Because I rent?

The people who are adamantly against HOAs are typically the kind of people you wouldn't want living near you anyway.

AverageAmericanGuy: The people who are adamantly against in favor of HOAs are typically the kind of people you wouldn't want living near you anyway.

FTFY.
I don't want to live near a bunch of farking nosy losers who worship conformity. And no, I do not give a shiat what my neighbor does to my property value. What I do on my property is my farking business, what you do on yours is yours.

Italian prostitute afflictions? As in, "The freakin' 'hoa gave me those crab things."

AverageAmericanGuy: The people who are adamantly against HOAs are typically the kind of people you wouldn't want living near you anyway.

So wanting your rights not being infringed now makes you a bad person?

Sympathy meter = 0

AverageAmericanGuy: The people who are adamantly against HOAs are typically the kind of people you wouldn't want living near you anyway.

Hey buddy, you don't speak for me.

The kind of people who believe that they're sovereign over their own property, the kind of people who believe that what chattel they own is theirs to do with as they wish and not some magical committee of superfriends half-assing their lives like little feudal lords is exactly the kind of people I want living next to me.

I recall an incident where an HOA director literally harassed and called the police on a neighbor until he literally went insane and ended up setting fire to his own house and shooting himself.

The charge? He was accused of being a pedophile by the HOA.

The "evidence"? He had a collection of stuffed toy animals and Disney animated movies.

That was all the proof they needed. Disney collection = Pedobear!

It's HOA asshats like this that should have their houses gutted of all copper and plumbing when they're away on vacation.

I currently have to have my motorcycle hidden behind a shopping plaza a mile and a half from my place, because the HOA has a rule against un-garaged motorcycles (and fined me because of it), so I am getting a kick, ect. Moved in last winter to a sublet basement apt while it was stored at my folks place, moved it here in the spring, and apparently some asshole complained to management over the summer. It's not even a rice rocket or a Harley, just a quiet little Triumph Bonneville that I kept covered on rainy days, which somehow makes it an "eyesore."

I was very tempted to just sell it and buy a loud flashy sandrail/dunebuggy (legally titled, registered and insured as a VW Bug, of course) and blast around at all hours of the night in it.

Dr. Mojo PhD: AverageAmericanGuy: The people who are adamantly against HOAs are typically the kind of people you wouldn't want living near you anyway.

Hey buddy, you don't speak for me.

The kind of people who believe that they're sovereign over their own property, the kind of people who believe that what chattel they own is theirs to do with as they wish and not some magical committee of superfriends half-assing their lives like little feudal lords is exactly the kind of people I want living next to me.

It makes it simpler to buy marijuana on a weeknight, I suppose.

Meh. You buy a place with an HOA because you want to live there as it sits. You don't buy in thinking you can do whatever you damn well want once the property is yours. Self-centered "non-conformist" can go live with other self-centered non-conformists and roll the dice as to whether neighbors on all sides of them will insist being a public jackass is within their god given right. HOA boards are people willing to do the job for free. You want a better board? Collect a bunch of like minded owners and get yourselves elected. Can't get elected? Maybe it's because you suck.

To those who say it's their own damn fault for choosing to live in associations, I'd like to point out what Gawker already makes clear:

The big problem with HOAs is that they are increasingly omnipresent, making getting a safe, reasonable and attractive home in a non-HOA community increasingly difficult (almost impossible where I live); furthermore, even if you find one you like, there's no guarantee that the HOA culture won't change with a new board election.

I know of too many people personally who've had HOAs trample on them in unacceptable ways.

HOA is nothing but big fish in little pond syndrome, they have some power and they're gonna use it. why people would want to live like that is a mystery to me.

AverageAmericanGuy: The people who are adamantly against HOAs are typically the kind of people you wouldn't want living near you anyway.

8/10
Simple but effective.
Classic, like going on a site for Harry Potter fans and saying Harry Potter sucks.

The problem is the nasty, terrible psychological illness that homeo-
wner associations cause. I think it's called something like homeo-
pathy.

AverageAmericanGuy: The people who are adamantly against HOAs are typically the kind of people you wouldn't want living near you anyway.

Indeed. Like me.

/would love to live in the country well away from the "me too's"

I rent from my brother-in-law and when he came over one week, he was FLIPPING OUT about the color of our neighbor's shed. It was a deep red-- apparently only white, gray, and pastel blues are allowed per HOA guidelines. It wasn't bringing down any property values, it just DIDN'T LOOK THE SAME UGHHHHH.

HOAs are the dumbest shiat and my brother-in-law is a farking doofus.

You know what grown ups do when neighbors are doing something irritating? They go talk to them like adults. I've never had a problem with a neighbor that wasn't fixed by bringing it to their attention. Then again I'm not an unreasonable person incapable of compromise either.

