fuck homeowner's associations

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/fuckhoa by /u/AclockworkBlu on 2023-08-12 00:16:12.

My board refuses to give any profit and lost statements.

We have a yearly budget given with 4-5 huge buckets. Property maintenance, supplies, projects, legal and miscellaneous. No itemizing of anything. It just seem rife for abuse.

How do we know they are not using funds for personal expenses. We know NOTHING about what is being spent on what.

The board hates us so since we are the only ones who go to meetings it’s easy to operate in a vacuum and tell us to gf ourselves. They have refused to have an audit after operating by the same people for 14 years.

We are a self run board with no management company or anyone overseeing anything. It is a HOA of SFHs. Is this normal is there something that can be done? We are in Illinois under the not-for-profit act. Any help would be great.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/fuckhoa by /u/XSuperMario3X on 2023-08-11 22:30:20.

About two years ago we requested to extend our driveway. This was denied because the board member stated that we did not “need” it but “wanted it. We were also planning ahead when we would have an additional car. Since we submitted our request another neighbor requested an extended driveway and it was approve. We recently requested to extend our driveway again and they have denied it again. This time they have informed me that they have updated the guidelines and no one is allowed to have additional driveways. This was done after my first request meaning that my neighbor who got his driveway extension was given an exception. The latest from the HOA stated that it would devalue the neighborhood appearance however there is two houses in our 32 neighborhood that has an extended driveway.

Do I have any grounds on suing? Small claims? Looking for any advice.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/fuckhoa by /u/IronLuncheon on 2023-08-11 17:13:58.

Is there a way to get out of an HOA without dissolving the board? My SO and I are looking at buying land in AZ. It has quite a few trees on it and we would like to build a house there, the catch is it’s in a HOA. We won’t buy it if we can’t get out of it as we don’t want to be part of the HOA. We don’t want to be told what we can/can’t do with out home.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/fuckhoa by /u/lizandcourtney123 on 2023-08-11 17:04:57.

My HOA is not enforcing bylaws for certain people. My neighborhood is overrun with owned cats that crap on my property. There are also two neighbors who allow their large dogs to roam the neighborhood. They refuse to issue fines. One of them is actually on the board. They told me to call animal control but animal control says there's no leash law where I live and they can't enforce unless the dog actually bites me or harasses or attack me or my dog on my own property. One of the dog owners also has a literal junkyard on their property and the HOA doesn't fine him for that either.

They are literally driving me crazy and I know nothing will change unless I file a lawsuit. Where do I start? Any advice on finding a good lawyer? Will the board have to pay my legal fees if they lose? If I win, how will I be sure bylaws get enforced? Or am I wasting my time?

I can't move. It's simply not an option bc of financial reasons.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/fuckhoa by /u/SimplySeal on 2023-08-09 15:18:20.

Do vendors work for the management company or do they work for the HOA?

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/fuckhoa by /u/AransOfKanna on 2023-08-11 05:36:36.

Grabbed my mail this morning only to be greeted by a letter from the HOA.

I open it up and I’m greeted by a message that states the paint on my garage door was painted white and that it needed to be painted an almond off white color instead.

Whatever the fuck that means lol.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/fuckhoa by /u/KizzyTheExorcist on 2023-08-07 22:35:52.

Any clue how to get around rental caps? I saw somewhere that rent to own leases may work

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/fuckhoa by /u/jruthe82 on 2023-08-10 19:05:49.

Our HOA has rules for sheds and they are pretty small. 5x7 by 5 feet tall max and have to be the resin type. This spring a house down the street put up a 5x7 shed but it was a little taller, maybe 6 foot. When I talked to the owners about it, they said that it was approved by the HOA. I purchased the exact same shed and am trying to get it approved , but the management company has denied me by just citing the current dimensions that are allowed. I went to the other homeowners and they are unwilling to forward any paperwork saying that their shed was approved. I did tell them I am still pursuing it, so hopefully if the shed was denied and they were lying they would have just told me. The question is, can they deny me the exact same shed that they approved earlier? I even sent them the address of the other shed and pics of the shed in the yard. I’m not trying to screw them, but I really do want that shed !

