Homeowners Association says I can't put a DISH on my house....I need some help here! (1 Viewer)

[Todd Hochard]

I am not so elitist that a cardboard girl in my neighbor's bay window is going to ruin the value of my home.

But, what you think of the value of your home is not particularly relevant. That neon sign and cardboard girl could be costing you over $10000, and will certainly shape the community in the future. Keeping up with the Joneses works both ways. I've seen it all over FL.
Simply put, if you live in close proximity to others, you must take them into consideration. It is thoughtless and completely selfish to do otherwise.
Many HOAs, of course, attempt to overstep their bounds. I've had similar issues with my HOA Nazi (70-something German lady, so for all I know, she WAS a Nazi ) over-
1. The dish- mounted on the back of my house. She saw it when she was in a neighbor's yard. She said something to me about it, and I pointed out "the law." End of story.
2. My car- she didn't like me performing engine work inside my garage. I kindly explained that I paid the mortgage, and whatever occurred within the confines of my home wasn't her business, unless she cared to start picking up the tab. End of story.
3. Paint the house- I had selected from the "pre-approved" neighborhood color book, and yet she told me not to start until I had approval. I kindly explained what "pre-approved" meant, and told her to remove that word from the book, if she still wanted to assemble a committee over taupe, shade #34287.
And, in spite of these issues, she still stops by for a friendly chit-chat from time to time, during her evening walks. I don't mind.
Getting back to the original deal, I'd go talk to the HOA president, and win him over. I find it particularly more useful to bring someone around to your way of thinking, than simply dismiss them with a "F**k off."
Todd

 

[Keith Mickunas]

Well Ryan, would you like the address so you can go to Missouri and see it before passing judgement? For the record, its parked well away from his house, on the lawn, and very close to the property line. Many places have zoning ordinances limiting structures with in a certain distance of the property line. A shed wouldn't be as large as the RV and a garage could definitely not be built in the location, a tree on the other hand would at least be something to look at.

If you'll do anything in your yard you please without consideration to your neighbors that too is a selfish act.

 

[Ashley Seymour]

Garage blocks view; permit proceess questioned
By Stephen Mills
TIMES ARGUS STAFF
Let's all give a hand to the fine fine job of reporting of this dedicated truth seeker, without whom we would not have been informed of the silliness of these two parties.
The Spauldings noted that if the permit issued had been based on correct information, the Belangers would have had to seek a variance to the 50 percent area threshold. That would have required a public hearing. Abutting landowners would have had to have been informed and would have been able to contribute in the proceedings, they said.
Doesn't it seem like there is a selective reading and interpreting of the law by the Spauldings going on here? A few years ago I applied for a rezone of a piece of property I was attempting to purchase. I was required to hold a public neighborhood meeting of homeowners withing 200 feet of the property. The local Planning and Zoning Commission required the meeting, not for them to base their decision, but to allow for time to have the neighbors to become informed, and not waste time at the actual hearing! Their decision for the rezone has nothing to do with the local meeting, but was determined on factors already relevant to the property. I lost the rezone at the P&Z level, but got the city council to approve it.
City officials – including city manager William Fraser, planning commission chairwoman Nancy Wasserman and development review board acting chairman Alan Blakerman – said they all sympathized with the Spaulding’s predicament.
However, they noted that property owner’s views are not protected by zoning laws. To try to do so “would be very tricky legally” and would raise significant property rights issues, said Wasserman.
Very tricky legally? Hell, it would be a nightmare.
Can't we all just get along?

 

[Lee L]

I've found that "so many people" don't really want them. These insane covenants seem to apply only to exclusive communities. I'll simply be sure not to move into any such community.

Ryan,

I understand your not liking HOA's. I'm not sure what things are like where you live but in the Raleigh-Durham area, most if not all of the municipalities in the area including the county will not permit a new subdivision without an HOA in place. This allows the cities to cut back on their maintenance budget or at least not have to expand it so quickly as new homes are built. Therefore, if you want a house that is less than 10 years old, you have no real choice except to live in the country in a house on a large tract of land completely seperated from all others or buy into a neighboorhood with an HOA. Hardly elitist IMO.

I think everyone agree's that they would like their property value protected. The problem is there are really only a few rules necessary to do that and people often refuse to apply common sense to the rules that are necessary.

 

[Josh Lowe]

some people enjoy being dictated to and need that in their lives.

others don't.

live accordingly, why worry about the other guy.

 

[MickeS]

I really like living in a HOA regulated subdivision, since I know what I'm buying. I know I'm not gonna end up living between two houses with yards full of car wrecks on cinderblocks, covered in weeds and a house with half-finished pink paint on one side. Call me silly, but when I invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in something, I like to know what I'm buying. And believe me, the price of the house does NOT tell you how considerate your neihbors are.

But for those who don't like HOA rules, there are always other alternatives. I just know that as long as I have to live as close to my neighbors as I do now, I like that there are regulations. If I had a few acres or so to myself, it would be a different matter.

