HOA Horror Stories

[knight1fox3]

Some of these have been discussed here at random and I just came across this story on the local morning news. Post 'em here if you've encountered any HOA (home owners association) horror stories (or even unusual favorable stories).

http://abc7chicago.com/home/hoa-demands-homeowners-leave-garage-doors-open/2923891/

The HOA we belong to is pretty minimal. When we first moved in, I think we were asked to contribute to a collective HOA fund to have grass mowed in any open lot areas. And that is like $20 every other year. Plus I'm pretty close with both the president and treasurer and there's typically not much that goes on (thankfully).

 

[Supe]

I got cited in 2014 for an unapproved addition of a storm door to the house (clear glass).  I had already been living there for two years.  The storm door had been there since original construction in 2000.

There has been a ton of other petty bullshit warnings that come in the mail.  I got tired of them and started responding in legalese, citing portions of their own covenant with interpretations of their definitions, etc. and how they were being met.  My personal favorites are when they tell me to do something, but then don't cite an actual violation.  For those, I respond that since no violation was cited, I considered the matter resolved, which then resets the clock another 30 days minimum.

I even exposed a clause in there about "Recreational Vehicles" to justify my race cars being parked in my garage.  They have separate clauses on unregistered vehicles and non-running vehicles being parked on the property, but recreational vehicles are OK.  Well, my race cars are for recreation, they're vehicles, and they don't define an RV as a motor home/camper/etc. anywhere, so I win again!  Used that one to make my whiny little bitch of a neighbor eat crow, and then turned him in for violations of his own. 

They also have a two hour max for automotive "repairs".  I've responded to that one by calling them improvements or modifications, and not repairs.  I have also closed my garage door for 5 minutes, grabbed a beer, and then reopened it to restart the clock.  

I guess you learn some things working in nuclear.

 

[knight1fox3]

I guess you learn some things working in nuclear.

That's for d@mn sure! Right @Flyer_PE?

 

[Road Guy]

We are in one and for the most part its fairly drama free. I don’t like them but the value of my house is up over $100K in less than 4 years so I cant complain.

 

Biggest issue recently is we had a lady sue the HOA over “emotional” something or other, she had gotten both the “cookies with Santa” and the Easter Egg hunt cancelled, not because she is Jewish or some other religion but just one of those typical I hate religion people. She got ridiculed deservedly on the nextdoor site and the HOA settled for something like $50 grand with her to help her move to another neighborhood.  Everyone got pretty pissed the board settled since Santa and the easter bunny have been declared by the courts as not religious symbols.  But there was a guy who kept posting the video from south park of the song “kyles mom is the biggest bitch in the whole wide world” and linked her to it.. I hope she moved to a neighborhood where there is a future oil and gas explosion…

 

But other than that most people just do what they are supposed to, paint their house when it needs it, mow the grass, no junk cars allowed on the street or driveway, no RV’s etc

 

[ruggercsc]

This thread ruined my day.  I used to set up H.O.A. as part of my Land Development duties.  I have served on 19 boards, set up Architectrual review boards, and conducted Architectural Reviews.  I have been threatened, been told "How can I sleep at Night" , have heard "We have been swindled", and been told by a drunk in the audience who sat in the front row at every annual meeting "you think you a big shot up there in a tie".  

In my own H.O.A. I had to threaten lawsuits twice and had to hire an attorney once (I prevailed both times).  I was getting fined $10 a day (which I never paid) and according to thier interpration I am probably still in violation and would thus technically owe $43,800, plus interest, in fines. 

I will never live in a H.O.A. community again.  Ever. 

 

[Dexman PE PMP]

No HOA's where I live now, but I have a fairly strict property manager. Hasn't been a problem so far.

Back when I lived in Denver, the HOA there was actually pretty chill. We (the neighborhood) had 2 issues in the 5 years I was there. The first was that all residents and their guests had to park in the garage/driveway. Essentially no on-street parking. But they set it up in a way that they couldn't run the plates of the car so they would only cite the house that the vehicle was parked in front of. A couple families would have a babysitter during the day who would park on the street and they would get routine letters about it. My next-door neighbor got a warning from the board because of my car once.  

