I’m a retired Prosecutor and Judge and as such was well known and respected in my gated community. So I conned my neighbors into electing me to my HOA. And, as a guy who was pretty sick of HOAs in general, having in the past been pestered about the color of my house’s door, my mailbox, and having too many cars in the driveway, etc.I convinced everyone to allow me rewrite the HOA rules and then have the new rules incorporated into to the various individual home titles, which I did for free. No one read them, nor complained. We then had the most lax rules of any I’ve seen since or in the past. I was still able to eventually sell my house for double what I paid for it and since it was a waterfront community, our house values only went up. I was the HOA slayer!
That's the way to do it. I've done the same for my condo. I didn't like the rule, so instead of saying ignorant things like, "Oh, they are all on a power trip", I joined the Board and fixed things.
Can you do this for us? Trying to evict homeowners out of own homes, claiming "unauthorized occupant " fining on non existent violations, omitting protocols, refusing access to financials, kicking homeowners out of board meetings, suddenly deemed " unauthorized occupants" targeting, stalking. Pres. , treasurer and their kid on the board!! Brutal horrific peaceless harrassment. Thoughts?
@@adventurefitnessescape700 I’m damn glad I don’t live in your community. 😎 The first step is to make friends with as many neighbors as possible and learn what percentage of the homeowners are necessary to rewrite or change your HOA rules. Get to know your HOA rules inside and out and convince your neighbors that you will modify the rules if elected to the board. Pick the stupid or just picky requirements and tell your neighbors that if elected you will remove them. It’s very much like running for a government office. It will likely take a lot of time depending on the number of homeowners under the HOA. But what choice do you have if you can’t live with the present rules, but either to change them or sell and escape them. I was real lucky there were only 15 houses in our little community and my neighbors were of like mind. My neighbors knew who I was and kind a respected me almost automatically. And I was a good neighbor too. I was always laidback and offered to help neighbors in various ways, like I allowed my next door neighbor to park his boat at my pier. We only needed a majority to agree to any change in the rules so it wasn’t hard to reach everyone.
i had the same. tho i only got a 1 1/2 car garage. still good tho. fenced in back yard for a dog. and no HOA. they all can kiss my azz! none of them have done anything good for anyone
These are reasons I live out in the County, outside city limits, and GLADLY drive 45 minutes (without traffic) each way to work. I've never been happier.
I used to pump septic tanks and I finished pumping a guys tank once and as I was writing up the bill I sheepishly told the guy, "look it's none of my business what you do I just want to warn you that there was a lot of condoms in your tank and that flushing them can clog your drain field" He said "that's not possible my wife and I don't use them" so I said "I don't know, maybe it's your kids" and he said "that's not possible either all I have is daughters" as he pointed to 3 teenage girls. ....... "OK sir, have a nice day"
I was a mortgage underwriter and had to read the Restrictive Covenants in order to underwright loans for HOA houses, condos and co-ops (yes, i started in northern NJ). You could not PAY me to buy in a covenanted neighborhood.
As a lawyer of 22 years myself I have reviewed many HOA by-laws, and that by itself gave me sufficient reason to never live in a subdivision with an HOA.
I'm in an HOA in PA and even though it's dirt cheap compared to others in the area, it infringes on people's freedom and liberty just a bit. If you cherish that stuff, don't get in one. They have fined me for having a for sale sign on my own pwc I was selling, they fined me for a guest who's car was technically straddling the HOAs road by 3 ft, but since it looked like it was on my property and I didn't have a map with me, I didn't know. They have a patrol that rides around every hour to make sure you're not working on your car or whatever else they've arbitrarily decided to outlaw. They were constantly on my lot doing inspections early in the morning with their trucks. If you like your freedom, don't be in one.
kind of an extortion racket to extract money. i was forced to use their lawn service because if i used somebody else or did it myself, they would find some excuse to complain.
