Do you live in a HOA (Home Owners Assoc.) Development?

[syrenn]

We have an HOA where we live...almost impossible to find newer homes without one. We ended up, first my wife and then I, getting on the board more in self defense. We find that it ends up being an unspoken war between the families with kids and the retired folks who don't want any kids making any noise and have the time to stick their noses over back fences.

I'm getting SO over HOA's...fortunately I now know how to work the system if they give us a hard time...like a board member tried to do to us a few years ago....sending us a violation letter for brown grass.....in January.

Damn just tell its everyone's dogs pissing on your lawn.

 

[bodecea]

We have an HOA where we live...almost impossible to find newer homes without one. We ended up, first my wife and then I, getting on the board more in self defense. We find that it ends up being an unspoken war between the families with kids and the retired folks who don't want any kids making any noise and have the time to stick their noses over back fences.

I'm getting SO over HOA's...fortunately I now know how to work the system if they give us a hard time...like a board member tried to do to us a few years ago....sending us a violation letter for brown grass.....in January.

Damn just tell its everyone's dogs pissing on your lawn.

We got it covered....old couple who think they own the place....literally go into the park yelling for kids to get out.....waiting for some parent to deck one if not both of them.

 

[syrenn]

We have an HOA where we live...almost impossible to find newer homes without one. We ended up, first my wife and then I, getting on the board more in self defense. We find that it ends up being an unspoken war between the families with kids and the retired folks who don't want any kids making any noise and have the time to stick their noses over back fences.

I'm getting SO over HOA's...fortunately I now know how to work the system if they give us a hard time...like a board member tried to do to us a few years ago....sending us a violation letter for brown grass.....in January.

Damn just tell its everyone's dogs pissing on your lawn.

We got it covered....old couple who think they own the place....literally go into the park yelling for kids to get out.....waiting for some parent to deck one if not both of them.

Geriatric bullies. Amazing. I guess some never do grow out of that crap.

sorry you have a pills from hell in your HOA

 

[Big Black Dog]

I live in the middle of a corn field. The wife is in charge of everything in the house and within 150 feet of it and I am in charge of taking out the trash and everything outside of her 150 foot ring of domain. Been working real well like this for 18 years.

 

[xotoxi]

no colored lights outside at Christmas only white lights to maintain that 'Williamsburg' look.

Let me give you my opinion on Christmas lights...

All lights on the outside of a house should be white.

All windows should have while candles

The only colored lights that should be allowed on the property should be on the main tree of the house, which can be viewable from outside.

All other internal lights (including secondary trees) should be white. This includes mantle lights and bannister lights.

I do allow for one exception for colored lights outdoor: blue lights are allowed if they are on bushes and shrubbery away from the edge of the house. This gives the sense of a diffusion of light towards the periphery of the property.


We always have a large colored lit christmas tree in our living room that is decorated with colored ornaments, and then we have a smaller tree upstairs in our bedroom which is decorated with gold, silver, white, and clear glass ornaments exclusively.

 

[xotoxi]

I live in the middle of a corn field. The wife is in charge of everything in the house and within 150 feet of it and I am in charge of taking out the trash and everything outside of her 150 foot ring of domain. Been working real well like this for 18 years.

does that mean that you can park a broken down car 152 feet from the house?

 

[kwc57]

I live in the middle of a corn field. The wife is in charge of everything in the house and within 150 feet of it and I am in charge of taking out the trash and everything outside of her 150 foot ring of domain. Been working real well like this for 18 years.

BUT.......there appears to be RULZ....you sheep!

 

[saveliberty]

no colored lights outside at Christmas only white lights to maintain that 'Williamsburg' look.

Let me give you my opinion on Christmas lights...

All lights on the outside of a house should be white.

All windows should have while candles

The only colored lights that should be allowed on the property should be on the main tree of the house, which can be viewable from outside.

All other internal lights (including secondary trees) should be white. This includes mantle lights and bannister lights.

I do allow for one exception for colored lights outdoor: blue lights are allowed if they are on bushes and shrubbery away from the edge of the house. This gives the sense of a diffusion of light towards the periphery of the property.


We always have a large colored lit christmas tree in our living room that is decorated with colored ornaments, and then we have a smaller tree upstairs in our bedroom which is decorated with gold, silver, white, and clear glass ornaments exclusively.

The whorehouse really needs to have red lights.

 

[Annie]

I live in a townhome, with a very good HOA. It's not 'gated' but is nice. I like that while the homes are quite similar, there are only 4 models, though the brick and cedar are different from unit building to building. They have very high end landscaping done. It's maintained 2 times per week when grass and shrubbery is really growing, 1X a week when not.

