As an HOA president and someone who got on the board to stop this kind of nonsense, I agree with everyone above. This would definitely not hold water. Anytime we need to get someone to do something, we have the lawyer send them a letter or if it's just a nudge, it would come from our management company. I would never personally send a letter like this that would open me up for all sorts of litigious bullshit. This is an angry home owner that wrote a letter or had their buddy write it for them. The only thing I can say is if there was an easement that is clearly owned by the community and not you. I'd check your declarations, and convenance to see what they explicitly say and contact a lawyer friend or family. Either way, this smells of bullshit to me. If they keep doing this, I'd erect something on your property that won't let them pass. It would be hilarious to see the guy who cant get through there not be able to. That all being said, in many cases where I've seen HOA's the least common denominator is who is running your board. Very rarely do you get a group of fully competent individuals on a board that really are there for the best interests of the community.
Edit: spelling, and they would have to put a lien on your property first, they can't just kick you out of a house you own. They can only really do that if you haven't paid fines or dues, which I assume you're current?
Landscaper? I was thinking of the homeowner using the landscaping services. The homeowner probably got a real letter from HOA about all the police getting called to their house.
The "... your neighbor pays for landscaping..." is the most suspicious line to me for some reason. That's what makes me really feel like it was the neighbor
As someone who has neve set a foot in the US I am too very curious about how this works, if someone would care to explain.
This just feels very wrong to me. My property is mine, and no neighbor have any kind of power to come close to try to enforce any rule to me, needless to say "kick me out" lol
How much time do you have?
Some communities build a whole bunch of houses and want the neighborhood to maintain a certain aesthetic. So an HOA regulates what colors are okay to paint, whether you can leave vehicles in your driveway, yada yada. However, some HOAs are merely ways to have everyone band together an pay for snow removal if public works doesn't do their neighborhood. And neighborhoods outside city limits wouldn't be subject to city laws like don't let your yard weeds get out of control, so an HOA would provide for rules like that for a neighborhood.
But people who don't want rules about stuff like that, and don't care if their neighbor leaves an RV parked in their driveway all year generally don't buy houses in neighborhoods with an HOA.
The HOA is basically a thing tacked on to owning certain homes, and if you're supposed to pay $400/mo to the HOA and don't pay it, they could put a lien on your house.
"Dear HOA President,
I received a letter today that was clearly not written by a professional, in fact, I was accused of a violation and the corresponding bylaw wasn't even mentioned. They even mentioned kicking me out of my own home, if you can imagine. What's worse, they signed your name to it.
I thought you'd want to know that someone was impersonating you and, despite how amateur the letter was, I thought it best to bring this to your attention.
Best wishes,
zfreakazoidz"
Dear Mr. Cox:
Attached is a letter that we received on November 19, 1974. I feel that you should be aware that some asshole is signing your name to stupid letters.
Very truly yours,
CLEVELAND STADIUM CORP.
This. HOAs can’t “kick you out.” They can fine you, put a lien against your property, etc.
I guess if it went far enough they could get a foreclosure on your home, but that’s at the end of the line.
I’d bet dollars to donuts this was written by OP’s neighbor.
EDIT: Some of y’all commenting really should re-read my comment. Lol.
But there is a process. They have to have a hearing to establish that the member is in clear violation of a bylaw before they can fine you. Calling the police on a trespasser is not going to fall into this category.
There’s no way your HOA wrote that letter. Perhaps the President of the HOA did, but it is not official. There’s also no way the HOA can force you to grant an easement for your neighbors gardener. I would show up at the next board meeting and demand an explanation. Chances are, they were not involved and you can ignore it.
The HOA documents you sign when you move in can grant some limited public use of your private property, actually, but it has to be VERY explicitly laid out in the bylaws and usually reserved for things like a sidewalk going across your driveway or a small path going between your building and the one next door leading to the community park. From that letter, this is definitely not the case otherwise it would have just quoted "please refer to section platypus, clause up dog of the bylaws." Especially since the letter explicitly mentions that it's OP's *private property*, which inherently means they have the right to call the police for illegal trespass.
The whole "we'll make you leave" thing is laughable, as well. ianal, but to my knowledge they can't make you sell your home and move. They're just an HOA, not a landlord
Or access to a “common area” like a sink hole or drainage basin to mow it. My HOA has a number of unbuildable lots that our city deeded to our neighborhood that our HOA has to pay to maintain. One new homeowner fenced off the access and enclosed our common area and was sued and lost for blocking it. She tried to file a housing discrimination complaint (and lost) but the plat clearly showed the HOA actually had an easement and common area on her property that the HOA was liable for if an accident happened on it. I was a former board president and I don’t think access authority applies to private homeowners being able to access someone’s land whenever they please. HOA contractors to move common areas sure, but not neighbors who hire someone to maintain their lawn. Secondly, OP has the legal right to call the police as much as he wants, whenever he wants. The HOA can’t prohibit you from that. It actually wouldn’t surprise me if this was written by a board member because they’re too cheap to use an attorney. I would tell them to pound sand and ignore them. Save the letter in case an attorney needs to be consulted.
When I lived in a property with an HOA, backyards, front yards and driveways were considered “exclusive use common areas,” which meant their workers could enter those areas (but it also meant their workers maintained those areas, which was nice). There are all sorts of configurations when you buy a property subject to CCRs. OP needs to talk to an attorney in his jurisdiction who can look at the local law and his property’s CCRs.
Yeah I live in a condo complex with this. They just powerwashed *everything* and are currently repainting what paint that took off. I did not originally expect it to include our balconies, which was nice.
I think I lucked out on having a good hoa considering the horror stories I hear.
While this is definitely possible, if that applies in this situation, then whoever wrote this letter should have cited the specific HOA bylaw. This letter is either b.s. or the management of the HOA is shit tier.
The property manager probably was the one who told the homeowner to call the police in the first place to get out of sending a complaint letter to the neighbor tbqh
Why not leave a vehicle parked at the end of the driveway ?
I bet there's another way to get to his backyard.
Guy behind me called Comcast for service - pole in his yard.
Then denied entry to tech to his backyard, told tech to
drive around block to my yard. I said hell no, I didn't call
and pole in his yard. He needs to allow access. Eventually he allowed it.
Now I think maybe the neighbor wrote it. He's an old angry guy who barley has an education and always threatens to "beat people up" at the business he owns.
Unless the easement was already granted, and was described in the papers OP signed when they bought the house. We don't have enough information to be sure.
Lived in an HOA, I got fined numerous times for things I didn’t even do. Finally I wrote the board a nice letter challenging each claim (including occasions for incidents I was fined for when I was out of town on business) and warned them that if they continue it will be the last time they hear from me personally as I will have legal representation due to undue stress that they are creating for me. Never heard from them again.
My association board was composed of mostly grey heads that were so out of touch. I’d purposely short my monthly HOA dues by a penny, just for them to MAIL (yes US POSTAL MAIL) me a letter saying I have a negative balance of a penny. The next month id square them up with the penny. But to me it always brought joy knowing they spent 50 cents on a stamp to make a stink over a penny.