I was a renter in a condo once. Never had any issues with the HOA. The problems came from owners. I smoked & got constant letters on my door telling me to stop smoking outside. Like, in the parking lot... They wanted me to leave the property in order to smoke. I put a bag of trash outside to take to the bin. Went back inside & got dressed for work. When I opened my door, all of my trashed poured in. Someone had ripped open the bag & leaned it against the door. Someone moved in & left all of their boxes in the hallway next to my door. Everyone blamed me. Left notes. I responded & never moved the boxes.
Normally, HOA nightmare stories are about HOAs that are being completely unreasonable. It was entertaining hearing some stories about nightmares from the HOA side where the HOA was the one who was reasonable! As a tenant, though, I also cannot help but be amused that these nightmares were caused by renters. I remember a conversation with a cousin who was also a landlord, where she explained that she started out with a rather short rental contract, but her contract is now over 3 pages long -- and each new paragraph has a horror story behind it.
I bought a condominium before I got married. When I moved in I immediately noticed there was no hot water in the morning. I froze in the shower. The water heater for the 6 story building needed to be replaced. Everyone was assessed $500 for the cost, over and above the monthly fees. That was in the 1970s, so it was a lot of money then. One day the board resigned and a new one was formed, the head of which went on a spending spree with our money for unnecessary furnishings and upgrades and our fees went up steeply. Then that chair was thrown out, and a drunk was elected by default as no one else wanted the job. He bought and installed new carpeting in all the halls and billed the owners for his labor. Someone hated the color, questioned his authority in making the installation and sued him. One summer night I was sitting out on my balcony chatting with a friend and we had a little candle going for light and the superintendent stormed in like a gestapo officer with his master key, telling me to put it out, as people complaining we had a fire on our balcony...I was so glad to sell the place. Owning a single family residence was a relief. You are never truly free in a condo.
What State was this in? In my state, (and in all states) there are laws that govern HOA's and how your money is spent. Reading the above would be cause for jail time for those Board members. First of all, if the Board resigns in mass the HOA is dissolved, and that my friend leads to a costly takeover by the State Courts. And a Board member can't just spend money without three bids and then a vote by the owners that authorizes the expenditure ... especially if a board member is in any way associated with the contractor. That's a "Conflict of Interest" ... taken to Court that Board member would end up paying for the entire renovation especially if done without owner authorization. And if the owners hate the renovation he would be required (out of his pocket) to restore the space to its former condition. If you're in an HOA read your State's laws regarding HOA management. They're written in plain English and it's the best way to protect your investment. They can be had online, usually for free. If you have a question about how or what an HOA is doing simply Google the question with regard to your State's HOA laws for an answer. When owning a unit in an HOA Google, Duck, Duck Go, and Bing are your best friends.
That's an ignorant statement. I'm much richer now than I was when I bought my condo, which I still own, four years ago. If you don't have the administrative, business, or people skills to handle sharing property with others and managing it in an organized fashion (which is what an HOA boils down to), then, sure, don't get into it, but that's your loss due to your missing attributes.
I would have asked the plumber to take the single pipe coming from the family with the baby's toilet and put in a reduction to a 2 inch pipe, so they could start clogging their own toilet without affecting anyone else.
Plumber could loose license for violating city plumbing code (may just get fined?); everyone would be libel for conspiracy...bad idea. Plus the cost to dig up the line, to make the change; then having to dig it up again after court order...expensive idea.
@@mikemarkley8906 Plumber can not legally violate code. The change to a 2 inch pipe would be a code violation, anywhere that is regulated. No good plumber would even consider doing this; would not loose license (?), but would loose money (fine, lawsuit, court cost). And since this plumbing is outside the building, guess who is Still Responsible for the repair?
as the child of a former plumber: I can tell you with certainty, the only thing you're supposed to flush in a toilet... is that which leaves your body, and toilet paper...even if it suggests anywhere on the packaging that it MIGHT be ok to flush it, you don't. ladies... that includes your tampons...they're gonna do the same thing in your pipes as they do inside you: expand...and 100% will block up the flow... it's kinda what they're designed to do. Do NOT flush them. ever.
