clean, hopefully they do the same.

Good luck.

...and there lies the gamble. It only takes one..

[DenverTaco07]

Originally Posted by mlee

I've never heard of an HOA that requires approval to paint the same color or replace anything to new condition of what it was before. (I'm sure they exist somewhere) But I definitely understand most of what you about county owned roads and all. There are somethings like no soliciting or no parking on street signs they can put up, but it's not enforceable. Just helps them keep that kind of stuff down.

Just painted my house exact same colors this year, and the approval process is the same - it's easier to get approval, but still have to jump through the hoops, no biggie though.

glad that living in the area i do, that i don't have to worry about a yahoo like this moving in and destroying property values.

[DenverTaco07]

This will drive up your net worth - so many folks looking to buy will love to look at this.

[Norm Peterson]

Originally Posted by DenverTaco07

Just painted my house exact same colors this year, and the approval process is the same - it's easier to get approval, but still have to jump through the hoops, no biggie though.

That's still too intrusive. Repainting in the same color scheme should get specific, stated approval in the document that you have to sign on the way in. Which would be a nice control over the busy-bodys who'd disapprove existing colors apparently on whim as mentioned above.


You can always find outliers to argue anything, and pictures that may well be of temporary situations (for example, couldn't that mound of trash bags have been a temporary consequence of flooding inside the house/basement, such as from a plumbing failure?). But either way, they're relatively uncommon occurrences compared with the known tendencies of HOAs to overstep the bounds of reasonable authority.


Norm

[DenverTaco07]

Originally Posted by Norm Peterson

That's still too intrusive. Repainting in the same color scheme should get specific, stated approval in the document that you have to sign on the way in. Which would be a nice control over the busy-bodys who'd disapprove existing colors apparently on whim as mentioned above.


You can always find outliers to argue anything, and pictures that may well be of temporary situations (for example, couldn't that mound of trash bags have been a temporary consequence of flooding inside the house/basement, such as from a plumbing failure?). But either way, they're relatively uncommon occurrences compared with the known tendencies of HOAs to overstep the bounds of reasonable authority.


Norm

Would it have been easier for me if i didn't have to go through the process of getting approval, yes - was it life changing, no, it took a couple hours of my time tops. If I needed to sell my house, but due to neighbors not taking care of their property, it caused my property to be say...20% or 30% or 50% lower in value, or heck, there were no buyers that wanted to live in a run down area and i couldn't sell at all, now that...that is life changing.

I agree my pictures are hyperbolic, but for a reason. It's fine if folks don't want to live in an HOA, i get it, they aren't for everyone.
I'm very sensitive to my right to have a house that increases in value (outside of external market forces), and if you look at 99% of an HOA's rules, the underlying point is to ensure property values.
Now, that's not to say there aren't bad HOA's or there aren't non-HOA hoods where everyone is the perfect neighbor.

I disagree that the negative perception of HOA's are the norm. I'm sure you can find just as many folks who because of a horrible neighbor, they wished they lived in a covenant controlled hood.

I recently drove through my neighborhood where I grew up, it was built in the early 70's. It was a disaster! couches and appliances and just horrible looking yards and houses that haven't been painted in 40 years...just a waste, and very sad. Some streets were better than others, and some individual properties were great, but I would never buy in that area due to what I saw, and look, some folks won't care, but IMO a majority do care.

[sherob]

I recently repainted my house, per HOA... all the houses in Phase 1 had to have it done. Mine wasn't as bad as the others, but hey it is what it is.

I sent in an email with attached form that had Sherman Williams paint ship color numbers for everything, and pics of the paint chips. Waited 2 weeks for the approval... received an email, and a letter a week or so later.

Now, there was a house on the corner down the street from us that was painted an almost fluorescent blue. I couldn't believe they got it approved, since all of our homes are pretty much unplugged as far as colors go. It sat there taped up for a week or two after it was painted... then, *BOOM*, a more natural blue was applied. I think someone either got their paint messed up... or didn't get it approved before painting.

I spent more time typing this up than doing the paperwork for my HOA ...

[JLSuperfly]

I think we can all agree that HOA is not for everyone. Just like living in the city, rural, suburbs, country, jungle and so on is not for everyone.

[Windycity]

Originally Posted by JLSuperfly

I think we can all agree that HOA is not for everyone. Just like living in the city, rural, suburbs, country, jungle and so on is not for everyone.

I agree! if you want to park a car in your driveway up on blocks with no wheels on it, covered with a cheap blue tarp then a homeowners association probably isn't right for you. On the flipside if you don't want to look at your neighbors house with a car in the driveway up on blocks, with no wheels on it covered up with a cheap blue tarp then a homeowners association is right for you since they prohibit it.

It's the same argument about living in the city versus living out in a rural area. Personally for me I like living close to a major city and could never see myself living out in the country with no neighbors. I probably would go nuts out there but some people love it




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[DenverTaco07]

Originally Posted by JLSuperfly

I think we can all agree that HOA is not for everyone. Just like living in the city, rural, suburbs, country, jungle and so on is not for everyone.

yup - it's been a good discussion.

I'm looking to buy the house across the street from this guy: I think there's a bidding war though, probably gonna spend well above market value.

[kmarshall2121]

Originally Posted by Avenging Orange

When an HOA (Which I do not live in) wants to tell me I cannot fly an American flag. ...what color I paint my house...that I cannot have a fence...I cant park a boat in MY drive....is the day I hand them my mortgage and property tax. Then they can have at it while I live debt free.
I understand their purpose....but they always elect the wrong person who always goes after the wrong people.

UM, YEA,,, IT DOESNT QUITE WORK THAT WAY....