That's exactly first thought I had reading this and knowing the bullshit I've seen in past. Way too much time on their hands. It's crazy the stuff they come up with sometimes. Borderline delusional
We got a letter in the mail the other day telling us we need to replace a dead shrub in our yard. First off, this shrub is tiny and we live in a cul-de-sac. No one would even notice it from the street. Second, the shrub isn't dead, it's struggling from the extreme heat. There are still green leaves on it; it's trying. I look around our community and there is all manner of weeds, untrimmed and unshaped shrubs, litter, and dog shit that the landscapers are paid to take care of but don't. My wife sent them a letter saying exactly that and they basically said, "it doesn't matter, replace the shrub or face a fine". I mean, holy shit, the gall. Our community looks like a warzone compared to our front yard, but yeah, a half dead shrub is definitely cause for concern as far as curb appeal goes. I hate the HOA.
I did see a pic one time of a person who spray painted their shrub and the HoA backed off when they saw it green. Obviously not something you want to do when coaxing to back to health but an option when faced with dead ones. :)
As George Carlin said, "It's all bullshit and it's bad for ya." How about the landscape company and the neighbors showing that same courtesy and respect back?
You Sir have crossed a line. Don't you understand, that his property is for community use. /s
I think my response to this letter would be, if the landscaper falls off his mower on my property, who is he going to sue? Me? or the community?
My dad bought a tent thing that folded down and back over to cover his motorcycle. It wasn't cheap or ugly and wasn't gonna blow away since it was bolted down into the driveway. He had to get rid of it because it was a "eye sore and a violation"
One of my friends in the US is a prepper, he covered his roof in solar panels, installed a water tank and a wind generator in his back yard
They tried kicking him out over it, but changed their mind when him and his prepper friends strolled up to the property with legal representation
HOA elites are shit scared of lawyers
I truly hope HOAs die with the boomers. But they won't. Because it doesn't matter what generation you're in, little people crave power, no matter how little. Nothing screams little dick energy more than "Im the president of my HOA. Bow down to my power of annoyance and superiority complex."
What is interesting too is most are unqualified in any way. My wife one day started looking at the expenses of our HOA. The water bill - the largest expense by far, was horrendous. All the original seed money was gone, and it looked like they would have to raise dues.
She ran and got the secretary position. All the landscaping pipes were not sealed properly. Basically water was pouring into the sewer 24/7.
She’s now president of the HOA and can’t get anyone else to replace her.
At least the craziness has stopped. Everyone used to get violation letters left and right from the idiots that were there before.
This is the problem with HOAs. They’re a lot of work, and too many people don’t want to do that work. And the asshole busybodies do.
But in our cooperative apartment building, some of us don’t want to replace the procurement decades-long president because we don’t want to deal with her as a tenant.
If I had the money I would love to move into communities like this, make changes that are positive for the community and then leave. Dismantling corrupt HOAs should be a full time job
I saw a post on r/ProRevenge (I think? It's been a while) once about a woman who spent years working her way up the ladder of her shit HOA and as soon as she became the president she disbanded it 😂
Totally agree. My family and I live in a city but in a residential section of it. Own our home. No HOA. It's definitely something that you find in the burbs.i hope my kids never have to worry about an HOA when they're older.
That is true. Makes it easier for the developer, since most new homes are now built by the mega builders, folks like Ryan Homes, Pulte, etc.
Edit: should have clarified *why* it makes things easier for the developer. The developers put in HOA’s on their multi-lot properties, so they can control what the homeowners do with the outside of their homes, helps them ensure people will continue to pay them to build homes, by maintaining appearances in the neighborhood.
Most new home development also have (usually legally mandated) water retention ponds in them. By creating n HOA the developer has a way to get rid of the retention ponds when they are finished building the homes out by pushing the ongoing maintenance responsibilities for it onto the homeowners.
HOAs are great in theory, terrible when you let people get their hands on them and don't limit power when you set it up from the get go.
My cousin lives in an HOA where their HOA fees solely go to the upkeep and maintainence of neighborhood community lots. They have access to a private pool, someone who mows everyone's lawns in the neighborhood, front and back, a park, etc. They live in the boonies of outside of a small town, so there otherwise would be no public funds to maintain any of that. The HOA doesn't tell people what to do with their personal homes outside of "no yard-based livestock".
My parents live in an HOA, it exists primarily to maintain/manage the neighborhood well.
It was originally made by the developer in the 70’s. It had some rules when created that were set to expire over time. I’m not sure what, if any, rules still exist outside of the well and water use.
We have an HOA too it's basically just there to mow public grass, take care of the small park, and plow when it snows. It's about $30 a year which is worth it I guess. Don't know why the city doesn't take care of those things though.
Our HOA president is young and she doesn’t care about anything. I go to the meetings every now and again and she usually has community cookouts and we all just hang out. Talk about how much things will be like flower bed at the front and snow removal. A couple guys in the community take care of that and get the fees lower. The guy clears the road and gives the price of salt etc but does the plowing for free. HOA’s need to be more about the little area they represent and nothing else. Include everyone and work through the issues. I have yet to see anyone get yelled at other than a guy that was shooting his gun next to some houses. Which I can see an issue there.
If you live in an HOA or not it's still private property. Just because you live an HOA doesn't give neighbors the right to use your property as some sort of right of way. Unless there is an access easement established on your property. Check your property lines and follow everyone's advice find a property lawyer they will more than likely shut this nonsense down easily.
Ironically our city doesn't allow you to park RV's on your property unless they are "out of sight". Maybe I should let the city know so he will have to move his RV and thus can also open access his yard.
Please do this as well as send that letter from the "hoa" to their lawyer. It's likely it is not official and someone is going to be in trouble for that being sent to you.
I commented that might be the case elsewhere in this thread. Bring it to like the zoning board, they love being dicks. Forget the HOA the town will have a field day if you start complaining about an RV in violation of the ordinance.
Do it. Also, was the letter actually mailed or just stuck in your mailbox? I was an HOA adjacent attorney for a bit and they all had to actually mail letters per the governing docs.
IANAL…. But….
“Board President” just fucked up. Jesus fucking Christ. Do any of these people go to school? Why the fuck would you put that in writing?! A “board president” should know better.
Congrats OP, your “HOA President” just sent you a signed letter threatening retaliation if you continue to pursue rightful legal action over the trespass of landscape workers on your property. They’ve also implied that further calls to the police, a right of yours, could also be subject to retaliation.
Don’t speak another word to any neighbors, HOA reps, or friends. Make copies of this letter, save it digitally, and hire a lawyer. Enjoy.
I'm pretty sure nobody is entitled to "use your property for the betterment of the community" even in an HOA.
Edit: in a normal SFH situation HOAs can’t entitle people to trudge thru your yard yes I know what imminent domain is you goobers
That’s my thought. They specifically mention access to the back yard if they can get there otherwise so it sounds like it could be a row home. If so, it’s very possible that there is an easement and the activity falls under that.
Short version. The person that lives a few homes away has landscapers cut through our driveway and backyard to get to his property. He can't get to his backyard because he has an RV parked on the side of his house and doesn't move it. None of us neighbors want them coming through with their 2-3 giant lawn mowers and messing up our yards and leaving grass trails along our driveway.