/it helps to be likable

Evilsmurf: I don't want to live near a bunch of farking nosy losers who worship conformity. And no, I do not give a shiat what my neighbor does to my property value. What I do on my property is my farking business, what you do on yours is yours.

THIS

(insert a billion slashies here and .... my final point would be this)

// I come from a land down under (no go FURTHER down under), we eat baby sheep with mint sauce

My buddy's father is a wealthy Texas redneck, and I loved how he handled his HOA. He said to them "You got lawyers? I got lawyers too. Let's go to court and see who runs out of money first!"

He then went on and purchased additional properties until he had the majority vote.

I live in a rural subdivision with a bunch of small (for this area) ranch-type houses and a HOA as well. While it costs an extra $300 a year to have the HOA, I'm reminded every day why I'm glad to have one. Down the main road (outside the subdivision) are also a bunch of small ranch houses as well. They're all kept up nicely - except for one in the center of it all that looks like the white trash version of Sanford and Son.

It would piss me off if I had bought a $150,000 home only to have to live next to those folks. (We're not talking a motorcycle or pickup parked in the driveway, we're talking the back end of pickups and motorcycle pieces parked everywhere). And I'm sure it's a fun place to live next to on a Friday or Saturday night.

FTA:

More than 80 percent of newly built homes belong to association communities, reports the Associated Press; 24.4 million homes, or 20 percent of all homes in America, are represented by HOAs

This is the real crime. It's getting harder and harder to find homes that are NOT "governed" by HOAs. So all you smart-asses saying, "Just go move somewhere without one!" are full of it.

I know the last city where I lived, the only available housing without HOA was the ghetto and this one "community" that was 70 years old where you had mostly trailer trash for neighbors.

Are HOA's american only? And are they in cities or mainly smaller towns?

/Canadian...NTTAWWT
//Too poor, gotta rent

I'm as anti-HOA as the next guy, but it's not unreasonable to fine someone for planting flowers a common area. For planting flowers in your own yard, yes, that's ridiculous. For disturbing a common area, reasonable.

Worst.Fark handle. ever.: I recall an incident where an HOA director literally harassed and called the police on a neighbor until he literally went insane and ended up setting fire to his own house and shooting himself.

Literally?

I bought a short sale. The house had been vacant for about 8 months. The rep from the HOA called me at closing to tell me about the lawn, roof, etc.

Yeah, you read that correctly... 'at closing'.

I politely told him to blow it out his ass.

/I'm a fan of HOAs

Warlordtrooper: So wanting your rights not being infringed now makes you a bad person?

No, complaining about a legal contract you signed makes you a bad person. And a moron.

RocketCarHead: My buddy's father is a wealthy Texas redneck, and I loved how he handled his HOA. He said to them "You got lawyers? I got lawyers too. Let's go to court and see who runs out of money first!"

He then went on and purchased additional properties until he had the majority vote.

Unfortunately, this option is open to... well, pretty much nobody. Regular folks have to obey or pay.

That's pretty America's slogan lately: "OBEY OR PAY"

AverageAmericanGuy: The people who are adamantly against HOAs are typically the kind of people you wouldn't want living near you anyway.

I hope you weren't trolling because I agree with this statement. Also wouldn't want to live in a HOA where the board is unreasonable and petty.

Seems like a lot of these horror stories came out of the South. This is why I don't trust any Southern politicians - they will try to appear reasonable prior to election but once they win the office - watch out! They will do away with appeals process and then impose their own moral views.

I understand the need for HOAs. The key to a successful HOA is electing people with the skills, knowledge, and temperment to successfully manage the area. Too many tea-baggers get their initial taste of power by getting elected to HOAs.

I can only find one instance where the HOA was really acting in a dickish way. Most of the stories are of people who are terrible neighbors.

1) Pagosa Springs, Colorado - Family puts up giant, garish, anti-war "Christmas decoration".

2) San Antonio, TX - Family with autistic child puts up fence without receiving approval from HOA.

3) Odessa, FL - Redneck buys truck that won't fit in his garage. Leaves it outside.

4) Frisco, TX - Being a serviceman exempts you from your financial obligations. LOL. No. You have to live up to your responsibilities. You'd think the Army would have taught him that.

5) Bossier City, LA - Family puts up giant pro-war banner on their front lawn. Because they love America. How dare you question the banner. You must hate America.

6) Timonium, Maryland - Poor family buys house beyond their means and can't pay for the electricity to run their dryer.

7) Dallas, TX - A "disabled vet", who surprisingly isn't panhandling near the convention center, needs to tell everyone how much he loves America by devaluing his truck with ridiculous decals.

8) Clearwater, FL - Elderly couple who failed to raise their daughter right takes custody of their grand daughter for the foreseeable future. Kids do cute things at 6. They are terrible at 16.

9) Chesterfield, VA - 3,800 home owners protest HOAs decision to force everyone to buy new mailboxes. Where were they when the vote was taken?