The second issue was that one of the residents decided to move away but keep his house as a rental. One of the tenants signed a 3-yr lease, paid cash up front and promptly setup a grow house. The HOA had no recourse over it and several of the other residents were very pissed about the whole situation. Ultimately, the homeowner was able to evict based on the "no unauthorized modifications to the house" clause after the tenant had re-wired the electric system to bypass the meter.

 

[Flyer_PE]

I guess you learn some things working in nuclear.

That's for d@mn sure! Right @Flyer_PE?

I was once informed that the best legal minds the utility had were employed as engineers at the nuclear plant. 

 

[Audi Driver P.E.]

I have lived in several and have, to this date, only had relatively positive experiences with them.

 

[Flyer_PE]

No HOA here.  That's one of the reasons we live where we do.  I'm pretty sure the HOA at my last house would be throwing a fit about the farm tractor I keep parked in my garage.  I'd be using the same RV argument Supe is using for his race cars.

 

[MA_PE]

I've never lived within the bounds of a HOA.  However we did live in a condo for awhile which had a "condo association".  The annual meeting was nothing more than a b@tch session with a lot of whining.  I would not have a lot of patience with some of these HOA regulations and fools that try to enforce them.  I don't think a HOA community would work for me.

 

[jeb6294]

I wouldn't even call what we've got a HOA.  We voluntarily pay, I think, $35 per year to keep up the landscaping around the entrance and for several neighborhood parties during the year.

 

[Road Guy]

They built an over 55 neighborhood next to our last subdivision in Atlanta, at first I thought that would be pretty terrible but as I continue to live in suburbia the thought of no trampolines,no basketball goals, no kids around 24-7 I have to admit it seems pretty nice!

 

[BamaStrucPESE]

Practically every neighborhood in the Houston area has an HOA. I've seen annual fees can be as high as $1500/year, but it includes several community activities/membership to facilities including pool.  My neighborhood was built with a country club near by, so my dues are only $200/year but have to pay much more to be a part of the CC.

I had to submit a form to the HOA when I upgraded my drainage system, the president came by gave it a cone over and approved. He said in 20 years, they have had only a few problems, like someone wanting to paint their house pink, raise live stock in the back yard.

I never wanted to live in an area with an HOA, but so far I have had no issues with it.

 

[ptatohed]

When I bought my current house (gated community) in late 2008, it was a foreclosure (great recession) (.....the only reason I was able to buy in this neighborhood - I got a "$550k" house for $340k).  Well, the front yard grass was dead, right?  It took all my resources at the time to get into this house so I was nearly broke.  I couldn't afford sod.  So I went with grass seed.  It was coming in but apparently not fast enough for the HOA.  Warnings turned to fines, fines turned to fines with late fees, etc.  I refused to pay.  They took me to small claims court.  They won.  I still refused to pay.  I let my credit take the hit because I was so stubborn to pay.  To this day, I can't explain it but eventually it was marked as a 'paid' judgment on my credit report.    I then disputed it with the 3 credit bureaus and even the 'paid judgment' was removed from my reports.  

I had built an 8'x8' Tough Shed on  my side yard around 2010.  It sticks over the 6' fence maybe 1'.  In 2016, I got a violation for it stating it is visible from the street and was not approved.  Really?, 6 years later you notice?  lol  I had to retroactively submit an ($100!!!!) architectural review for it as well as obtain adjacent neighbors' signatures for their ok.  I paid the $100 (that hurt) and got the signatures.  The HOA approved it with the requirement to screen it from view from the front.  I added some vine type plants to screen it.  All is good.  

There are pros and cons to an HOA.  I do like that they keep the neighborhood looking good but it is annoying when they bust your b@lls over little things.  My friend has no HOA and when I visit him, it drives me nuts to see trash cans left out days after trash pickup, cars with car covers, cars on jacks, boats on driveways, trailers on the driveways, RVs, etc. but I also don't care for Nazi HOAs.  So, a moderate HOA is ideal for me.  

 

[knight1fox3]

It's comforting to know that there are others out there who are just as frugal as I am (if not more). :thumbs:

My friend has no HOA and when I visit him, it drives me nuts to see trash cans left out days after trash pickup,

LOL, I would mostly do this just to annoy you.

