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We recently painted our driveway dark blue. Despite us getting compliments on it, our HOA told us that it's "not an approved color" and threatened to fine us if we don't change it. So we begrudgingly did.
I never understood the point of HOA's. You are basically paying money per month to some busybody who's going to tell you what you can and cannot do with your property.
I get the "they prevent someone from painting their house bright pink" but in reality, if the guy is not harming anyone by actually painting the house bright pink, what's the problem?
There is an equestrian community in the county north of me where all the homes are on at least 4 acres. If I was to win the lottery, I would have loved to consider a home there so I could build a detached building big enough for an RV and classic cars. But then I took a look at the HOA bylaws and saw this: "No additional buildings other than a barn of approved look and size." If I have the money to buy a house with acreage, why should a derp in an office tell me no to a garage?
But here are some examples of HOAs acting, well, derpy. Some were personally told to me, others I found on the interwebs:
1. I used to dream of moving to a city known for it's "park-like" nature (hint: It's infamous for a school shooting last year). Until a friend told me, "You're a car guy, stay away from the HOA communities." I asked him to elaborate. Apparently, a buddy of his has a classic Camaro or something similar. All his neighbors thought it was cool... except for one dipshit who kept complaining about the exhaust note. Apparently, just starting the car was a problem. The HOA sent him a letter saying "we received multiple complaints" and to either put back the factory exhaust (Impossible to do as it was a restored car, the OEM was long gone) or find another place to store it (When you pay a lot of money for a house with a 3 car garage that's not going to fly). He sent the letter back saying exactly that. About a week later a tow truck shows up. Owner was puzzled until the tow truck driver says "we're here to remove a nuisance vehicle." Owner says, "like hell you are" and it took a while of fighting the HOA but they finally backed down. Yes, it really was the same guy lodging complaints to the HOA. Sad thing? It wasn't even about the exhaust. Turns out he was a member of a local environmentalist group who felt the classic car was "polluting the environment and he didn't like that." The owner of the car moved to a non-HOA community shortly after.
PS: Yes, there are non-HOA communities in this city but they are expensive as shit.
2. A man is interviewed by the HOA of a house he wanted to buy. I guess it was in a “higher end” type of community. He asked the board members if it’s OK to install security cameras on the outside. He must live in a state where state law supersedes any HOA rules. The board tells him, “Well legally we can’t say no but we prefer that you don’t.” The man asks why, seeing as homes with security cameras are 3-5 times less likely to be broken into. The board tells him, “Because when people are being shown homes in the neighborhood it might make it look like the area is prone to break-ins.” Needless to say, he didn’t buy the house.
3. Another security camera story. Guy gets permission to install security cameras. He picks Nest IQ cameras – one of the best cameras you can buy. Seriously. Not a single bad review. A neighbor asks the homeowner about some of the tech specs, so he thinks nothing of it and gives it to him. A little over a week later the HOA sends him a letter saying that a neighbor is not comfortable with the fact that the cameras capture audio and record to a cloud server owned by Google. They actually asked the homeowner if he can consider installing a different brand. The homeowner sent a letter back saying, “Since they are used I cannot return them and will have to sell them for a loss, not to mention I’m out the cost to install them. Plus the expense of having to buy a different camera system that is not as good. If the neighbor is willing to pay back the difference in diminished value, the cost I paid to install them and also is willing to contribute to a different system, I would be more than happy to consider.” The HOA never bothered him again.
4. An HOA wanted homeowners to park all cars in the garage between I think 12AM-6AM. Not only would this be logistically impossible if a family has 4 cars and only a 2-space garage, but it would make the neighborhood look abandoned.
5. One story that went viral recently was a condo association (They are the worst) that asked all owners to leave their garage doors open between 9AM-5PM. Why? So a board member can look inside to see if anyone illegally converted their garage into a living space after a resident was caught doing so. The HOA had to back down because the city told them it’s a safety violation (You think?!).
The issue is that in my area, the homes without an HOA are few and far between (Very tough to find a home newer than 20 years that isn’t in one) and if you are lucky to find one there is a price premium. There is a house for sale in my town right now that isn’t even in the best area (Okay, you don’t have to wear a bulletproof vest to take the trash out but it’s not “great” either) and it’s around 40 grand overpriced because it isn’t in an HOA. Guess they figure if you’re desperate enough to not live in one you’ll pay any price.
Personally, after dealing with our HOA over a damn driveway color and after reading/hearing these stories if I had a price range and one home was $400K but it had an HOA and another home was $440K and it was HOA free, I’d rather spend the extra $40K!
