Woman Faces Fine for Supporting Troops

[CavemanJ]

Originally posted by Tumor
P.S.  I've been in "military housing" for years.  You want to talk about a bunch of anal-rententive-in-your-business-nazi's?  Sheesh....

That ain't no lie

[Eagler]

a yellow ribbon or two will give the same message as the sign without all the press hoopla
if she were allowed to put up her "support" sign, the anti-bush/anti-war loser down the street would be able to put up his "anti-support" sign

nothing wrong with HOA - they do more good than harm in the average subdivison, they keep the cars and trucks off the grass & prevent hot pink painted homes for starters ...

[dmf]

Hoa or not theres nothing wrong with a sign in the yard supporting the troops. Here in my apt complex theres, no large pets ( anything bigger than a goldfish in a 10 gal tank), no campers parked out side, no parking on the sidewalk, no public display or anything that might be considered "gang related"
no loud music ( yea right) no parties with prior apporval, ( yea right) no junk cars abandoned in teh parking spaces, no bills posted anywhere, and yet theres something around 50 little signs around here supporting the troops, and nobody in the office says anything bad about them.

[Sandman]

Originally posted by mietla
why is she stupid and why is she a cow?

The situation is clear and I'm not defending her, by why is this story so emotional for you thay you resort to insults?

Quiet, please. You'll spook the fish.

[Sox62]

I'm sure that the HOA she signed has a rule against signs in the yard,but if I lived there and saw it,it would be a cold day in Hell before I'd report it.

There is a time for the letter of the law,and a time to just turn your head away.

[rpm]

Originally posted by Gunslinger
I didn't have much of a choice though, If you want a decent home in a decent neighborhood it usually requires some kind of HOA (where i'm moving to anyway)

No, it doesn't Guns. HOA's are for those weak enough to accept them. I have never lived anywhere there was a HOA and I've always lived in decent areas.

[mietla]

Originally posted by Sandman
Quiet, please. You'll spook the fish.

Nice, last moment save

[Gunslinger]

Originally posted by rpm
No, it doesn't Guns. HOA's are for those weak enough to accept them. I have never lived anywhere there was a HOA and I've always lived in decent areas.

Unless I wanted to buy in a bad area or pay too much for a REALLY old home or live out in the middle of nowhere an HOA was required.  Some worse and more expensive than others.  I did not look at a single house that didn't require you to join an HOA.

[Sixpence]

Originally posted by Eagler
if she were allowed to put up her "support" sign, the anti-bush/anti-war loser down the street would be able to put up his "anti-support" sign

That's probably the case, you allow one to put up a sign and deny another it could lead to legal action. Rules are for everyone, no exceptions, no problems.

[ASTAC]

This is a problem I have with HOA's and why I'd never join one. They can have you forclosed on. Seems Un-American and UN-Constitutional

http://loan.yahoo.com/m/primer13.html


From the article.

1. "We Can't Wait to Get Our Hands on Your Money -- Or Even Your Home."
A gardening violation. That's what landed Jeffrey DeMarco in hot water with his Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., homeowners association a few years ago: He planted too many roses on his four-acre property. Peeved, the association fined him monthly and sat back as the bills mounted. Then it placed a lien on his property and threatened to foreclose, according to DeMarco.

He took the board to court, but lost on the grounds that he had violated the association's architectural design rules. (In addition to planting roses, he also had regraded the site.) In the end, he got stuck with the association's $70,000 legal bill and lost his home to the bank. "Mr. DeMarco came into the community and wanted to step outside the rules," says Walt Ekard, the association manager. "That's a detriment to everyone."