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/fuckhoa by /u/batmanAPPROVED on 2023-08-10 16:24:56.

My HOA is $290 a month. What am I even paying for?

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/fuckhoa by /u/EvanWasHere on 2023-08-10 19:55:43.

I found an amazing house in Miami... But it's in a 10 home HOA. And there is a legal issue.

Background: There is currently a lack of new inventory in the Miami market. Either people are holding on to their homes waiting for the market to go up again, or they are listing at ridiculous prices, or the home they are listing is subpar.

I found an amazing home that is a prime location, prime size, prime quality, and prime amenities. I have been looking for almost 2 years and visited over a 100 homes, so when I say that there has been nothing better in 2 years than this home, I mean it.

I made an offer on the house.. and it was accepted. But during inspection, it was like pulling teeth getting the HOA bylaws and paperwork. There are 2 members of the HOA, president and vice president (my seller happened to be the previous vp). My lawyer (who is amazing) found a huge issue.

The HOA was created to pay for an electronic gate used to enter the 10 home block. The bylaws only specified that all the homes would pay $1,000 a year. This pays for gate maintance plus yard work for all the homes.

But last year, someone bought a home and their college aged son moved and threw parties every day. So all the homes decided they wanted to create new bylaws about parties, approving people that move in to the homes, and a few others. Nothing crazy. All things I can live with.

The legal issue: Supposedly, they got all the homes to sign the new bylaws. But there is an issue. The lawyer for the HOA is the son of one of the homeowners. The new bylaws (according to my lawyer) are not legal. They added their bylaws to their current bylaws. But their original restrictive covenants don't allow this. They only allow bylaws that have to do with the gate, wall, and easement. So the new bylaws are NOT legal.

According to my lawyer, they had to draft an amendment to the restrictive covenants (NOT to the bylaws) which are then signed, witnessed and notarized (like a deed) by every single homeowner (so it can be properly recorded). It has to include the new restrictions for the community and confirm that 100% of the community owners (who will all sign) all agree these restrictions are in place even though they extend beyond and cover areas within the community other than the “Wall”, the “Easement Area” and the “Entrance Feature” that the original restrictive covenants cover.

We told this to the HOA lawyer but he was dismissive and said it didn't matter. That the HOA didnt have the knowledge or experience to know the difference. We explained that their bylaws aren't legal and he basically said he didn't care, we were not his client. He then asked my lawyer if he wanted to do the work to write up the new covenants??!!

Aftermath: My lawyer advised me not to purchase this house. If a lawsuit happened because of these bylaws, the entire HOA would be responsible for the legal cost and awards. He said it looks like an HOA that went rogue.

This is killing me. This is my dream house. I am unsure if the HOA members know that their lawyer/president is causing this legal issue for them. I tried to inform the seller's broker about the issue but he doesn't seem to understand. I tried to request to tell the seller so she can push the other houses to fix this issue, but the broker is refusing to let me speak to her. I have spent way too much money (on the inspection) and time on this and I should just walk away. But it seems like such an easy fix to make it legal. I mean if everyone already agreed to the new bylaws, just agree to a new covenant! Ugh.

So I am coming here for a second opinion. How bad is the above and what should I do?

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/fuckhoa by /u/LuckyCharms201 on 2023-08-10 19:10:46.

Twice since Polis's updated HOA regulations went in to effect last year, I have received "violation notices"; the first was because the HOA management company felt my lawn was too long (it was a dirt patch when I bought the house, which was not apparently a problem until literally the day I took posession). I received a fine while still moving in that the lawn wasnt green enough. Way to get started on a good note, eh? Apparently it needs to be nice and short to establish a new robust drought-resistant root system in the high desert of CO. News to me with my plant molecular ecophysiology academic background, but I digress.