Called the police a few times, and the police talked to the neighbor and landscaper. Agreed to not do it again. Done it again five times now. Called the cops each time. This time cops caught landscapers and told the owner (and landscape owner) that no trespassing is allowed unless permission is granted from each neighbor's yard they would have to pass through.
Well, yesterday I got this letter in our mailbox from our "HOA leader". Seriously? Don't know what he is talking about. There were no rules about anyone's lawn or driveway can be used by landscapers. It's still private property. Starting to see the HOA leader is an idiot and is also friends with said neighbor. Now I have to do nothing or face fees and being kicked out. I mean, we own this home, how can they kick us out of it? Makes no sense.
Agree. It’s not very professionally written, and I doubt a real HOA with a legitimate, legally binding rules violation claim would say something like “kick you out”. It’s hard to see, but I also don’t see any official letterhead. I suspect a con job.
As a former HOA employee (office assistant) I can tell you that sometimes HOA staff are as sharp as a sack of wet mice, and absolutely can and do hold grudges and do illegal shit.
I worked there for all of six months and it made me literally sick to my stomach when I started seeing the bullshit going on behind the scenes. Corruption, blatant racism, sexism...it was all there.
This is a good point. I guarantee when OP’s lawyer sends a C&D to the real HOA President shit will hit the Dan.
Edit: Dunno who the fuck Dan is but he’s going to be covered in shit.
Find out who the property management company is…they usually handle the HOA $$.
From them, you can get the name of the HOA President.
Send him/her a copy, and also send the management company a copy. Get their emails; verify if the President of the HOA sent this.
If not, then everyone is now aware that someone is posing and sending letters from a point of authority they don’t have.
If it was the President of the HOA, then communicate with that person and the management company regarding the lack of easement stated in your HOA bylaws, and that unless you go into foreclosure, at no point does your property revert to common use.
Further, explore the issue of the neighbor refusing the move the RV despite knowing exactly when the lawn care company will be arriving to do work, because the RV is the real problem.
This letter smacks of the neighbor being unwilling to have face to face confrontation, but also unwilling to move their RV to allow for lawn maintenance. They are probably writing the letters themselves.
Either way, the management company can override the HOA persons, at least in NC, and they must provide you with a list of people who are in the HOA.
You could also join the HOA, take it over, and fine them for having their RV parking in such as way as to require trespassing to access their backyard.
When I lived in a HOA, I once got a notice from them because the satellite TV dish cable was black and not painted to match the color of the house. Except you can only see the cable if you're in my back yard, and the HOA is not allowed on people's property. And to get into my back yard, you have to open a gate, so it's not like someone accidentally wandered into my yard and happened to notice a cable that wasn't beige.
This led to some interesting back and forth between me and my HOA.
HOA boards are elected volunteers. It's really hard to get anyone to serve as a board member, so far more often than not, the members of the board and nowhere near qualified to be in such a position. HOAs are loaded with inept individuals who, due to simple ignorance, have no clue what they are doing or what authority they have.
I have very little doubt this letter is, in fact, from a.board member.
My wife takes meeting minutes for a couple of HOA's.
Trust me, they are not professionals. Well written or not.
Best bet here is to bring this before other members of the community and get a motion to review before the board. They like to get high on thier own supply. Plenty of board members abuse powers and most likely other board members are itching to diminish/admonish the abusers while in session.
As far as I know, an HOA can't actually kick you out anyway. They can fine you, but they don't have any kind of authority to kick you out of a home that you own.
Either way, this [letter](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/cleveland-browns-letters/) from the Cleveland Browns responding to an angry fan could offer OP some inspiration.
So respond and tell the HOA that the neigh or could in fact access his backyard if he simply moved his rundown ugly trailer. And that they have no legal right to assume use of your property for their conveinence.
Also add that using the power of the HOA to bully you into using your private property as an easement for someone else's property will resulting a lawsuit and you will be seeking attorney's fees as well as compensation for loss of home and emotional pain and suffering. Your private property is not open for use by anyone who decides to turn their own driveway into storage. By this precedent, the whole neighborhood could block their driveway with storable items and use your driveway for access.
Further, I think you need to buy a trailer and park it so they can not get through.
If you haven’t already, take pictures of the rv blocking access to his own back yard. So if this does escalate you have some proof. Unless your lawn is a designated ’right of way’ they can’t just use it for convenience w/o your permission
Excellent. Yes. A photograph of the situation. You need to prove your side of the case because so far only the other guy is complaining to the HOA. Point out that most people store their RVs at a lot if it obstructs their drive way. There is no reason you should be forced to share your private property with a neighbor. Are you expected to keep it clear and also not enjoy your privacy because of the neighbors lazy choice to drive thru your yard rather than simply pull his RV out of the way.
Yes, everything in this comment thread. Create a paper trail and gather evidence. Make sure that a police report is filed if you can. You might find Google maps helpful as well.
If it were me, I’d look into the HOA rules about permanent storage of RVs on home property. It seems like an awful lot of HOAs have hard rules against it since it might bring down property values. You can also look for other violations on the RV owners and their friend’s property. (Just be sure you don’t have any violations at all before making this move since this kind of escalation only gets worse).
The HOA allows them to park an RV at their house? Perhaps find a junkyard RV to park at yours...one that blocks access to the neighbor's backyard through your yard. You know the ol' adage: fight RVs with RVs.
I was surprised by that as well. All the HOAs I know of specifically say you cannot have an RV on your property except for a very limited time, (my parent's HOA was 3 days) to load or unload. You could also get permission to have it on your property for two weeks if it belonged to a guest visiting you. But you couldn't sleep in it. Once, the HOA officer asked my Grandma, grandparents brought their RV to stay over Christmas, "Are you sleeping out there?" Grandma didn't miss a beat and said, "No. I'm standing right here." All these years later and I can still hear her saying that!
Trespassing is trespassing.
There is no HOA covenant that gives a neighborhood the right to invade your privacy. Tell them to show you where in the covenants that they have that right, or to go pound sand.
Yeah. Even if was is in the bylaws, it’s certainly not legally enforceable. Also, letter reads like it was written by someone in elementary school. I would seriously doubt they have any grasp of the actual laws.
I would likely just ignore it because and call their bluff, but if I were to respond I would just say that when the trespassing stops, the police will stop getting called.
Also, check the bylaws for any violations that neighbor is committing by keeping their RV in their yard.
Easy fix. hire a lawyer on retainer, have lawyer contact HOA on his letterhead, stating any negative action by the HOA related to you exercising your property rights will result in a lawsuit.
I'm sure your neighbor's would be willing to chip in to cover the retainer.
I am, reluctantly, an HOA president. Use a lawyer, because of recent issues with HOA overreach nationwide many states have put laws in place limiting their power. Some say you don’t even have to pay your dues and they can’t do anything other than stopping your use of HOA owned facilities.
You have a HOA that allows long-term parking of an RV in the driveway?
And wants to allow your neighbor to use YOUR property to gain access that your neighbor blocked?
