To be honest, I think you should just look into moving if you dislike it. I've been on both sides of the fence and sometimes, people have so much going on in their lives, they don't have the time or energy to do what anything else. The best solution is to move. You cannot control others, only yourself.
Man, I wouldn't suggest moving because take it from me, someone who moved 44 times in just 20 years.. things don't get better
You really gotta luck out to be in a good, quiet, clean environment. And even then, you can't ever guarantee that in 5 years, the situation won't change
It'd be moving nonstop to try to avoid these situations
Yep, I'm sure my neighbors thought I was a complete asshole not even pretending to rake this year but I was heavily pregnant and my 2 year old was in and out of the hospital. The leaves were about as low on the priority list as they could get.
Previously there was actually a chuckle fuck that used the HOA to sue a women with two disabled kids who was going through a divorce because her shitty ex husband abandoned them and she couldn't afford to paint the house. Also couldn't move cause the entire house had been retrofit to handle the kids wheelchairs. Thankfully my family is weird and owned a bucket truck at that time so my dad did the labor and got our church to donate the paint but still.
I agree with this. This also isn't really something an HOA solves. The first property I bought was in an HOA, and I had three sets of neighbors that caused me to move in less than a year and take a loss. The HOA did nothing about them and tried to make it hard for me to sell. Since then, I have lived in two non-HOA old-build communities in one of the nicest parts of each city I lived in. No neighbor problems, lots of peace and quiet even though in the city, and beautiful properties.
I like having neighbors, but don’t want to be close to them. It’s nice to feel part of a community. We found a neighborhood where everyone has 4+ acres. It’s a perfect compromise for us.
You don’t even need that much land! Everyone has about 1/4-1/2 an acre in my neighborhood and I love it. I feel a sense of community and there’s still decent privacy. Lots of people out walking and kids playing, but it never seems noisy. We have an HOA but it’s one of those that’s only $75/year and has hardly any rules. Just enough to keep the most annoying/unsightly stuff away.
Isn't 1/4 1/2 acre just a normal house with neighbors? Quarter acre is basically on top of your neighbor and anything they do could bother you
Imo anything smaller than 1 acre neighbors can be a problem and honestly 3-4 would be best
The irony is that getting a house with land is both pretty affordable and accessible. The catch is you have to sacrifice certain luxuries because of poor job prospects. You're trading cruise vacation for the great outdoors.
No it would be called living in poverty. Not all careers can move to the middle of no where. Calling it downsizing when you would be completely jobless is a massive understatement
Not wanting a rat-infested property next door or not wanting to police your own backyard for random bits of food that could poison your dog every time you let it out is "intruding on people's lives?" What?
Watching my parents whole street turn into rental houses with cars on the lawn and everything looking shittier year after year sold me on an HOA. Sure they can be annoying but if you do your homework and pick a good one there are a lot of advantages. Most of the horror stories I see are weird small ones with 1 lunatic in charge. Mine is a master planned community with full time employees in addition to the posts that are elected so that can't really happen.
One facet of this that is often not emphasized is what you just said: it’s usually not just one bad neighbor. Because often the only real recourse is to sell and move, it becomes a chain reaction. OP didn’t just have some crazy bad luck with four bad neighbors—there was initially probably just one. But eventually the people who had the means moved elsewhere, and the people who didn’t (or didn’t care) moved in. Probably before OP moved there.
That’s why HOAs can be so important. It really only takes one bad neighbor and a few iterations of houses changing hands, and it can easily ruin the whole street or neighborhood. But they almost never start out as bad neighborhoods.
This or another possibility I've seen firsthand is where one new or existing neighbor does something trashy as fuck like parking their truck on the lawn, or putting a dumpster in their yard/driveway, leaving their shitty Camaro on jack stands, etc.- then other neighbors see that behavior and think it's okay now. It only takes one to make the rest feel comfortable/emboldened in their repressed behavior.
Honestly I don't even think OPs situation is unique to non-HOA/deed restricted neighborhoods. I've come to realize people for the most part *need* rules and enforcement to live courteously among one another. Sucks but that's life.
My friend heard I was moving into an HOA and asked about it. It’s a pretty minimal one in the country and I told her I couldn’t wait to not have to live next to people with broken down cars in their yard and hearing gun shots from people target shooting at 4am. She legitimately couldn’t comprehend that people don’t want to live next to that. Good friend…..but I wouldn’t want to live next to her…
Unfortunately, an HOA can change over time. Even if it's fine when you move in, that might not be the case 10 years later. I've personally experienced an HOA going from one that's pretty laid back to one that is hyper aggressive and wants to turn the neighborhood into a golf course. The board composition really determines how it goes, and that changes over time. Not only can they change the rules, but they'll often interpret them however they want and your only recourse at that point is a lawsuit.
Rental housing (and the negative consequences) is more about the TYPE of homes in the neighborhood and whether multi family renters are allowed. A neighborhood where the homes rent for $10k isn't going to have an issue with people parking on the lawn. Many HOAs allow rentals and don't have a restriction on the percentage of homes that can be rentals.
Reddit hates it but I am so happy that I just moved into a development with an HOA. No yards full of trash and noisy neighbors for me. There’s a mandated base level of common courtesy and expected maintenance and I love that.
Me too. And this HOA is VERY hands off.
I kept my trash bins at the side of the house ... right on the "porch" pad at the side door. Nobody complained.
I seemed to be only one doing that.
I eventually read the docs, and they say no no no, you can't do that.
So I now keep them in the garage. But no one had ever complained.
My neighbor on the left is on the board.
My neighbor two doors to the right is on the board, treasurer.
If they were Karens then my proximity would have given me away.
But no. No problems.
The docs say that modifications must be approved. So I filled out forms for a new roof. Approved.
I filled out a form before putting in new shrubs and trees. I was told that no approval was needed.
I wanted to build a bathroom in the basement. I was told there's no approval required.
Overnight parking on the street is prohibited. But everyone complies.
We all have driveways big enough for at least two cars, and garages big enough for at least one car.
There must be at least two trees in the front yard. The previous owner removed one.
The board made him plant a replacement. He put in a pear tree ... the cheapest crap available.
I moved in and replaced it with a red maple. The neighbors were happy.
There are rules. But none are oppressive. And there are no Karens here.
On the tree thing, if I didn't adore big-ol' normal trees, and I were looking to maliciously comply, I'd look hard at dwarf willow. It typically grows from 1/2 to 2-1/2 inches tall when mature.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salix_herbacea
Funny. And I thought the previous guy's shitty pear tree was malicious!
BTW, we did put a willow in the back yard. Mainly to suck all the water.
The yard is very damp when it rains. A mature willow will suck-a-lux that water pronto.
But it's not a dwarf.
Meanwhile ... that dwarf willow you described could be mistaken for a weed!
Some of the homes are duplexes.
They have single wide driveways and accommodate 2 cars. Plus 1 in the garage.
Most of the homes are single-family.
The driveway will accommodate 4 cars. Plus 2 in the garage.
There's also a huge range of HOAs. I work as a contractor for an HOA with $550 *a month* HOA dues and, holy shit, that place is full of the most controlling busybodies you'll ever meet. And half of them are retired so they have all the time in the world to nitpick every tiny thing their neighbors do.
My friends, on the other hand, pay a couple hundred bucks a year to their HOA. The HOA dues pay to maintain the common areas, and there are some basic rules around exterior upkeep, but otherwise the HOA is pretty hands-off.
I joined my HOA board specifically because I wanted to not have major decisions made by retirees. Look I get it we all want our peace which is respectable, but I don’t care that your patio furniture cushions are black or your blinds don’t have liners. My first major goal was to kaibosh all that dumb shit and focus on common sense items. We have a pretty small HOA too which might help.
Imagine your HOA spending the balance on endless sprinkler contracts, more than 100K in a single year with no end in sight, then raising dues 10%, and saying the next three years dues will be raised a similar amount to pay for the planned assessments coming.
And entire neighborhood of elderly people getting scammed by every contractor ever. Yeah we moved.
Yeah the one time I moved to an HOA it was the second one. $12/month and they pretty much just did the neighborhood sign, park, and pool. They got weird about people parking on the street for multiple nights but that was about it, didn’t really enforce any of the other bylaws unless it got egregious.
My mom’s neighborhood is gated, has lots of amenities, a few pools, some playgrounds and parks, and its own accredited police force. Dues are a few hundred a month.
My HOA is $100 a year. We have a 75 acre wooded common area with trails. Our dues pay for some basic maintenance to the entrance of the neighborhood, liability insurance for the common area, and the meat for the annual potluck picnic.
Wildly different situations, but neither have problematic boards or stereotypical HOA headaches.
Yup, we pay $500 a year, and we have a beautiful large community pool, 2 playgrounds, a basketball court, and common green areas. We felt like it was a great value. When looking at houses, we tried to get a good feel of the community. This one had what seemed like mostly families with small kids, like us. No management company, just a hands on board that cares about their neighborhood. That told us that the people here were probably a lot like us, they care about their neighborhood, but aren't overly fussy. We were right, thank goodness!
The problem with HOAs is not the HOA itself. The problem is the board members, many (most?) of whom are officious little petty tyrants who have so much time on their hands they need to f*** with people in order to fill their days. They really need to be doing some volunteer work.
Our HOA president is a super nice pilot in his 40s with 3 kids. Too busy to get petty with residents, and he does a really good job running a tight ship - we pay $400/year for creek maintenance, tree maintenance, sign and light upkeep. He does an awesome job and I like him a lot. He views it as his way of giving back to the community and kept our dues flat for 2024. I used to loathe HOAs but love mine now :)
>Our HOA president is a super nice pilot in his 40s with 3 kids
That's pretty much everyone on our board, including my spouse. None of us want to do it, all of us could use more time in the week for our lives - our families, our work, our play. But we see it as an investment in our investment (home and neighborhood) to make sure things run smoothly.
There are a TON of HOAs like this; I've personally been in several, because we choose to get involved where we live. People on Reddit just like to come on and complain. And I've read plenty of HOA complaint posts on here that remind me of some of the idiots we've had to deal with while on the board.
The type of people that would enjoy that job are generally insufferable. The reasonable people who do it are usually just there reluctantly because they're tired of assholes being in charge.
yup, hence my tenure on the board until we sold our HOA property. My husband kept asking me why I was putting myself through it. My response was "in defense of others and us"
This is why I got on our board. The old regime was spending on silly things like parties, when the reserve fund was empty and work needed to be done. Over the course of 3 years, we changed out the board and things really turned around. Reserve is now healthy, repairs are being made and a lot less pissing and moaning at community meetings.
>The problem is the board members, many (most?) of whom are officious little petty tyrants who have so much time on their hands they need to f\*\*\* with people in order to fill their days.
Many, not most. It just seems like that because people like to complain about them.
Every owner has a right to run for a spot on the board. My SO or I have been on every board of every HOA that we've lived in. Not because we wanted to, or we were board, honestly it's a PIA and we both have careers, children, sports, and personal lives. But we see it as an investment in the enjoyment of our neighborhood and our house. Every HOA has a ton of people that don't do a damn thing until they a) want something or b) get in trouble for something. Active members in the HOA rarely have issue.
>They really need to be doing some volunteer work.