 

[ruggercsc]

When I bought my current house (gated community) in late 2008, it was a foreclosure (great recession) (.....the only reason I was able to buy in this neighborhood - I got a "$550k" house for $340k).  Well, the front yard grass was dead, right?  It took all my resources at the time to get into this house so I was nearly broke.  I couldn't afford sod.  So I went with grass seed.  It was coming in but apparently not fast enough for the HOA.  Warnings turned to fines, fines turned to fines with late fees, etc.  I refused to pay.  They took me to small claims court.  They won.  I still refused to pay.  I let my credit take the hit because I was so stubborn to pay.  To this day, I can't explain it but eventually it was marked as a 'paid' judgment on my credit report.    I then disputed it with the 3 credit bureaus and even the 'paid judgment' was removed from my reports.  

I had built an 8'x8' Tough Shed on  my side yard around 2010.  It sticks over the 6' fence maybe 1'.  In 2016, I got a violation for it stating it is visible from the street and was not approved.  Really?, 6 years later you notice?  lol  I had to retroactively submit an ($100!!!!) architectural review for it as well as obtain adjacent neighbors' signatures for their ok.  I paid the $100 (that hurt) and got the signatures.  The HOA approved it with the requirement to screen it from view from the front.  I added some vine type plants to screen it.  All is good.  

There are pros and cons to an HOA.  I do like that they keep the neighborhood looking good but it is annoying when they bust your b@lls over little things.  My friend has no HOA and when I visit him, it drives me nuts to see trash cans left out days after trash pickup, cars with car covers, cars on jacks, boats on driveways, trailers on the driveways, RVs, etc. but I also don't care for Nazi HOAs.  So, a moderate HOA is ideal for me.  

Some HOA's would put a lien on your property if allowed by State Law and the DCCR's for violations (A lot of times they can only file liens for unpaid assessments. In some rare circumstances some HOA'S have actually foreclosed on homes for not paying fines.  

At some point you might check your title to see if any liens have been paced on it. This was common practice by HOA's before the Great Recession, but a lot of them stopped the practice.  HOA's liens were pretty far down the waterfall after tax lien's, mortgage lien's, municipal lien's for code violations, etc.  HOA's  were never getting their lien's paid off, so some stopped the practice.  

 

[matt267 PE]

Some HOA's would put a lien on your property

I would never sell the house. I would also make arrangements to have it burned down upon my death.

 

[ptatohed]

Some HOA's would put a lien on your property if allowed by State Law and the DCCR's for violations (A lot of times they can only file liens for unpaid assessments. In some rare circumstances some HOA'S have actually foreclosed on homes for not paying fines.  

At some point you might check your title to see if any liens have been paced on it. This was common practice by HOA's before the Great Recession, but a lot of them stopped the practice.  HOA's liens were pretty far down the waterfall after tax lien's, mortgage lien's, municipal lien's for code violations, etc.  HOA's  were never getting their lien's paid off, so some stopped the practice.  

I could be totally remembering this incorrectly but, from what I recall, the law is different when it is the main monthly HOA dues that you are not paying vs. the late fees/fines that you are not paying.  I thought my research (at the time) indicated an HOA can not evict/foreclose you if it is only fines that are not being paid.  In my case, I have always been current on my main monthly dues - it was the fines that I refused to pay.  I guess they could have placed a lien on my house with the judgement they were awarded in court.  Luckily they did not.  

 

[ruggercsc]

I could be totally remembering this incorrectly but, from what I recall, the law is different when it is the main monthly HOA dues that you are not paying vs. the late fees/fines that you are not paying.  I thought my research (at the time) indicated an HOA can not evict/foreclose you if it is only fines that are not being paid.  In my case, I have always been current on my main monthly dues - it was the fines that I refused to pay.  I guess they could have placed a lien on my house with the judgement they were awarded in court.  Luckily they did not.  

I think in most states that may be true, but some states I believe may still allow it (Depends on state law and your DCCR's).  The general direction of most states is that recent laws/ruling are favoring the property owner vs. the HOA. 

In any case, it would an extreme circumstances where an H.O.A. forecloses because of fines. 

 

[mudpuppy]

I could never live in an HOA.  I leave my garbage can at the end of the driveway all the time (because I'm not hauling it up and down our 550' driveway every week), I mow my lawn when I feel like it, I never water the grass, my garden gets overgrown with weeds, and I like to shoot off fireworks and guns in my back yard.