Technically a Legal Issue

[NETWizz]

LOL... funny that you call it "sob," just look at it. This is what I sent the HOA when they complained about my grass being brown... That they hired a company of their choosing... and didn't prepare the ground, either..

It makes you wonder what kind of collusion and cost cutting measures are going on.

 

[Larry Sabo]

This is what I sent the HOA when they complained about my grass being brown

Is the lawn common property and you responsible for its maintenance? If it's your property, what business is it of theirs how you take care of your lawn? If it is common property, surely they are responsible for maintenance.

 

[NETWizz]

It is private property and the association dues pay for its maintenance, but it doesn't stop letters telling me the obvious that it needs watering, fertilizing, and dying. The real problem is they weed whack it to almost bare ground.

 

[coffee]

It is private property and the association dues pay for its maintenance

Evidently the association dues are paying for something else.

Most cities have bylaws stating fair upkeep of the property you own. They are along the lines of your property not becoming a public nuisance. However, HOA's are not highly regarded in my book. Several years ago I beat a HOA into the ground. If your interested in getting rid of your HOA then PM me and I will share what I did. Otherwise, I assume that on this point the HOA was there long before you bought your house and in buying you also signed to obey their rules - no matter how stupid they are.

p.s. -- Why are they putting down dead sod?

 

[tucsonpc]

I'm (thankfully!) not part of a HOA, but I would LOVE to hear your story, coffee! I bet it's worth a few good laughs.

 

[coffee]

I'm (thankfully!) not part of a HOA, but I would LOVE to hear your story, coffee! I bet it's worth a few good laughs.

HOW TO PISS OFF THE HOA AND REGAIN YOUR SANITY
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When I moved into my neighborhood about 7 years ago they had a HOA. I became very good friends with my neighbor and we got looking at the worthless "Improvements" they made to our neighborhood - that and we just hate HOA's. So, We did some checking. You know you can look up your HOA. They have to be registered with the state. So, FIrst thing is to see if they are current. We started going to the meetings. What is painfully obvious is that the only people that go to the meetings at an HOA are those that benefit from them ($). Therefore, We found out that they were going to vote on renewing their HOA charter. We spent 2 days canvassing our neighborhood talking to home owners and having them sign proxies. We gathered up about 43 proxies from people that didnt care a bit about the HOA and never attended the meetings. So, We would go to the meetings and vote down any measure they put on the ballot. We got as far as shutting down the HOA for good. We kept them from renewing their charter. At most of the meetings only about 20 people would show up. So, We basically took over the HOA and shut it down. Of course, You need a copy of the HOA bylaws. This you can get easily from the state or simply ask the HOA for them. Its really amazing how easy it is to screw up an HOA. Of course, Those people at the meeting will never talk to you again. But that doesnt matter.

After you get them shut down, Keep an eye out as they will try and start up. So, You have to go get proxies all over again and attend the meetings. I had this one guy so mad at me, To this day he will not wave or say hi when we drive by each other on the street.

Thats how you screw up a HOA. Nobody cares really and they just pay their yearly dues. So, Go out and get your proxies and take over.

 

[tucsonpc]

I love it! I hope I never need to borrow from your playbook, but it's a great idea to keep in my back pocket!

 

[fencepost]

A couple of things I'll note - this works for HOAs, but not for COAs (Condos), because the condo association pretty much has to exist and things get weird without it. That said, taking over a COA is likely not much harder than this but is also likely to be pretty thankless.

Also, if someone tries to reform the HOA you might have pretty good grounds that whatever they're trying to create is a new entity and that if they want it created they have to go around and get everyone to agree to it - and that it's unlikely that they'd have standing to impose anything on anyone who didn't sign on with their newly-created HOA.

 

[NETWizz]

I don't think it is necessary... None of my neighbor's need an HOA to keep up their front lawns; they are smart enough to mow their own grass.

 

[coffee]

A couple of things I'll note - this works for HOAs, but not for COAs (Condos), because the condo association pretty much has to exist and things get weird without it. That said, taking over a COA is likely not much harder than this but is also likely to be pretty thankless.

Also, if someone tries to reform the HOA you might have pretty good grounds that whatever they're trying to create is a new entity and that if they want it created they have to go around and get everyone to agree to it - and that it's unlikely that they'd have standing to impose anything on anyone who didn't sign on with their newly-created HOA.

COA's really were not in the conversation unless I missed something somewhere. They are two different things.