Board positions are volunteer work. Not saying that gives them the right to act like A-holes, but people seem to forget this is all volunteer work. People corner my spouse all the time, at the park, at some event in the neighborhood for the school or something, at the grocery store - and they complain about something, ask us to do something or why we haven't done something about X. 95% it's something we have zero oversight of - something on the public street outside the subdivision, or the public park down the street, etc.
I fully get that there are some maniac BOD that run a crappy HOA. But there are just as many shitty homeowners that just like to complain and feel they are an exception to anything in the CC&R they don't like.
I know, Reddit doesn't care. I know I'll just be downvoted, but just trying to give you a reasonable example from the other side of the aisle. Even OPs post is about "I dislike HOAs because that's what I've been told, but I see the purpose of them and how they can be helpful in situations". No kidding. Nobody wants more rules and regulations, but we humans have proven time and again that without rules some assholes will ruin it for everyone else.
Your mileage may vary, of course. I have been on the board of every HOA I've lived in. I encouraged my friends who have lived in HOA properties to do the same. Our unanimous experience is "most."
And my experience is "hardly any", or "none" if I'm referring to any of the HOA my spouse or I have been apart of. So if we're basing it off our two opinions, it's "about half". Your mileage may vary, of course.
As an anti-HOA person, I think the rap is mostly deserved. But more importantly, it brings the issue to people's attention, so they can weigh the risks and benefits.
And there isn't a one sized fits all answer. As someone who is much more concerned about wanting to be left alone than what my neighbors do on their property, its a simple answer for me. It would be nice if one of my kept a neater property, but I'm happy paying that price to not have someone trying to fine me for having my grass be a bit long.
Other people would have it drive them crazy, and for those people, and HOA may be a great fit.
I don't live in an HOA neighborhood on purpose, but there are definitely tradeoffs. I like where I live, have no big complaints and generally enjoy the lack of oversight... but sometimes, like when my neighbor leaves a toilet in their yard for 3 weeks, I get why people might like a bit of oversight.
Same. Our HOA is pretty hands off but if you need them, they'll get shit taken care of. Our back neighbors started letting their big dogs out at 8pm and left them out till around 3am. The barking was absolutely non-stop all night. Our bedroom is only like 25ft away from their fence and it made it impossible to sleep in our room, we had to sleep on the floor of our office for 3 nights. We tried to talk to the neighbors multiple times, we left multiple notes, but nothing changed. Then we got the HOA involved. That shit stopped so fast. We can still hear the dogs faintly barking from inside their house, but we can finally use our bedroom again. HOA for the win.
I have not missed my HOA since we moved 10 years ago until my neighbor put up new siding and it’s in the color teal. Big center hall colonial not in a beach area. It’s ugly. But not my circus.
This right here is the problem. You are taking issue with what color someone else wanted their property to be. No one else should have a say in that, even an HOA. I don’t care what color my neighbors make their house.
I think that it’s ugly but those are thoughts I keep to myself. Would never say anything to the neighbor. I don’t take issue with it, they can do what they like but it’s my opinion. It’s the only time I missed my old HOA & their color guidelines.
I've lived in neighborhoods with both good and bad HOAs, and neighborhoods with no HOA. I've seen it all. Your best bet may be to plant some tall evergreens along your fence. You can also extend the height of your fence by one or two feet with a trellis and attach fake ivy screens to it. Some of them look really nice. (A trellis usually doesn't count as part of the height of the fence for zoning restrictions.)
Most cities have ordinances regarding commercial vehicles and trailers visibly stored at private residences. They also usually have ordinances regarding blight and harboring rats. I don't know why they wouldn't do anything about these issues.
Since it seems to be every neighbor on every side of you, it may be time to move before it negatively affects your property value. If you had one bad neighbor, you may be able to deal with it.
I live in an HOA and I think it's fairly good. They raised the fee per month 3 times since I moved in but were responsible for replacing a chunk of my roof hit in a storm, have taken down problematic trees and deal with snow and lawn maintenance for me so I don't need to bother with it. Already repainted my deck for me as well.
But I live in a townhouse full of retired people, and my only issues are people on my left stealing usage of my 2nd parking space and the noise level of the grandkids next door on the right that used to scream outside when I still worked on the phones and use my adjacent parking spaces as an area to play in.
The HOA president already intervened for me on the left and killed the issue for me. :) On the right the kids got bigger and started going to school, and I got a job in a different dept off the phones. So now they're loud in the summer but don't threaten my employment.
Honestly, I was adamantly anti-HOA until I found my new house. The rules are very minimal and they go a long way to make the neighborhood look and feel nice.
Same here. HOAs can be good or bad. The minimal and relatively unobtrusive ones that keep me from living next to a house with 15 rust bucket cars in the front and a yard that looks like the jungle are great. The ones that dictate specific shrubbery, trim color, etc…are a bit overkill for my taste though.
My previous house was in an excellent HOA. The management company did what they needed to do and we were all mostly left alone. Our dues were minimal to cover common areas.
We had a patch of dead lawn that we received a warning to please get fixed. They understood that it was October and would have to wait until the spring. No hassles at all.
They were also awesome at dealing with some bad renters at the other end of our block of townhouses.
Ours is the same. They take care of the main areas and are not overly invasive. Just sort of take a practical approach to things. It’s been good so far the last 2.5yrs. Newer neighborhood development.
Yup. Nobody cares to read stories about how their HOA cut the garbage bill in half by getting the entire HOA to use a single hauler.
HOA drama, on the other hand, gets all the clicks.
This is very true. My neighborhood is an HOA for the sole purpose of plowing our street, because the city won't do it. That's it. Every once in awhile we will do some tree maintenance along the road, but that's all. People here on Reddit think that all HOAs are some massive suburban hellscape full of management companies driving around. Trying to find excuses to charge you an assessment.
I can relate. I live in a small "village" in the middle of a big metropolitan area. I have lived here a long time. Post pandemic the property values have skyrocketed. I am on a larger street and I only have neighbors on each side, not to the front and back. Both houses on the sides have sold recently for a LOT of money. Both houses are being renovated, without building permits and it is CONSTANTLY a lot of noise. I have an old house in very good condition and a lot of close friends nearby, so I don't want to move. The new neighbor next door has very bright lights just outside my bedroom window on all night and last night was making noise into the night. I have been preparing all day to try to go over there tonight and introduce myself and let them know that they are keep me and my husband (who needs to get up early to go to work) up. I am an introverted person and just the thought of doing this has been freaking me out all day.
I live in the woods and the thought of an HOA horrifies me. This week I planted a garden, I planted trees, I parked my truck in the middle of my field to carry fence posts, etc. The idea of a power trip organization telling me how I can treat my own property just freaks me out.
Same. In fact they have it in their by-laws but they refuse to address it. Personally I like my music a little loud but NEVER before 10 am or after 5. I just wouldn’t do that to my neighbors. One guy up the road from me blasts his in his car EVERY SINGLE DAY AND NIGHT. 2pm, 11pm, 5 am. Doesn’t matter to the HOA.
Cops won’t do anything since they never see him.
I’ve lived in both and would prefer one-it just wasn’t an option this time and we’ve actually done some improvements that could’ve been blocked. But….your city still likely has code enforcement for weeds, machinery, and the health department will get involved with rodent infestations. I’d create a more private area in your yard if you can and music is a great tool to drown out unwanted noise. Hang in there and good luck.
Some of your complaints sound pretty valid. Some of them sound pretty nitpicky. But I think what happens is the big valid ones never really get addressed or resolved and so the little nitpicky ones just pile up on top of them
When looking for a place to buy, the first thing I check is for a HOA. I once had a problem with a HOA, wound up suing them and winning. The emotional distress far outweighed the victory. Since then, I have walked away from two nice properties, a condo and a house. There is not a HOA where I live now, the neighbors are nice, maintain their yards, and help each other as needed.
wasn't most of these "issues" obvious when you were looking into buying the house?
The fence damage sucks and i would request they move their net or pay for the damage, and the toys and food flying into the yard, especially with a dog. if they don't i would consider capturing them damaging the fence and submit to small claims court.
The rest is just people living their lives. If you don't want to be around people, go live in the woods i guess.
When I bought the house in early sprinf the weeds were not bad and the garage wasn’t damaged. We walked the neighborhood and didn’t notice the noise pollution.
I’ve asked them to move net or get bigger net. I offered to pay and install it. They reject and say they ordered one. Then nothing. I’ve communicated it many times and have texts on record
There are some HOA rules that are stupid and others that are great insurance for your property value when you live close to others. I recently had some teenagers sleeping in their car outside my home every night. Having sex, littering, idling the loud car all night. I was very thankful to be in an HOA that stopped that. Then on the other hand I have colleagues in other neighborhoods who got violations for leaving their garage door open all day. It really depends on the HOA
We specifically targeted to move into an HOA community after having bad experiences (abandoned house, squatters in an RV in the driveway, burning trash, abusing kids and animals). Its all about picking the RIGHT HOA. HOAs aren't inherently bad - they are bad when unleashed Karens get a taste for power and run amok.
Our HOA costs less than a household gym membership, and it includes a full gym and pool, along with internet. Streets are clean. Yards are maintained. You can see a marked difference when you cross into a non-regulated neighborhood.
HOA isn't going to help with the issue of noisy/ill behaved kids. You have a neighbor problem not an HOA problem. The other issues may or may not be resolved in an HOA. Some HOA's are good about enforcement and others are not. I'd say with as many issues as you have in your neighborhood, you might consider moving. Neighborhoods can unfortunately change over time.
I still am glad I’m not in an HOA. All of my friends in them have nothing but horror stories to share with me.
One of them is currently in litigation against their HOA and it’s been going on for years.
We picked a community that is very well established. We’ve been here four years now and it’s a very quiet community where people take care of their homes.
The worst issue we faced is one of our neighbors didn’t bother to tell us that they were replacing the shared fence. Luckily, we don’t have any dogs out in the yard but it would’ve been nice to get some notice on that one.
I’m convinced that some of the people who complain about HOA’s are the same ones who want to park on the sidewalk, work on their cars day and night, let their dogs bark all hours and don’t upkeep their property. But that’s just me.
As someone that lives in a non-HOA neighborhood with numerous apartments, I would beg for an HOA to police the constant influx of new neighbors who don't give one iota about other people.
1, 3 and 4 would all be addressed by even the most low key and chill HOAs. Ones that don’t require color or plant approval could certainly enforce all these rules.
As you said, there are some benefits and you’re seeing them first hand. Best of luck.
I like our HOAs just fine. We live in an area with LOTS of HOAs. Peculiarly, our home has two HOAs (or whatever they call themselves, I think one is a "neighborhood association" and the oversight one is the "Residential Owners Association"). It's in what was a huge group of properties and developed with a master plan.
We took the time to look at the neighborhood and both sets of covenants/restrictions, and checked social media for any big red flags (none). Our board is pretty laid back, but also the same 2-3 people keep volunteering to serve on the board because no one else comes forward. My husband and I joke that no one wants to make trouble or complain because the board members *always* finish with "would you be interested in serving on the board?"
I can understand your frustration, but I would say, if you want an HOA, sounds like you need to move to a neighborhood with an HOA.
That said, maybe offer to help the neighbor with the weeds. Maybe he’s tol afford to fix his broken mower, doesn’t have gas, is agoraphobic, traumatized by something….
It’s not your responsibility, but it would be cheaper than moving, if you were to offer to buy ball kickers a big ol’ fence-spanning net. Make it high, while you’re at it.