Had a friend who was an apartment maintenance man, he responded 3 different times to a woman's apartment for a plugged toilet. Every time it was caused by a full size sanitary napkin, he explained that you should not flush those to the woman. The 4th time he left it on her counter with a note that said "do not flush man hole covers down the toilet." Never went back again.
I used to have a small carpentry business, installing doors cupboards trim etc. I got a call once to replace a door in a social housing building. What a nightmare! no one knew who had authority, everyone had an opinion, many had demands etc. Delays in getting "official" approval, and no real commitment on when I'd get paid. In the end I said NO this job is not for me. They were mystified LOL dodged a bullet!
Was the term “St Bernardage” defined in the condo documentation? On the topic of the “diaper,” an old joke: A person taking a survey at the mall for Fruit of the Loom asks an elderly man his underwear preference - “Boxers or briefs? He answers Depends.”
idk why anyone would want an hoa, you buy a property at full price then pay someone rent for the privilege of being told what to do on your land, at least a condo board maintains some things.
A little education might help you. You don't pay "rent" when you own a condo. You pay dues, which is money you put into a pool that the HOA is required to use to maintain your buildings. Yes, you share ownership of the buildings with the other condo owners. And if you don't like the community rules, you can join the board and change them. Or just sit and type dumb comments on RU-vid. Your choice.
For the record, the phrase "the sheer quantity and volume of Saint Bernardage" is brilliant! Anyway, I've been on our HOA board for several years now. I've heard HOA horror stories, but the most painful challenge I've seen was when we repainted the complex and changed the color scheme. We (the 34 owners, not just the board) agreed that we hated the current color scheme (chosen by a previous board), and eventually we agreed on a new color scheme, but getting from point A to point B was a painful process (the bike-shed effect in full force). But yeah, most of the CC&R details matter only when someone files a formal complaint with the board and/or the management company.
Man Steve, you're a patient guy. I would have gone straight over the first time and said "The plumbing was clogged from diapers. Diapers don't belong in the sewer. You're the only ones in this section with a baby so I think it's fair to assume that someone in your household is flushing diapers. We will take care of the bill this time, but any subsequent bills for clearing diapers will be forwarded to your house. DO NOT FLUSH DIAPERS, THEY GO IN THE TRASH. Good day." It also seems weird to me that landlords aren't required to report tenants to the board and require them to sign documents from the board binding them to the rules and making them personally liable to pay fines they accrue. That seems like a no brainer, and would make dealing with tenants somewhat easier.
You can make all the rules you want as an HOA, but enforcing them, especially with (potential) absentee owners is a whole other story. You can't collect fines without putting a lien on the property. Liens don't matter until the owner sells the property (unless the mortgager is paying attention...) and it's nigh onto impossible to evict an owner from his/her home. I was on an HOA board for a short time, and I can tell you it's a no-win, thankless job. Most folks are cooperative, pleasant, and understand why rules exist. And then, there's the others....
@@JimfromIndy That's not correct. You can't put a lien on a home due to fines. Your only option is to sue in Small Claims Court. For reimbursements (like for plumbing services unclogging the sewer lines), you can get a judgment, which serves as a lien, and which certainly does matter, because you can do a judicial foreclosure on such a lien. It's true that being on the board is thankless. Jerk owners do nothing but complain, even though you're putting in all the time to manage property you and they own equal shares of! But, I see it as an investment in the property I bought. If it comes to the point it's not worth the effort, I'll sell. But, I think the path to riches is to retain real estate, never sell, so here I am, still on the board!
I remember some graffiti, scrawled in permanent marker, on the restroom wall at a high school I went to: 'Please flush twice, it's a long way to the school cafeteria'. Yuck.
I was expecting the baby to have graduated to the next size diaper and finally clogged their own toilet. I'm shocked you could even get a newborn diaper down the toilet trap, considering diapers are designed to puff up when wet.
