Homeowners associations

[RoadToad]

The HOA in my neighborhood makes it clear that they are not an "enforcement agency," If you have a problem with a neighbor, you either take it to the neighbor, of if it's bad enough, to the police, civil courts, whatever. The HOA pays for the street lights, and the landscaping at the entrance, and that's about it. And I like it that way.

After reading this, I checked, and here in KY we don't have "non-judicial foreclosure." I don't know if it means we're immune from this kind of swindling, but I was glad to find that out.

[HURRICANEBOB]

This is one of those times I hope HUD and or the Fed gets involved under the authority of the Soldiers and Sailor's Relief Act and returns the house to the guy.

And I hope those folks around that Army base wear their HOA Tshirts and Baseball caps while they visit the same local bars GI's do. I think if they do, they will be well advised on what soldiers who are willing to go in harms way for their country have a right to expect from those back home that deal with their homesteads.

I also agree, the guy should not have a claim for the house until he fully pays back his HOA fees, and associated costs. Simple logic says $3-4K for back dues is a far better deal that losing a $300k house.

[HURRICANEBOB]

No there doesn't have to be more than what was reported. I bought a house through a real estate agency and nobody told me that it had a homeowners association. You will not find a HOA that isn't made up of hotheads who run roughshod over the homeowners. That's the only kind of people who will serve on the board of directors. They are required by law to have a Charter but nothing is said about the rules changing with every meeting.

We bought a new house and moved in, removed a side deck and added a carport. The president of the HOA drove by daily and didn't stop or say a word. When the job was finished he came by and asked me how much it cost me and I said, "None of your business." He said, "you were supposed to clear that through ME and get my approval before you made any changes to your house." That's when I learned of the HOA and that I was 2 months behind on my fees and they were making plans to sell my house. All hell broke loose and I backed the old goat up against a light pole and told him that he wouldn't live until the sun went down the day he sold my house. I pushed him down in a bush beside the light pole and told him to get his a** off my property and don't come back. I paid the back fees and paid on time every month as long as I lived there.

He didn't bother me again but he got the neighborhood bully to start harassing me during the middle of the night. He would go behind the house and shine a light on my bedroom window and damage lawn furniture. I hid in the dark and met him out there one night and unloaded a .357 Magnum right at his feet and told him I would aim for his chest the next time. Never saw that guy hanging around after that.

An elderly widow on a fixed income lived a block away. She had a heart attack and it took all her money to pay utilities and buy medicine. I bought food and carried it to her so she could eat. She couldn't pay her homeowner's fees for three months and they auctioned her house off for $5,000.

My advice to anyone moving into a gated community or where there is a HOA, is DON'T even think about it.

Bug....You da lady! Good job!

And just a note for all: HOA bylaws by KY state law must be an addendum to the deed for the home and the homeowner must be shown, and acknowledge receipt of those rules/bylaws during closing. If not, the homeowner may well have an action against the HOA, but more likely against either his own realtor (failling of due diligence) or against the title closing company that preapred the closing papers and drafted the deed for the transaction to legally close. Non-disclosure of a material defect, or binder to the ownership rights of a property can be the basis for legal action.

[psprowler]

I agree that story sounds really bad, but also that it seems like there must be more to it.

I've been in a HOA, but my current house/neighborhood doesn't have one. I will say that they have their drawbacks, but also have some advantages.

The neighbor directly behind me cut his grass....well it's not even actual grass, it's all weeds - 3 times all of last year. Two houses down we now have a neighbor parking a camper on the grass at the back of the lot. Across the street, the neighbors park their trucks and machinery on the empty lot next to their house. Etc., etc.

I don't want an HOA, but people really need to learn to be more respectful of their neighbors and of how they can affect property values. Since I don't see them changing on their own, if an HOA is proposed, I will be in favor of it.

Kinda in the same situation here. We've got two houses in the subdivision that have weeds you can climb. I went down to one of them last summer and mowed the yard - well tried after 4 times going over it I got it down to a "manageable" level. Still would rather have that than an HOA though.........

[DJD]

I had heard that cities have an ordinance on how high the grass can be in the city limits and if they end up mowing the grass because of an owners negligence they will bill them for the mowing. Ever hear of that?? I'm asking........

[know1]

I've heard of that and to be honest they have mowed it more this year so I'm wondering if they were contacted. Although it's all weeds and not grass so it still looks bad. It makes it hard to keep the weeds out of our yard.

I'm not sure our subdivision is technically in the city limits, so there may not be a way to force them to mow.

I've thought about spreading a load of weed 'n feed on their yard but I'm afraid when the weeds all turned brown they'd sue me.

[kygorski]

Its a fact of life for some upscale developments. You either abide or go to court. Remember LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP.

[Tim_T]

I would love for them to make HOA's illegal.

[bassin_bug]

I had heard that cities have an ordinance on how high the grass can be in the city limits and if they end up mowing the grass because of an owners negligence they will bill them for the mowing. Ever hear of that?? I'm asking........

Mine does. The grass must be mowed at least every 2 weeks and if it gets over 12 inches high, the city mows and bills the homeowner $150. Another good thing they have done is pass an ordinance that says cars cannot be parked on the grass in the yard, nor up on blocks. It must be parked in an approved parking space or driveway, in good operating condition, with a current license plate on it. Also uninhabitable houses have to be dismantled and removed at the owner's expense, same with other buildings. Single wide house trailers are not permitted in town unless they fall under a grandfather clause saying they were already on the lot before the ordinance was passed.

There was a lot of screeching and howling when the ordinances were implemented but the city stuck by their guns and it has brought about some good changes.

[kygorski]

3 yrs ago I took my boat down to an atlanta suburb, my son and I were going to fish the thanksgiving holidays at lake lanier.This gated site had an ordininance about goats and trucks in drive ways. the second day there one of the neighbors came over to chat, and he mentioned that he was an officer with tht HOA, when I told my tale he sais dont worry about it, if its only for a couple of days its no big deal. before he left I jokingly added "where I live, if someone came over to complain about my boat and truck parking, the coroner would come by later and arrest the corpse for tresspassing" that story, much to my sons chagrin, was a topic of discussion at one of the later meetings.It also started a gripe session about some of the more idiotic rules that HOA had. That suburb is jokingly referred to as transplanta/

[kygorski]

That should read boats instead of goats, we even draw the line here about that.But sheep are OK

[DJD]

Mine does. The grass must be mowed at least every 2 weeks and if it gets over 12 inches high, the city mows and bills the homeowner $150. Another good thing they have done is pass an ordinance that says cars cannot be parked on the grass in the yard, nor up on blocks. It must be parked in an approved parking space or driveway, in good operating condition, with a current license plate on it. Also uninhabitable houses have to be dismantled and removed at the owner's expense, same with other buildings. Single wide house trailers are not permitted in town unless they fall under a grandfather clause saying they were already on the lot before the ordinance was passed.

There was a lot of screeching and howling when the ordinances were implemented but the city stuck by their guns and it has brought about some good changes.

The problem I see around here in South Lexington is the people who have rented....at least in my area. The company who rents these houses will let the maintenance go and add the negligent lawn care, parking on the grass and or junk vehicles into the mix and it can look aweful.

We do have a small association that put up "pick up your dog poop, it's the law" and "crime watch" signs plus they mow/landscape our entrance to the subdivision so I'm ok with them. No fees, just donate time and money with occasional friendly meetings which turn out to be just getting to know your neighbors. At least thats what I'm told...I never go cause I'm usually fishing!

Naturally there are homeowners who don't do a great job but for the most part it's the rental homes in my subdivision.