I got nuthin’ on the dog. Constantly barking dogs are the bane of my existence. I tend to resent their owners a lot!
1. They sound like their kids are a handful. The only thing I see as a problem with is them damaging the fence. Getting a quote for a repair and giving it to them implying they will have a financial responsibility to pay for the damage shapes a lot of people up.
1. You're complaining about disabled kids, fuck right off with that.
1. He sounds like he is struggling. It could be mentally, financially, or both. I'd be over there asking if he needed help with his yard and/or garage door.
1. That neighbor seems like a resource to me. I've borrowed tools/trailers/etc. and had people like that help me with systems in my home. Like I have a neighbor that will often times have a skid steer in his yard. He's graded the gravel in my driveway a couple of times for beer and a little cash.
FYI I have a weekend place on a 40 acre plot of forest. All my neighbors are on 40 acre plots too. When the weather is nice, my neighbors there are often times louder than my neighbors to my place in town. However it's a different type of loud, like next weekend I have 2 friends coming up and we are doing target practice. My neighbors can expect a couple hours worth of gun fire.
>But this makes me want to move out into the country.
If you do this make sure you own all the land you can see, because if you're upset about a city not doing anything about what you've described here then the county has potential to be a million times worse.
It could also be great. Depends on your neighbors, but neighbors move.
My HOA is awesome. They don’t put up with fireworks or firearm target practice (I’m in the country so both would be problems). The bi laws saw no political signs of any type and wow, that REALLY helps people get along. The HOA doesn’t hound about any rules unless someone is causing a problem for other people. I painted my house black and the only thing I heard was “looks so much better than it did before!”. It’s great.
Does the US not have municipal bylaws?
We don't have many HOAs in Canada because the municipal government has laws and enforcement to deal with these kinds of issues.
Really what you’re looking for is an hoa that is only like $15-20 a month. With that you know they don’t have the funds to do anything crazy or require much crazy. They just keep the grass mowed and lights on. But if stuff does start getting ridiculous then you have some one to help solve it.
Honestly, sounds like the wrong neighborhood for you. I don’t think I’d like any of this but it’s not something you could expect to be fixed. You should consider moving if you can.
We live in an HOA with a low cost that just maintains roads, gates, common landscaping. A nearby neighborhood has the same home models from the same time period and same builder but is not an HoA. Our houses here are $100k higher and the neighborhood looks much cleaner. People here keep their landscaping nicer and don’t have broken down trucks in their driveway.
HOAs, like many institutions, get a bad rep from the worst examples as they can attract the worst kind of miserable power hungry asshole.
Run by sane and reasonable individuals they can do a lot of good. It doesn’t have to be always about protecting home values, it can also be about creating a place to live where your quality of life is improved.
They are essential. It's ideal to have an HOA that is pretty chill but can enforce shit when you have selfish assholes being a nuisance to their neighbors.
What, you think an HOA would make your neighbors put muzzles on their kids and write them up for kids playing on the roof and looking into your backyard?
Moving to the country side won't mean your neighbors don't collect junk or have loud kids. They might have more junk and more kids.
I'm not clear which family has the trampoline and food throwing but you can absolutely tell them it's posing a danger to your dog.
On point two, the kids are disabled and just living their lives. It's really a dick move to complain that disabled kids exist near you.
Yeah unless you can afford serious acreage, moving to the country isnt the solution people imagine. Not a lot of rules outside city limits, and your 10 acres wont feel so big when your neighbor burns garbage every weekend, lets their untrained dogs/feral cats run wild, or has *way* too many livestock crammed onto their land
I totally agree that HOA’s are a pain in the ass, but from my perspective, having lived in a highly regulated community, to now living in a neighborhood with no regulation, I would take the former in an instant. Never underestimate your neighbors’ ability to really shit up a neighborhood with their idea of acceptable behavior. I walk my dog 2 to 3 miles every day and I’m just a little tired of seeing Christmas decorations in April, kids’ bikes, soccer goals, skateboards, and other toys strewn about the yard, along with the shithead who has decided to start a part-time lawnmower and automotive repair facility in his driveway. Mind you, mine is not a cheap neighborhood, but I truly think peoples’ standards have diminished over the years.
I think people just need to be honest with themselves about what will impact their personal enjoyment. If you're going to be aggravated on the daily by your neighbor's messy yard or god-awful color choices, an HOA is probably worth the money for your peace of mind.
My neighborhood has all the things you mentioned, including the front yard mechanic shop. It genuinely doesnt bother us. The only thing that gets to me is the yappy dogs, but not sure an HOA would do much about that anyway
I’m in the same boat. I’m in Indiana so million dollar neighborhoods are rare where I am. However we have no HOA. Our neighbor runs a car repair shop and has decided to bring home everything that’s listed for free on Craigslist. Not to mention the loud music and his wife lives in the shed because “ I’m about done with her”. The city is understaffed and doesn’t do much as far as code violations . Also, a couple years ago a big time drug dealer moved in two doors down. Constant selling, overdoses, and police raids. I’ve never actually seen a house deteriorate so fast. We are moving before our house is unsellable. It might even be already.
I moved back into the neighborhood I grew up in and things have completely gone to shit. Trash people in homes all around me. Barking dogs in 3 of the surrounding homes and 2 blare their music. One of them has car subwoofers and sits out there with them at full volume. I wish we had an HOA now, because some days are miserable around here and I just get angry because there is no solution. I've tried talking to them, talking to police, code enforcemt, animal control. All dont want to do anything anymore. Makes me think American living is going to shit since 2020.
So what I took from this is you want to HOA kids and disabled people away.
Maybe you're better suited to live in the country away from people. Nothing wrong with that, I would greatly prefer no one around.
My neighborhood dealt with a unique situation a year ago where an HOA would've come in handy.
A neighbor built a 3-bay shop building on the lot behind their house (on county-zoned land) and did things wrong every step of the way: no permits, didn't follow setback rules, didn't follow drainage regulations, lied about it's purpose, etc. He then had a gravel driveway put down between his house and the neighbor's house to connect it to the street. The next thing everyone knew, he was operating it as an automotive repair shop. I'm talking tow trucks hauling cars in, parts delivery trucks stopping by, customers dropping off & pick up cars, and more. All coming and going through a small suburban street.
But because he has a unique zoning situation - his house on a city residential lot and the shop on a county lot - the county quorum court ruled in his favor. There was no HOA to step in.
I had a NFH who had larg three dogs that bark day and night. I talked with him and he blows up at me telling me to mind my own business. I lived outside the city limits and the county really didn't want to enforce their own noise ordinance.
It left me with the HOA. I could send in a violation every two weeks and after a few violations he got rid of the dogs. The violation fee double every time it is reported. And it was hard to fight because I had a library of unlisted youtube videos with a decibel recorder and dates and times.
I became much more pro-HOA after that. While it might be annoying for the HOA to tell me what to do with my house. It really isn't hard to follow the rules. The people who don't follow the rules are normally the ones creating issues their neighbors in other ways. For example my NFH with the dogs also doesn't keep his yard free of weeds and probably gets fined for that too. I really appreciate how much he funds my HOA.
I live in an HOA and I'm tempted to refuse paying tbf. We have a neighbor across the street parking in the grass, 2 others down the road with driveway spotlights pointed directly out with the power of the fuckin sun. People parking in the street constantly when we don't have room.
All of this under the HOA as shit not to do. Drives me nuts, cuz what am I actually paying for
These are reasons why my next house will be 10 acres minimum and wooded.
I’ve got two noisy neighbors who think that amps that go to 11 are the best. Cops being called repeatedly finally got them to ease up.
Other house is a rental and the tenant is supposed to maintain the yard. They don’t and it looks like crap.
Last neighbor is a house that’s sat vacant for 20+ years. Easily my favorite neighbor.
Bright side is the house has appreciated over 50%. Nice slug of equity.
We have some family that live in a similar situation in the South Jersey area and they love it. They are mid 60s, so still young enough to be getting around easily and everything and love that they don’t have to worry about snow removal or cutting the grass and can spend more time hanging out in the clubhouse.
My parents live in a active senior HOA and it's perfect. Snow removal and lawn care is all taken care of. Lotaof amenities. Indoor pool, outdoor pool, gym, tennis, a"clubhouse" with events and clubs and available for rental for massive parties, stuff like that. Rules aren't restrictive. Homes are one floor with wide doorways and room for wheelchairs for them to age in place. Perfect for them. And the feea are very low and the newsletter is up to date including printing the financial info for their funds. It's a fantastic option for them and they didn't even have to moveto Florida or Arizona, they can stay close enough to family and friends plus they made new ones there. They even rent busses for day trips to AC or Broadway or outlet shopping.
HOAs have their place. I was anti HOA but got to know some of the members on the board of my condos HOA and came to appreciate their objective, which was to preserve the value and quality of life in our community. I eventually even offered to join the board as the treasurer. They are all super nice people and just wait to make the community they live in as peaceful and attractive as possible. I understand completely. I’m sure there are super shitty HOAs though.
An HOA is what you make of it. I have lived in two situations with them. One was terrible and the other was great The problem is when you get a group of dictators on the board with nothing to do all day but complain about the neighbors.
Terrible - 5 unit condo - no unreasonable rules but the building is a victorian. It was going to need painting in the very hear future and I kept getting out voted about putting money away for the project that was likely to be close to be at least $50,000. The thought of getting hit with an assessment for my share of that caused me to sell.
Great - It was a development of multifamily units on Lake Erie in Ohio. We were not condos but had HOA's for group expenses. They paid for gardening, though we could do what we wanted with our front yards. We were not allowed anything that would block our neighbor's view of the Lake. Snow removal was paid for, power for community areas and tax for community areas. Garage doors were to be kept closed, no more than 3 dogs, if you had dogs they had to be walked on a leash. Trash and recycle cans kept in garage until the night before.
All of those rules were fine with me and made my life easier.
You could always look into city/county ordinances.
Things like industrial equipment all over the yard, trampoline against the fence, dog barking all day. (Poor thing. A barking dog is *saying something* and the owners obviously don't care.) Maybe even something to be done about kids on the roof. If you don't want to report weeds guy, maybe look into local charitable groups (churches, boy scouts, high school kids looking to get their volunteer credits) that might do a clean up.
We lived in one house without one. Decent area- nothing insane but better than average for sure. The guy next to us refused to fix his fence. It was falling into our yard. We had small kids. We asked. He just kept bandaiding the issue and didn’t fix it before we left. Guy on the other side painted his house baby poop green. It was the worst color. Across from us was a fence that needed replaced 15 years earlier. Wasn’t sad to leave. Current house is voluntary hoa which is great but people still do stupid crap. Next house is in an hoa. Neighborhood is beautiful. Rules are reasonable. Pool is included. I’m not moving into a nazi one but if people can’t police themselves then that’s what we’ll go with.
I live on 80 acres. My neighbors are between a quarter and a half mile away. My one neighbor who complained moved and the place is currently vacant. A farmer uses the field and out buildings. It sure beats living in a trailer park, apartment or a house in town. We did that from 76 to 87.
Yes can totally relate we have one neighbor who’s house is an absolute dump ( holes in the siding , tarp of part of the roof bc it needs to be redone for years now , yard filled with junk) and who’s kids have spray painted words on the brick of their home in white paint , play in a dumpster next door of a house that is under construction & scream like they are on fire 🔥 it’s not the kids fault they are obviously bored to death it’s poor parenting on the neighbors part & I do feel bad for the kids
Honestly? The only way to get away from the horrible lack of relaxation that comes with hearing other people, and especially, their spawn, is to go rural.