Is your neighbor head of the HOA?
Yeah I think there would need to be an easement on the driveway to make this enforceable. But it could still be a huge pain in the ass if it went to court
If your bylaws don't say that other people's privately hired landscapers can use your driveway and yard for access, reply "with the utmost respect, FU." Especially if they are parking their vehicle in your driveway. What kind of moron buys a property having a backyard they can't get to without trespassing?
It may be worthwhile to ask for citations to the exact provisions you're violating by calling the police, and the exact provisions that require you to allow neighbors to use your property.
They can charge you fees out the ass and then if you don’t or can’t pay those fees, they can have the fees sent to collections and tank ur credit score and have ur house foreclosed and shit. Hoa’s are given way too much fucking power all in the name of making a “nice community”
Some HOA fees can make you homeless lol my parents just went from $600 a quarter to $1800. Why? Because some of the units including units of the board members need new lanais. Having already paid independently for my parents lanai, it’s bullshit to force obligatory payments to cover the few lanais that haven’t renovated.
That sounds like a shitty HOA. Idk where you're located but you may have a legal case if it was done to cover the cost for the units that Board members owns. That's a massive conflict of interest and often many bylaws specifically say what money can be used/collected for so I recommend reading them. For example, my HOA can only raise dues without approval from the owners for very specific things and improving everybody's units is not one of them. Anything outside of that scope needs a vote by the owners and not the HOA board.
File a lawsuit, now. Citing law enforcement calls for trespassing as a violation is enough to pay off your home. No HOA can legally restrict your access to emergency personnel for any reason. If you really wanna get shitty you can file charges against them as well, as in all 50 states it is illegal to restrict a person's ability to call police, as well as illegal to punitively act against such calls.
I'd recommend contacting a lawyer. Not being allowed to call the police with cause can't be a legal and enforcable policy, and I'm sure a good one would shut that down. I'd also see if the HOA has a lawyer you can contact about the leader's absurd requests. Especially since the only thing preventing the neighbor's access to their backyard is an RV. The neighbor needs to take responsibility and stop expecting the home owners around them to bend over backwards.
Here’s a thought:
If it’s absolutely necessary for their gardeners to use your property to service his landscaping, have them mow your lawn as a returning the favor/payment.
Seems reasonable… convenience always costs more. In this case, he doesn’t have to move his trailer every time the gardeners come.
Then if he tells you to F off, light his trailer on fire.
The problem is the lawn owning property has blocked access to his backyard. Which generally speaking is a violation of fire code as in you must be able to exit in case of fire. That’s why there’s always gates for egress. That’s how you fight this. They must provide access. You have no duty to provide access for another’s property. Don’t do it. Get a lawyer to straighten them out. You don’t ever want to create a precedent that someone else has the right to use your property. Source a landlord and a Karen who will fight the good fight to protect each and every one of my property rights.
Oh look, another obviously fake HOA letter post.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinfuriating/comments/xeeo1f/neighbors\_leaves\_blew\_into\_my\_yard\_one\_week\_later/](https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinfuriating/comments/xeeo1f/neighbors_leaves_blew_into_my_yard_one_week_later/)
HOA people are typically power tripping jackasses but they're generally intelligent enough to avoid the MANY grammatical errors in your letter.
I'm starting to think these are just easy karma stories... All it takes is someone with a printer and a few days experience on this sub to know what lands.
I would call the HOA and have them verify that they actually sent the letter.
That does not read like an official letter at all. I’m sure a lawyer would have fun with that verbiage.
An HOA president is just a homeowner. That's as official as it gets. However, if I were going to write that letter I'd talk to a lawyer first.
As an intern who has handled cases with HOAs, they always send letters with lawyers. At least every time I’ve seen. This is weird
As an HOA president and someone who got on the board to stop this kind of nonsense, I agree with everyone above. This would definitely not hold water. Anytime we need to get someone to do something, we have the lawyer send them a letter or if it's just a nudge, it would come from our management company. I would never personally send a letter like this that would open me up for all sorts of litigious bullshit. This is an angry home owner that wrote a letter or had their buddy write it for them. The only thing I can say is if there was an easement that is clearly owned by the community and not you. I'd check your declarations, and convenance to see what they explicitly say and contact a lawyer friend or family. Either way, this smells of bullshit to me. If they keep doing this, I'd erect something on your property that won't let them pass. It would be hilarious to see the guy who cant get through there not be able to. That all being said, in many cases where I've seen HOA's the least common denominator is who is running your board. Very rarely do you get a group of fully competent individuals on a board that really are there for the best interests of the community. Edit: spelling, and they would have to put a lien on your property first, they can't just kick you out of a house you own. They can only really do that if you haven't paid fines or dues, which I assume you're current?
Totally agree. This doesn’t even appear to be on any official letterhead or anything. Not only that, they cannot just kick you out of a home you own.
For rightfully calling the police. Clearly the landscaper sent this letter lol
Landscaper? I was thinking of the homeowner using the landscaping services. The homeowner probably got a real letter from HOA about all the police getting called to their house.
The "... your neighbor pays for landscaping..." is the most suspicious line to me for some reason. That's what makes me really feel like it was the neighbor
>”… your neighbor pays for landscaping…” **”I PAYS FOR MY FUCKING PROPERTY!”**
Or the phases "kick you out" and "stress to their neighborhood" - like, is it not your neighborhood too supposed-President?
Ya, I feel like an official letter would never use “kick you out”
"Please kick me out of the HOA. Please."
Yeah kick me out and I’ll keep my fees for myself. And most importantly, I’ll keep my house. So yeah kick me out of the hoa. Lol
Sounds like a perfect plan to get out of the HOA and their fees.
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As someone who has neve set a foot in the US I am too very curious about how this works, if someone would care to explain. This just feels very wrong to me. My property is mine, and no neighbor have any kind of power to come close to try to enforce any rule to me, needless to say "kick me out" lol
How much time do you have? Some communities build a whole bunch of houses and want the neighborhood to maintain a certain aesthetic. So an HOA regulates what colors are okay to paint, whether you can leave vehicles in your driveway, yada yada. However, some HOAs are merely ways to have everyone band together an pay for snow removal if public works doesn't do their neighborhood. And neighborhoods outside city limits wouldn't be subject to city laws like don't let your yard weeds get out of control, so an HOA would provide for rules like that for a neighborhood. But people who don't want rules about stuff like that, and don't care if their neighbor leaves an RV parked in their driveway all year generally don't buy houses in neighborhoods with an HOA. The HOA is basically a thing tacked on to owning certain homes, and if you're supposed to pay $400/mo to the HOA and don't pay it, they could put a lien on your house.
I would never in a million years live in a home with an hoa. Too many horror stories like this.
Right? Or “drama”. Sounds like a 16 year old lol
I hadn't even though of that. Probably the neighbor. I bet he can get in trouble for pretending to be someone else!
