Re: Parking boot battle
 

[QUOTE=mredskins;454291]I hear you but when it comes time to sell your house and you the Beverly Hillbilleys living next door with all there crap everywhere, who do you think is going to buy your house?

Basically a decent HOA is a good thing, it helps hold the value of your neighborhood. Of course like everything else there is always the one percent of HOA's that suck and are annoying.[/QUOTE]

I think it's wayyyyyy more than 1%.

Re: Parking boot battle
 

[quote=mredskins;454291]I hear you but when it comes time to sell your house and you the Beverly Hillbilleys living next door with all there crap everywhere, who do you think is going to buy your house?

Basically a decent HOA is a good thing, it helps hold the value of your neighborhood. Of course like everything else there is always the one percent of HOA's that suck and are annoying.[/quote]

As far as I'm concerned, I think that's the chance you take when you move into a place. Your property value is going to go up or down whether you have white trash next to you or not. Economy, life in general is going to increase or decrease the price. Not only that, when people live in certain neighborhoods, your salary level is typically right there with the rest of the people in that neighborhood. It's highly unlikely you're going to live in an average $300,000 neighborhood and have people on welfare living there.

I would say the vast majority of HOAs serve little to no purpose besides to give the select few of the powerful (or so they think) in the neighborhood the power trip they need of telling other people what to do.

Property value aside, how would you feel if your HOA all of a sudden states you can't park in your own driveway or comes by with a ruler after your grass grows over an inch trying to give you a ticket.

I don't know about you but the only person who I will EVER respect a ticket from is an actual policeman.

Don't mean to get all rant-y on you, but there's nothing I hate more than HOAs. :)

Re: Parking boot battle
 

[QUOTE=TheMalcolmConnection;454295]As far as I'm concerned, I think that's the chance you take when you move into a place. Your property value is going to go up or down whether you have white trash next to you or not. Economy, life in general is going to increase or decrease the price. Not only that, when people live in certain neighborhoods, your salary level is typically right there with the rest of the people in that neighborhood. It's highly unlikely you're going to live in an average $300,000 neighborhood and have people on welfare living there.

I would say the vast majority of HOAs serve little to no purpose besides to give the select few of the powerful (or so they think) in the neighborhood the power trip they need of telling other people what to do.

Property value aside, how would you feel if your HOA all of a sudden states you can't park in your own driveway [B]or comes by with a ruler after your grass grows over an inch trying to give you a ticket.[/B]

I don't know about you but the only person who I will EVER respect a ticket from is an actual policeman.

Don't mean to get all rant-y on you, but there's nothing I hate more than HOAs. :)[/QUOTE]

Funny you say that. The BTK serial killer was actually a HOA president, and he did just that. Not saying anything about the typical HOA folks, but...

Re: Parking boot battle
 

One percent is just a saying, if you give me a day or two I will run the actual numbers for you.

I like my HOA, a year ago a child was struck in the parking lot/ road the HOA came in did an investigation and determined the road needed a speed bump and a back up mirrior. Basically there was a blind that need addressing. The child was ok but could have been way worst.

I pay a whooping $29 a month for the HOA. They shovel my snow, landscape, govern the "rules", and do trash removal. IMO that is a deal.

Now if I do recall on 20/20 a few years back a story about an HOA in Dallas that was horrible. They ticketed people for the dumbest things like weeds, garge door left open, etc... Where every there is power there is the possiblity of abuse of it. If you don't like HOA's it is very simple don't move to that area. At least in MD you get 72 hours to read all the HOA rules before closing on your house.

Re: Parking boot battle
 

[quote=TheMalcolmConnection;454295]As far as I'm concerned, I think that's the chance you take when you move into a place. Your property value is going to go up or down whether you have white trash next to you or not. Economy, life in general is going to increase or decrease the price. Not only that, when people live in certain neighborhoods, your salary level is typically right there with the rest of the people in that neighborhood. It's highly unlikely you're going to live in an average $300,000 neighborhood and have people on welfare living there.

I would say the vast majority of HOAs serve little to no purpose besides to give the select few of the powerful (or so they think) in the neighborhood the power trip they need of telling other people what to do.

Property value aside, how would you feel if your HOA all of a sudden states you can't park in your own driveway or comes by with a ruler after your grass grows over an inch trying to give you a ticket.