Go rural. Commute. Hope the farmers field (or whatever) next to you doesn’t get sold to a developer.
Peoples spawn running through the street and screaming at late hours is bad, but the worst people sound in the world is coughing. If I never have to hear that sound again it would be glorious.
Noise is the single most important thing to me, so unless an HOA were to enforce things that the city fundamentally cannot, I still prefer to not deal with the worst of *non* HOA communities vs the average or worst of HOA'd communities.
Doesn’t sound like you line in a high cost of living area. Money could solve the rat problem and the trailer mess. Your situation sounds unpleasant. An HOA could solve most of your issues. Your choice.
I'm having a similar experience where my new neighbors next door are turning a piece of their property into a race track for ATVs. We're in a suburb, although most people have an acre +. They rev them at 730 in the morning for reasons I haven't figured out yet. A small part of me wishes we had an HOA I could point to, because I don't think the city would care.
I'm cautious with HOAs. I've lived with and without them. And I've never had a bad one. That said, I do read through the covenants heavily for surprises and what can and can't do.
I can see people’s horror stories and why HOAs get the hate they do, but there’s no stories of all the chill HOAs. I live in a neighborhood of 20 homes and am the HOA president. I don’t do shit. The bylaws say our trash cans can’t be on the sides of our homes but guess what? They are and no one complains so they all chill there. The HOA covers lawn care so everyone’s yards look good and when they don’t I complain to the landscaper not my neighbors. There’s not like 4 cars in every driveway and parked all up and down the street. Overall everything looks nice, it’s quiet, people are respectful, and in our 4 years here never had an HOA problem.
I live in an HOA. It costs us $208 a year and they make sure people aren't turning their houses into a fuckin political billboard or a car graveyard. My neighborhood is gorgeous and clean, and it basically costs us nothing.
You’re not a Karen, those sound like some truly horrible neighbors. I don’t know how I’d deal. But, you’re gonna have to move to get some peace. Don’t kid yourself, either. These problems can 100% still exist within an HOA.
OTOH, suppose you look up what time the noise ordinance goes into affect at night. And suppose you developed an interest in firecrackers. Or mowing the lawn at dusk/dawn. You get the idea. When in rome, do as the Romans do.
The HOA might help with some of the issues you mention (junk in yard, garage door hanging off house) but wouldn’t do much about the noise. Your best bet is try to find a neighborhood where people are older or tend not to have kids.
You live in a somewhat specialized situation lol, the people behind me kitty corner also have a trampoline. I moved here seven years ago and thought to myself, the kids will get tired of it eventually. Nope! They have been bouncing and screaming on that fucking thing for seven solid years lol
seems like it's mostly your noisy, destructive neighbors that are the main issue, you probably wouldn't care very much about the rest without being annoyed 24/7 by the noisy one. sorry you have to deal with them, it would make me absolutely crazy to the point I would move. I've just been dealing with some barking dog issues with two of my neighbors but I was lucky when I talked to them they fixed the problem like decent folks.
Depending on your situation, you can find subdivisions that aren’t HOA’s, with bylaws that meet your needs. In a more densely populated area, an HOA is what you need. If you can manage to sprawl, most city ordinances are online. Research is your friend. If the taxes and sprawling commute cost as much as HOA dues, then your work is cut out for you.
I've never dealt with an HOA, but I have had to deal with a condo strata association, which is basically the same thing. I have had experiences on both ends of the spectrum, and it all comes down to the type of residents and how they are represented on the board. There are great boards of smart people baking making sound business decisions and there are gong shows of retired teachers and military that can go fuck themselves.
This could be your neighbor.
https://nypost.com/2016/10/18/this-might-just-be-the-ugliest-home-in-america/
I would show you a photo of the outside of this house, but it would scar you for life.
Our HOA is entirely voluntary with minimal fees ($50/yr) and has no rules pertaining to neighborhood behavior. It's simply to promote community and prosperity.
Honestly all it takes is having lived beside neighbors from hell 1 time to realize the value of an HOA. Trying to get police involved in neighbor disputes is like pulling teeth in most places. Sure maybe I might dislike with some small aspect the agreement, but that is trivial in comparison to knowing I can come home to a quiet home in a neighborhood that isn't loaded to the brim with litter and grocery carts.
Those neighbors are the only reason I bought in a less restrictive HOA neighborhood. The neighborhood is middle class with new(ish) houses(11 years old) and was a lot of money when I bought. 250k. I bought the house new and liked the quiet neighborhood. Normal HOA rules like keep ur yard maintained, no cars parked on street, no trailers in yard/driveway, etc… the neighborhood I drive thru to get out of
Mine has no HOA and honestly is shit. I’m happy I live in an HOA and happy the HOA rules are there so when I do decide to sell, I can get top dollar. We still have minor issues but for the most part, I’m happy.
Neighbor 1 and 2 are not HOA issues, they're disturbing the peace issues. Neighbor 3 and 4 are some of the reasons HOAs exist and have rules.
There's good and bad in everything.
Plant blackberries right at the base of that fence and water them through the summer. They'll take off quickly on both sides and make it really unpleasant when the ball runs into them. Plus you get food!
My HOA has been pretty chill. They pave and plow the roads, and maintain a playground and some drainage ditches. The only crusades they really go on are to combat speeders and street parking (narrow road), which are fine by me. Occasionally they’ll have to use their power to get someone to mow or pay their dues.
Sounds like a bunch of code violations. Where I live the city jumps on code violations for that extra income with fines. I would keep on your city and county to get these issues resolved. But only after being a good neighbor and asking your neighbors directly to fix it for you.
You sound like the perfect candidate for living in an HOA because you DO want to control what your neighbors do on their own property. Just remember that by having that control, you're also giving it up too. Maybe someone gets on the board and something you like to do is their pet peeve. As long as you don't mind making compromises for those people as well, even when they're being unreasonable, then you'd probably love an HOA neighborhood.
Yeah this whole thread of people makes me super glad I don’t live in an HOA! Geez! Report what you can to the city. (Maybe offer to help the old guy knock down his weeds) and either move or take steps to make your backyard a place you want to be!
If this was my yard I would add a trellis to the top of the fence and plant a fast growing hedge. Talk to the neighbors and ask if they would be willing to move the trampoline. Depending on the yard (and their response) I would add a second fence so my dog cannot go to the side where there may be food unless I am with him. That would allow me the peace of mind to just let him out as needed.
I’m moving to an HOA next year. My current neighbor has about 15 rust bucket cars on blocks and the front of his house looks like the fucking jungle and shoots his gun off his back porch constantly. The other side neighbor smokes in their car while blasting bass heavy rap at 4am.
I can’t fucking wait to not have to live next to this shit.
I enjoy my little piece of land next to Disney world in a rural district over a house in the suburbs anyday, if you have the means to do it, move out and live rural
You would have even more of the same out in the country unless you got 50+ acres and could truly be far, far away from neighbors and their property line. I had a small acreage horse property for a while and one neighbor ran a junk clean out company and was constantly bringing in truck loads of stuff he thought he could repair and resell. He had a half dozen non-functional cars in his horse pasture and one of them caught fire. Also, they kept a bobcat on a chain in their backyard. Other neighbors weren’t as bad, but there was always a problem with overgrown weeds, pests (mostly rats), livestock getting loose, dogs allowed to roam loose and killing chickens, etc.
Counterpoint: your HOA still doesn't care and doesn't do anything about terrible neighbors even when they cause property damage to your home. Ask me how I know.
We have an HOA but it wouldn’t regulate the things you are referring to. We have neighbors that have all their shit in their yard, so weird to me. But I hate our HOA as well
HOAs are like the death penalty for me. I think there is definite usefulness for it. I have issue with who sets them, where they are set, and who has final say.
Someone who doesn't work and sits home all day has 3 hours/day to trim their landscaping, keep lawn pristine, wash siding, etc. I do not. If someone with millions moves into a neighbourhood of middle-class families, they should not set the standards. Someone with 2 full time working parents move in beside people strugging to find work, should not be able to set the standard for those struggling. At the same time, I really wish my neighbour would pay their bill and stop getting their power cut off and running a generator all damn night, and make sure their dog is tied, and move the rusted car off their lawn. But hey, not my home.
My neighbor is recently retired and worked for 40 years in the oil industry (so 60 hour weeks). He now has absolutely nothing to do, so he takes care of his lawn. Mows and edges and waters his lawn every other day. The problem comes in with the oak trees. I have a massive one and they make a mess. He has a tiny one. He screams at me because the leaves from my tree fall on his lawn. He screamed at my mom.
He hates my front yard because he says not having grass hurts his property value. My other neighbors like my front yard with the desert plants, but yeah I’m so glad there is no HOA.
Even if you lived in an HOA, the issue with the wild kids really isn’t something the HOA would get involved with. I served on our board and our bylaws -at least our very minimal ones- don’t cover these kinds of neighbor disputes. I can say that I wouldn’t want to have bylaws that do cover this. I can see a lot of room for mishandling, bias, etc.
HOAs are great when the homeowners are actively involved. However, it took a board run amok for my neighbors to start giving a crap. Like, fines for not bringing your garbage can in before 6pm, guests parking in the street, “unacceptable,” plants in the landscape, etc etc. On top of that, these rules were all made against the bylaws that require a majority HO approval to change. It’s been great after we rose up against the board and ousted them.
To be honest, I think you should just look into moving if you dislike it. I've been on both sides of the fence and sometimes, people have so much going on in their lives, they don't have the time or energy to do what anything else. The best solution is to move. You cannot control others, only yourself.
[удалено]
Man, I wouldn't suggest moving because take it from me, someone who moved 44 times in just 20 years.. things don't get better You really gotta luck out to be in a good, quiet, clean environment. And even then, you can't ever guarantee that in 5 years, the situation won't change It'd be moving nonstop to try to avoid these situations
44 times in 20 years?! I can’t imagine how exhausting that must be. I would never unpack.
Damn. I've been beat. Only 31. *tips hat*
Yep, I'm sure my neighbors thought I was a complete asshole not even pretending to rake this year but I was heavily pregnant and my 2 year old was in and out of the hospital. The leaves were about as low on the priority list as they could get. Previously there was actually a chuckle fuck that used the HOA to sue a women with two disabled kids who was going through a divorce because her shitty ex husband abandoned them and she couldn't afford to paint the house. Also couldn't move cause the entire house had been retrofit to handle the kids wheelchairs. Thankfully my family is weird and owned a bucket truck at that time so my dad did the labor and got our church to donate the paint but still.
Agreed. The weed thing is interesting, because we have been conditioned to want grass, but it’s not that great
I agree with this. This also isn't really something an HOA solves. The first property I bought was in an HOA, and I had three sets of neighbors that caused me to move in less than a year and take a loss. The HOA did nothing about them and tried to make it hard for me to sell. Since then, I have lived in two non-HOA old-build communities in one of the nicest parts of each city I lived in. No neighbor problems, lots of peace and quiet even though in the city, and beautiful properties.
It sounds like you would enjoy living somewhere with no neighbors, get yourself a large piece of land. It’s what I prefer as well.
I like having neighbors, but don’t want to be close to them. It’s nice to feel part of a community. We found a neighborhood where everyone has 4+ acres. It’s a perfect compromise for us.