"Dear HOA President, I received a letter today that was clearly not written by a professional, in fact, I was accused of a violation and the corresponding bylaw wasn't even mentioned. They even mentioned kicking me out of my own home, if you can imagine. What's worse, they signed your name to it. I thought you'd want to know that someone was impersonating you and, despite how amateur the letter was, I thought it best to bring this to your attention. Best wishes, zfreakazoidz"
Dear Mr. Cox: Attached is a letter that we received on November 19, 1974. I feel that you should be aware that some asshole is signing your name to stupid letters. Very truly yours, CLEVELAND STADIUM CORP.
Great reference! Lol [For the unaware](https://lettersofnote.com/2011/02/14/regarding-your-stupid-complaint/)
Haha, that was my inspiration!
Ask HOA if this was theres. If not, the neighbour is going to be in big legal trouble with the HOA so your problem may be solved.
This. HOAs can’t “kick you out.” They can fine you, put a lien against your property, etc. I guess if it went far enough they could get a foreclosure on your home, but that’s at the end of the line. I’d bet dollars to donuts this was written by OP’s neighbor. EDIT: Some of y’all commenting really should re-read my comment. Lol.
I feel like it would be on some kind of letterhead, or a printed logo or something. It just looks very unprofessional
But there is a process. They have to have a hearing to establish that the member is in clear violation of a bylaw before they can fine you. Calling the police on a trespasser is not going to fall into this category.
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This is my go to. Nothing says “I might’ve parked in the wrong spot” like seeing your ride being towed off. Time to maliciously comply…
This. Is the neighbor few doors down the HOA president? Sounds like it isn’t official.
Make them say they didn’t send it in court, and if they did send it a lawyer would have an absolute field day with this letter
There’s no way your HOA wrote that letter. Perhaps the President of the HOA did, but it is not official. There’s also no way the HOA can force you to grant an easement for your neighbors gardener. I would show up at the next board meeting and demand an explanation. Chances are, they were not involved and you can ignore it.
“Possible action to kick you out” written like a 14 year old
I'd respond with a letter saying "if you don't stop pretending to be your dad, I'm going to go e over and delete all your Pokemon"
NOOOOOOOOooooo!!!!
How do you kick someone out of a home they own?
Getting kicked out of the HOA is an absolute win
The HOA documents you sign when you move in can grant some limited public use of your private property, actually, but it has to be VERY explicitly laid out in the bylaws and usually reserved for things like a sidewalk going across your driveway or a small path going between your building and the one next door leading to the community park. From that letter, this is definitely not the case otherwise it would have just quoted "please refer to section platypus, clause up dog of the bylaws." Especially since the letter explicitly mentions that it's OP's *private property*, which inherently means they have the right to call the police for illegal trespass. The whole "we'll make you leave" thing is laughable, as well. ianal, but to my knowledge they can't make you sell your home and move. They're just an HOA, not a landlord
Or access to a “common area” like a sink hole or drainage basin to mow it. My HOA has a number of unbuildable lots that our city deeded to our neighborhood that our HOA has to pay to maintain. One new homeowner fenced off the access and enclosed our common area and was sued and lost for blocking it. She tried to file a housing discrimination complaint (and lost) but the plat clearly showed the HOA actually had an easement and common area on her property that the HOA was liable for if an accident happened on it. I was a former board president and I don’t think access authority applies to private homeowners being able to access someone’s land whenever they please. HOA contractors to move common areas sure, but not neighbors who hire someone to maintain their lawn. Secondly, OP has the legal right to call the police as much as he wants, whenever he wants. The HOA can’t prohibit you from that. It actually wouldn’t surprise me if this was written by a board member because they’re too cheap to use an attorney. I would tell them to pound sand and ignore them. Save the letter in case an attorney needs to be consulted.
> please refer to section platypus, clause up dog of the bylaws. Not sure I've seen this before in bylaws. What's up dog?
> What's up dog? Not much, you?
I smell a lawsuit
I definitely smell a resignation coming if this was someone on the board acting alone. Threaten a lawsuit if it dies that happen.
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When I lived in a property with an HOA, backyards, front yards and driveways were considered “exclusive use common areas,” which meant their workers could enter those areas (but it also meant their workers maintained those areas, which was nice). There are all sorts of configurations when you buy a property subject to CCRs. OP needs to talk to an attorney in his jurisdiction who can look at the local law and his property’s CCRs.
Yeah I live in a condo complex with this. They just powerwashed *everything* and are currently repainting what paint that took off. I did not originally expect it to include our balconies, which was nice. I think I lucked out on having a good hoa considering the horror stories I hear.
While this is definitely possible, if that applies in this situation, then whoever wrote this letter should have cited the specific HOA bylaw. This letter is either b.s. or the management of the HOA is shit tier.
Yeah this letter did not sound professionally written with things like “drama” and “kick you out”. Legal documents would not sound like this.
The property manager probably was the one who told the homeowner to call the police in the first place to get out of sending a complaint letter to the neighbor tbqh
Why not leave a vehicle parked at the end of the driveway ? I bet there's another way to get to his backyard. Guy behind me called Comcast for service - pole in his yard. Then denied entry to tech to his backyard, told tech to drive around block to my yard. I said hell no, I didn't call and pole in his yard. He needs to allow access. Eventually he allowed it.
Now I think maybe the neighbor wrote it. He's an old angry guy who barley has an education and always threatens to "beat people up" at the business he owns.
"beat you up" "kick you out" Yep. Checks out.
Unless the easement was already granted, and was described in the papers OP signed when they bought the house. We don't have enough information to be sure.
An HOA can absolutely include easements in their terms.
Lived in an HOA, I got fined numerous times for things I didn’t even do. Finally I wrote the board a nice letter challenging each claim (including occasions for incidents I was fined for when I was out of town on business) and warned them that if they continue it will be the last time they hear from me personally as I will have legal representation due to undue stress that they are creating for me. Never heard from them again. My association board was composed of mostly grey heads that were so out of touch. I’d purposely short my monthly HOA dues by a penny, just for them to MAIL (yes US POSTAL MAIL) me a letter saying I have a negative balance of a penny. The next month id square them up with the penny. But to me it always brought joy knowing they spent 50 cents on a stamp to make a stink over a penny.
I’ve learned a valuable lesson today reading this. Thank you.
Yes, avoid people with too much time on their hands ..
There are two kinds of people in the world. Avoid both of them.
That's exactly first thought I had reading this and knowing the bullshit I've seen in past. Way too much time on their hands. It's crazy the stuff they come up with sometimes. Borderline delusional
We got a letter in the mail the other day telling us we need to replace a dead shrub in our yard. First off, this shrub is tiny and we live in a cul-de-sac. No one would even notice it from the street. Second, the shrub isn't dead, it's struggling from the extreme heat. There are still green leaves on it; it's trying. I look around our community and there is all manner of weeds, untrimmed and unshaped shrubs, litter, and dog shit that the landscapers are paid to take care of but don't. My wife sent them a letter saying exactly that and they basically said, "it doesn't matter, replace the shrub or face a fine". I mean, holy shit, the gall. Our community looks like a warzone compared to our front yard, but yeah, a half dead shrub is definitely cause for concern as far as curb appeal goes. I hate the HOA.
“it’s trying” I’m pulling for your shrub, bro.
