Irvine homeowner Al Schwartz shouts at an HOA representative in an attempt to prevent the association from removing bushes he has planted in his front yard. Video by Frank Mickadeit, The Orange County Register. Published on 2012-06-11
Sadly, it's hard to buy w/o one...big biz, many players, political, etc. But, I'm looking now to get out of my wretched HOA & into a home I can totally control.
@@PAIDFOR50 "high end" lol Living in a payed off house where no HOA can take it away is better to have than being a slave to them. Continue to live in your safe space sweetheart.
They need to pass a law that says that an HOA must pay half your mortgage in order for them to determine what you do with your home . Let’s see how that works for them .
Maybe don't move into a neighborhood with a h.o.a. If you plan to move to a neighborhood with a h.o.a. they do inform you. So these people are aware that they'll have ridiculous rules and they agree. That's their stupidity. Idve started looking other places as soon as h.o.a. is mentioned.
Exactly the hoa where we own is a joke. They get 30 to 32 k a month for due and they cant even fix broken sprinklers. Yet they try TO SELECTIVELY ENFORCE BYLAWS OH I LEFT A TRASH BAG OUT ON DOOR STEP FOR OVER NIGHT YET SOME DUMB@ss has had a bathtub on their balcony for 5 months. Yet im getting a fine Suck that omni properties management yall suck
Been a real estate agent for 30 years and I tell everyone who is looking to buy a house, never, never, never, never buy a house with an HOA your life will be a living hell.
Thesaurus? No, just born before 1980 with a functioning vocabulary and doesn't need a phone to do a 1 minute speech. I would call him ordinary for his time.
No, it's NOT about power; it's about violating certain rules you agreed to abide by when you purchased your home in the HOA. No one is forced at gunpoint to purchase a home in an HOA, and it's made pretty clear there are rules that govern the association. If nothing else, the HOA is a democracy and you can persuade your fellow owners to vote for a change in the rules, but you don't have the right to unilaterally violate those rules with impunity.
@@howardcihak9369 HOA is nothing about democracy. It's about power and controlling others to be just like they are. You can't be free or different in an HOA, everybody has to be like eachother like a dictatorship.
@@RandomHeroGames I base my comments on 40 years of managing condos and HOAs and as an owner and resident in several different ones during that span. Those are MY credentials that suggest, if not prove, that I may know what I'm talking about. WHAT ARE YOUR CREDENTIALS?
The last time my wife and I were looking for a house, we let the realtor know to NOT waste her time showing any properties that where within a HOA. Dealing with people like that leads to jail or the hospital, or both. -Veteran '66-68
"Don't come closer to me", she then proceeds to step towards the man. This is all about control. Good for this guy and his wife to speak out against these A holes.
@Roulette Dan You DEFINITELY should have paid attention in school. Your ignorance is showing. It's those people... not them people. THEY MIGHT BE DEAD BUT YOU ARE DEFINITELY DUMB!
I do work for homeowners in mostly HOA neighborhoods. In this 7 years I have never heard a homeowner say"I'm so glad we have an HOA". In fact it has always been the opposite.
Have you ever found an HOA that raised property values, which is their purported reason for existing, rather than lowered them? AFAIK, when buyers hear "HOA" they run for the hills!
@@Christobanistan hoa always lower the value because most people buy a house so they can do what they want with it not have a bunch of Karen dictators telling them what to do.
if you buy a house in an HOA you just become a renter that has to pay property taxes and put tens to hundreds of thousands dollars down for a home. Why would any sane person want to even buy a home if they're just going to legally be treated as a renter.
I moved out of an HOA managed community 2 years ago and could not be happier. We had one HOA board member that would walk around with a ruler and measure grass height. They wanted to fine a man for not shoveling his snow, knowing the man was undergoing cancer treatment. I got a letter about my grass clippings blowing into the street. The problem is the HOA boards are normally composed of 10% of the craziest people in your development.
A word to the wise, DO NOT buy a house in a HOA community. In EVERY HOA community there are always those neighbors who are on a power trip and walk/drive around making sure everyone in compliance with the rules and submit issues to the HOA management.
And if you're not in violation right now? Well, they can always make up new rules. Ours tried to say my dad's truck wasn't running since he parked it in the same spot every day. It ran! It was just ugly. You know that problem Fords had where the paint would bubble and peel making it look like vehicular mange? lol. Anyway, since it ran they couldn't fine him for that so they added a new one about "unsightly" vehicles. He finally had to get rid of it just so Karen down the way didn't have to be reminded that work trucks exist.
@@LarisseMontrosethat’s disgusting I’m sorry you guys had to put up with that, I personally would’ve just kept the truck and fought it until they straight up forced me out of my own home, which again wouldn’t happen at-least not easily.