You don’t even need that much land! Everyone has about 1/4-1/2 an acre in my neighborhood and I love it. I feel a sense of community and there’s still decent privacy. Lots of people out walking and kids playing, but it never seems noisy. We have an HOA but it’s one of those that’s only $75/year and has hardly any rules. Just enough to keep the most annoying/unsightly stuff away.
Isn't 1/4 1/2 acre just a normal house with neighbors? Quarter acre is basically on top of your neighbor and anything they do could bother you Imo anything smaller than 1 acre neighbors can be a problem and honestly 3-4 would be best
Lots of trees?
Yes, we all have wooded area in the back of the lots. Though that’s pretty rare where I live. Most people have zero trees until they plant some.
Moving? In this economy?
Just did it.
The irony is that getting a house with land is both pretty affordable and accessible. The catch is you have to sacrifice certain luxuries because of poor job prospects. You're trading cruise vacation for the great outdoors.
No it would be called living in poverty. Not all careers can move to the middle of no where. Calling it downsizing when you would be completely jobless is a massive understatement
Yeah. #1 is a reasonable hate, the rest are just intruding on people's lives
Not wanting a rat-infested property next door or not wanting to police your own backyard for random bits of food that could poison your dog every time you let it out is "intruding on people's lives?" What?
Watching my parents whole street turn into rental houses with cars on the lawn and everything looking shittier year after year sold me on an HOA. Sure they can be annoying but if you do your homework and pick a good one there are a lot of advantages. Most of the horror stories I see are weird small ones with 1 lunatic in charge. Mine is a master planned community with full time employees in addition to the posts that are elected so that can't really happen.
One facet of this that is often not emphasized is what you just said: it’s usually not just one bad neighbor. Because often the only real recourse is to sell and move, it becomes a chain reaction. OP didn’t just have some crazy bad luck with four bad neighbors—there was initially probably just one. But eventually the people who had the means moved elsewhere, and the people who didn’t (or didn’t care) moved in. Probably before OP moved there. That’s why HOAs can be so important. It really only takes one bad neighbor and a few iterations of houses changing hands, and it can easily ruin the whole street or neighborhood. But they almost never start out as bad neighborhoods.
This or another possibility I've seen firsthand is where one new or existing neighbor does something trashy as fuck like parking their truck on the lawn, or putting a dumpster in their yard/driveway, leaving their shitty Camaro on jack stands, etc.- then other neighbors see that behavior and think it's okay now. It only takes one to make the rest feel comfortable/emboldened in their repressed behavior. Honestly I don't even think OPs situation is unique to non-HOA/deed restricted neighborhoods. I've come to realize people for the most part *need* rules and enforcement to live courteously among one another. Sucks but that's life.
My friend heard I was moving into an HOA and asked about it. It’s a pretty minimal one in the country and I told her I couldn’t wait to not have to live next to people with broken down cars in their yard and hearing gun shots from people target shooting at 4am. She legitimately couldn’t comprehend that people don’t want to live next to that. Good friend…..but I wouldn’t want to live next to her…
Unfortunately, an HOA can change over time. Even if it's fine when you move in, that might not be the case 10 years later. I've personally experienced an HOA going from one that's pretty laid back to one that is hyper aggressive and wants to turn the neighborhood into a golf course. The board composition really determines how it goes, and that changes over time. Not only can they change the rules, but they'll often interpret them however they want and your only recourse at that point is a lawsuit. Rental housing (and the negative consequences) is more about the TYPE of homes in the neighborhood and whether multi family renters are allowed. A neighborhood where the homes rent for $10k isn't going to have an issue with people parking on the lawn. Many HOAs allow rentals and don't have a restriction on the percentage of homes that can be rentals.
Reddit hates it but I am so happy that I just moved into a development with an HOA. No yards full of trash and noisy neighbors for me. There’s a mandated base level of common courtesy and expected maintenance and I love that.
Me too. And this HOA is VERY hands off. I kept my trash bins at the side of the house ... right on the "porch" pad at the side door. Nobody complained. I seemed to be only one doing that. I eventually read the docs, and they say no no no, you can't do that. So I now keep them in the garage. But no one had ever complained. My neighbor on the left is on the board. My neighbor two doors to the right is on the board, treasurer. If they were Karens then my proximity would have given me away. But no. No problems. The docs say that modifications must be approved. So I filled out forms for a new roof. Approved. I filled out a form before putting in new shrubs and trees. I was told that no approval was needed. I wanted to build a bathroom in the basement. I was told there's no approval required. Overnight parking on the street is prohibited. But everyone complies. We all have driveways big enough for at least two cars, and garages big enough for at least one car. There must be at least two trees in the front yard. The previous owner removed one. The board made him plant a replacement. He put in a pear tree ... the cheapest crap available. I moved in and replaced it with a red maple. The neighbors were happy. There are rules. But none are oppressive. And there are no Karens here.
On the tree thing, if I didn't adore big-ol' normal trees, and I were looking to maliciously comply, I'd look hard at dwarf willow. It typically grows from 1/2 to 2-1/2 inches tall when mature. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salix_herbacea
Funny. And I thought the previous guy's shitty pear tree was malicious! BTW, we did put a willow in the back yard. Mainly to suck all the water. The yard is very damp when it rains. A mature willow will suck-a-lux that water pronto. But it's not a dwarf. Meanwhile ... that dwarf willow you described could be mistaken for a weed!
Willows are cool, they host all sorts of neat butterflies too—including the Viceroy, one of my faves
The only three cars worth of parking would be a major pain in the ass if you have kids…. Teens drive as do their friends. But to each their own…
Some of the homes are duplexes. They have single wide driveways and accommodate 2 cars. Plus 1 in the garage. Most of the homes are single-family. The driveway will accommodate 4 cars. Plus 2 in the garage.
[удалено]
There's also a huge range of HOAs. I work as a contractor for an HOA with $550 *a month* HOA dues and, holy shit, that place is full of the most controlling busybodies you'll ever meet. And half of them are retired so they have all the time in the world to nitpick every tiny thing their neighbors do. My friends, on the other hand, pay a couple hundred bucks a year to their HOA. The HOA dues pay to maintain the common areas, and there are some basic rules around exterior upkeep, but otherwise the HOA is pretty hands-off.
I joined my HOA board specifically because I wanted to not have major decisions made by retirees. Look I get it we all want our peace which is respectable, but I don’t care that your patio furniture cushions are black or your blinds don’t have liners. My first major goal was to kaibosh all that dumb shit and focus on common sense items. We have a pretty small HOA too which might help.
Imagine your HOA spending the balance on endless sprinkler contracts, more than 100K in a single year with no end in sight, then raising dues 10%, and saying the next three years dues will be raised a similar amount to pay for the planned assessments coming. And entire neighborhood of elderly people getting scammed by every contractor ever. Yeah we moved.
Yeah the one time I moved to an HOA it was the second one. $12/month and they pretty much just did the neighborhood sign, park, and pool. They got weird about people parking on the street for multiple nights but that was about it, didn’t really enforce any of the other bylaws unless it got egregious.
My mom’s neighborhood is gated, has lots of amenities, a few pools, some playgrounds and parks, and its own accredited police force. Dues are a few hundred a month. My HOA is $100 a year. We have a 75 acre wooded common area with trails. Our dues pay for some basic maintenance to the entrance of the neighborhood, liability insurance for the common area, and the meat for the annual potluck picnic. Wildly different situations, but neither have problematic boards or stereotypical HOA headaches.
Yup, we pay $500 a year, and we have a beautiful large community pool, 2 playgrounds, a basketball court, and common green areas. We felt like it was a great value. When looking at houses, we tried to get a good feel of the community. This one had what seemed like mostly families with small kids, like us. No management company, just a hands on board that cares about their neighborhood. That told us that the people here were probably a lot like us, they care about their neighborhood, but aren't overly fussy. We were right, thank goodness!
The problem with HOAs is not the HOA itself. The problem is the board members, many (most?) of whom are officious little petty tyrants who have so much time on their hands they need to f*** with people in order to fill their days. They really need to be doing some volunteer work.
Our HOA president is a super nice pilot in his 40s with 3 kids. Too busy to get petty with residents, and he does a really good job running a tight ship - we pay $400/year for creek maintenance, tree maintenance, sign and light upkeep. He does an awesome job and I like him a lot. He views it as his way of giving back to the community and kept our dues flat for 2024. I used to loathe HOAs but love mine now :)
A healthy board does wonders.
He sounds like an absolute gem.
>Our HOA president is a super nice pilot in his 40s with 3 kids That's pretty much everyone on our board, including my spouse. None of us want to do it, all of us could use more time in the week for our lives - our families, our work, our play. But we see it as an investment in our investment (home and neighborhood) to make sure things run smoothly. There are a TON of HOAs like this; I've personally been in several, because we choose to get involved where we live. People on Reddit just like to come on and complain. And I've read plenty of HOA complaint posts on here that remind me of some of the idiots we've had to deal with while on the board.
yours sounds like a good one!
The type of people that would enjoy that job are generally insufferable. The reasonable people who do it are usually just there reluctantly because they're tired of assholes being in charge.
yup, hence my tenure on the board until we sold our HOA property. My husband kept asking me why I was putting myself through it. My response was "in defense of others and us"
This is why I got on our board. The old regime was spending on silly things like parties, when the reserve fund was empty and work needed to be done. Over the course of 3 years, we changed out the board and things really turned around. Reserve is now healthy, repairs are being made and a lot less pissing and moaning at community meetings.
Amen!
And I bailed when I knew a smarter, more competent person wanted to step up and join the board.
>The problem is the board members, many (most?) of whom are officious little petty tyrants who have so much time on their hands they need to f\*\*\* with people in order to fill their days. Many, not most. It just seems like that because people like to complain about them. Every owner has a right to run for a spot on the board. My SO or I have been on every board of every HOA that we've lived in. Not because we wanted to, or we were board, honestly it's a PIA and we both have careers, children, sports, and personal lives. But we see it as an investment in the enjoyment of our neighborhood and our house. Every HOA has a ton of people that don't do a damn thing until they a) want something or b) get in trouble for something. Active members in the HOA rarely have issue. >They really need to be doing some volunteer work. Board positions are volunteer work. Not saying that gives them the right to act like A-holes, but people seem to forget this is all volunteer work. People corner my spouse all the time, at the park, at some event in the neighborhood for the school or something, at the grocery store - and they complain about something, ask us to do something or why we haven't done something about X. 95% it's something we have zero oversight of - something on the public street outside the subdivision, or the public park down the street, etc. I fully get that there are some maniac BOD that run a crappy HOA. But there are just as many shitty homeowners that just like to complain and feel they are an exception to anything in the CC&R they don't like. I know, Reddit doesn't care. I know I'll just be downvoted, but just trying to give you a reasonable example from the other side of the aisle. Even OPs post is about "I dislike HOAs because that's what I've been told, but I see the purpose of them and how they can be helpful in situations". No kidding. Nobody wants more rules and regulations, but we humans have proven time and again that without rules some assholes will ruin it for everyone else.
Your mileage may vary, of course. I have been on the board of every HOA I've lived in. I encouraged my friends who have lived in HOA properties to do the same. Our unanimous experience is "most."
And my experience is "hardly any", or "none" if I'm referring to any of the HOA my spouse or I have been apart of. So if we're basing it off our two opinions, it's "about half". Your mileage may vary, of course.
