Friday, January 01, 2010

I totally don't get why anyone would want a homeowner's association

Man, they suck

CC
who loved the X-files about the homeowner's association.

13 comments:

DairyStateDad said...

Agreed. This also falls into that specific subset of HA's, senior citizens communities, a form of ghettoization that, even if voluntary, I find deeply disturbing.

Sharing w/ my friend the blogger of Free Range Kids.

Homeowner's Assns. are for people who want a Gated Community but can't afford them.

Robin Edgar said...

Ya that really sucks. . .

Almost as much as the Unitarian*Universalist's Church Owner's Ass*ociation sucks U*U in its callous (mis)treatment of clergy misconduct victims.

Maybe even almost as much as Robin Edgar Sucks.

BTW In case you are wondering CC. I do not believe that you are the U*U *behind* the Robin Edgar Sucks blog although I *do* tyhink that maybe someone wanted me to think that considering how everybody knows how much you like to use the word "sucks".

Happy New Year and all that,

Robin Edgar

Who definitely does not suck U*U. . .

Au contraire.

Chalicechick said...

That anyone would think I was behind something because of the word "sucsk" hadn't occurred to me as "it is a really common word, at least in America. It would be very strange of me to consider it a trademark.

CC

Ps. Please try to keep your posts on topic.

kimc said...

Well, what would we have in its place to do the functions it fulfills? If there's a good answer to that, I'd love to know it, because our homeowners' association sucks. No one wants to volunteer so the few people who do are there for years -- and the president has let the power go to her head. Sucks.
We have a management company, but they tend to overcharge for everything. some of my neighbors say they out and out cheat us.

hsofia said...

Well, geez, who the heck is going to want to buy their house NOW after knowing how friggin evil their HOA is. What a travesty!!

I've lived under HOAs for a total of 6 years. One was fine (for a condo); the other was annoying.

Chalicechick said...

I've never lived anywhere with a Homeowner's Association.

Indeed, my one experience with Homeowner's Associations was when we were living with my mother in law for a few months once and the HOA president stopped by the swimming pool to give theCSO and I the third degree about who we were. She explained that we could have been poor people who had snuck in from the complex down the street.

I don't really know what an HOA does that one would really need, though I tried to look it up. As theCSO and I just have a regular suburban house, we take care of our own garbage. If we want a pool we have to pay for it ourselves and put it on our own property. The closest we have to a "common area" is the park down the street. That said, we pay taxes once and aren't subject to anybody's rules but Fairfax County's.

Seems like the way to go to me.

CC

TogetherBeth said...

I have a friend who moved out of her house because the HOA was going to make her rip out her front garden (which was gorgeous) because it was supposed to be 25% grass. Now it's dirt, because she moved the plants too.

One good thing our HOA did was to hire snow removal people. We were plowed out the same evening of the 2 foot snow storm.

Desmond Ravenstone said...

I would think it depends on the HOA and the people elected to run it.

This is based on my father serving as president of the condo association where they used to live (they've since moved, for other reasons). He was always both flexible and proactive, so I asked him about this.

His response: Call a meeting to explain the circumstances, then move to either amend the rules or allow for an exception -- and he would be the one fighting for the kid, not calling the sheriff.

"Stupid" is the word he used to describe this story. Well, a few more "choice" ones, too.

Stephanie said...

Hmm...

I grew up in a condo with a homeowner's association, and our current community is almost exclusively broken into homeowner's association communities. I think often it is the choice of a developer, and the shared space is a park with pool (in our area). But, yes, they have all sorts of rules, and enforce them in stupid, stupid ways.

hsofia said...

HOAs are pretty useful with condos that are attached. There are common areas and common walls ... common services (utilities and waste removal). The HOA maintains those services with dues' money, and also has the insurance for the exterior of the entire structure, maintains parking lot, trees, walkways, etc.

hsofia said...

HOAs are pretty useful with condos that are attached. There are common areas and common walls ... common services (utilities and waste removal). The HOA maintains those services with dues' money, and also has the insurance for the exterior of the entire structure, maintains parking lot, trees, walkways, etc.

kimc said...

They do things like arrange for and decide on repairs. Our condo complex was built in 1961 so it's in need of repairs. I think the plumbers were amateurs. It needs paint frequently because they keep getting the cheap job and it doesn't last. The driveway needs new asphalt sometimes. They decide on dues raises, etc. They put out a newsletter. They are busybodies. We call the president the "Condo nazi". She has actually put in the newsletter recommendations about how much toilet paper we should be using. Sucks.

epilonious said...

I have a quasi-anti-homeowners association, of all things, that I actually find quite agreeable.

The constitution can be summarized as "We will not place restrictions on homeowners, in order to start placing restrictions on homeowners, this constitution will need to be amended with the approval of all the homeowners"

Otherwise, they ask for a small annual donation (from $25 to $100) to pay for the upkeep and light bill for the entrance to the neighborhood (a grassy hill and a tasteful sign with pretty flower arrangements) and buy food for the annual neighborhood barbecue.

Then again, Roswell itself has all sorts of petty city-code restrictions (how many cars are allowed to park in front of your house, how many chickens you can own) that could be chalked up to the same micromanaging usually reserved for a HA.