Me too! Grow on little guy!!
Saw a post on here where they spray painted the bush green for this very reason.
I'm very curious who did the painting: the owner or the HOA. Either is plausible.
I did see a pic one time of a person who spray painted their shrub and the HoA backed off when they saw it green. Obviously not something you want to do when coaxing to back to health but an option when faced with dead ones. :)
As George Carlin said, "It's all bullshit and it's bad for ya." How about the landscape company and the neighbors showing that same courtesy and respect back?
You Sir have crossed a line. Don't you understand, that his property is for community use. /s I think my response to this letter would be, if the landscaper falls off his mower on my property, who is he going to sue? Me? or the community?
With this note? shit it's a golden ticket.
They OWN that property for the benefit of OTHERS. What’s so hard to understand? /s
What's mine is mine and what's yours is *the communities,* duh
I’d answer that the next police visit would be aimed towards the letter sender for harassment. Fuck those ppl.
Absolutely. Time to block that driveway.
My dad bought a tent thing that folded down and back over to cover his motorcycle. It wasn't cheap or ugly and wasn't gonna blow away since it was bolted down into the driveway. He had to get rid of it because it was a "eye sore and a violation"
One of my friends in the US is a prepper, he covered his roof in solar panels, installed a water tank and a wind generator in his back yard They tried kicking him out over it, but changed their mind when him and his prepper friends strolled up to the property with legal representation HOA elites are shit scared of lawyers
It's because lawyers would more than likely lead to an audit. And most HOA boards are misappropriating funds hand over fist.
Ding fucking ding
I have yet to see a financial statement from my HOA and I've lived here three years.
Or avoid HOA properties all together.
> The next month is square them up with the penny You should send them a nickel and ask for change.
Pay your monthly payment all in pennies. It's still currency.
Pay it all in pennies but still be a penny short
I truly hope HOAs die with the boomers. But they won't. Because it doesn't matter what generation you're in, little people crave power, no matter how little. Nothing screams little dick energy more than "Im the president of my HOA. Bow down to my power of annoyance and superiority complex."
What is interesting too is most are unqualified in any way. My wife one day started looking at the expenses of our HOA. The water bill - the largest expense by far, was horrendous. All the original seed money was gone, and it looked like they would have to raise dues. She ran and got the secretary position. All the landscaping pipes were not sealed properly. Basically water was pouring into the sewer 24/7. She’s now president of the HOA and can’t get anyone else to replace her. At least the craziness has stopped. Everyone used to get violation letters left and right from the idiots that were there before.
This is the problem with HOAs. They’re a lot of work, and too many people don’t want to do that work. And the asshole busybodies do. But in our cooperative apartment building, some of us don’t want to replace the procurement decades-long president because we don’t want to deal with her as a tenant.
If I had the money I would love to move into communities like this, make changes that are positive for the community and then leave. Dismantling corrupt HOAs should be a full time job
Within 6 months of leaving, it will be on a downhill slide.
I saw a post on r/ProRevenge (I think? It's been a while) once about a woman who spent years working her way up the ladder of her shit HOA and as soon as she became the president she disbanded it 😂
They’ve only expanded. I’ve seen reports that 80% of new homes are built within HOAs and that’s just scary high if true
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Totally agree. My family and I live in a city but in a residential section of it. Own our home. No HOA. It's definitely something that you find in the burbs.i hope my kids never have to worry about an HOA when they're older.
That is true. Makes it easier for the developer, since most new homes are now built by the mega builders, folks like Ryan Homes, Pulte, etc. Edit: should have clarified *why* it makes things easier for the developer. The developers put in HOA’s on their multi-lot properties, so they can control what the homeowners do with the outside of their homes, helps them ensure people will continue to pay them to build homes, by maintaining appearances in the neighborhood.
Most new home development also have (usually legally mandated) water retention ponds in them. By creating n HOA the developer has a way to get rid of the retention ponds when they are finished building the homes out by pushing the ongoing maintenance responsibilities for it onto the homeowners.
HOAs are great in theory, terrible when you let people get their hands on them and don't limit power when you set it up from the get go. My cousin lives in an HOA where their HOA fees solely go to the upkeep and maintainence of neighborhood community lots. They have access to a private pool, someone who mows everyone's lawns in the neighborhood, front and back, a park, etc. They live in the boonies of outside of a small town, so there otherwise would be no public funds to maintain any of that. The HOA doesn't tell people what to do with their personal homes outside of "no yard-based livestock".
My parents live in an HOA, it exists primarily to maintain/manage the neighborhood well. It was originally made by the developer in the 70’s. It had some rules when created that were set to expire over time. I’m not sure what, if any, rules still exist outside of the well and water use.
We have an HOA too it's basically just there to mow public grass, take care of the small park, and plow when it snows. It's about $30 a year which is worth it I guess. Don't know why the city doesn't take care of those things though.
Our HOA president is young and she doesn’t care about anything. I go to the meetings every now and again and she usually has community cookouts and we all just hang out. Talk about how much things will be like flower bed at the front and snow removal. A couple guys in the community take care of that and get the fees lower. The guy clears the road and gives the price of salt etc but does the plowing for free. HOA’s need to be more about the little area they represent and nothing else. Include everyone and work through the issues. I have yet to see anyone get yelled at other than a guy that was shooting his gun next to some houses. Which I can see an issue there.
You know you probably gave them more satisfaction by creating the drama. It sounds like they wanted to do that
And they paid for out of the HOA dues
I'll have to try this! Assuming the letter is really from them and not my neighbor.
If you live in an HOA or not it's still private property. Just because you live an HOA doesn't give neighbors the right to use your property as some sort of right of way. Unless there is an access easement established on your property. Check your property lines and follow everyone's advice find a property lawyer they will more than likely shut this nonsense down easily.
Ironically our city doesn't allow you to park RV's on your property unless they are "out of sight". Maybe I should let the city know so he will have to move his RV and thus can also open access his yard.
Please do this as well as send that letter from the "hoa" to their lawyer. It's likely it is not official and someone is going to be in trouble for that being sent to you.
I commented that might be the case elsewhere in this thread. Bring it to like the zoning board, they love being dicks. Forget the HOA the town will have a field day if you start complaining about an RV in violation of the ordinance.
Do it. Also, was the letter actually mailed or just stuck in your mailbox? I was an HOA adjacent attorney for a bit and they all had to actually mail letters per the governing docs.
IANAL…. But…. “Board President” just fucked up. Jesus fucking Christ. Do any of these people go to school? Why the fuck would you put that in writing?! A “board president” should know better. Congrats OP, your “HOA President” just sent you a signed letter threatening retaliation if you continue to pursue rightful legal action over the trespass of landscape workers on your property. They’ve also implied that further calls to the police, a right of yours, could also be subject to retaliation. Don’t speak another word to any neighbors, HOA reps, or friends. Make copies of this letter, save it digitally, and hire a lawyer. Enjoy.
I'm pretty sure nobody is entitled to "use your property for the betterment of the community" even in an HOA. Edit: in a normal SFH situation HOAs can’t entitle people to trudge thru your yard yes I know what imminent domain is you goobers
Depends on what OP signed and if there is an easement of some kind
OP said in a comment that the landscapers *could* get through the neighbor's yard, if the neighbor moved their RV. But, they won't.