I leave for work at 5:30-6 am, snow is always removed by then. House trim is painted every 4 years, they do the subdivision on rotating basis. Cement drives and walkways are replaced every 15 years, as are the roofs and gutters.

Now what I don't like, we are required to keep trash cans in garage, (only 1 car). Cannot put them in back, even on enclosed deck. While we may add plants, they cannot be vegetables or herbs, even in back, even in pots. We do not have any rules about flags and such, though there's not enough 'yard' to put a goofy sized flag up.

 

[Toro]

We have an HOA, but only a nominal one. We pay $30 a year. No big deal.

Our beach property has one. That's a bit pricier. We pay $2000 a year for that. But we have a nice street and pool. I think they're pretty picky on what we can build on our property, but we haven't decided if we're going to build a house or just flip the land in the future.

 

[xotoxi]

Now what I don't like, we are required to keep trash cans in garage, (only 1 car). Cannot put them in back, even on enclosed deck. While we may add plants, they cannot be vegetables or herbs, even in back, even in pots. We do not have any rules about flags and such, though there's not enough 'yard' to put a goofy sized flag up.

You should stick it to them and plant edible flowers!

 

[xotoxi]

no colored lights outside at Christmas only white lights to maintain that 'Williamsburg' look.

Let me give you my opinion on Christmas lights...

All lights on the outside of a house should be white.

All windows should have while candles

The only colored lights that should be allowed on the property should be on the main tree of the house, which can be viewable from outside.

All other internal lights (including secondary trees) should be white. This includes mantle lights and bannister lights.

I do allow for one exception for colored lights outdoor: blue lights are allowed if they are on bushes and shrubbery away from the edge of the house. This gives the sense of a diffusion of light towards the periphery of the property.


We always have a large colored lit christmas tree in our living room that is decorated with colored ornaments, and then we have a smaller tree upstairs in our bedroom which is decorated with gold, silver, white, and clear glass ornaments exclusively.

The whorehouse really needs to have red lights.

Are you implying that a whore lives in my house?

I am married...one would have to assume that you are calling my wife a whore.

 

[saveliberty]

Let me give you my opinion on Christmas lights...

All lights on the outside of a house should be white.

All windows should have while candles

The only colored lights that should be allowed on the property should be on the main tree of the house, which can be viewable from outside.

All other internal lights (including secondary trees) should be white. This includes mantle lights and bannister lights.

I do allow for one exception for colored lights outdoor: blue lights are allowed if they are on bushes and shrubbery away from the edge of the house. This gives the sense of a diffusion of light towards the periphery of the property.


We always have a large colored lit christmas tree in our living room that is decorated with colored ornaments, and then we have a smaller tree upstairs in our bedroom which is decorated with gold, silver, white, and clear glass ornaments exclusively.

The whorehouse really needs to have red lights.

Are you implying that a whore lives in my house?

I am married...one would have to assume that you are calling my wife a whore.

No, you stated, "All lights on the outside of a house should be white." You didn't specify just your house. A house implies all the homes in your neighborhood. Jokes shouldn't have to come with instructions. I'll make a note you have trouble with humor. I thought you called your wife Shirley. (another joke) I'd call her tolerant (not a joke)

 

[Zoom-boing]

no colored lights outside at Christmas only white lights to maintain that 'Williamsburg' look.

Let me give you my opinion on Christmas lights...

All lights on the outside of a house should be white.

All windows should have while candles

The only colored lights that should be allowed on the property should be on the main tree of the house, which can be viewable from outside.

All other internal lights (including secondary trees) should be white. This includes mantle lights and bannister lights.

I do allow for one exception for colored lights outdoor: blue lights are allowed if they are on bushes and shrubbery away from the edge of the house. This gives the sense of a diffusion of light towards the periphery of the property.


We always have a large colored lit christmas tree in our living room that is decorated with colored ornaments, and then we have a smaller tree upstairs in our bedroom which is decorated with gold, silver, white, and clear glass ornaments exclusively.

I like white lights I just don't like someone else telling me I can only use them and that I can't use what I want. It ticked me off so much at the old house that I'd decorate the front per HOA regulations and would decorate the kids Little Tykes playhouse out back in big colored lights. Hah, I showed them!

We can do whatever we want here. White lights in the windows, white lights wrapped around garland on the porch railing, white lights wrapped around garland on the light post, colored lights on the bushes, wreath on the front door with a spot light, various decorations on the porch (nice ones, not cheesy ones).

