Neighborhood Nazis?

[Lee DeRaud]

I can't remember the last time I saw a teenager cut the lawn, pull weeds, coat the driveway, clean the gutters, wash the windows, etc. Back in my day, me and my bothers did all these things, as well as all my friends, plus we had to do things that are not required on most maintenance free homes today. It wasn't bad. In fact, it reinforced us as a family. However, a HOA will do these things for you so you don't have to exert yourself or the precious kids, and free up time for more soccer practice.

Dunno how it works where you are, but I've never heard of an HOA that performed maintenance on individual houses. Common areas like green-belts, sure, but not the homes of its members.

[Andy Fox]

The HOA in the subdivision I live in has plenty of restrictions.... no sheds, house colors, 6' max fence height, etc. The HOA had an attorney review the CC&R documents, and he determined that they were not enforceable--I guess mainly because an adequate mechanism for enforcement wasn't specified, and different people signed different documents, or no documents at all. The three tract builders in our neighborhood use these same documents everywhere they build. The deed restrictions were more of a smoke and mirrors attempt to sell houses than a real set of enforceable covenants.

The no sheds rule is supposed to prevent ugly, deteriorating sheds from blighting the landscape. I'm suspicious of the builders' motive behind the no sheds restriction, as they also build considerably more expensive houses with larger garages and more storage space. Why would they want to let the homeowner build or buy storage square footage when they could profit from a future upgrade?

Either that, or they preferred cluttered garages storing everything that could/should be in shed, with the result being streets and driveways littered with cars because there's no room to park them in the garage. And, the garages are all attached, so gasoline/lawn mower storage is a fire, cancer, and birth defects risk! I want my property values protected, but I'm not willing to gain a few thousand dollars (or even a few million dollars) at the expense of my family's health and safety. Of course, I didn't think about this (and a long list of other things) when I first moved in from an apartment.

The HOA decided to have an attorney re-write the documents, but they conveniently included a clause that said the HOA board could assess a fee at any time of any amount for any reason. That went over real well with everyone , and now they're spending more of our money on legal fees to have the attorney re-re-write the documents.

In another chapter of this comedy of errors, the "strictly by the book" HOA had the address numbers spray painted on the curb in front of each house without asking anyone if they wanted this done. Too bad they ignored a city law which prohibits doing this without the property owner's written permission. I would think just common decency, respect, and common sense would've clued them in that maybe they should get permission first. This isn't a good sign, and to me it indicates that they're starting to think they're above the city and the law.

HOAs are not for me, but when properly managed with the right people on the board, they can sometimes be a good thing.

[Jeffrey Makiel]

Dunno how it works where you are, but I've never heard of an HOA that performed maintenance on individual houses. Common areas like green-belts, sure, but not the homes of its members.

On many NJ town house developments they sure do, right down to replacing the roof, asphalt paving and exterior finish. However, the large tasks are usually done through a separate assessment that the association votes on. If you disagree, too bad. You're payin'.

But there are HOAs that are not as inclusive for the regular middle income family. However, the more upscale the development, the more the HOA's assume responsibility. It's great if you got the money and don't enjoy doing any of the work...and there's plenty of those high income level families in NJ. Maintenance fees exceeding $500 is not uncommon, and a nice $4,000 assessment fee for larger tasks every 3 or 4 years is also not uncommon.

[John Kain]

I live in a HOA area.

Ours does pretty well except enforce rules. That's fine by me. But I'm moving soon and never plan to return to one.

I hate the idea of having Ms. Mary Jane Rotten Cro........dictate how I paint my house, build a shed....etc etc........

Does some group of "know-it-all-I-know-whats-best-for-you" self indulgent, better-than-thou, 'my way or the highway' pseudo-dictators get me into their development? Hell no.

I'm with the anti-HOA crowd. I'll take my chances on my neighbors and my relationships with them to ensure my house's value, rather than a set of arbitrary rules enforced (monetarily mind you!) by a 68 year-old woman who loves to pick up the fee for her, oops, I mean, the development's flower garden (right next to her house at the front of the neighborhood).

Count me out.

[Lee DeRaud]

On many NJ town house developments they sure do, right down to replacing the roof, asphalt paving and exterior finish.

Ok, that's a condominium set-up, not single-family houses. Not the same thing (at least out here) as an HOA in a single-family development: generally the roofs and exteriors in a condo are "common areas".