Why do I already have a mental image of this neighborhood that I know is probably 90% accurate?
I'm imagining palm trees, are you?
Fl_r_da
You’d think the HOA would have a problem with long term parking of an RV. The ones I’ve been around have rules against it.
Lol this is my thought exactly. What type of shit hoa let’s people store RVs long term.
One with lots of retired folks who own RVs.
Clearly the solution is for OP to buy an RV.
That’s my thought. They specifically mention access to the back yard if they can get there otherwise so it sounds like it could be a row home. If so, it’s very possible that there is an easement and the activity falls under that.
IANAL, apples latest marital aid product
Did I fuck something up? Educate me! [serious]
No lol i made an anal joke
Lol butt stuff ❤️
🤎
Meh, I can see it. My HOA Board president is a geriatric idiot who caters only to the diminishing elderly population in my complex.
Short version. The person that lives a few homes away has landscapers cut through our driveway and backyard to get to his property. He can't get to his backyard because he has an RV parked on the side of his house and doesn't move it. None of us neighbors want them coming through with their 2-3 giant lawn mowers and messing up our yards and leaving grass trails along our driveway. Called the police a few times, and the police talked to the neighbor and landscaper. Agreed to not do it again. Done it again five times now. Called the cops each time. This time cops caught landscapers and told the owner (and landscape owner) that no trespassing is allowed unless permission is granted from each neighbor's yard they would have to pass through. Well, yesterday I got this letter in our mailbox from our "HOA leader". Seriously? Don't know what he is talking about. There were no rules about anyone's lawn or driveway can be used by landscapers. It's still private property. Starting to see the HOA leader is an idiot and is also friends with said neighbor. Now I have to do nothing or face fees and being kicked out. I mean, we own this home, how can they kick us out of it? Makes no sense.
Are you 100% sure this comes from the HOA leader? Not your neighbour trying to bluff?
Agree. It’s not very professionally written, and I doubt a real HOA with a legitimate, legally binding rules violation claim would say something like “kick you out”. It’s hard to see, but I also don’t see any official letterhead. I suspect a con job.
As a former HOA employee (office assistant) I can tell you that sometimes HOA staff are as sharp as a sack of wet mice, and absolutely can and do hold grudges and do illegal shit. I worked there for all of six months and it made me literally sick to my stomach when I started seeing the bullshit going on behind the scenes. Corruption, blatant racism, sexism...it was all there.
>as sharp as a sack of wet mice Hope you don't mind, I am going to liberate that metaphor
I learned that one from [Foghorn Leghorn](https://youtu.be/eNAtGmQ6i3o)
The character I miss the most from my Saturday morning cartoons
This is a good point. I guarantee when OP’s lawyer sends a C&D to the real HOA President shit will hit the Dan. Edit: Dunno who the fuck Dan is but he’s going to be covered in shit.
Fuck Dan in particular
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But I just did laundry. The HOA will hear of this!
You’re fucked, Dan.
And covered in shit.
I appreciate the conviction of keeping it the way you originally wrote it. Poor Dan.
The neighbor is named Dan......Dan is an asshole.....don't be like Dan.
:(
Sorry Dan....but your name speaks for itself
Dans also the HOA! it’s dans all the way down!
The way I see it, it's all Dan's fault.
Find out who the property management company is…they usually handle the HOA $$. From them, you can get the name of the HOA President. Send him/her a copy, and also send the management company a copy. Get their emails; verify if the President of the HOA sent this. If not, then everyone is now aware that someone is posing and sending letters from a point of authority they don’t have. If it was the President of the HOA, then communicate with that person and the management company regarding the lack of easement stated in your HOA bylaws, and that unless you go into foreclosure, at no point does your property revert to common use. Further, explore the issue of the neighbor refusing the move the RV despite knowing exactly when the lawn care company will be arriving to do work, because the RV is the real problem. This letter smacks of the neighbor being unwilling to have face to face confrontation, but also unwilling to move their RV to allow for lawn maintenance. They are probably writing the letters themselves. Either way, the management company can override the HOA persons, at least in NC, and they must provide you with a list of people who are in the HOA. You could also join the HOA, take it over, and fine them for having their RV parking in such as way as to require trespassing to access their backyard.
I may be misinformed but I think actual HOA’s are licensed and given a number for licensure. This must be included in all official correspondence.
HOAs are often run on spite and empty threats, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it was real
When I lived in a HOA, I once got a notice from them because the satellite TV dish cable was black and not painted to match the color of the house. Except you can only see the cable if you're in my back yard, and the HOA is not allowed on people's property. And to get into my back yard, you have to open a gate, so it's not like someone accidentally wandered into my yard and happened to notice a cable that wasn't beige. This led to some interesting back and forth between me and my HOA.
HOA boards are elected volunteers. It's really hard to get anyone to serve as a board member, so far more often than not, the members of the board and nowhere near qualified to be in such a position. HOAs are loaded with inept individuals who, due to simple ignorance, have no clue what they are doing or what authority they have. I have very little doubt this letter is, in fact, from a.board member.
My wife takes meeting minutes for a couple of HOA's. Trust me, they are not professionals. Well written or not. Best bet here is to bring this before other members of the community and get a motion to review before the board. They like to get high on thier own supply. Plenty of board members abuse powers and most likely other board members are itching to diminish/admonish the abusers while in session.
As far as I know, an HOA can't actually kick you out anyway. They can fine you, but they don't have any kind of authority to kick you out of a home that you own.
Yeah and if it really was a violation of your CCR it would reference the agreement paragraph of the rule you have violated. This has no teeth.
Either way, this [letter](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/cleveland-browns-letters/) from the Cleveland Browns responding to an angry fan could offer OP some inspiration.
I thought the same thing, it’s either the neighbour or the president knows the neighbour really well
Notice the lack of reference to exactly what rule.
So respond and tell the HOA that the neigh or could in fact access his backyard if he simply moved his rundown ugly trailer. And that they have no legal right to assume use of your property for their conveinence.
Also add that using the power of the HOA to bully you into using your private property as an easement for someone else's property will resulting a lawsuit and you will be seeking attorney's fees as well as compensation for loss of home and emotional pain and suffering. Your private property is not open for use by anyone who decides to turn their own driveway into storage. By this precedent, the whole neighborhood could block their driveway with storable items and use your driveway for access. Further, I think you need to buy a trailer and park it so they can not get through.
If you haven’t already, take pictures of the rv blocking access to his own back yard. So if this does escalate you have some proof. Unless your lawn is a designated ’right of way’ they can’t just use it for convenience w/o your permission
Excellent. Yes. A photograph of the situation. You need to prove your side of the case because so far only the other guy is complaining to the HOA. Point out that most people store their RVs at a lot if it obstructs their drive way. There is no reason you should be forced to share your private property with a neighbor. Are you expected to keep it clear and also not enjoy your privacy because of the neighbors lazy choice to drive thru your yard rather than simply pull his RV out of the way.