They should ban Air B&Bs too. They are a haven of vice crime, gangs, drugs. 📰💊💉🏢🏠. I worked security in 2015, 2016, VueOrlando.com . They had residents who owned 5-6 units. Theyd Air B&B 3-4 places then the drug gangs would deal club drugs, opiates out of the bars, clubs Orlando downtown. You didn't need to be a DEA agent or PhD to figure it out...
My neighbors and I receive HOA letters year round on minor issues ranging from shrubs that have to be trimmed, to advising the grass has to be mowed. Yet, there is a house down the road that should be condemned. What we find upsetting is, the HOA ignores that property completely. It is obvious the HOA is giving that property owner preferential treatment. I wonder what if any recourse the neighbors might have against the unfair practices this HOA is committing.
For certain issues like tall grass, junk in the yard, etc. we here can call the city engineer to complain. Here they'll send a letter threatening a fine; if you don't comply they'll take care of the problem (mow, take away the junk) at YOUR expense plus a hefty fine. (One of my renting ex-neighbors was a lazy slob.)
I've been living in a condo complex for many years and their are a few people that fell that the "Rules Don't Apply" to them (RDA). One big problem in our complex is/are dogs and dog owners. We own a big dog 100 pounds, the common area of the complex the HOA has a rule that ALL dogs must be on a leash, the City also has a leash law ALL dogs must be on a leash. So anytime we walk our dog she is always on a leash, however...owners of little doggies think its okay to let their little dog run around the complex not on a leash because their dog is little and won't hurt anyone...wrong! Case in point...one day I was taking my dog to my truck on leash, we were about to jump in and from out of the blue my neighbors little dog comes running out to her garage right at us barking like it was attaching my dog bits it and it runs back yelping...I felt really bad at the time, my neighbor tells me sorry, sorry, sorry...it just got out...(happens all the time) nothing happen to us but my neighbor tells me days later that is cost her $450 in vet bills because my dog punctured the skin of her dog. Big or small always keep you dog on a leash when you are out in the common area and in public...and always pick up after your dog...I can tell you many good stories about HOA, it's not all bad.
I was in an HOA in Va Bch and had nothing but problems. We tried to follow all the rules and if we brought a problem in the area to the board they would send a letter to us within 2-3 days saying we were going to be fined over some made up detail and the problem we brought to their attention was never addressed. Lived there six years and will never belong to a HOA again.
I love the one warning we got from our HOA. My wife’s cousin put a potted plant near the entryway. This was before we moved in. Her cousin wanted the house to look lived in. I then got an email saying that the plant must be removed because it is “blocking entrance to the unit”. The email came two days after my wife’s cousin gave us the plant, and it included a photo of the offending plant. Well, first of all, the door opens inwards (as it does on all other units) so the potted plant does not impede entering or exiting the unit even when pushing a stroller through the doorway. Second, the covenants do not mention a need for the HOA to enter the unit even on an emergency basis. Third, there are no guidelines regarding what the plant free zone on the porch should be. Fourth, of the units in my HOA that have plants on the porch, a third have a plant in the exact same location as the one the HOA complained about. I moved the plant in the end because it needed more light. I have asked someone who does have a large number of plants on their porch but none in the same position we had our plant if they were aware of any restrictions about placing a pot there. They said they were not aware of any, and pointed to a unit across the street with a large pot in the same position.
This was by far your most entertaining segment Steve. Keep up the good humor, I was laughing through parts of it. Maybe you should do more HOA horror stories. This is a topic that is always interesting to hear about...
Everyone in the U.S. are "renters". (Period)! Either you have a landlord / management company, or the bank and/or who you pay your taxes to really own your house and property. Really. Get out of denial and understand that. Then, you should want the best situation that causes you the least problems, and least cost. Condos are apartments, where you pay double for the maintenance and managers. HOA's are even the worst. They should all be abolished! They bread people who harm their own neighbors. That is wrong.