I got another for my popup camper being parked in my driveway- where it was kept for less than 24 hours! I came home on sunday evening and left it out so I could clean it up and get it put away with a second set of eyes from the neighbor (after work on Monday) to guide me in to the garage. Apparently they "inspected" on Monday.

Anyway, with these notices, there isnt a "fine" so to speak, but rather a "fee", which they stated via email inquiry last time, is prescribed by Polis's new bill? In that they are allowed to charge me a 10$ "fee" (not a fine, a fee; its different in that its the same thing) for "processing costs" via that new bill? I do not see anything anywhere which allows them to (over)reach further than they already do by simply existing. I hope they are making that up and I can establish a paper trail to rain legal hell on them.

Note: these fines/fees/whatever do NOT come from the HOA board: there is a board of homeowners, and a third party management company who is just the worst people imaginable. Not enough residents of the neighborhood are owners, and rather rent, to do anything about the management company so they are checked in power only by the board, who cant end the contract without 51% owner vote.)

Here is a picture of the violation notice.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/fuckhoa by /u/CornerRight4438 on 2023-08-10 15:34:46.

Out of 100%, about 80% don't vote (of which about 75% pay dues) or participate in any way due to the bullies and 20% (bullies who've been here the longest) vote themselves in and do what they want (mostly nothing).

Their mickey mouse board president sends out group message to ownership that owners don't get to attend board meetings.

Then they constantly complain owners don't participate, and use that as pretense to do whatever they want.

If there was ever a story of really messed up HOA's, this is it.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/fuckhoa by /u/NiceMastodon on 2023-08-10 12:16:42.

Long story short i live on the second story of an old condo building. I want to vent out my kitchen hood exhaust. I got permission. Then permission was taken away because other people complained about the low profile termination vent i had for my tankless water heaters. That was back in January.

Since then they've been going back and forth and taking polls deciding how to move forward. They are adding a new rule that you can only vent out the alley. Sucks because it's a long run of ductwork, and two holes in brick instead of one, but I'm still game. I gave them my new proposal three months ago. They have 4 weeks to get me an answer according to the rules and regs. Instead they just kept asking for clarifications, engineerings reports, saying maybe they want more than just the engineering report etc.

The material fact is, they had 4 weeks to lallygag and make their requests, not three months. My plan is just to move forward at this point without their permission since they've long since exceeded their 4 week time limit and have given me no answer.

The big question is: Do i warn them? The turn around time is fast, i'm already having the work done early this Friday. I'll email the condo management the COI (required) early on Friday, before they ever get in, and hopefully the work will be done before anyone can notice. At least the exterior (shared space) hole will be done before anyone can make a move. My mind says "don't you dare say a word," and my heart says give them a chance.

What do I do?

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/fuckhoa by /u/wakaflockaofficial on 2023-08-10 03:35:48.

Hi,

So I am in escrow for an apartment in Santa Monica and the HOA seems like a total pain in the ass. If this ends up going through expect me to be coming here a lot more often. The apt is on the second floor and they are requiring that I have carpets EVERYWHERE except the kitchen, bathroom and laundry area. Right now the condo has no laundry so what if I were to but the laundry room in my living area...? thoughts? has anyone had to deal with something like this and play to loopholes in such a crazy way? BTW. I understand the carpet rules in the sense that people and kids are loud but I am a single woman in a one bedroom apartment.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/fuckhoa by /u/cannacat420 on 2023-08-10 05:44:41.

My HOA created 'clubs' for this complex. These are how the HOA defines the 'clubs':

Grill Club: The name implies that it's community event where it's a grilling get-together, but oh no. It's actual purpose? Purpose is to oversee the grills to ensure approved HOA usage, and to hand out fines for any violations if one of the 12 rules on how how to use a grill at the complex is broken. You must register to use a grill via a phone app and reserve a time, can only use the grill for 2 hours between the hours of 8am to 6pm. And many other rules. 12 rules. Just to use a grill.