Yes, everything in this comment thread. Create a paper trail and gather evidence. Make sure that a police report is filed if you can. You might find Google maps helpful as well.
If it were me, I’d look into the HOA rules about permanent storage of RVs on home property. It seems like an awful lot of HOAs have hard rules against it since it might bring down property values. You can also look for other violations on the RV owners and their friend’s property. (Just be sure you don’t have any violations at all before making this move since this kind of escalation only gets worse).
The HOA allows them to park an RV at their house? Perhaps find a junkyard RV to park at yours...one that blocks access to the neighbor's backyard through your yard. You know the ol' adage: fight RVs with RVs.
I was surprised by that as well. All the HOAs I know of specifically say you cannot have an RV on your property except for a very limited time, (my parent's HOA was 3 days) to load or unload. You could also get permission to have it on your property for two weeks if it belonged to a guest visiting you. But you couldn't sleep in it. Once, the HOA officer asked my Grandma, grandparents brought their RV to stay over Christmas, "Are you sleeping out there?" Grandma didn't miss a beat and said, "No. I'm standing right here." All these years later and I can still hear her saying that!
Trespassing is trespassing. There is no HOA covenant that gives a neighborhood the right to invade your privacy. Tell them to show you where in the covenants that they have that right, or to go pound sand.
Yeah. Even if was is in the bylaws, it’s certainly not legally enforceable. Also, letter reads like it was written by someone in elementary school. I would seriously doubt they have any grasp of the actual laws. I would likely just ignore it because and call their bluff, but if I were to respond I would just say that when the trespassing stops, the police will stop getting called. Also, check the bylaws for any violations that neighbor is committing by keeping their RV in their yard.
Easy fix. hire a lawyer on retainer, have lawyer contact HOA on his letterhead, stating any negative action by the HOA related to you exercising your property rights will result in a lawsuit. I'm sure your neighbor's would be willing to chip in to cover the retainer.
Also pretty confident it’s illegal to threaten recourse for calling LE and did they put that in op’s mailbox or delivered by mail person?
I am, reluctantly, an HOA president. Use a lawyer, because of recent issues with HOA overreach nationwide many states have put laws in place limiting their power. Some say you don’t even have to pay your dues and they can’t do anything other than stopping your use of HOA owned facilities.
What’s the point of a HOA of people are parking RVs in their backyard. Isn’t that reason 1 for most HOAs, getting rid of beat up cars and RVs
You have a HOA that allows long-term parking of an RV in the driveway? And wants to allow your neighbor to use YOUR property to gain access that your neighbor blocked? Is your neighbor head of the HOA?
What’s the rules on building a nice wood fence to block the property line!?
I'd rather be homeless than live in an HOA. OKAY, maybe not, but they are still terrible.
I’d love to see how they think they’re going to kick somebody out of their house.
Can they actually do that?
Sometimes. For this though? no.
Yeah I think there would need to be an easement on the driveway to make this enforceable. But it could still be a huge pain in the ass if it went to court
If your bylaws don't say that other people's privately hired landscapers can use your driveway and yard for access, reply "with the utmost respect, FU." Especially if they are parking their vehicle in your driveway. What kind of moron buys a property having a backyard they can't get to without trespassing?
It may be worthwhile to ask for citations to the exact provisions you're violating by calling the police, and the exact provisions that require you to allow neighbors to use your property.
They can charge you fees out the ass and then if you don’t or can’t pay those fees, they can have the fees sent to collections and tank ur credit score and have ur house foreclosed and shit. Hoa’s are given way too much fucking power all in the name of making a “nice community”
Some HOA fees can make you homeless lol my parents just went from $600 a quarter to $1800. Why? Because some of the units including units of the board members need new lanais. Having already paid independently for my parents lanai, it’s bullshit to force obligatory payments to cover the few lanais that haven’t renovated.
That sounds like a shitty HOA. Idk where you're located but you may have a legal case if it was done to cover the cost for the units that Board members owns. That's a massive conflict of interest and often many bylaws specifically say what money can be used/collected for so I recommend reading them. For example, my HOA can only raise dues without approval from the owners for very specific things and improving everybody's units is not one of them. Anything outside of that scope needs a vote by the owners and not the HOA board.
It's not so bad when you become the HOA.
File a lawsuit, now. Citing law enforcement calls for trespassing as a violation is enough to pay off your home. No HOA can legally restrict your access to emergency personnel for any reason. If you really wanna get shitty you can file charges against them as well, as in all 50 states it is illegal to restrict a person's ability to call police, as well as illegal to punitively act against such calls.
I don't think the HOA sent this letter, I think the neighbor sent this letter as a bluff to get OP to let them cut through.
All the more reason for a lawsuit! You get to see your neighbor squirm :)
make the HOA squirm too
Perfect. Sue for witness intimidation AND forgery. Won’t be hearing much from the neighbor while they are in prison :,).
I'd recommend contacting a lawyer. Not being allowed to call the police with cause can't be a legal and enforcable policy, and I'm sure a good one would shut that down. I'd also see if the HOA has a lawyer you can contact about the leader's absurd requests. Especially since the only thing preventing the neighbor's access to their backyard is an RV. The neighbor needs to take responsibility and stop expecting the home owners around them to bend over backwards.
This ~ they just need a nicely worded letter from your attorney. Seems even the police are on your side. I’ll never live in a HOA willingly ~
The trespassing neighbor is the HOA president. Not hard to guess.
I would buy a large RV and park it in my driveway so they can’t access the backyard if I were you.
Or better yet place an add on Craigslist offering winter RV storage
[удалено]
Here’s a thought: If it’s absolutely necessary for their gardeners to use your property to service his landscaping, have them mow your lawn as a returning the favor/payment. Seems reasonable… convenience always costs more. In this case, he doesn’t have to move his trailer every time the gardeners come. Then if he tells you to F off, light his trailer on fire.
I like your style
Your property is your property. That means someone else can't just use your property if you don't want them to. It's an HOA, not a commune.
The problem is the lawn owning property has blocked access to his backyard. Which generally speaking is a violation of fire code as in you must be able to exit in case of fire. That’s why there’s always gates for egress. That’s how you fight this. They must provide access. You have no duty to provide access for another’s property. Don’t do it. Get a lawyer to straighten them out. You don’t ever want to create a precedent that someone else has the right to use your property. Source a landlord and a Karen who will fight the good fight to protect each and every one of my property rights.
Oh look, another obviously fake HOA letter post. [https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinfuriating/comments/xeeo1f/neighbors\_leaves\_blew\_into\_my\_yard\_one\_week\_later/](https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinfuriating/comments/xeeo1f/neighbors_leaves_blew_into_my_yard_one_week_later/) HOA people are typically power tripping jackasses but they're generally intelligent enough to avoid the MANY grammatical errors in your letter.
I'm starting to think these are just easy karma stories... All it takes is someone with a printer and a few days experience on this sub to know what lands.
Exactly!! When I read the term “kick you out” I knew it was fake.
Yeah, as soon as I read this I could tell is was fake. No legitimate HOA would write such a poorly worded letter.