We live one mile from the city limits. They got burned bad the last time they tried to annex this area. Now they are taking over the rural water systems to get it where they can enforce their building codes outside the limits. Eventually, they will annex my area, but when that happens, I start my retirement home far away from here.

The way I read the covenants was that a boat or even a motorcycle wasn't permitted within the subdivision. I haven't lived here long, only 5 months or so, but the covenants are just about the same as my old subdivision. We kept the boat in the garage there, but this one is just too big!

I emailed the HOA board member I know quite well, and she replied back that it was the property manager from the HOA company. Apparantly she does random inspections and must have driven by when the boat was there. I was also told to not take it personally, and just toss the letter. Here I was planning for world war III for nothing.

We weren't planning on living in another HOA subdivision, but the deal I got on this house was too good to pass up. When the market turns around, I'll make a tidy profit on this house and should be more than enough to purchase 5 acres further out in the country and build my own place, with a big pole barn also.

Thanks everyone for your replies.

I don't understand why people get upset about these rules being enforced. You signed on the dotted line. Did not have to. It is an agreement among all the homeowners who invested in that neigborhood. If it says no boats then that is what everyone agreed to.

When you signed for your drivers license, you agreed not to go over the speed limit. There's rules and then there's rules..

I doubt your CC Rs mean you can't park your boat in front of your house while you're loading or unloading.."Parking" actually has more than one meaning... Also, I doubt you had a surprise inspection at the time you were doing this.. Dimes to donuts some neighbor called it in.. nothing else to do..

I live in a mobile home park that at one time was an adult park, but somewhere they opened it up to families.. You would never know that kids live in this park. I had nothing but problems when I first moved in. My daughter got blamed for a lot of things that went on around here. The last time she was blamed for something, I took the letter, got in the managers face and told him this better stop or he'll be talking to my lawyers. Haven't heard from him since..And, I got an apology from the person that blamed my daughter, that's the short story..

I get things from the park association people once in awhile, which really has no power here in the park.. It's basically something for the ol bitty's to do.

I only moved here cuz I could afford a place near the beach. I'm a block away.. For now !!!!.. Next year or two, I'll be moving... No more associations...

I wish we had a HOA active in ours. We have neighbors that never mow, edge or otherwise take care of their place. It has affected my property values. Two houses behind me was a pit of a house. It finally sold. Young couple just starting out and they were mowing and trying to clean it up. I went over and thanked them for their efforts, they said I was the third person to comment. Told them I was loaded with lawn tools and they could borrow what they needed until they can buy their own. To my delight he took me up on the offer. I drugged everything over to their house and spent two hours helping them get it whipped into shape.

In two weeks they have added two thousand to the value of their house.

The city will only get involved if the grass it taller then one foot. And large weeds in the flower bed don't matter, nor does grass growing over the curb and into the gutter.

HOA's can be an "OK" thing, the real problem is when they get some nazi in charge who thinks he owns the neighborhood. That happens a lot.

Our hoa has rules but they are unenforceable without a civil suit. They aren't bad but the unkept properties are a mess (2 of 46)

Sounds like a pretty good plan, Firecadet. Actually, it sounds exactly like my plan. If you find a nice 20 acre chunk, I'll split it with you.

You've got a deal. I was going to pursue changing the covenants, but it sounds like obviously the permitted part isn't enforced. Reading the covenants to me means that you can't bring a boat or motorcycle into the subdivision, which I don't think they can legally outlaw since it's a public street. Turns out though I do have some pull with the board members as they told me to toss the notice out and they'd let the property manager know to not bother me...

Just goes to show what a little neighborhood involvment will do...I've been a big push in trying to get our neighborhood watch program going, even though it isn't needed. Why wait? Good excuse to get to know your neighbors. People these days are to much into themselves...and could care less about others around them.

Or else---what?


HOA's don't have the authority they would like you to think they have. HOA rules have their purpose, but some rules--like not bringing a properly licensed, tax-paid-for boat down a public road that your taxes paid for to a driveway on property YOU'RE paying for so your family can wash it and fill it with supplies- are unenforceable. This IS America, after all.