I never understood the point of HOA's. You are basically paying money per month to some busybody who's going to tell you what you can and cannot do with your property.
I get the "they prevent someone from painting their house bright pink" but in reality, if the guy is not harming anyone by actually painting the house bright pink, what's the problem?
There is an equestrian community in the county north of me where all the homes are on at least 4 acres. If I was to win the lottery, I would have loved to consider a home there so I could build a detached building big enough for an RV and classic cars. But then I took a look at the HOA bylaws and saw this: "No additional buildings other than a barn of approved look and size." If I have the money to buy a house with acreage, why should a derp in an office tell me no to a garage?
But here are some examples of HOAs acting, well, derpy. Some were personally told to me, others I found on the interwebs:
1. I used to dream of moving to a city known for it's "park-like" nature (hint: It's infamous for a school shooting last year). Until a friend told me, "You're a car guy, stay away from the HOA communities." I asked him to elaborate. Apparently, a buddy of his has a classic Camaro or something similar. All his neighbors thought it was cool... except for one dipshit who kept complaining about the exhaust note. Apparently, just starting the car was a problem. The HOA sent him a letter saying "we received multiple complaints" and to either put back the factory exhaust (Impossible to do as it was a restored car, the OEM was long gone) or find another place to store it (When you pay a lot of money for a house with a 3 car garage that's not going to fly). He sent the letter back saying exactly that. About a week later a tow truck shows up. Owner was puzzled until the tow truck driver says "we're here to remove a nuisance vehicle." Owner says, "like hell you are" and it took a while of fighting the HOA but they finally backed down. Yes, it really was the same guy lodging complaints to the HOA. Sad thing? It wasn't even about the exhaust. Turns out he was a member of a local environmentalist group who felt the classic car was "polluting the environment and he didn't like that." The owner of the car moved to a non-HOA community shortly after.
PS: Yes, there are non-HOA communities in this city but they are expensive as shit.
2. A man is interviewed by the HOA of a house he wanted to buy. I guess it was in a “higher end” type of community. He asked the board members if it’s OK to install security cameras on the outside. He must live in a state where state law supersedes any HOA rules. The board tells him, “Well legally we can’t say no but we prefer that you don’t.” The man asks why, seeing as homes with security cameras are 3-5 times less likely to be broken into. The board tells him, “Because when people are being shown homes in the neighborhood it might make it look like the area is prone to break-ins.” Needless to say, he didn’t buy the house.
3. Another security camera story. Guy gets permission to install security cameras. He picks Nest IQ cameras – one of the best cameras you can buy. Seriously. Not a single bad review. A neighbor asks the homeowner about some of the tech specs, so he thinks nothing of it and gives it to him. A little over a week later the HOA sends him a letter saying that a neighbor is not comfortable with the fact that the cameras capture audio and record to a cloud server owned by Google. They actually asked the homeowner if he can consider installing a different brand. The homeowner sent a letter back saying, “Since they are used I cannot return them and will have to sell them for a loss, not to mention I’m out the cost to install them. Plus the expense of having to buy a different camera system that is not as good. If the neighbor is willing to pay back the difference in diminished value, the cost I paid to install them and also is willing to contribute to a different system, I would be more than happy to consider.” The HOA never bothered him again.
4. An HOA wanted homeowners to park all cars in the garage between I think 12AM-6AM. Not only would this be logistically impossible if a family has 4 cars and only a 2-space garage, but it would make the neighborhood look abandoned.
5. One story that went viral recently was a condo association (They are the worst) that asked all owners to leave their garage doors open between 9AM-5PM. Why? So a board member can look inside to see if anyone illegally converted their garage into a living space after a resident was caught doing so. The HOA had to back down because the city told them it’s a safety violation (You think?!).
The issue is that in my area, the homes without an HOA are few and far between (Very tough to find a home newer than 20 years that isn’t in one) and if you are lucky to find one there is a price premium. There is a house for sale in my town right now that isn’t even in the best area (Okay, you don’t have to wear a bulletproof vest to take the trash out but it’s not “great” either) and it’s around 40 grand overpriced because it isn’t in an HOA. Guess they figure if you’re desperate enough to not live in one you’ll pay any price.
Personally, after dealing with our HOA over a damn driveway color and after reading/hearing these stories if I had a price range and one home was $400K but it had an HOA and another home was $440K and it was HOA free, I’d rather spend the extra $40K!
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