Anyone here ever taken on a home owners association and won ?

[MazeRat7]

Seriously, I've got this group of zealots, complete with their own repug PAC, that are causing great grief in my world. At first I thought the registered letters about deed restrictions were legit considering my property did need some maintenance....but after making an honest effort to get things repaired on this property, they keep coming.

Each time with a "different" violation. Dead spots in the lawn (delivered in march before the grass could take), dead shrubs which have since shown leaves after their major pruning in feb, house trim repair (which is a mystery to date)... Turns out many of my neighbors are getting the same letters.

Anyway, is there any sure fire way to get the cretins off my back ? Certainly our two vehicles with DU, NO W, * is a Punk Ass Cump stickers are not a factor - are they ? (*wink) And BTW... those neighbors getting letters are non-white dems as well... tell me I'm not paranoid.

So... just looking for anyone thats been in the situation before... serious inputs please.

MZr7

[abluelady]

1. Not Sure How to Get Them Off Your Back

But I used to be involved in an association and believe me the association doesn't want to pursue any matters legally. Whose going to pay for it???? I would just ignore them.

[Sadie5]

3. Don't know what to tell you

We have an association where I live and the neighbors whine and complain against each other all the time. If you want to sue another neighbor you must pay for the suit out of your own pocket. The only thing I see they do for us is to mow the entrances to the addition and provide police protection. Call their bluff, demand that they explain what all of the letters are about. Tell them you think you and others are being singled out because of your race. You pay your dues and they accept them, tell them you are fed up with those letters.

[Coyote_Bandit]

2. Check the written covenants

Make sure you know exactly what the restrictions are. And exactly what your rights are.

I've known more than one homeowners association that had very poor financial records. You might be able to return some of the harassment by demanding a full financial accounting for the past couple of years. Most likely you have that right as a dues paying member. Did everybody pay their dues? In the proper amount? Was it timely? How was the money spent? What money was spent that maybe shouldn't have been spent?

Of course, you might just as well make your point by painting your fence (or the trim on your house) some nondescript permissible color that has been mixed so that it glows in the dark. Not cheap but interesting. And much more subtle than chartreuse paint.

http://www.glowinc.com/

[troubleinwinter]

4. "Not cheap but interesting." That is reeeeeeeeely funny! And way clever!

In my in a neighborhood is an association. Permanent signs are prohibited. Only a "small temporary sign such as 'home for sale' or 'for rent' are allowed".

A neighbor has THREE, count em, THREE giant 20' flagpoles & flags. An American flag, some military one, and I think a state that isn't ours.

At the base of each pole is a PERMANENT sign, about 2' x 3'. They are professionally done (lettering too small to read unless you walk by), and say someting about all her dead relatives and ancestors who bravely fought and died in wars.

I have only lived here a few months. I wonder if anyone has objected to it. Sometimes I wonder how much I care. It irritates me, as I feel that our neighborhood shouldn't be used as a memorial park, and I have lots of dead ancestors, too, but don't have signs about it!

I don't know what enforcement power the association has, either.

I don't see the flags unless I am out gardening at the front of the property. It doesn't bother me too much... we get almost zero traffic, and I think she is eccentric.

She keeps one plastic chair in one odd spot facing the flags. It always blows over and she puts it back. It is in a location that no one would ever sit. I think it is for a ghost of some sort to sit in.

[madeline_con]

6. "... for a ghost of some sort to sit in."

Gosh, can't ghosts use invisible chairs?

[REP]

9. Flagpoles Aren't Signs

And the inscriptions on the flagpoles aren't signs, either - don't think you'd have much luck in pressing anything with the HOA. And why would you want to? She paid for her property - not you!

[troubleinwinter]

15. I do not think there is a regulation against the flagpoles.

It's just that THREE big 20' poles seems a bit eccentric to me.

The THREE signs are NOT inscriptions on the poles. They are seperate from the flags, and are 2' x 3' wooden painted signs, attached to stakes set into concrete. This is in violation to the association regs.

What said I wanted to press with the HOA? I just wonder if anyone ever had. It doesn't particularly bother me. I imagine it might if I lived directly across or next to her and wanted to sell my home.

The HOA prohibits permanent signs at all, and there are three of them, each one is twice the permitted size, in all manner of colors. I do think, where everyone else abides by the rules, she should too, as it is something of an eyesore.

I just am not worked up enough to pursue it.

[troubleinwinter]

5. Do they have any enforcement power?

[Humor_In_Cuneiform]

7. I have more or less. My situation is quite

different. Suffice it to say that they did something illegal and withheld info from me I needed for an insurance claim. Despite repeated requests, certified letters, etc.