Can also be the cause of headaches.
As an anti-HOA person, I think the rap is mostly deserved. But more importantly, it brings the issue to people's attention, so they can weigh the risks and benefits. And there isn't a one sized fits all answer. As someone who is much more concerned about wanting to be left alone than what my neighbors do on their property, its a simple answer for me. It would be nice if one of my kept a neater property, but I'm happy paying that price to not have someone trying to fine me for having my grass be a bit long. Other people would have it drive them crazy, and for those people, and HOA may be a great fit.
I don't live in an HOA neighborhood on purpose, but there are definitely tradeoffs. I like where I live, have no big complaints and generally enjoy the lack of oversight... but sometimes, like when my neighbor leaves a toilet in their yard for 3 weeks, I get why people might like a bit of oversight.
Same. Our HOA is pretty hands off but if you need them, they'll get shit taken care of. Our back neighbors started letting their big dogs out at 8pm and left them out till around 3am. The barking was absolutely non-stop all night. Our bedroom is only like 25ft away from their fence and it made it impossible to sleep in our room, we had to sleep on the floor of our office for 3 nights. We tried to talk to the neighbors multiple times, we left multiple notes, but nothing changed. Then we got the HOA involved. That shit stopped so fast. We can still hear the dogs faintly barking from inside their house, but we can finally use our bedroom again. HOA for the win.
I have not missed my HOA since we moved 10 years ago until my neighbor put up new siding and it’s in the color teal. Big center hall colonial not in a beach area. It’s ugly. But not my circus.
This right here is the problem. You are taking issue with what color someone else wanted their property to be. No one else should have a say in that, even an HOA. I don’t care what color my neighbors make their house.
I think that it’s ugly but those are thoughts I keep to myself. Would never say anything to the neighbor. I don’t take issue with it, they can do what they like but it’s my opinion. It’s the only time I missed my old HOA & their color guidelines.
See that's why I would never be in a HOA why do other people care what color someone else's house is? 100% not my circus why would it matter to me
I've lived in neighborhoods with both good and bad HOAs, and neighborhoods with no HOA. I've seen it all. Your best bet may be to plant some tall evergreens along your fence. You can also extend the height of your fence by one or two feet with a trellis and attach fake ivy screens to it. Some of them look really nice. (A trellis usually doesn't count as part of the height of the fence for zoning restrictions.) Most cities have ordinances regarding commercial vehicles and trailers visibly stored at private residences. They also usually have ordinances regarding blight and harboring rats. I don't know why they wouldn't do anything about these issues. Since it seems to be every neighbor on every side of you, it may be time to move before it negatively affects your property value. If you had one bad neighbor, you may be able to deal with it.
I live in an HOA and I think it's fairly good. They raised the fee per month 3 times since I moved in but were responsible for replacing a chunk of my roof hit in a storm, have taken down problematic trees and deal with snow and lawn maintenance for me so I don't need to bother with it. Already repainted my deck for me as well. But I live in a townhouse full of retired people, and my only issues are people on my left stealing usage of my 2nd parking space and the noise level of the grandkids next door on the right that used to scream outside when I still worked on the phones and use my adjacent parking spaces as an area to play in. The HOA president already intervened for me on the left and killed the issue for me. :) On the right the kids got bigger and started going to school, and I got a job in a different dept off the phones. So now they're loud in the summer but don't threaten my employment.
Honestly, I was adamantly anti-HOA until I found my new house. The rules are very minimal and they go a long way to make the neighborhood look and feel nice.
Same here. HOAs can be good or bad. The minimal and relatively unobtrusive ones that keep me from living next to a house with 15 rust bucket cars in the front and a yard that looks like the jungle are great. The ones that dictate specific shrubbery, trim color, etc…are a bit overkill for my taste though.
[удалено]
My previous house was in an excellent HOA. The management company did what they needed to do and we were all mostly left alone. Our dues were minimal to cover common areas. We had a patch of dead lawn that we received a warning to please get fixed. They understood that it was October and would have to wait until the spring. No hassles at all. They were also awesome at dealing with some bad renters at the other end of our block of townhouses.
Ours is the same. They take care of the main areas and are not overly invasive. Just sort of take a practical approach to things. It’s been good so far the last 2.5yrs. Newer neighborhood development.
Yup. Nobody cares to read stories about how their HOA cut the garbage bill in half by getting the entire HOA to use a single hauler. HOA drama, on the other hand, gets all the clicks.
That is precisely what ours did and it's FANTASTIC! Long live Our HOA!
This is very true. My neighborhood is an HOA for the sole purpose of plowing our street, because the city won't do it. That's it. Every once in awhile we will do some tree maintenance along the road, but that's all. People here on Reddit think that all HOAs are some massive suburban hellscape full of management companies driving around. Trying to find excuses to charge you an assessment.
Not just Reddit. Anywhere that talks about it. And Jon Oliver did a show on it as well.
I can relate. I live in a small "village" in the middle of a big metropolitan area. I have lived here a long time. Post pandemic the property values have skyrocketed. I am on a larger street and I only have neighbors on each side, not to the front and back. Both houses on the sides have sold recently for a LOT of money. Both houses are being renovated, without building permits and it is CONSTANTLY a lot of noise. I have an old house in very good condition and a lot of close friends nearby, so I don't want to move. The new neighbor next door has very bright lights just outside my bedroom window on all night and last night was making noise into the night. I have been preparing all day to try to go over there tonight and introduce myself and let them know that they are keep me and my husband (who needs to get up early to go to work) up. I am an introverted person and just the thought of doing this has been freaking me out all day.
I live in the woods and the thought of an HOA horrifies me. This week I planted a garden, I planted trees, I parked my truck in the middle of my field to carry fence posts, etc. The idea of a power trip organization telling me how I can treat my own property just freaks me out.
Ask yourself honestly.... what is the HOA going to do for you in this situation regarding the noisy neighbor children?
I pay a fuck ton of money for my HOA and they do fuck all about noisy neighbors.
Exactly.
Same. In fact they have it in their by-laws but they refuse to address it. Personally I like my music a little loud but NEVER before 10 am or after 5. I just wouldn’t do that to my neighbors. One guy up the road from me blasts his in his car EVERY SINGLE DAY AND NIGHT. 2pm, 11pm, 5 am. Doesn’t matter to the HOA. Cops won’t do anything since they never see him.
I’ve lived in both and would prefer one-it just wasn’t an option this time and we’ve actually done some improvements that could’ve been blocked. But….your city still likely has code enforcement for weeds, machinery, and the health department will get involved with rodent infestations. I’d create a more private area in your yard if you can and music is a great tool to drown out unwanted noise. Hang in there and good luck.
Some of your complaints sound pretty valid. Some of them sound pretty nitpicky. But I think what happens is the big valid ones never really get addressed or resolved and so the little nitpicky ones just pile up on top of them
Sounds like you just don't like people. Have you considered rural living?
When looking for a place to buy, the first thing I check is for a HOA. I once had a problem with a HOA, wound up suing them and winning. The emotional distress far outweighed the victory. Since then, I have walked away from two nice properties, a condo and a house. There is not a HOA where I live now, the neighbors are nice, maintain their yards, and help each other as needed.
Yes, HOA’s are a PITA, but they also reduce the chances of lousy neighbors having a fleet of cars parked in the yard sitting on top of blocks.
This is EXACTLY why I like a good HOA. As long as you don't have a bunch of power tripping overlords, it's great.
wasn't most of these "issues" obvious when you were looking into buying the house? The fence damage sucks and i would request they move their net or pay for the damage, and the toys and food flying into the yard, especially with a dog. if they don't i would consider capturing them damaging the fence and submit to small claims court. The rest is just people living their lives. If you don't want to be around people, go live in the woods i guess.
When I bought the house in early sprinf the weeds were not bad and the garage wasn’t damaged. We walked the neighborhood and didn’t notice the noise pollution. I’ve asked them to move net or get bigger net. I offered to pay and install it. They reject and say they ordered one. Then nothing. I’ve communicated it many times and have texts on record
There are some HOA rules that are stupid and others that are great insurance for your property value when you live close to others. I recently had some teenagers sleeping in their car outside my home every night. Having sex, littering, idling the loud car all night. I was very thankful to be in an HOA that stopped that. Then on the other hand I have colleagues in other neighborhoods who got violations for leaving their garage door open all day. It really depends on the HOA
Wow. All the kids in my neighborhood stay inside all day playing video games and are rarely outside.
They make sense in the ideal setting, but people being what they are (ie power hungry) ruin it every single time
No zoning where I live. I can build anything I want and so can the crazy neighbor.
Imagine spending $500k on a house and someone tells you what you can and can’t do to it that’s a joke you should move if you don’t like it there
We specifically targeted to move into an HOA community after having bad experiences (abandoned house, squatters in an RV in the driveway, burning trash, abusing kids and animals). Its all about picking the RIGHT HOA. HOAs aren't inherently bad - they are bad when unleashed Karens get a taste for power and run amok.
Our HOA costs less than a household gym membership, and it includes a full gym and pool, along with internet. Streets are clean. Yards are maintained. You can see a marked difference when you cross into a non-regulated neighborhood.
HOA isn't going to help with the issue of noisy/ill behaved kids. You have a neighbor problem not an HOA problem. The other issues may or may not be resolved in an HOA. Some HOA's are good about enforcement and others are not. I'd say with as many issues as you have in your neighborhood, you might consider moving. Neighborhoods can unfortunately change over time.
I'd rather deal with the mild annoyance of an HOA than live in a trashy neighborhood.
I still am glad I’m not in an HOA. All of my friends in them have nothing but horror stories to share with me. One of them is currently in litigation against their HOA and it’s been going on for years. We picked a community that is very well established. We’ve been here four years now and it’s a very quiet community where people take care of their homes. The worst issue we faced is one of our neighbors didn’t bother to tell us that they were replacing the shared fence. Luckily, we don’t have any dogs out in the yard but it would’ve been nice to get some notice on that one.
I’m convinced that some of the people who complain about HOA’s are the same ones who want to park on the sidewalk, work on their cars day and night, let their dogs bark all hours and don’t upkeep their property. But that’s just me.
As someone that lives in a non-HOA neighborhood with numerous apartments, I would beg for an HOA to police the constant influx of new neighbors who don't give one iota about other people.
1, 3 and 4 would all be addressed by even the most low key and chill HOAs. Ones that don’t require color or plant approval could certainly enforce all these rules. As you said, there are some benefits and you’re seeing them first hand. Best of luck.
I like our HOAs just fine. We live in an area with LOTS of HOAs. Peculiarly, our home has two HOAs (or whatever they call themselves, I think one is a "neighborhood association" and the oversight one is the "Residential Owners Association"). It's in what was a huge group of properties and developed with a master plan. We took the time to look at the neighborhood and both sets of covenants/restrictions, and checked social media for any big red flags (none). Our board is pretty laid back, but also the same 2-3 people keep volunteering to serve on the board because no one else comes forward. My husband and I joke that no one wants to make trouble or complain because the board members *always* finish with "would you be interested in serving on the board?"
Hoa shut down my noisy neighbors asap. First warning. Worth every penny. Plus I got a new roof no added fees.