/Miie

 

[Eric Kahn]

I just wish that I had to worry about such petty issues
I live in a working class nieghborhood, 2/3rds of the houses do not even have driveways, lots of cars on the street ( I have a driveway and 2 car garage) property set back is 1 and 1/2 feet, that gives you a minimum of 3 feet between houses, but was not always in effect, the 2 houses across the side street from me are 1 foot apart and one roof hangs over the other, next year I plan on widening the driveway so I can park both of my drivable cars in it, the garage has 2 motorcycles and a non-running VW thing in it (engine problems)
my brother had a HOA, all they did was keep telling him to fix the hole by the street that was on the city easment that the developer was to maintian for the first year untill the city accepted the streets, they never fixed the hole, niether did my brother
most "covenants" are unenforcable and next house I buy I will make sure there is no language in the mortgage or loan papers about an HOA because if i want to park an RV inn my side yard or have a swimming pool, the only thing that shoudl stop me is my ability to afford it and maybe county zoning regs
BTW my dish network dish is bolted 10 feet up the side of my house in plain view, roof was way too high to get to (2 story house)

 

[Shawn C]

I had a little run-in with my HOA this past September when I had an in-ground pool installed in my backyard.

In order to get into my backyard, the contractor had to put an 8-foot hole into a common wall between my house and the main neighborhood street. There is also about 20 feet of grass between the wall and the street. Needless to say, it looked pretty crappy, especially with the dump truck and the backhoe destroying the grass. According to my HOA rules, I don't need permission for any of this because we don't have an architecture committee. The rules basically state that whatever I destroy, I have to replace. Fair enough. I don't need to give anyone notice. I'll replace the wall ASAP, and then I can replace the sod that was destroyed.

Now, the wall was only going to have a hole in it long enough for the contractor to dig the hole (1 day) and deliver the sand (2 days). It was plainly obvious to anyone driving or walking by what was going on in my backyard. Installing pools in Las Vegas isn't exactly a rare occurence.

The second day the wall was down, the president of the HOA comes to my house wondering what the hell I'm doing since she's received about 100 calls with people wondering where the hell I got the nerve destroying the wall and the grass.

She said that I needed to send in paperwork before I started. I said that according to the rules, no I did not. She agreed and left me alone.

The wall was back up that weekend and while I was replacing the sod the next weekend, I actually had people leering at me from down the street. They were mostly older people with nothing better to do then complain.

I mean, did they think I was just going to leave a gaping hole in the wall for months on end? My pool couldn't even pass inspection without the wall being back up!

 

[Ron-P]

I actually had people leering at me from down the street. They were mostly older people with nothing better to do then complain.

Just remember Shawn some people base their entire life around what other people are doing and love to complain about it.
It's always easier to focus on someone else, rather than yourself.
Peace Out~

 

[Ryan Wright]

For the record, its parked well away from his house, on the lawn, and very close to the property line.

Sounds like most RV owners. Why doesn't the lady plant some trees on her side of the property, then, if she doesn't want to see his RV? Seems like a logical solution. After all, she is the one who doesn't like the view, therefore she should be responsible for changing it.
You know, maybe this is all a matter of where I live and how I was raised. I live in a relatively small city (less than 200k people spread over a large area). This area started as a farming community and there are still farms all over the place just outside the city (and some within city limits). The atmosphere here is very relaxed; people have better things to do than throw childish fits over bullshit details that don't matter.
When my neighbor brings home a new boat and parks it in his driveway, I wander over, congratulate him on his purchase and spend an hour BSing about boats. I'm happy for him because he's a friendly, hardworking guy who deserves a nice new boat. The last thing on my mind is, "Oh, shit. There goes the neighborhood."
I also know that the rest of the nice folks in this area share my feelings. That boat across the street has nothing to do with the value of my property, because the people around here aren't uptight whiners. Nobody is going to refuse to buy my house because there is a boat across the street. Hell, half the potential buyers likely own a boat of their own and having a neighbor to share fish stories with probably increases my ability to sell my place.
And you know, that's all I see when people complain about these little details: Big, whining babies. "Waaa, my neighbor has a nice new RV, every time I look at it I get jealous, so I'm going to rally the troops and make a law." Cry me a river. It's a fun toy and it makes your neighbor happy. Why the hell can't you put aside your perfect little vision of how the neighborhood should look and just be happy for the guy?
So, there you go. Now you know more about me than you ever wanted to know, which hopefully gives you some insight as to where I'm coming from. "Live and let live." I'm not concerned with what my neighbors do. Their life is not mine.

 

[Keith Mickunas]

Damn Ryan, you just insist you know exactly what I'm talking about, are you telepathic or something? As I recall planting trees in that location isn't an option, the property line is too close to make that convenient, and the RV is too close. The trees would end up blocked on the east and west side (her house and the RV) with only a small opening to the south. That's really a stupid suggestion. The guy could park it directly behind or beside his house, that is an option he has, but he doesn't want it in his way or obstructing his view, he doesn't care about the affect it has on his neighbor's house. Now that is selfish.