My first thought is sometimes babies remove and dispose of their own diapers. Most of the time I've cleared a diaper from pipes it was a single diaper that was most likely flushed by a small child.
I would never buy a house in an HOA that includes an "architectural review committee" or ANY HOA that is age restricted. Too many busy-bodies. I'm currently on the board of an HOA. The "rules" included a restriction on "unlicensed or un-inspected vehicles" put there by a previous board without defining "vehicles". It took all of 30 seconds for me to explain to each board member how their ATV's, Golf Carts, and Boats, even if kept in their garage, were all in violation of the rule. The original rule was to prevent junk cars. However, as an "old car guy", I expect to have an antique car (not required to be inspected by law) in my garage and perhaps another parked in the driveway. The rule was rescinded before I could even go into things like my antique car, a moped, or construction/lawn maintenance equipment.
I have a similar story to the "mass letter". I live in the first house on the corner of a small subdivision of about 10 houses. Several of the neighbors have dogs and walk them in the neighborhood. One day I go to cut my grass and I've got dog poop on the mower wheels and tracked all over the driveway. There are occasionally stray dogs so I don't think too much about it. The next time I mow the yard I'm running through dog poop again. I guess I should mention that this is a "yard", not a "lawn", and it's not easy to spot dog poop ahead of time. I figure this has to be one of the neighbor's dogs, but I have no idea who. I figure the easiest way to let them know is too put a sign in the yard that says "clean up after your dog" for a few days and that will take care of it. The first day the sign was out I learned who's dog it was when the lady jumped out of her car and pulled the sign out of the yard and started yelling at me. She actually said, "you could have come and talked to us instead of letting the whole neighborhood know.". I told her, "I didn't know who was responsible until now." The next day her husband came by and apologized for the dog poop and his wife. To this day he and I get along but she won't even look at me when she drives by and I'm outside.
If someone is oblivious enough to flush a diaper, subtlety is lost on them. Be direct: this is the problem, this is how we worked out the cause, this is your part in its cause, this is a solution, this is the consequence if it happens again. Hundreds of letters to people that have nothing to do with the problem is hundreds of acts of avoiding the responsibility.
Then you have people that have lived in HOAs and for some reason move to rural areas like ours. I have some nutty neighbors like this. This woman has went to our Town board meetings with all kinds of ideas to "make life better". I keep a pretty neat property, in the last 3 years she has called the county zoning on me more than 6 times, all unfounded complaints. HOA people need to understand what a "rural life style" is. We do have rules for trash, junk and non operating vehicles. Those are good and so is freedom.
Another HOA horror story: I owned a home within a community in Las Vegas. They were not exactly zero lot line homes. but they were very close together. The community had an HOA, but they sub-contracted the enforcement of the bylaws, restrictions, and covenants to a property management firm. The firm would send a rep out every week or two and that rep would write up violations, send the nasty-grams to the homeowners, levy and collect fines, etc. There were ~400 homes in the development, all falling within the $300-$450k price range. In 2012, I purchased a brand new Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic, a $25k-ish motorcycle. Along with the bike, I bought a very nice cover to keep the hot Vegas sun from wreaking havoc on the paint and leather while the bike was parked in the driveway. I received my first 'warning' letter from the HOA about a month after the purchase. The 'violation' cited that only registered motor vehicles could be parked in the driveway and they instructed me to move the bike into the garage. I wrote back, included a copy of my registration, and considered the matter closed. I received a reply that, since the license plate wasn't visible with the cover on the bike, I was in violation of the cited covenant of the bylaws of the HOA. They additionally noted that further violations would incur fines. I contacted the management company, noted that the bylaws said nothing about covers, but agreed to mount my cover in a way that made the license plate visible. They responded by writing that the HOA board decided that motorcycles were an eyesore and that I would need to garage the bike. I asked for the minutes of the meeting and the vote taken where 75% of the homeowners had agreed to amend the bylaws. The management company stated that they were 'only doing what the board wanted'. I told them to jam it and they began to fine me $125 per violation, with 3-4 violations per month, which I ignored knowing full well that the fines could present an issue when I decided to sell. To make a long story shorter, I contacted the management company and the HOA board about a year later when I decided I wanted to sell my home. My position was that if they blocked or interfered with the sale of my home, I would bring an action against them for any and all damages incurred as a result of the outstanding fines. It took them about a week to clear the slate of the ~$2.5k in fines, but I was kind of looking forward to the court battle. The moral of the story: HOAs may be for some people, but they aren't for me.