If I did live in an HOA area I’d probably be miserable, but I’d go out of my way to look for people who do that kind of stuff just so I can sabotage their property and call HOA on them just to give them a taste.
@@mclovin2408 That gets expensive though. It's a shame, but mostly the HOAs pick on people they know can't afford to fight them. And once they're on you they don't stop. The truck was really the worst of it, but it was always something. There was some threat of a fine every other month or so. Best thing is to just not take a house that's under an HOA.
@@LarisseMontrose I think HOA should just be removed but I guess some people want them around, not sure why. But if they can’t be removed completely they should at least have their authority cut back a lot, they shouldn’t be allowed to find homeowners for every little thing, that makes someone’s home more like HOAs personal money farm.
Note to self. NEVER buy a house that an HOA is attached to the house. We are always hearing about these ridiculous rules ! 99% are BS. Surprised its still around?!
@@M-E-G-A customers pay hundreds of dollars a month for what ?! To be harassed and told what and what they can't do. Fly an American flag in your yard?! Give me a break. Thanks for the reply. 👍
I wish it were that easy. I live near Austin, tx and 99% every neighborhood built from the mid 2000s and up have HOA, any neighborhood built b4 that or out in the countryside of Austin dont have HOA. But most ppl moving to Austin dont wanna live so far from the city or older homes, unless they have the money to fix it up or dont mind living there. It's kinda hard to, but yes I wish they were banned or have strict federal law on what kind of powers they have.
He wasn't elderly - he was an 'older' gentleman but wasn't elderly then - probably elderly by now (2023) but don't be too lose with the word elderly. none of us are in a hurry to be officially elderly. Being old is bad enough! 🙂
@@DavidLLambertmobile She's a bully. She was boring in high school and college, pissed everyone off and now she wants attention and influence as an adult. There are a lot of these types
I had a few confrontations with our hoa. The best thing that could have happened to me!!!! We sold our home and bought another home without hoa maniacs. My life is so peaceful now
I recently saw a home for sale and I read it was Home Owners Association and didn't realize it was H.O.A!! 😱💀💀💀💀😱 I'm happy to say I didn't have the money to purchase that home anyways! Now I'll take more heed. to the letter!🧐
I was getting harassed by an hoa in FL. I went to every board members condo and took pictures of every infraction I found. I told them I'd comply after they did. I also told them if I was bothered in any way before they were in compliance I'd file a complaint and lawsuit for selective enforcement. Never heard another word from them.
I live in the hood and I make it seem like Im in paradise...I cut the yard accordingly, trim the trees, and do maintenance to the my home when needed...I dont need no Elite class telling me how to run my life and fine me if a strand of grass is higher than the rest of the yard...now thats freedom...its my property!
"I'm not screaming at you. If I was screaming at you, you'd know." Love it. I'm disappointed that I misread the title. I thought it said "Homeowner shuts down HOA." I hope this worked out in the homeowner's favour.
There is no way anyone convince me to ever live in a community that had an HOA...I understand people need places to live but places like that will never be on my list of choice. When you commit to live in a community that has an HOA you already know this kind of scenario is possible and probable. That's my story and I'm sticking to it 😉👍
This issue can be resolved. I'm 49. I've done security 👮🏻♂️ in metro Orlando FL, Orange County since 2000. I've seen bad places & I've seen petty, trivial nonsense. 🤔. I did a security detail in a upscale area near metrowest, Orlando where HOA residents by 📑 could NOT park cars in their own driveways after 900pm! 😲. On the home owners property! 🏡 ...
@@leecox1513 Well that was sudden aggression. I mean, it doesn't help that in some areas the HOA is moving outward, so finding a home in those areas can be challenging . . . . . . and, I mean, the "bitching" is well deserved. HOA's really are (majority wise) just power hungry people who had a chance and took it. Effectively creating a burden for those under that area. There have been cases of the HOA appearing in some housing areas as well, developing and then overtaking. This entire comment section is against the HOA though . . . it's . . . the bitching is to be expected, isn't it? Just leave it and let it lie.
I spent my entire youth without a HOA. When I became an adult I bought a house in an HOA without realizing what I was getting into. My realtor told me HOA’s here weren’t that bad, they just worry about people leaving toilets and appliances in the front yard. Since then I’ve been in some kind of violation every year since I moved in. I can’t do anything to the yard or house without permission. There’s a small dictatorship of people who rule over us and it’s all legal. There are a few rich old retired people who walk their dogs and have nothing better to do but criticize and threaten legal action. My only joy is to yell at them when they leave dog poop in my yard or have no leash. I love my house but I hate my HOA.
I'm not a fan of HOAs, but that "small dictatorship" has the right to ". . . rule over [you] and it’s all legal" because you entered into a contract with the HOA when you bought the house. YOU gave them that right. If others in your neighborhood feel as you do, you should all go to an HOA attorney together and split the fee for his or her services to address the problems.