 

[MickeS]

If all I ever saw when looking out the window was the side of my neighbor's RV, I'd be a little pissed too. Might not be a lot I could do, but I'd be pissed nevertheless, and hope that the neighbor would be nice enough to find a better place to park it. It's all about common sense, even if I would happen to have enough space to park an RV in it doesn't mean that's good place to park it.

/Mike

 

[Kevin T]

sorry to be a buttinsky here but:

but he doesn't want it in his way or obstructing his view

he paid for his property. he has the right to put his personal possessions on his property. he might be inconsiderate for not asking the lady but he shouldn't be expected to sacrifice his view on his property should he? if i was your neighbor and i didn't like the color of your shutter or the type of dog you owned, would you change it for? if you're house was too close to mine would you tear it down and move it over for me? really, at what point do my wishes and desires supercede your personal freedom?

kevin t

 

[Trey Fletcher]

The biggest reason I wanted a dish is for the NFL Season Ticket package that I already paid for to DIRECTV. I sure will miss watching my hometown Indianapolis Colts continue to lose big games like they did this past Sunday against the Titans. Hopefully next season, the NFL will allow other carriers (Dish Netowrk/Cable companies) the license to broadcast or offer the Season Ticket, and get rid of their exclusive DIRECTV only deal. The NFL contract w/ DIRECTV is supposedly up after this season (2002).

Props to the NFL for responding so quickly to Michael's post. Unfortunately, it wasn't the answer he was hoping for...
NFL renews with DirecTV

 

[Moe Maishlish]

Ryan,
Amen brother! Couldn't have said it better myself!
My parents have had similar situations with their next-door neighbours. The wife doesn't work, and has taken up the hobby of harassing my parents nonstop.
If someone parks the car in front of the house (visitor, whatever), she calls the city and has the car ticketed. Of course, they only ticket the vehicles parked in front of our property, but none of the other DOZENS of cars parked in plain sight across the street, etc. The neighbour has enough time on her hands to research these laws and use them against my parents.
Why ticket, you might ask?
Because there's a little-known city bylaw that states that you can't park your car on the boulevard. Ever. The city claims that it's in place so that snowplows can plow the streets without interference of obstancles.
This is a very logical explanation of why we get ticketed between the months of May to August, when you're outside in shorts, sipping lemonade. Just in case they decide to plow the streets in July.
Moe.

 

[Bill_D]

This obstructing somebody's view stuff is ridiculous. If you don't want anyone obstructing your view then one needs to buy all the property between the residence and up to and including "the view".

 

[MickeS]

So why are they parking their car there then?

 

[Ryan Wright]

If someone parks the car in front of the house (visitor, whatever), she calls the city and has the car ticketed.

See, this is an occasion to fight fire with fire. I'd dig through every city law possible. There are so many laws on the books, she is bound to be violating a few of them. Call the city and demand they be enforced. Just make sure you aren't in violation of any, first.
A close friend of mine bought some property on the river. He brought in enough dirt to raise half an acre up three to four feet for various reasons. In doing so, a neighbor lost his view of the river. The guy went insane and spent all of his time trying to block my friend's efforts by complaining to the city on a constant basis. My buddy turned it around on him and forced him to move a number of illegally built structures that were too close to his property line. He also found out that the law allowed him to have a number of farm animals on his property - 3 cows, or half a dozen pigs, or a couple of horses, etc. He kindly informed the neighbor that if he didn't knock this shit off, he was going to build a fence 5 feet wide and 200 feet long right next to his property line and put his legal allotment of cows and pigs in his newly created "pasture".

 

[D. Scott MacDonald]

As for costing me money, I wish someone would explain this one to me. It doesn't cost me a dime.

I agree that here in Seattle the housing market is such that people buy nice houses in bad neighborhoods without taking much of a price hit.

When I lived in Plano, however, such a situation could have definately reduced the value of our home. At least at the time I lived there, everybody was very afraid of buying a house in a bad neighborhood (or one that was likely to go bad). Having a neigbor with neon beer signs in their front window or cars on cinder blocks in their front yard would cause people to never, ever consider buying a house in that neighborhood. It can definately end up costing you money.

You may respond that some people need to lighten up, but that doesn't really restore our property values.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Honestly! How many people have junker cars on cinderblocks in front of their house? This I really want to know. Typically people who would do that can't afford a house in an area that would have an HOA anyway. They're trying to convince you you need something you don't. And if you're really that ticked about your neighbor's junkers in the unlikely event you would see one, bet a class action suit to get the person to move it would be cheaper than even 1 year of dues

Assuming trash collection is taken care of by the township, and that you are responsible for your own gardening, what is an HOA except a protection racket?