That right there is the absolute deal-breaker for me to ever even consider being subject to a HOA. I own a home, and not only do I have to agree to follow a whole bunch of rules on how I can use it (which defeats a big part of the reason to own a home), but I have to also agree that new rules may be imposed on me in the future without my consent? I suppose I could conceive of agreeing to sign up if I read the bylaws and none of them are a problem for me, but *no way in hell* I'd ever agree to giving some organization in which I have just one vote the authority to create new restrictions on the fly on how I can use my own property that I never agreed to.
Friend had a condo & rented a room for almost 10 years. Absolute freaking nightmare!! He's pretty apathetic to it all so I asked if I could act on his behalf. Nope. Bylaws stated that only owners could vote as well as serve on the board. Then we find out ~50% of the units are owned by a single person & rented out. One of those renters happens to be the president or whatever of the HOA board. She also lives kitty corner to us & fines us at every opportunity. Friend is still apathetic but that pissed me off so I got him to give me power of attorney for all condo/HOA matters. This woman then blocked my participation even though I the legal authority to act on my buddy's behalf. *_Massive_* argument ensues & I call her out on the fact that she's a renter at a meeting & a bunch of owners get pissed at hearing this & take my side, basically saying let this guy "in" or get off the board. She refuses & threats of removal by vote are made. It's all shot down & we start getting persecuted by this woman for *_everything._* Not only that, but the HOA refused to do any work on the condos structure, including steps that settled which caused all the rain water coming off the roof to drain into ours & our neighbor's bonus rooms & garages. That's still going through court to this day. Long story short, I became apathetic to the entire situation as well, although we stopped tossing all the violations we were receiving & began putting them in a 3 ring binder so we'd have proof of the pattern of persecution. Hopefully to be used in court sooner or later. We now have volumes of this crap. I moved out, but don't know how my buddy stands it. Total shitshow & freaking ridiculous!!
10:00 It is called a "diaper genie." At least when my kids were of diaper age, 15 and 17 years ago, every parent of diapered kids had one. You rolled up teh diaper, and you put in in the diaper genie, which had a top that closed and sealed. There was a bag in it that you tied closed when it was full, so you could remove the bag and throw it in the trash (the dumpster outside of your home). They were cheap. They were plastic. They worked. So, every parent of kids that age had one. Even poor parents who could not afford this inexpensive item usually got one from someone at the Baby shower. In any case, only a complete imbecile would try to flush a diaper down the toilet. This story raises questions regarding whether these parents should have been breeding in the first place. This is how "Idiocracy" happened.
In spain most ppl live in "condos", so a HOA for the whole building/complex. Common elements are owned by the HOA, private parts, by the individual. The difference is, windows and doors are owned by the owners, but have to comply with internal and council regulations. Same type of problems.. and not only diapers, but some ppl/idiots refurbish their flat and flush the half hardened concrete/plaster in the toilet. Yes, concrete down the loo!
Maybe a Condominium association isn't too bad, but a homeowner association, forget it. At least a condo association takes care of everything outside. But an HOA makes you take care of everything at your cost (regulating everything, like color of house, what kind if shingles or grass, where you can park, who can visit and for how long....and this is supposed to be YOUR property). I've heard stories of some requiring you to give them keys to your house. They say they have to give to 24 hour notice, but just pop in unannounced and snoop around while you're at work abd no nobody's home (but got caught on home surveillance systems) or walked in on people getting dressed in their bedrooms. It's absolutely disgusting how some HOA's abuse their perceived powers.
