Over the Hedge by T Lewis and Michael Fry for February 08, 2023

Enter George and his riding mower.

Makes me glad that I’ve never lived in a community with an HOA!

H.O.A.?? Up your A.S.S. !!

something similar was in the movie.

I’ve never been able to grasp the concept of HOAs, Condos ok, but individual houses where you own the lot?

HOAs are an insidious machine for conformity. They don’t allow any expression of oneself, or you’ll be fined.

The HOA is like Germany 1933-45, without the concentration camps.

They’re a very picky species.

This is a good example of such. It is autumn and the local HOA idiot tells a homeowner they have to replace a tree. The homeowner asks why. The idiot says the leaves are turning yellow and it must be dying. The homeowner informs him that happens every year in the FALL!! Why people need to have other people run their lives is beyond me!

Thank the Lord I live in the country and do not have to put up with an HOA.

Real estate shopping list: #1 NO HOA.

Yep, that’s my grandpa back in 1963 when he retired from GMAC. His new career became doing hand to root combat with the weeds in his yard and engaging a flamethrower (soldering torch) against the sod webworms when they moved up into his trees. The amazing thing is his endeavors paid off in both creating the most beautiful yard in the neighborhood and in keeping him out of grandma’s hair around the house.

My friend lived in an area with an HOA. There was a woman who went around with a clipboard every week, looking for perceived infractions. When his neighbor was painting his door, she complained. He told what she could do about it and went on ahead with his painting. She didn’t even live in that area. She loved across their lake in a different area.

By the way, I don’t live in an HOA controlled area and never will.

HOA means that the area is a “condominium” meaning that there is some shared responsibility for paying and maintaining something – the “streets” are really legally “shared driveways”, or the water and sewer lines are shared, or the wiring goes through common attics, there are lots of possibilities. When you have shared responsibility, YOU have to hold up YOUR end of the deal, just like you want others to hold up their end. Yes, some of the rules get stupid and picayune; if you don’t like it, get on the board and try to keep the focus on the important stuff like maintenance and budgeting for long-term expenses like roof replacement.

I have lived in three HOA neighborhoods. Two were very small (less than 30 homes) and the fees and restrictions were small. For the most part, instead of fees, residents had the option of cleaning up/refurbishing the entrance landscaping (which was pretty much it for common areas) on clean-up days or paying a fee. Most of us did clean-up. It was a good way to get to know the neighbors. The other one had hundreds of houses and in my opinion the fees were nothing but upper-middle class welfare (my now husband had the house built there before I met him otherwise we would never have lived there.) With our last move, our requirements were over an acre of ground, absolutely no HOA, and a 4-car garage. The realtor was a bit confused why a garage was more important than the number of bathrooms. All our moves have been corporate to different states. A nice way to learn about the different parts of our country.

Doesn’t affect me, my house is 130 years old. I wonder if an HOA agreement has any legal standing ? Do you have to sign it ? I don’t know that it is in the same category as an easement and part of the deed.

A very dangerous beast.

“…Oh-oh can’t you seeee? You BELONG to meeee…” Love the song, hate HOAs.

“That stick up his butt has entered his brain.”

Well, it didn’t have far to travel.

It’s Snoke, in suburbia form!

Dealt with an HOA in one place we lived. They told me I had to give them copies of my Door Keys so they could inspect my place. I forgot to give them the Keys. I was confronted by the Head of the HOA one day and she told me I needed to give them the Keys. I explained they had no right to enter my Domicile.She stated they needed to be able to enter to do “Safety Inspections”. I explained they didn’t need to do those because these were owned units not rented. She then told me she could have the Maintenance Guys just drill out the Locks so she could enter and do her inspections. She didn’t like it when I told her any one entering a persons Property in that manner would probably be shot.It took a bit of back and forth but she finally realized that South Florida is not New York.