Parking Club: Patrolling the parking lot to hand out fines to anyone who isn't parked correctly, or has a parking permit sticker on the wrong side of the windshield. Anyone who has any parking violation, including the parking permit sticker on the wrong side of the windshield, is booted and towed with costs being the owner's responsibility.

Garden Club: To oversee the gardens to make sure that only approved plants are planted, which can only be planted by the HOA, as no one else is allowed to plant any plant on the complex. Anyone who attempts to plant something is automatically fined with the plantings removed immediately.

Photography Club: Walking around the complex to take photos of violations in order to hand out fines.

Oh and our HOA monthly fees were raised in order to support these new "amenities" (aka fine clubs for busy bodies who have nothing better to do with their lives than to control how other people live theirs).

These clubs sound so much fun that I think I'll join!!! (jkjkjk)

And unfortunately, there's a lack of interested among other owners running for the board as either they don't care, are complacent, or too afraid of crossing the authoritarian HOA. One HOA board member is a real estate investor who doesn't even live on the complex, owns over 10 units, and has 1 vote per unit so he's constantly voting himself and his cronies in.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/fuckhoa by /u/InternationalRock672 on 2023-08-09 23:36:12.

Our HOA never gave us a key to the common areas. I live in a condo with multiple buildings and pools we need access to. My husband asked the management company and they said our previous owner should’ve given it to us (wtf) and now we need to pay $50 for a new key… I looked in the rules and there is nothing about receiving a key, only cost to replacing. How is this okay?? I can’t use the pool I pay $400 a month for— I need to pay $50 to use it??

Also- What’s the difference between the management company and the HOA? I am confused why we had to pay management company and why they are enforcing us paying when the HOA never gave us the key.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/fuckhoa by /u/bcajst on 2023-08-09 16:31:10.

Can you be forced to pay HOA dues when you never signed a agreement to them? Can they put a lien on your property? The HOA was dissolved when we purchased. Back story is below

When we purchased our home back in Oct 2022, we were told there was NO HOA. We also did not sign any HOA agreement, nor did we pay HOA fees/dues at closing. The HOA was “dissolved” when we purchased our home, and was reopened 4ish months later. We have purchased our realtor and she insured us that there was in fact no HOA when we purchased our home.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/fuckhoa by /u/kenz7e on 2023-08-09 02:31:05.

I recently bought a condo and my partner lives with me as well as two Saint Bernards (4.5 and 7.5 years old, roughly 120 pounds each).

During the home search my realtor made sure to only show me places that did not have weight restrictions. My realtor called my (now) management company before we put in an offer and they said there were no restrictions. Before we put in an offer we read all of the association docs and bylaws and there is no pet weight or breed restriction. The only real animal restriction is you can’t own chickens and pigs and stuff like that. When we first moved in a couple months ago, I took one of my dogs for a walk and saw someone outside who introduced herself as the president of the board. My dog was very polite and sat there while we talked for a few minutes. She told me that there was a weight limit and I said “my realtor called the hoa and there wasn’t one” (I meant she called the management company, I didn’t realize at the time that the two were different) and she said “oh well they just want to sell they don’t care” and then told me not to worry and that she’s not going to make me get rid of my dog. I was worried for a couple weeks but nothing came of it.

Today I was walking one of my dogs and left my back gate cracked so you could see inside my apartment a little bit. Someone walked by and must have spotted my other dog (the person who lives next to me is also a board member) and complained to the board member. Well I get inside and settle down from working and I hear knocking on my door for about a minute. At first I thought it was someone in the hallway doing something but then I realized it was actual knocking on my door. I thought it was the neighbor telling me I accidentally left my gate open but no, it was the president of the board.

She came to essentially berate me and question me about having two dogs. She said that she got complaints and I asked about what and she said their size. I asked her what is the problem? There are no restrictions and there were none when I bought the place. She then proceeded to tell me she “spent $3000 to have the rules changed and there are weight restrictions now” and kept going on and on about me having two large dogs and how she didn’t know about it but should know because she’s the president of the building.