I was on the board of the HOA of my last house in Texas -- you would think it would be a different experience, but nope! I had people calling me to complain about all kinds of things, it's same same everywhere.
You sent a paper or electronic (email) reminder about not flushing diapers. Wrong medium . Get the plumber to put the retrieved blockage in a 5 gallon bucket. Hand to him!
When I used to live in Florida, I lived in an hoa community. I hated it and there was a rule against everything. The hoa fees were about $450 a month for my 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom condo. Every year the taxes were going up. Before I sold it, I was paying about $3,200 a year. $3,200+$5,400=$8,700 total. Now, I live in North Carolina in a 4 bedroom, 1 bathroom home with acres of huge land, no hoa and my property taxes are only $878 a year. No hoa=Freedom.
HOA fees can be excessive. You really have to be ready for any future increases when buying property in them. That will be an unknown number so ones needs to take that into account before buying.
According to our hoa we can have our Rv in our driveway 9 consecutive days before it has to be removed. Ironically, we can have it in our backyard behind a 6 ft fence permanently. Anyway, they only "check " the neighborhood once a month, so if they see an rv they send a letter stating the rule. It also states that you could be in violation. I've mentioned to them that it is a waste of our money to send out letters about possible violations and that we camp every other weekend so our camper will be there for 2 or 3 days before we leave. As a former police officer I've also mentioned that I couldn't give someone a citation and tell them that I believe that they might violate a traffic law in the future. Seems crazy to me.
You are too funny! I luv to watch your videos because I learn something new and interesting every time. I've lived in a townhouse condo for the past 30yrs and have had no issues. Condo living works for me because I'm not married (don't have a handyman husband) and don't have to worry about things like the roof, siding, landscaping, snow removal, etc. They are all maintained by the association. So condo living works well for some and not so much for others. Keep the videos coming!
I was expecting you to have HOA horror stories from the perspective of residence having to deal with the HOA nice plot twist to have you tell some stories of HOA horror stories from the perspective of the HOA. Or condo association.
I was also on an HOA board for several years-a thankless, horrible job that pays nothing. In my experience most problems were caused by renters rather than owners.
Or the HOA itself. But renters are sometimes awful. When I moved into my first HOA home everything was pleasant enough for a while. Then the house across the street turned into a rental. And suddenly there are gang tags on utility boxes and fences in the neighborhood where for 3 years prior there had been 0 problems.
Why would anyone flush a diaper? Simple, trash can with a lid on it, no idea why you would do anything else. Flushing it is a recipe for disaster - The diaper absorbs and retains water, and in the process increases in size, so it basically turns into a semi-flexible mass (the more water it absorbs, the less flexible it is).
I won't buy a house unless it is on AT LEAST 1/2 acre. I ONCE lived in a subdivision with a HOA...NEVER AGAIN!!! By the way, I'm a relatively new viewer of your channel. I assume Milo and Wolfy are deceased pets, but I don't know. Since you are wearing the Remember Milo & Wolfy t-shirt, I thought it was appropriate to inquire as to the origin of the sentiment.