Finally when they were wanting HOA dues, I wrote them a letter letting them know how I was going to recover my loss which was a direct result of their failure to provide info.

I also made some suggestions that alluded to their unscrupulous actions, which should have let them know I was on to them.

I haven't heard a word since.

Also I found copies of some of the annual returns filed by the HOA on the web site of the state I live in, and I included some of that info in my letter to them.

Is it any wonder I'm looking into moving afore too long? No.

[pitohui]

8. yes you just need to bite the bullet and hire a lawyer

they will run you out of the neighborhood getting you fined to death if you continue to handle this yourself, someone has clearly taken a dislike to you, if you don't know who that person is who has the homeowner's association out to destroy you financially and to destroy your peace of mind then your only counter attack is to hire a lawyer to put an end to the harassment

i am sorry to say that my knowledge of this comes from the other end of it -- from having a close relative and also a colleague of my husband's who are VERY skilled at running "undesirables" out of their neighborhood thru getting them fined, harassed, and otherwise unable to enjoy their homes

my HOA also ran my next-door neighbor, a disabled man unable to work, out of his home, he died three months later, by the way, i did not participate and refused to give $1 to the HOA for fear of being involved in any way with those jerks, i also wondered if they were opening themselves up to litigation but i guess a dead homeless guy can't sue anyone

it sounds like in your case there is a racial element so you should get together with the other neighbors being harassed and GET THAT ATTORNEY NOW! it could well be that some busybody in the HOA has decided that home prices would be increased by running the non-white homeowners out of the neighborhood, you know what, stranger things have happened, i would DEFINITELY be aggressive abt fighting this

[shugah]

10. i did the HoA thing the first time i owned

there wasn't much choice - all the properties in the area had them. and yes, i got some letters, and then some serious letters, and some threats, and so forth.

one thing my 'threatening letters' was about was hail damage to the siding of my home. that bothered me for a couple of reasons. 1) i saw no damage to the siding, and 2) the HoA had to sign off for the sellers when we bought the home, and nothing about damaged siding was included in the disclosure. that problem was solved when i got the 'letter threatening legal action.' i simply responded that the HoA itself had given the nod to the sale, and there had not been any hailstorms between then and now... so they backed off of that.

i also had to have shutters painted. that was legit enough, i guess, if you sign on with "THE RULES." i never liked it much, but i did understand what i had signed up for. a neighbor that did not particularly like us became a member of the homeowners board. he actually did that after moving out of the community and renting his place out. so we got a few more complaints. then, we listed it. we were the first sellers to break a certain monetary barrier. i bet the folks that bought that place from us never heard about the damage to the siding. property values were just going up and up!

when we were moving, i was sitting out on the deck - literally on the deck as our patio furniture was already on the truck. from the different perspective, and in that certain light, i actually saw all the pockmarks in the siding. who knew?

next owned home - no HoA!!! i can paint my house purple and pink and chartreuse if i want to! (which i do not - but it's nice to have options ;-) )

so, check the disclosure from your HoA when you purchased. they can't give you any grief if they signed off for the sale.

also, run or volunteer to be a member of your HoA. then you get to make the decisions ;-)

[NNN0LHI]

11. ...is there any sure fire way to get the cretins off my back ? MOVE

That is what I would do unless belonged to a prepaid legal service or I had plenty of extra cash to fight them in the courts. Which I have done by the way with the homeowners association I have where I live.

Don.

[radwriter0555]

12. Are they fining you, or just sending compliance letters?

?

[NNN0LHI]

13. Neither. I wanted to put up a ham radio antenna tower and they went berserk

Luckily I had a prepaid legal services through my work so I fought it and won. It didn't make it into to court.

I wanted a 40 foot tower so my lawyer asked their lawyer for a 100 footer. Before it was over they were happy to let me erect the 40 foot tower.

Don

[pitohui]

14. moving costs thousands of dollars

and prepaid legal services in many cases are not good for much other than basic things like wills altho i'm glad to see it worked out for you

this person needs a real lawyer, it is clear from the text of the original posts that the HOA has targeted the persons of color in the neighborhood, hello, that has been a crime since abt 1970

besides why should a person be run out of their home, at great personal expense, just because some bleepwad doesn't like a darker hue or a democrat in the neighborhood?

you gotta stand somewhere and defending your home is damn basic

if money is an issue, all of the minority neighbors being hassled this way should chip in together to sue the HOA, i bet they would win a nice award to cover their expenses, it sounds like the OP knows of two other neighbors being hassled already and it does sound like it's abt race