A neighbor in our mobile home park brings his unloaded semi home and parks it out front occasionally, for maybe an hour just to pick up supplies for his trip. He got told by park management he couldn't drive into the park whatsoever. His lawyer told park mangagement "oh yes he can." And a few years ago when my BIL, a licensed ham radio operator, moved into a new house, the neighbors spotted him unloading an antenna tower and promptly alerted 'the authorities' about his egregious breaking of the rules. He was hounded persistently by neighbors, and with letters and visits from HOA people, to the point he finally took it to court. Judge told the neighbors and the HOA that he had every right to erect the antenna as he was properly licensed, that his radio may be the area's only means of communication in the event of a natural disaster, and any more harassment about it wouldn't be tolerated. All this BS and the unassembled tower never left his garage.

How's this for an HOA "rule"...

It was included as one of the CC&R's that you could not sell your home to a black person/family.

Yep,in WRITING!

Of course, it was written/enacted about 60 years ago, but it was still in the by-laws just a few short years ago (but NOT enforced).

It was finally removed for obvious reasons...

Yep, as long as your just bringing it home to clean and maybe keeping it over night, I wouldn't worry about the HOA. They aren't going to do anything except write you a letter. I suspect one of your friendly neighbors called the HOA to complain.

nice snobatorium you live in. perhaps you should have read the HOA documents before you moved in.

FLB, you won't bother me at all. This is one of my part time jobs, and while we have done fine with this development, we will not do it again. The small community planning commissions are a pain. You follow the ordinances but still have the commissioners' personal preferences to deal with. Also, you have the state stormwater police that arbitrarily determine that an 18 inch wide shallow ditch that is dry in the summer is a "blue line stream" that must be protected. So instead of a 36 or 48 inch pipe under the road we have to put a $200,000 box culvert and we lose some lots because 60 ft on each side of the alleged stream must be protected. Don't get me wrong, I do not mind at all providing required silt fencing and other silt control measures, it is just that the stormwater rules many times are arbitrary and not uniformly applied. Even several farmers in the area have been fined because they graded or cleared their own farm land without a permit, yet you see governmental projects with mud leaving the site with no consequences. (End of rant)

I have been on both sides of the HOA. I agree with Mike's comment above. While we have not turned the HOA over to the residents, we have an advisory board. There is one individual who thinks he owns the place. He wants to make the community a gated development (it has 355 lots on 240 ac) and prohibit all boats, storage buildings, and fences. In our situation he has made the other advisory board members, and many residents, so mad, he will never get elected when we turn over the HOA. I have also lived in a townhouse style condo complex many years ago where we would find that the HOA would construct visitor parking spots next to HOA officers townhouses.

I also have an unusual situation where I live. There is a HOA, but it was not established when the development was platted, so it is voluntary. We have lived here for 19 yrs, but many of the residents don't know that the HOA is voluntary and dutifully send in their money each year. I look at the budget and see what expenditures are proposed. Usually we pay the fee every 2 to 3 years. I don't mind at all paying to fund the maintenance of the entrances and street signs, but I just can't see funding the neighborhood womens club luncheons.

Overall I think HOAs are a good thing to maintain property values. The CCRs should be reasonably written, and prospective buyers should make inquiries before they buy. The realtors that I know make the review of the CCRs one of the conditions of closing in the purchase contract.

Heh, ours is actually a city ordinance. I can store my boat in my back yard if I have a privacy fence, or in my garage. You are allowed to park it on your driveway for up to 10 days per calendar year. Right now they have officially suspended the law due to the fact that many RV/Boat storage lots were flooded by the Mississippi.

Luckily the police have more important things to do than drive around looking for violators, so it takes either a neighbor complaining or not having your vehicle properly licensed for them to do anything.

My excuse? I just haven't found a non-flooded storage lot with open space. The longer I wait the more money I save by not paying lot rent somewhere I do hate parking my truck in the street though