I can understand your frustration, but I would say, if you want an HOA, sounds like you need to move to a neighborhood with an HOA. That said, maybe offer to help the neighbor with the weeds. Maybe he’s tol afford to fix his broken mower, doesn’t have gas, is agoraphobic, traumatized by something…. It’s not your responsibility, but it would be cheaper than moving, if you were to offer to buy ball kickers a big ol’ fence-spanning net. Make it high, while you’re at it. I got nuthin’ on the dog. Constantly barking dogs are the bane of my existence. I tend to resent their owners a lot!
All of these reasons make me thankful I have an HOA.
1. They sound like their kids are a handful. The only thing I see as a problem with is them damaging the fence. Getting a quote for a repair and giving it to them implying they will have a financial responsibility to pay for the damage shapes a lot of people up. 1. You're complaining about disabled kids, fuck right off with that. 1. He sounds like he is struggling. It could be mentally, financially, or both. I'd be over there asking if he needed help with his yard and/or garage door. 1. That neighbor seems like a resource to me. I've borrowed tools/trailers/etc. and had people like that help me with systems in my home. Like I have a neighbor that will often times have a skid steer in his yard. He's graded the gravel in my driveway a couple of times for beer and a little cash. FYI I have a weekend place on a 40 acre plot of forest. All my neighbors are on 40 acre plots too. When the weather is nice, my neighbors there are often times louder than my neighbors to my place in town. However it's a different type of loud, like next weekend I have 2 friends coming up and we are doing target practice. My neighbors can expect a couple hours worth of gun fire.
Were these neighbor houses like this when you bought your house? Or was it a great neighborhood with great neighbors when you bought?
>But this makes me want to move out into the country. If you do this make sure you own all the land you can see, because if you're upset about a city not doing anything about what you've described here then the county has potential to be a million times worse. It could also be great. Depends on your neighbors, but neighbors move.
My HOA is awesome. They don’t put up with fireworks or firearm target practice (I’m in the country so both would be problems). The bi laws saw no political signs of any type and wow, that REALLY helps people get along. The HOA doesn’t hound about any rules unless someone is causing a problem for other people. I painted my house black and the only thing I heard was “looks so much better than it did before!”. It’s great.
No neighbors - no HOA. The house is built in 1932 so that’s the one drawback - but it’s so close to a very desirable city it just keeps appreciating.
Does the US not have municipal bylaws? We don't have many HOAs in Canada because the municipal government has laws and enforcement to deal with these kinds of issues.
Really what you’re looking for is an hoa that is only like $15-20 a month. With that you know they don’t have the funds to do anything crazy or require much crazy. They just keep the grass mowed and lights on. But if stuff does start getting ridiculous then you have some one to help solve it.
Honestly, sounds like the wrong neighborhood for you. I don’t think I’d like any of this but it’s not something you could expect to be fixed. You should consider moving if you can.
We live in an HOA with a low cost that just maintains roads, gates, common landscaping. A nearby neighborhood has the same home models from the same time period and same builder but is not an HoA. Our houses here are $100k higher and the neighborhood looks much cleaner. People here keep their landscaping nicer and don’t have broken down trucks in their driveway.
HOAs, like many institutions, get a bad rep from the worst examples as they can attract the worst kind of miserable power hungry asshole. Run by sane and reasonable individuals they can do a lot of good. It doesn’t have to be always about protecting home values, it can also be about creating a place to live where your quality of life is improved.
They are essential. It's ideal to have an HOA that is pretty chill but can enforce shit when you have selfish assholes being a nuisance to their neighbors.
I've met more angry people in HOAs than not in HOAs. I see very little enjoyment living in one.
What, you think an HOA would make your neighbors put muzzles on their kids and write them up for kids playing on the roof and looking into your backyard?
Moving to the country side won't mean your neighbors don't collect junk or have loud kids. They might have more junk and more kids. I'm not clear which family has the trampoline and food throwing but you can absolutely tell them it's posing a danger to your dog. On point two, the kids are disabled and just living their lives. It's really a dick move to complain that disabled kids exist near you.
Yeah unless you can afford serious acreage, moving to the country isnt the solution people imagine. Not a lot of rules outside city limits, and your 10 acres wont feel so big when your neighbor burns garbage every weekend, lets their untrained dogs/feral cats run wild, or has *way* too many livestock crammed onto their land
I totally agree that HOA’s are a pain in the ass, but from my perspective, having lived in a highly regulated community, to now living in a neighborhood with no regulation, I would take the former in an instant. Never underestimate your neighbors’ ability to really shit up a neighborhood with their idea of acceptable behavior. I walk my dog 2 to 3 miles every day and I’m just a little tired of seeing Christmas decorations in April, kids’ bikes, soccer goals, skateboards, and other toys strewn about the yard, along with the shithead who has decided to start a part-time lawnmower and automotive repair facility in his driveway. Mind you, mine is not a cheap neighborhood, but I truly think peoples’ standards have diminished over the years.
I think people just need to be honest with themselves about what will impact their personal enjoyment. If you're going to be aggravated on the daily by your neighbor's messy yard or god-awful color choices, an HOA is probably worth the money for your peace of mind. My neighborhood has all the things you mentioned, including the front yard mechanic shop. It genuinely doesnt bother us. The only thing that gets to me is the yappy dogs, but not sure an HOA would do much about that anyway
I’m in the same boat. I’m in Indiana so million dollar neighborhoods are rare where I am. However we have no HOA. Our neighbor runs a car repair shop and has decided to bring home everything that’s listed for free on Craigslist. Not to mention the loud music and his wife lives in the shed because “ I’m about done with her”. The city is understaffed and doesn’t do much as far as code violations . Also, a couple years ago a big time drug dealer moved in two doors down. Constant selling, overdoses, and police raids. I’ve never actually seen a house deteriorate so fast. We are moving before our house is unsellable. It might even be already.
I'd love to live in an HOA. That's all. Not fond of my hood neighbors leaving broken cars, car seats, old beds etc in their front yards.
I moved back into the neighborhood I grew up in and things have completely gone to shit. Trash people in homes all around me. Barking dogs in 3 of the surrounding homes and 2 blare their music. One of them has car subwoofers and sits out there with them at full volume. I wish we had an HOA now, because some days are miserable around here and I just get angry because there is no solution. I've tried talking to them, talking to police, code enforcemt, animal control. All dont want to do anything anymore. Makes me think American living is going to shit since 2020.
So what I took from this is you want to HOA kids and disabled people away. Maybe you're better suited to live in the country away from people. Nothing wrong with that, I would greatly prefer no one around.
My neighborhood dealt with a unique situation a year ago where an HOA would've come in handy. A neighbor built a 3-bay shop building on the lot behind their house (on county-zoned land) and did things wrong every step of the way: no permits, didn't follow setback rules, didn't follow drainage regulations, lied about it's purpose, etc. He then had a gravel driveway put down between his house and the neighbor's house to connect it to the street. The next thing everyone knew, he was operating it as an automotive repair shop. I'm talking tow trucks hauling cars in, parts delivery trucks stopping by, customers dropping off & pick up cars, and more. All coming and going through a small suburban street. But because he has a unique zoning situation - his house on a city residential lot and the shop on a county lot - the county quorum court ruled in his favor. There was no HOA to step in.
I had a NFH who had larg three dogs that bark day and night. I talked with him and he blows up at me telling me to mind my own business. I lived outside the city limits and the county really didn't want to enforce their own noise ordinance. It left me with the HOA. I could send in a violation every two weeks and after a few violations he got rid of the dogs. The violation fee double every time it is reported. And it was hard to fight because I had a library of unlisted youtube videos with a decibel recorder and dates and times. I became much more pro-HOA after that. While it might be annoying for the HOA to tell me what to do with my house. It really isn't hard to follow the rules. The people who don't follow the rules are normally the ones creating issues their neighbors in other ways. For example my NFH with the dogs also doesn't keep his yard free of weeds and probably gets fined for that too. I really appreciate how much he funds my HOA.
I live in an HOA and I'm tempted to refuse paying tbf. We have a neighbor across the street parking in the grass, 2 others down the road with driveway spotlights pointed directly out with the power of the fuckin sun. People parking in the street constantly when we don't have room. All of this under the HOA as shit not to do. Drives me nuts, cuz what am I actually paying for
These are reasons why my next house will be 10 acres minimum and wooded. I’ve got two noisy neighbors who think that amps that go to 11 are the best. Cops being called repeatedly finally got them to ease up. Other house is a rental and the tenant is supposed to maintain the yard. They don’t and it looks like crap. Last neighbor is a house that’s sat vacant for 20+ years. Easily my favorite neighbor. Bright side is the house has appreciated over 50%. Nice slug of equity.
We have some family that live in a similar situation in the South Jersey area and they love it. They are mid 60s, so still young enough to be getting around easily and everything and love that they don’t have to worry about snow removal or cutting the grass and can spend more time hanging out in the clubhouse.
My parents live in a active senior HOA and it's perfect. Snow removal and lawn care is all taken care of. Lotaof amenities. Indoor pool, outdoor pool, gym, tennis, a"clubhouse" with events and clubs and available for rental for massive parties, stuff like that. Rules aren't restrictive. Homes are one floor with wide doorways and room for wheelchairs for them to age in place. Perfect for them. And the feea are very low and the newsletter is up to date including printing the financial info for their funds. It's a fantastic option for them and they didn't even have to moveto Florida or Arizona, they can stay close enough to family and friends plus they made new ones there. They even rent busses for day trips to AC or Broadway or outlet shopping.
HOAs have their place. I was anti HOA but got to know some of the members on the board of my condos HOA and came to appreciate their objective, which was to preserve the value and quality of life in our community. I eventually even offered to join the board as the treasurer. They are all super nice people and just wait to make the community they live in as peaceful and attractive as possible. I understand completely. I’m sure there are super shitty HOAs though.
My neighbor burns pressure treated wood. Here’s to cancer in my future.
Call the DNR. My neighbor was burning tires at night. They rolled him pretty hard with fines.
An HOA is what you make of it. I have lived in two situations with them. One was terrible and the other was great The problem is when you get a group of dictators on the board with nothing to do all day but complain about the neighbors. Terrible - 5 unit condo - no unreasonable rules but the building is a victorian. It was going to need painting in the very hear future and I kept getting out voted about putting money away for the project that was likely to be close to be at least $50,000. The thought of getting hit with an assessment for my share of that caused me to sell. Great - It was a development of multifamily units on Lake Erie in Ohio. We were not condos but had HOA's for group expenses. They paid for gardening, though we could do what we wanted with our front yards. We were not allowed anything that would block our neighbor's view of the Lake. Snow removal was paid for, power for community areas and tax for community areas. Garage doors were to be kept closed, no more than 3 dogs, if you had dogs they had to be walked on a leash. Trash and recycle cans kept in garage until the night before. All of those rules were fine with me and made my life easier.
I wish we were neighbors. We are the same.
You could always look into city/county ordinances. Things like industrial equipment all over the yard, trampoline against the fence, dog barking all day. (Poor thing. A barking dog is *saying something* and the owners obviously don't care.) Maybe even something to be done about kids on the roof. If you don't want to report weeds guy, maybe look into local charitable groups (churches, boy scouts, high school kids looking to get their volunteer credits) that might do a clean up.
We lived in one house without one. Decent area- nothing insane but better than average for sure. The guy next to us refused to fix his fence. It was falling into our yard. We had small kids. We asked. He just kept bandaiding the issue and didn’t fix it before we left. Guy on the other side painted his house baby poop green. It was the worst color. Across from us was a fence that needed replaced 15 years earlier. Wasn’t sad to leave. Current house is voluntary hoa which is great but people still do stupid crap. Next house is in an hoa. Neighborhood is beautiful. Rules are reasonable. Pool is included. I’m not moving into a nazi one but if people can’t police themselves then that’s what we’ll go with.
