Is this legal? (2 Viewers)

[Consigliere]

I was about to say "the last I checked, this is 'Mercka" but then I read that it was California.

 

[Optimus Prime]

When we were looking at houses 6 years ago. one of the things I told my wife is that I will not look at houses that the neighborhood had an HOA. I am completely against that junk. Its my house, i'll do what I want with it. If I want to paint my house canary yellow, dammit, I will.

Meanwhile @bigdaddysaints neighbor:

 

[tenordas]

Meanwhile @bigdaddysaints neighbor:

I'll be honest, before I scrolled down to see the colour was their complaint, I kept looking at the picture trying to figure what the neighbour had "done." My reaction to reading their complaint was, "so?"

Truly don't see a big deal here in any way. I live in a neighbourhood with an HOA because every neighbourhood in this part of Houston has an HOA. I despise them because they send nit-picky letters about our lawn or garden now and then, but don't do anything about houses where trucks or vans with logos on them are parked in the street (against the HOA rules) nor about lawns, fences, etc. in ill repair that are owned by some commercial enterprise and have renters in them not ding the upkeep. The entire thing is a joke, but they sure want their annual home owner's fees. HOAs need to be put to rest.

 

[bigdaddysaints]

Meanwhile @bigdaddysaints neighbor:

i would paint my house the same color to match just to fuel it more..lol

 

[Optimus Prime]

Florida homeowners’ association (HOA) is using a legal loophole to bypass a state law and prevent homeowners in its community from parking their pickup trucks or work vehicles in their driveways.

Per an archaic HOA rule written in 1976, residents of The Meadows subdivision in Sarasota are banned from parking their vehicles at home between the hours of 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.

“I can’t park my own truck in my own driveway,” resident Ryan MacIntyre, who drives a 2014 Chevy Silverado pickup truck, told ABC Action News. Instead, he pays $500 a year to park his truck overnight in a fenced-in lot 0.8 miles away — on top of the HOA fees and the mortgage he pays to live in the community.

MacIntyre agreed to follow the HOA’s rules and regulations when he bought his home in 2019. If he did park his truck on his driveway, The Meadows’ nightly safety patrol could issue him with a warning letter, fines or even tow his vehicle.

Tired of the inconvenience of making two trips a day to drop off and collect his pickup truck, MacIntyre was “ecstatic” when he learned of Florida House Bill 1203, which prohibits HOAs from implementing anti-truck parking policies. But his happiness quickly turned to confusion when The Meadows announced it will not change its parking rules.

New Florida law for HOAs​

Effective July 1, Florida House Bill 1203 has adopted sweeping changes for HOAs in the Sunshine State. The law has overhauled many issues, including director education, records maintenance, meeting requirements, fines and, of course, parking restrictions.

Per HB 1203, HOAs may not prohibit a homeowner, tenant, guest or invitee of the property owner from parking:

• they have a right to park as governed by state, county and municipal regulations
• A work vehicle, which is not a commercial motor vehicle, in the property owner’s driveway
• An assigned first responder vehicle on public roads or rights-of-way within the HOA community

“I thought it [the law] was for everybody,” said resident Melissa Siet, who runs a mobile spa called the Maui Skin Bus from her Mercedes Sprinter van and pays to park two vehicles in the same lot as MacIntyre.

She told ABC Action News she was “so excited” when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB 1203 into law on May 16. “We thought: ‘Great, this is going to save us $1,000 a year.’ And … that’s not happening.”

Shortly after the law was signed, The Meadows HOA emailed residents stating: “This new law WILL NOT affect the current policies of The Meadows Community Association … all current parking rules and regulations will remain the same.”


When asked by ABC Action News about its rejection of the parking rules, the HOA’s general manager cited what is known as “Kaufman language” and explained: “The application of the new law depends on the governing language of the community association and the time it was recorded.”

“Kaufman language” refers to the phrase “as amended from time to time” in association with HOA governing documents and covenants. Originating from the 1977 Kaufman v. Shere case, it ensures that future legislative amendments automatically apply to those documents — but without this phrase, only laws existing at the document's recording date (which in The Meadows’ case, was 1976) are enforceable..............

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/florida-hoa-upholds-ban-against-parking-pickup-trucks-and-work-vehicles-in-driveways-despite-new-state-law-what-are-hoa-fees-for-if-you-can-t-even-park-at-your-own-home/ar-AA1peMGb?ocid=msedgntp&pc=LCTS&cvid=f10082bc0ecd4d018664a2e68e0bddbe&ei=10

 

[Sailorsaint]

I will never live in a neighborhood with an HOA.