10) Irving, TX - Man buys cookie cutter house in cookie cutter neighborhood. Puts up solar panels without HOA approval.

11) Sanford, FL - Man thinks he's special because his family died in the home and doesn't want to be reminded of them. Moving, apparently, didn't cross his mind.

12) Bayonet Point, FL - Daughter doesn't love her dad enough to pay to get him out of jail.

13) Burnsville, MN - Man is rebuffed by HOA. Appeals to the public.

14) Pflugerville, TX - Man wants to run a business from his home. Residential-zoned area residents balk.

15) Houston, TX - Home buyer did not hire a lawyer when buying her house.

16) Edgewater, FL - HOA doesn't want kids playing the streets, suggests kids stay in the back yards where they won't be hit by cars. Some parents have a problem with this.

17) Las Vegas, NV - 1) Woman paints her driveway without receiving approval from HOA. 2) HOA board is incompetent.

18) Pittsboro, NC - Family installs ugly aluminum siding. Someone with taste is elected to HOA board and aluminum siding is banned. HOA backs down after bad press.

19) Riverview, FL - Woman turns lawn into putting green. Some people have a problem with this.

20) Novi, MI - What is "normal sized" when it comes to statues of Mary on your lawn? lolcatholics.

21) Albuquerque, NM - Home owner has never heard of Craigslist.

22) Houston, TX - Man installs ugly window and door coverings, is surprised that neighbors hate it.

While I'm sure the people who actually WANT to be a part of of a governing force in the neighborhood are probably douchbags, those stories were painfully lacking in details.

But...property values!!!111!1!!

/derp

fark your HOA. There's much more important things to worry about than what color your neighbor's front door is.

angry_redhead: Are HOA's american only? And are they in cities or mainly smaller towns?

I don't know about American-only, but they're everywhere here. It's getting hard to find a place to live that doesn't have one, and the worst part: They're mandatory--when your home falls under the "jurisdiction" of one, you have to agree to obey them or you can't buy the home. It's totally ridiculous.

I'd be all for HOAs if participation was optional.

stiletto_the_wise: FTA:

More than 80 percent of newly built homes belong to association communities, reports the Associated Press; 24.4 million homes, or 20 percent of all homes in America, are represented by HOAs

This is the real crime. It's getting harder and harder to find homes that are NOT "governed" by HOAs. So all you smart-asses saying, "Just go move somewhere without one!" are full of it.

I know the last city where I lived, the only available housing without HOA was the ghetto and this one "community" that was 70 years old where you had mostly trailer trash for neighbors.

Since 80 percent of the homes in the US have no HOA, I guess the logical conclusion is...you should move elsewhere.

I'm quite sure that, during the eventual breakdown of society and the emergence of the Mad Max post apocalyptic world, HOAs will be nothing but well-ordered and quite democratic gangs of raiding cannibals.

AverageAmericanGuy: The people who are adamantly against HOAs are typically the kind of people you wouldn't want living near you anyway.

I think you need to change your Fark handle.

Also, color me shocked that most of these HOA horror stories came from Texas and Florida.

/just don't color me shocked in an HOA, they'll fine me

Hanging up your laundry on a clothesline is what poor people do, and therefore vulgar, said the HOA of townhouse dweller Susana Tregobov. The HOA ordered her to stop hanging her clothes out to dry because doing so "makes our community look like Dundalk," a Baltimore neighborhood full of Poors.

Aaaaaand:

After being told by their HOA that they all had to replace their mailboxes with the same $155 model, the 3,800 homeowners of the Brandermill community painted their mailboxes yellow in protest. In response to this bold act of suburban solidarity, the HOA board president said the homeowners would receive violation notices. Non-compliant homes were subject to $10-a-day fines. Not sure what the big deal is, given that all the yellow mailboxes conformed.

my parents moved into a new neighborhood last year. it is far and away the nicest neighborhood they've lived in with the homes topping out over 2 million (in a part of the country where that still buys you a 9k sq home). all of the homes are well kept with no lawn gnome armies. my dad's biggest concern when buying the house was whether the HOA would allow him to have a satellite dish. the realtor's response, "what HOA?". sold.

Kazakhstan is greatest country in the world: AverageAmericanGuy: The people who are adamantly against HOAs are typically the kind of people you wouldn't want living near you anyway.

I think you need to change your Fark handle.

Yeah I think he's going for the AverageAmericanAsshat handle.

/call him triple A for short

CygnusDarius: After being told by their HOA that they all had to replace their mailboxes with the same $155 model, the 3,800 homeowners of the Brandermill community painted their mailboxes yellow in protest. In response to this bold act of suburban solidarity, the HOA board president said the homeowners would receive violation notices. Non-compliant homes were subject to $10-a-day fines. Not sure what the big deal is, given that all the yellow mailboxes conformed.

So, this is OK but requiring people to buy health insurance is an affront to God unconstitutional?