I know that if these old busybodies are allowing their dogs to poop on your lawn that is a violation of HOA rules as well. Document with time stamped videos and have them fined.
After the last hurricane ripped through my area, roofers were swamped for almost a year. Even with a massive influx of out of state people coming in to cash in, there weren't enough roofers to go around. My sister lives in an HOA 20 minutes from me and she suffered very minor damage. She has always been one of those to always be prepared and had her insurance ready plus extra cash on hand to pay for anything she needed, but it still took months just to get someone locked in for her roof repairs. Once she hired a company, they delivered her materials and set them in her driveway near her garage door. They told her it would still be weeks before they would be able to get to her repairs. Within a week, she got a notice from the HOA that she had to move/hide the pallets of shingles and other materials from view, or she'd be fined. There were a dozen other homes in the same neighborhood with the same problems. She told them that there was nothing that she could do about the materials, because she's single and not a teenager anymore. They did finally acquiesce. HOA's can be assholes.
In the UK I've never come across these HOA's and all I ever see are people having problems with them. Why would anyone buy a house somewhere, where you have no control on what you can do, to the property you have paid for ???? Madness
you do have private estates in the UK, typically under the control of a residents owned management company, who typically sub the work out to professional managing agents. You rarely get issues like you see with HOAs. I suspect it's because they don't have the same power to fine home owners for violations.
I LOVE that guys style! He incessantly tears into the HOA woman, and follows up with a " how ya doin? " towards the guy in black. HOA is a parasite and I have no idea why anyone would buy into one
HOA madness is the result of people not acknowledging WHY neighborhoods have gone to shit. They think it's because of curbside appearance, because their brainwashing will not allow them to ascertain the REAL reason that neighborhoods have turned to shit. The funny part is, when the single mom programs place trashy people in the neighborhood, (and all they kin folks gots to stays wit em, so they feel like they bigtiming), the HOA karens are afraid to say anything to them, so the government ultimately turns their neighborhood into a shothole, while they cherry-pick superficial shit to nit-pick.
Lol. One time my family was cutting down a tree in our backyard bc it was going to hit our house. This lady in a tennis skirt comes running up to my father to tell him he needs to ask the Homeowners Association. My dad said, "My wife is a home owner, and she said it was okay."😂
So let me get this right? You own a home, you then contract out to a company from another state to keep the value of your home up. Allowing them to civilly hog tie you until they can come in and seize your assets and property legally? Sweet! How can I get on board?
They say things like, Oh, we will cut your grass. At the same time they are telling you what color you can paint the house that you are paying for. Lots of people loose their homes over HOA's rules.
@@Cypher15100 I think when you move into a neighborhood where there is an HOA present, you sign a paper and agree to their rules. So I'm sure breaking those rules after signing has consequences.
At one time I was employed to maintain a 55 acre site of 545 homes. I held that job for roughly 4 years. I probably would stayed longer , but I eventually got tired of the ridiculous pettiness of some of the HOA board members. I truly believe that they were picked on as children and that behaving childishly as adults was their way of getting retaliation on the world. I guess from this video and others like it, this is a common pattern among all HOA Boards of Trustees.
Yeah. I had a girlfriend who lived with her mother who was an attorney for the state of California. (Violet, RIP) She bought a house on Ramsay street in Walnut Creek. Her neighbor was from Brazil and erected a radio antenna so he could talk to his relatives. Violet didn't like the antenna and went into the HOA by-laws and used it to get the antenna removed. She awoke one morning to find a pile of rubbish in her driveway.
The hundred and something people who gave the video a thumbs down was probably the power hungry wannabes, never buy are rent anything that has a HOA. They can make your life a living hell over nothing just because they can.
We moved into a HOA unit only out of expedience and we only planned to be their for 3 years. But my hubby became ill and we have been stuck here for 10 years. It's living hell and we are desperately saving to get out. When people ask me where I live, I actually say "Hell". Can't do this, can't do that, fines for every little things. If you have any sense of independence, stay far away. If you want to have every decision made for you, then go for it.
10 HOA RULES THAT ARE CRAZY LIKE THE TWILIGHT ZONE. 1. if you don't cut your grass 1 1/2 inch exact their is a 1,000 fine.(grass must be cut 4 times a week). 2. if you don't put your trash can out for trash day 12inches from the curb their is a 290.00 fine for that. 3. if you sleep on the left side of the bed. their is a 500.000 fine for that. 4. if you turn your bed room night light on after 7.p.m. their is a 400.00 fine for that. 5. if you open your home door and turn the knob to the left. their is a 1200.00 fine for that. 6.if you flush your toilet after 6.pm. their is a 125.00 fine for that. 7.if you hello to people on your street after 3 p.m. their is a 100.00 fine for that. 8. if your cook diner after 5 p.m. their is a 900.00 fine for that. 9. if you open your blinds on a sunny day after 1 p.m. their is a 600.00 fine for that. 10. if you come home after 8 p.m. their is a 1200.00 FINE FOR THAT. (all fines subject to change*)
That's... Uhh... Not how communism works. It is not a catch-all word for anything you don't like. HOAs are a nuisance and a detriment. Comparing it to an entire totalitarian system of government is laughable.