 

[zeetes]

I will never live in a neighborhood with an HOA.

instead, i have the historical society to deal with.

 

[DaveXA]

I will never live in a neighborhood with an HOA.

I live in one with an HOA. It isn't terrible. The only thing I don't like is they don't allow a 3rd vehicle to park in the driveway if it blocks the sidewalk. I sorta get it, but by and large, most people walk on the street. There's some sort of trash pickup three days out of the week, so trash cans block the sidewalks.

I haven't been bothered or had any other issues with HOA or neighbors. Won't live here forever, at least I hope not. I'd love a home in the country without dealing with any sort of HOA. Definitely a goal of mine when I retire.

 

[Optimus Prime]

Phoenix just hit 100 straight days of over 100 degrees
=========

At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, David Martin took a water cooler and placed it on his driveway in front of his Goodyear, Ariz., home. He filled the cooler with water bottles and ice and told anyone who passed by to take one.

It was just a small gesture to help his neighbors during a hard time, Martin told The Washington Post. He decided to keep it going, and the cooler, with Martin’s offer of free chilled water, has sat outside his garage ever since. His neighbors have gratefully obliged.

So have delivery drivers, dog walkers and passersby playing basketball at a park near his house, especially this summer as southern Arizona scorches under a record-breaking heat wave.


The only objection, Martin was stunned to discover, came from his homeowners association.

In April, Martin’s HOA began fining him and his wife for violating an association rule to store items out of view, according to Martin and letters Martin shared with The Post.

It increased to hundreds of dollars in the following months. The group, whose complaints were first reported by AZFamily, threatens to continue fining Martin until he removes his water cooler, he said.

He refuses to pay……..

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/09/04/hoa-free-water-fine-arizona/

 

[Semper]

I don’t feel one ounce of sorrow. They choose to buy a house that allowed others to dictate what they can do with their home.

 

[superchuck500]

Phoenix just hit 100 straight days of over 100 degrees
=========

At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, David Martin took a water cooler and placed it on his driveway in front of his Goodyear, Ariz., home. He filled the cooler with water bottles and ice and told anyone who passed by to take one.

It was just a small gesture to help his neighbors during a hard time, Martin told The Washington Post. He decided to keep it going, and the cooler, with Martin’s offer of free chilled water, has sat outside his garage ever since. His neighbors have gratefully obliged.

So have delivery drivers, dog walkers and passersby playing basketball at a park near his house, especially this summer as southern Arizona scorches under a record-breaking heat wave.


The only objection, Martin was stunned to discover, came from his homeowners association.

In April, Martin’s HOA began fining him and his wife for violating an association rule to store items out of view, according to Martin and letters Martin shared with The Post.

It increased to hundreds of dollars in the following months. The group, whose complaints were first reported by AZFamily, threatens to continue fining Martin until he removes his water cooler, he said.

He refuses to pay……..

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/09/04/hoa-free-water-fine-arizona/

Senseless cruelty has become a way of life for many Americans.

 

[bigdaddysaints]

i feel like every person that ends up in a situation like this, when buying a house where there is an HOA, someone tells them 'don't do it' and they'll say 'its ok, i not the kind of person who does things to upset an HOA'... famous last words...

 

[DaveXA]

I don’t feel one ounce of sorrow. They choose to buy a house that allowed others to dictate what they can do with their home.

I understand the sentiment, but people don't always have a lot of options when it comes to home ownership. And homeowners should have some sort of expectation that HOAs will follow their own rules, and sometimes they change the rules after the fact. There are some well-run HOAs, and there are some terrible ones.

Do due diligence, and make sure an HOA is something you're willing to live with is about all people can do other than look for a property not part of an HOA.

Some areas, those properties are far and few between though.

 

[bigdaddysaints]

i remember a story about an HOA who told a homeowner they had to take a painting down from inside their house or movie it to a different location.
It was a painting of a partially nude woman. and when the front door was open, you could see it.
crazy stuff...

 

[superchuck500]

I understand the sentiment, but people don't always have a lot of options when it comes to home ownership. And homeowners should have some sort of expectation that HOAs will follow their own rules, and sometimes they change the rules after the fact. There are some well-run HOAs, and there are some terrible ones.

Do due diligence, and make sure an HOA is something you're willing to live with is about all people can do other than look for a property not part of an HOA.

Some areas, those properties are far and few between though.

Yeah, it's definitely true that HOAs vary widely - some of them are downright mental and oppressive, others strike the right balance among a few, uncomplicated interests.

I have lived in two different HOAs and neither was problematic in any way.