Here's the problem. When I was in nursing school they came out with " the ability to flush diapers,". I had a fit! This is how people think this. I've read enough about HOAs I will never Live in one
Ok I have something to admit. I'm not proud of it but im also not ashamed of it. It needed to be done In my opinion. I lived/rented in a place with an association where the city water and sewage and garbage pick up was paid for from the condo fees. Now trying to keep a long story short.... we were not allowed to park a cargo trailer amongst many things in one of our 2 parking spots. I actually get it, it potentially could make the place look like a mobile home/trailer park. But the city Rd that leads into the private property neighborhood was fair game. So a few of us that owned cargo trailers that used them to store our work tools and also some that had more than 2 vehicles would utilize this city maintained street that was only used by the residents on count there was the one way in and same one way out/no through street but the old lady that was head of the association would take it upon herself to call the city trying to get us towed as an abandoned vehicle and on a few occasions she was successful and cost us $145 tow fee. After living there for 8 years this women who eventually got replaced/fired for her unscrupulous ways I got pissed after like the 5th time this happened so I called the association complaining about this one woman on the board that acted as if she owned the land in which many of the homeowners had issues with. They told me there was nothing they could do about it. She had been on the board for like 30 years and pretty much did what she wanted. I told them "fine, 2 can play this game. I turned my tub and 3 sinks on full blast for a solid month!! At 10 GPM average and roughly $5 per 1000 gallons of water the math works out to roughly an extra $3,500 in water bill the association had to pay. I left an anonymous voicemail after hours not saying who I was but they knew,, asking how their water bill was that last month and saying if they couldn't control her it would get very expensive for them. The last 2 years I was there not another car or cargo trailer was towed
My brother lives in a condo on the first floor of a three level condominium. He has had issues with the upstairs neighbor leaving his sink on and flooding his condo. The condo association tells my brother to get the upstairs neighbor to pay for his damages using the upstairs neighbors insurance. The upstairs neighbor doesn’t have insurance.
Unless the HOA has very unusual CC&Rs, the HOA is right not to get involved. The HOA is responsible for maintenance of common area property. It's not a landlord, and it's not a local government or Judge Judy. Disputes and problems and torts between owners cannot involve the HOA, because the HOA can't take sides. Your brother should have his own insurance, or could sue the neighbor and put a lien on the home once a judgment is received.
I am a renter in an HOA neighborhood. We have noticed that the owners are much worse than the renters in the area when it comes to keeping up with their yards and such.
I have been an HOA prez for 10 years. When the developer sold his last house and it was turned over to the owners, he had 8 common area parcels listed as residential vacant. This left us with a tax bill of over $35,000, and 3 parcels already had tax liens about to be foreclosed. Out annual tax bill was over $8,000 when it should have (and has since) been $4.61 - yes four dollars and 61/100. And we had no money. I had a great attorney, and someone at the assessor's office took pity - and abated it all. But it is so funny how, a gate a fire department opened in an emergency, (and who could get past the illegally parked cars on both sides of the street (private or HOA road and no parking on the street - and the fire department was there for me. The circulation stopped in my right leg (longer story) and I ended up losing the leg (not because of the paring issue), but the FD is the only ones who can come back and close it. This one owner bugged me for weeks and expected me to park at the FD and MAKE them come out. This was when 25% of the PhxFD was in CA fighting the wildfires. I'm an easy prez. Made it easy for those during the recession - no liens on people and worked payment plans, or took off late fees and even had the attorney help. Guys have been a pain. Wanted to get on the board to get the HOA to use his insurance and couldn't understand: CONFLICT OF INTEREST.
I was on a condo board of 88 units. During those two years I learned about management companies which were kind of a new thing then. Our biggest expenses were lawn maintenance and snow removal. It was then I realized that the management company we were using was channeling service contracts to his buddies (caught doing that in another HOA he was managing). The cost for snow removal was about $4000 - 5000/yr and one (of 88) units complained that snow removal wasn't timely or adequate (certainly not the case far as I was concerned). She was a friend of a guy on the board and insisted that we get new snow removal service. The next year it was $11,800. And was horrible. Turns out, she was a relative of the management guy, and they were both related to the snow removal guy. The remainder of the homeowners were never informed of that situation. In the next 3 yrs our HOA fee tripled after being the same for at least 4 years prior. I had enough. I sold.
What I have seen . When a new HOA management company took over management . Walk around and bicycle security personnel become nonexistent. I saw 3 guys trying to open car doors of numerious cars , as they walked along the street . I called Security . It takes @ 15 minutes for security to show up in a car . The Police respond faster than that .
Hi ! A couple questions . I think I heard in one of your vids you say something about you talkinging somewhere about Preston Tucker , implying you might be an expert or at least very knowledgable about him. If you are and have seen the movie , "Tucker: the Man and His Dream", would you consider it accurate about him?