Think it couldn't happen to you? Think again. Many people who belong to homeowners associations do not understand just how much power these groups have over them -- until they miss a payment or otherwise run afoul of the board. Fall a single day behind in paying your monthly dues, for instance, and the association may slap you with a fine. Fall 90 days behind and it may place a lien on your home and threaten to foreclose unless you pay up immediately. And because you often hand over the right of property trustee to the association when you agree to the by-laws, in some cases "you don't even get to go to court," says Evan McKenzie, a lawyer turned political science professor in Chicago and the author of Privatopia: Homeowner Associations and the Rise of Residential Private Government.

and

10. "We're Incredibly Petty."
In many associations being hard-nosed about the rules is practically the board's raison d'etre. "Some of these board members have nothing better to do. So instead of taking care of the property, they censor people's lifestyles," says Vicki Satern of Common Ownership Alliance. She needn't tell Allen Warshaw. To ward off a neighbor who had attacked him with a log, he asked his Rockville, Md., board to bend the rules. He wanted a six-foot fence, two feet taller than allowed. When the application was denied, he sued -- and lost. Warshaw wound up with the association's bills, too. The total: $23,000 in legal fees, court costs and interest.

Humbled but determined, he built a shorter fence. "I wasn't really worried because the board had told me that they don't go out and measure fences," he says. As soon as the fence was up, several board members walked over to Warshaw's yard and measured it. And indeed, in some areas the fence was a few inches over four feet. The dispute continued. "They put a lien on my property," Warshaw says. "They took all my savings, and they're garnishing my paycheck. It's like I am a common criminal. It has been devastating." Says Jeffrey Van Grack, the association's attorney: "The board made numerous offers to try to work out the payments, but Mr. Warshaw refused."

[phookat]

Bastiges...  HOA's suck.  That kind of story really pisses me off.   Too bad I had to join one.  Gunslinger is right--there are parts of the country where you really don't have a choice.

That being said, once she knew about the rules, she should have just taken the sign down.  Keeping it up and paying the fine is faux martyrism.  zOMG teh hoa is nazi terr0rists!1!11!!!

[cpxxx]

There are two things happening here. One is that if someone breaks the rules and gets away with it. Then everyone is free to break them. I doubt if she would be pleased if someone put up a 'Support the Insurgents' sign. She signed up and agreed to obey the rules.  Presumably she thought it was a good idea at the time.

The HOA thing is on the face of it a good idea. Prevents people messing up the area. Which is obviously the intention. But of course like any group there are always the 'leaders' who let power go to their heads. Before you know it they are stomping around in their virtual jackboots, barking orders and exercising their egos. Busybodies and curtain twitchers who now have actual power to exercise. Power corrupts, as they say. It certainly does.

[J_A_B]

"The HOA thing is on the face of it a good idea."


No, it isn't.  It's a rotten idea.  




J_A_B

[FiLtH]

I would never move into an association. My fridge is on the porch cause my V8 is takin all the room in the kitchen! And I keep my grass high so all my plastic gnomes have a place to hide.

[Maverick]

I've been in 3 associations. Out of the experiance I can confiderntly say they are a pestilence and a curse to owning a home in a subdivision. Virtually all of the new homes built in Tucson are in subdivisions with a HOA. The county planning and zoning commission absolutely loves them as does the city council who is trying to make over the town into a second artsy craftsy San Fransico.

The last association sent me a letter complaining I left my basket ball hoopp stand out too long and didn't store it out of sight behind the wall for the back yard. I have never owned a basket ball stand. They then sent me a letter complaining that my driveway had oil spots on it and the presence of the spots was causing property values to decline. I measured my oil spots against the HOA presidents oil lakes in his driveway and sent them a photo comparison. Never heard about them again, although one of the neighborhood nazis would walk by the house almost every day, stare at the driveway and shake her head.

Last issue was the HOA had to let go the groundskeepers because they lost all their funds fighting losing suits for violations of rules that didn't actually exist. They then sent me a letter complaining about the weeds in the "common area" adjacent to my property and giving me 10 days to corrct the problem that was not on my property or I would be fined. I took a picture of my front yard(without weeds) and sent a photo copy of my lawyers business card as well as the relevent page of the CCR's about weeds on OWNED property. I then demanded to have a discussion in the next HOA open meeting in July to hold their action on anything. I already knew I'd be leaving in mid June. The board was very unhappy and sent me another letter complaining about it. I sent them a copy of the closeure letter on the sale of my property dated before they sent their last letter to me and told them to get stuffed.

Of course I did drive my RV and semi truck tow vehicle through the neighborhood activating the loud horn the day we left. Bad boy!