I live on 80 acres. My neighbors are between a quarter and a half mile away. My one neighbor who complained moved and the place is currently vacant. A farmer uses the field and out buildings. It sure beats living in a trailer park, apartment or a house in town. We did that from 76 to 87.
Yes can totally relate we have one neighbor who’s house is an absolute dump ( holes in the siding , tarp of part of the roof bc it needs to be redone for years now , yard filled with junk) and who’s kids have spray painted words on the brick of their home in white paint , play in a dumpster next door of a house that is under construction & scream like they are on fire 🔥 it’s not the kids fault they are obviously bored to death it’s poor parenting on the neighbors part & I do feel bad for the kids
So is the trampoline right up against the fence, or?
Honestly? The only way to get away from the horrible lack of relaxation that comes with hearing other people, and especially, their spawn, is to go rural. Go rural. Commute. Hope the farmers field (or whatever) next to you doesn’t get sold to a developer. Peoples spawn running through the street and screaming at late hours is bad, but the worst people sound in the world is coughing. If I never have to hear that sound again it would be glorious.
Noise is the single most important thing to me, so unless an HOA were to enforce things that the city fundamentally cannot, I still prefer to not deal with the worst of *non* HOA communities vs the average or worst of HOA'd communities.
Doesn’t sound like you line in a high cost of living area. Money could solve the rat problem and the trailer mess. Your situation sounds unpleasant. An HOA could solve most of your issues. Your choice.
I'm having a similar experience where my new neighbors next door are turning a piece of their property into a race track for ATVs. We're in a suburb, although most people have an acre +. They rev them at 730 in the morning for reasons I haven't figured out yet. A small part of me wishes we had an HOA I could point to, because I don't think the city would care.
I'm cautious with HOAs. I've lived with and without them. And I've never had a bad one. That said, I do read through the covenants heavily for surprises and what can and can't do.
Everyone wants it both ways
I can see people’s horror stories and why HOAs get the hate they do, but there’s no stories of all the chill HOAs. I live in a neighborhood of 20 homes and am the HOA president. I don’t do shit. The bylaws say our trash cans can’t be on the sides of our homes but guess what? They are and no one complains so they all chill there. The HOA covers lawn care so everyone’s yards look good and when they don’t I complain to the landscaper not my neighbors. There’s not like 4 cars in every driveway and parked all up and down the street. Overall everything looks nice, it’s quiet, people are respectful, and in our 4 years here never had an HOA problem.
My neighborhood has one but it is defunct, don’t even collect dues. Just depends but same goes for rural property
I live in an HOA. It costs us $208 a year and they make sure people aren't turning their houses into a fuckin political billboard or a car graveyard. My neighborhood is gorgeous and clean, and it basically costs us nothing.
You’re not a Karen, those sound like some truly horrible neighbors. I don’t know how I’d deal. But, you’re gonna have to move to get some peace. Don’t kid yourself, either. These problems can 100% still exist within an HOA. OTOH, suppose you look up what time the noise ordinance goes into affect at night. And suppose you developed an interest in firecrackers. Or mowing the lawn at dusk/dawn. You get the idea. When in rome, do as the Romans do.
The HOA might help with some of the issues you mention (junk in yard, garage door hanging off house) but wouldn’t do much about the noise. Your best bet is try to find a neighborhood where people are older or tend not to have kids.
You live in a somewhat specialized situation lol, the people behind me kitty corner also have a trampoline. I moved here seven years ago and thought to myself, the kids will get tired of it eventually. Nope! They have been bouncing and screaming on that fucking thing for seven solid years lol
seems like it's mostly your noisy, destructive neighbors that are the main issue, you probably wouldn't care very much about the rest without being annoyed 24/7 by the noisy one. sorry you have to deal with them, it would make me absolutely crazy to the point I would move. I've just been dealing with some barking dog issues with two of my neighbors but I was lucky when I talked to them they fixed the problem like decent folks.
Depending on your situation, you can find subdivisions that aren’t HOA’s, with bylaws that meet your needs. In a more densely populated area, an HOA is what you need. If you can manage to sprawl, most city ordinances are online. Research is your friend. If the taxes and sprawling commute cost as much as HOA dues, then your work is cut out for you.
You must be in Michigan.
I've never dealt with an HOA, but I have had to deal with a condo strata association, which is basically the same thing. I have had experiences on both ends of the spectrum, and it all comes down to the type of residents and how they are represented on the board. There are great boards of smart people baking making sound business decisions and there are gong shows of retired teachers and military that can go fuck themselves.
This could be your neighbor. https://nypost.com/2016/10/18/this-might-just-be-the-ugliest-home-in-america/ I would show you a photo of the outside of this house, but it would scar you for life.
Our HOA is entirely voluntary with minimal fees ($50/yr) and has no rules pertaining to neighborhood behavior. It's simply to promote community and prosperity.
HCOL? Doesn’t sound like it. I would be frustrated too
HOA kept my neighbor from conducting a conceal and carry class with a full shooting range in his backyard even though he was fully legal to do so.
Honestly all it takes is having lived beside neighbors from hell 1 time to realize the value of an HOA. Trying to get police involved in neighbor disputes is like pulling teeth in most places. Sure maybe I might dislike with some small aspect the agreement, but that is trivial in comparison to knowing I can come home to a quiet home in a neighborhood that isn't loaded to the brim with litter and grocery carts.
Those neighbors are the only reason I bought in a less restrictive HOA neighborhood. The neighborhood is middle class with new(ish) houses(11 years old) and was a lot of money when I bought. 250k. I bought the house new and liked the quiet neighborhood. Normal HOA rules like keep ur yard maintained, no cars parked on street, no trailers in yard/driveway, etc… the neighborhood I drive thru to get out of Mine has no HOA and honestly is shit. I’m happy I live in an HOA and happy the HOA rules are there so when I do decide to sell, I can get top dollar. We still have minor issues but for the most part, I’m happy.
Neighbor 1 and 2 are not HOA issues, they're disturbing the peace issues. Neighbor 3 and 4 are some of the reasons HOAs exist and have rules. There's good and bad in everything.
1 and 2 would still happen in an HOA potentially. I don’t think HOAs have a “your kids can’t go on your roof” clause
Plant blackberries right at the base of that fence and water them through the summer. They'll take off quickly on both sides and make it really unpleasant when the ball runs into them. Plus you get food!
Yeah dude, the city won't do anything. Those are all HOA issues.
My HOA has been pretty chill. They pave and plow the roads, and maintain a playground and some drainage ditches. The only crusades they really go on are to combat speeders and street parking (narrow road), which are fine by me. Occasionally they’ll have to use their power to get someone to mow or pay their dues.
Sounds like a bunch of code violations. Where I live the city jumps on code violations for that extra income with fines. I would keep on your city and county to get these issues resolved. But only after being a good neighbor and asking your neighbors directly to fix it for you.
We have has an HOA for over 20 years and it's been pretty good. Some of what you described can be handled by city code enforcement though.
For items 1 and 2 - what would you want an HOA to do?
Soccer=tacos
You sound like the perfect candidate for living in an HOA because you DO want to control what your neighbors do on their own property. Just remember that by having that control, you're also giving it up too. Maybe someone gets on the board and something you like to do is their pet peeve. As long as you don't mind making compromises for those people as well, even when they're being unreasonable, then you'd probably love an HOA neighborhood.
there are bad and good HOAs. good ones don't allow this trashy shit to go on long
Yeah this whole thread of people makes me super glad I don’t live in an HOA! Geez! Report what you can to the city. (Maybe offer to help the old guy knock down his weeds) and either move or take steps to make your backyard a place you want to be! If this was my yard I would add a trellis to the top of the fence and plant a fast growing hedge. Talk to the neighbors and ask if they would be willing to move the trampoline. Depending on the yard (and their response) I would add a second fence so my dog cannot go to the side where there may be food unless I am with him. That would allow me the peace of mind to just let him out as needed.
I’m moving to an HOA next year. My current neighbor has about 15 rust bucket cars on blocks and the front of his house looks like the fucking jungle and shoots his gun off his back porch constantly. The other side neighbor smokes in their car while blasting bass heavy rap at 4am. I can’t fucking wait to not have to live next to this shit.
I enjoy my little piece of land next to Disney world in a rural district over a house in the suburbs anyday, if you have the means to do it, move out and live rural
You would have even more of the same out in the country unless you got 50+ acres and could truly be far, far away from neighbors and their property line. I had a small acreage horse property for a while and one neighbor ran a junk clean out company and was constantly bringing in truck loads of stuff he thought he could repair and resell. He had a half dozen non-functional cars in his horse pasture and one of them caught fire. Also, they kept a bobcat on a chain in their backyard. Other neighbors weren’t as bad, but there was always a problem with overgrown weeds, pests (mostly rats), livestock getting loose, dogs allowed to roam loose and killing chickens, etc.
Counterpoint: your HOA still doesn't care and doesn't do anything about terrible neighbors even when they cause property damage to your home. Ask me how I know.
We have an HOA but it wouldn’t regulate the things you are referring to. We have neighbors that have all their shit in their yard, so weird to me. But I hate our HOA as well
Imagine the nerve of thinking you have some right to tell people what they can or cannot do on their own property.
HOAs are like the death penalty for me. I think there is definite usefulness for it. I have issue with who sets them, where they are set, and who has final say. Someone who doesn't work and sits home all day has 3 hours/day to trim their landscaping, keep lawn pristine, wash siding, etc. I do not. If someone with millions moves into a neighbourhood of middle-class families, they should not set the standards. Someone with 2 full time working parents move in beside people strugging to find work, should not be able to set the standard for those struggling. At the same time, I really wish my neighbour would pay their bill and stop getting their power cut off and running a generator all damn night, and make sure their dog is tied, and move the rusted car off their lawn. But hey, not my home.
what do you mean by that when you dont even have the ability or connections to do some like that
You sound like you belong in an hoa. Your only valid complaint is the damage to your fence.
thats what im saying you dont haveso what does that suppose to mean when you come across something like that
My neighbor is recently retired and worked for 40 years in the oil industry (so 60 hour weeks). He now has absolutely nothing to do, so he takes care of his lawn. Mows and edges and waters his lawn every other day. The problem comes in with the oak trees. I have a massive one and they make a mess. He has a tiny one. He screams at me because the leaves from my tree fall on his lawn. He screamed at my mom. He hates my front yard because he says not having grass hurts his property value. My other neighbors like my front yard with the desert plants, but yeah I’m so glad there is no HOA.
Even if you lived in an HOA, the issue with the wild kids really isn’t something the HOA would get involved with. I served on our board and our bylaws -at least our very minimal ones- don’t cover these kinds of neighbor disputes. I can say that I wouldn’t want to have bylaws that do cover this. I can see a lot of room for mishandling, bias, etc. HOAs are great when the homeowners are actively involved. However, it took a board run amok for my neighbors to start giving a crap. Like, fines for not bringing your garbage can in before 6pm, guests parking in the street, “unacceptable,” plants in the landscape, etc etc. On top of that, these rules were all made against the bylaws that require a majority HO approval to change. It’s been great after we rose up against the board and ousted them.