I don't know about you but the only person who I will EVER respect a ticket from is an actual policeman.

Don't mean to get all rant-y on you, but there's nothing I hate more than HOAs. :)[/quote]

Then my suggestion to you is don't live in a HOA community, easy as pie.

Re: Parking boot battle
 

[QUOTE=mredskins;454298]One percent is just a saying, if you give me a day or two I will run the actual numbers for you.

I like my HOA, a year ago a child was struck in the parking lot/ road the HOA came in did an investigation and determined the road needed a speed bump and a back up mirrior. Basically there was a blind that need addressing. The child was ok but could have been way worst.

I pay a whooping $29 a month for the HOA. They shovel my snow, landscape, govern the "rules", and do trash removal. IMO that is a deal.

Now if I do recall on 20/20 a few years back a story about an HOA in Dallas that was horrible. They ticketed people for the dumbest things like weeds, garge door left open, etc... Where every there is power there is the possiblity of abuse of it. [B]If you don't like HOA's it is very simple don't move to that area.[/B] At least in MD you get 72 hours to read all the HOA rules before closing on your house.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, that is the truth. I will never live in a place that requires HOA membership.

Re: Parking boot battle
 

[quote=mredskins;454300]Then my suggestion to you is don't live in a HOA community, easy as pie.[/quote]

It's more that I feel HOAs should be 100% outlawed. The one you described provided a service. That's something a group of people in any neighborhood could do whether HOAs are in existence or not. Something like that I totally applaud EXCEPT governing "rules".

And it's not as easy as that. It's pretty much any desirable neighborhood has one. And I'm sure the first thing you're thinking is "but that's why the neighborhood IS desirable".

I don't think an HOA makes a place worth living in or not. Aside from the services that you mentioned above, which I think are great, there's no reason to have a civilian body governing what YOU do on your own property you pay for with your own money.

Re: Parking boot battle
 

I mean what I hate the most is that basically they can create rules that totally trump actual laws.

Sure, you could argue certain things are against actual law, but then you're going to court and paying to fight something you shouldn't have to in the first place.

Re: Parking boot battle
 

Dude relax just don't move to an HOA. I swear there are worst things in the world.

Re: Parking boot battle
 

[QUOTE=TheMalcolmConnection;454314]It's more that I feel HOAs should be 100% outlawed. The one you described provided a service. That's something a group of people in any neighborhood could do whether HOAs are in existence or not. Something like that I totally applaud EXCEPT governing "rules".

And it's not as easy as that. It's pretty much any desirable neighborhood has one. And I'm sure the first thing you're thinking is "but that's why the neighborhood IS desirable".

I don't think an HOA makes a place worth living in or not. Aside from the services that you mentioned above, which I think are great, there's no reason to have a civilian body governing what YOU do on your own property you pay for with your own money.[/QUOTE]


I'm 100% with you on this issue. I've had to deal with HOA committee members knocking on my door and asking me why my wife planted flowers, told that my DirecTV dish was "too big," told that my brother couldn't park his motorcycle in a "visitor" parking space when he stayed over for the weekend.... The problem is that it gives individuals the opportunity to intrude in your life in ways that would be impossible sans HOA.

Re: Parking boot battle
 

if you're hoa sucks, get elected and fix it. that's what my parent's did. now everything's pretty laid back.

Re: Parking boot battle
 

[quote=mredskins;454298]I pay a whooping $29 a month for the HOA. They shovel my snow, landscape, govern the "rules", and do trash removal. IMO that is a deal. [/quote]


So you give someone $30 a month to hassle you?


I'll do it for $20 a month.

Re: Parking boot battle
 

[quote=Buster;454446]So you give someone $30 a month to hassle you?


I'll do it for $20 a month.[/quote]


No I give them $29. =)

Re: Parking boot battle
 

This seems pretty simple - if you don't want the hassles of an HOA, don't buy into a neighborhood with one. That said, if you want to buy a new house these days (at least in my area), it's pretty hard to do with an HOA. We don't have one, but the houses in our neighborhood are 55 years old.

Re: Parking boot battle
 

This may be a shock to some people but you can go out buy a piece of land and build on it. You don't have to live in a "house farm" community. Even in DC, mind you will probably be in Front Royal but if you hate HOA's that much so be it.