 

[saveliberty]

I think xotoxi has excellent taste in Christmas lighting right down to the blue lights. Of course, I do exactly that every year. I need more lights for the little tree out front this year.

 

[MaggieMae]

We belong to a condo assn. I believe the fees are excessive, but we knew the deal going in. Representatives are voted in. If they are over reaching in their authority, they are voted out. Pretty simple concept.

If you want to paint your house puke green and leave abandoned vehicles in your yard, move to the fucking woods.

Yup.

 

[MaggieMae]

We bought in a neighborhood with an HOA and I spent a few years on the board of directors. We bought specifically because there was an HOA. The neighborhhod of my first house was nice when I moved in. It was a starter home neighborhood. As people aged and moved up in their jobs, they moved out to bigger homes. Over the 17 years I was there, the neighborhood began declining. Don't get me wrong, the crime didn't go up or anything like that. It was just that people began moving in who only cared about having a roof over their heads and didn't care much about the appearance of their house like the original owners did. Yards start going unmowed and fill with weeds. Fences start rotting and falling apart. Roofs need replacing. Some yahoo decides to buy a motor home or ski boat that is as long as their driveway and parks it there year round. Then you have the guy who thinks purple trim on the house would be really cool. All of a sudden the nice neighborhood you moved into that was clean and well kept starts looking like a dump. Your investment drops because the guy next to you could care less about his property. Me personally, I have higher standards than that. Like I said, we CHOSE to move into a neighborhood where the HOA was required because it meant we would live in a neighborhood of like minded people who cared about their homes and yards and having a pleasant environment. It protects everyone's investment and it helps keep the riff raff out........and I'm perfectly fine with that.

I too think that living where there's certain rules regarding the condition of your property, including aesthetics, is like insurance that the neighborhood won't go downhill. I don't live in a gated community, but it's also nice that the cul-de-sac is plowed in the winter, as well as all the driveways, the lawns mowed and the trees trimmed, but our flower gardens are our choice. The only problem with a cul-de-sac (semi-circle) is that generally your neighbors have a birds-eye view of everything you do, if they're so inclined to care. (Think "Wisteria Lane")

 

[MaggieMae]

Too bad you have no idea of relaxation in the great outdoors.

Sitting around a fire with friends in the chill of an autumn evening is as relaxing as it gets.

But you go ahead and stare at the idiot tube because your neighbors won't allow anyone to be outside in their yards after 8 PM.

Fucking sheep.

ruh ro, I guess I should check with my HOA on the firepit I built in my backyard!

That's right be a good little sheep.

Since on one hand you're trying to convince everyone how great it is to be a loner living in the Great Outdoors, why do you seem to care so much what other people prefer? You should be HAPPY we prefer to live where we do and won't ever bother you on your own turf by becoming your neighbors.

 

[MaggieMae]

I wonder what the OP thinks about historical societies.

Here is a GREAT ONE.

Replacing the windows on the house. We want thermal double pane with UV coating to come up to energy efficient standards.

The city, not a HOA will NOT ALLOW you order what you want as it "will destroy the look of the city" If you want permits then you have to do it THEIR way. And that way is not having energy efficient windows and with ALL original detailing put back into place. sorry you CAN NOT have double hung windows you MUST have casement windows as that is what was there to begin with.

A 25k job just turned into a 75k job.

Its not just the HOA's

But i tell you what, the city has no problem if you turn your house into a dump site and let it go to weeds.

WTF? What city is that? Bel Aire?

 

[MaggieMae]

I wonder what the OP thinks about historical societies.

Here is a GREAT ONE.

Replacing the windows on the house. We want thermal double pane with UV coating to come up to energy efficient standards.

The city, not a HOA will NOT ALLOW you order what you want as it "will destroy the look of the city" If you want permits then you have to do it THEIR way. And that way is not having energy efficient windows and with ALL original detailing put back into place. sorry you CAN NOT have double hung windows you MUST have casement windows as that is what was there to begin with.

A 25k job just turned into a 75k job.

Its not just the HOA's

But i tell you what, the city has no problem if you turn your house into a dump site and let it go to weeds.

Yup. Living in a historical district is often a complete nightmare for the same reasons as sometimes living where there is an HOA

I thought she was talking about just some city, not a historical district. But I can kinda understand if such a district is a big tourist attraction. Most aren't, however. They're just there, with little signs designating some old coot nobody ever heard of who lived in the original building a gazillion years ago. There's a ton of them in Vermont.