I inherited my home from my mother. Unfortunately, it is in an HOA subdivision. They don;t bother me much. Biggest problem right now is that I can;t grow grass in my front yard, because the tree roots are at the surface and have eroded all the good grass growing soil. They keep getting on me about that.
@@jason60chev growing a lawn underneath the tree is always going to be a difficult prospect anyway, of the only thing you can do is buy in some more topsoil and hopefully the grass will take. If it was me I would concrete the whole lot and paint it Green...
They probably just read over the contract half assedly the thinking how bad could it really be not having heard all the horror stories and bullshit everyone else has gone through
@@katrinahyke7238 I decided to run my farm like an HOA so I informed my goats this morning that they must discontinue to chase my cows or will subjected to a daily fine
Randall James if you had to run your farm like an HOA I’d be able to spot it a mile away it would be the HOA farm with a shit ton of goats with their heads stuck in the fence lmao
Because some people don't like to lose property value because their neighbor leaves old kitchen appliances in the front yard on grass he refuses to cut. It keeps resell value up, but some HOA's take it too far.
We are the land of free. Most free country in the World, by a lot. Do we have issues, sure, but does not negate the fact that no other place on earth possesses the freedoms we do! This is indisputable if using facts! With all that said, the liberals are working very hard and making progress to make us exactly like all the other globalist countries.
@@4elementssurvival263 . You call this example, freedom? Excuse me being a bit doubtful, The US has the highest rate of incarceration in the world. Pay too much child support and go to prison. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-BwdzUJ5DIX8.html Fines for mismatched blinds. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-S8P-l8_dTsI.html That's freedom? US citizens seem to live under a shower of petty everyday restrictions.
He is. A New York one to boot. And he is a Kevin, he is complaining about something he is doing. To be brief... he isn't maintaining his yard. This effects the surrounding property values. Just think of the Munsters home, that's what it looks like.
As an electrician I sold and installed many standby generators. Nothing but problems with HOA’s. Multiple customers that were on oxygen where it was CRITICAL that they had reliable electricity. The area had multiple power outages a year aside from hurricanes and floods that caused power losses for weeks at a time. The ridiculous nit picking was criminal. Even when generator was placed between bushes or fenced in completely out of sight, they would find a way to deny them or make them remove it. I mean these people or their parents could actually die due to power loss and hoa would still go out of their way to prevent them from getting standby generator at their homes. I will NEVER live anywhere with power hungry Karen’s telling you what you can’t and can’t do with your own home
Im grown man, but I would totally paint the HOA houses and driveways in red during the night, literally. I'd also consistently pour poison on their lawns nightly (that's personal, bc I live in Charlotte on clay and dirt where my grass can't grow in some PATCHES, despite paying tons for companies to fix it and my surround neighbors can't grow certain patches either). I might add a few Santas on the lawn on January 1st so they can get a letter for that too. Then I would cite them for violations and be sure the board gave them a set amount of time to fix it or be in violation and fined. I wouldn't really do these things, but a man can dream can't he?
This is why I purposely went under on our very first home, we were young and dumb and suckered into a brand new home. I hated dealing with the retarded HOA and it's neighborhood spy's. I've since bought a privately sold home built in 1980 so that I can feel like a homeowner! I love not answering to anyone about the color or decor of my property. Yet every day people move here and start their new lives with a brand new home with an HOA not knowing they will regret it very quickly like we did.
I will never be controlled by an HOA again. We ought a fee simple home and when you're on our property, you''l do as we say, or get the hell off our property!
If the HOA comes to me when i bought my home..And i say i want no part of them.And they try to do whatvever they like.ill have them in court so fast their weezing little heads will spin.And afterwards ill have them disbanded and all those who madea mistake of pushing their luck will be taken to civil court.They are liable also.
There’s a certain type of person that when given a small amount of authority will constantly try to over-reach it , because the know better than the rest of us.
When people sign on to buy with a HOA they have agreed to follow the rules. If they did not want to follow the rules, they should not have bought in an HOA. There are always people after the fact that want to test the rules like a little child and may reduce the value of other owner's homes in the process. If there are rules that need to be changed owners can vote for those changes. I know of two dangerous characters that we helped to move out which improved the safety and enjoyment of the residents.