When I bought this place I didn’t have to disclose what animals I had, I only had to list anyone who was going to be living in the condo.

After a few minutes of back and forth I told her that the complaints were ridiculous because only one time has my dog came across someone in the building and that was her. My dogs do not use the hallways or go into the main areas — we have a private entrance that we go in and out of and don’t bother anyone. She said that the city we live in has weight restrictions and limits of how many animals you can have in a one bedroom apartment (the limit is three, and there are no weight/breed restrictions, just no livestock basically) and I told her it was untrue. She then told me my dogs were too big to live in this apartment and need to live in a home with a yard. Ma’am, if I could afford a single family home I wouldn’t be in this apartment. I told her my dogs are fine and they get exercise 3 times a day.

Then she told me that there are people in wheelchairs, small children, etc that could be hurt by my dogs. She said that if my dogs were to attack someone that they could really get hurt. She said people are afraid of big dogs. I told her I am afraid of little yappy dogs that this apartment is full of, but that is my problem and I deal with it myself. She accused me of buying my second dog after we moved in knowing there “was a weight limit.” I have had one of my dogs for 4.5 years and the other since last September. I told her I could prove when I adopted both of my dogs.

All of this went on for about 15 minutes but she then added that she works from home and never hears them and she wouldn’t force me to remove my dogs. I kept asking her “so what exactly is the problem?” And she didn’t have an answer except that she had complaints about their size. She was very aggressive during this conversation and hardly let me get any words out. So what was the point in this interaction? My lawyer sent a letter to the management company asking about this rule change because we need written notice of any board meetings and rule amendments, plus a 67% vote to pass anything. I never received any notice of a board meeting or any rule changes.

So my question is, what do I do now?

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/fuckhoa by /u/Emergency-Food-123 on 2023-08-09 02:18:51.

Our condo HOA manager told me that our garage videos are actively reviewed for people who don’t wait for the garage door to completely close, to hand out fines. Literally hires someone to sit in front of a video to issue fines? Sounds crazy to me. My PM just got fined for multiple violations on the same day. It’s a couple hundred each violation. I wonder if the HOA company employees get a bonus for every fine they issue.

I hate HOA so much.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/fuckhoa by /u/datsupaflychic on 2023-08-09 02:16:26.

That seriously fucking sucks. HOA sucks ass for this.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/fuckhoa by /u/Disneapolis on 2023-08-09 00:47:31.

President, doesn't live in the building anymore, has a rental license for his unit, but still claims it as a homestead.

Secretary, doesn't live in the building, city, or even county, has her unit in an LLC, and "is a volunteer with a very busy life, doesn't get paid, and dealing with BS sucks."

Doesn't maintain records, very little information available to owners, such as bank statements or tax filings.

Treasurer, doesn't live in the building, contracts services to herself, and transfers money from the association to her personal accounts. Micromanages neighbors, selectively enforces rules, and loosely interprets the documents however it's convenient for her.

Bonus: Former VP, divorced, ex-husband got the units, multiple DWIs, delinquent on dues.

I really bought into a winning location!

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/fuckhoa by /u/CornerRight4438 on 2023-08-08 23:02:52.

We have no real elected board. They still bill us, but they don't do anything. Those involved are just stupid nasty people, make up maybe 20% of ownership, and are the only ones who participate in their mickey mouse shit. So they never have quorum. Long story I've posted here before but not important to this post.

Long story short, we have trees along our private road which the hoa is supposed to be maintaining. Many dead trees. Occasionally they just randomly fall. It knocks out power sometimes for a few days or week. People can't pass until a neighbor pulls out a chainsaw and clears it. Not trees alive that get damaged in a storm, but rather, very large 30"+ across 50ft+ tall trees that are dead and rotting out. Been dead for a long long time, a slight breeze could blow them over. They could easily kill someone or total out a car.

Rather than ask the shit fuck stupid HOA people to do anything, I just send out a message on our hoa discussion board stating the problem with pictures of the tree I just got up at 5 am to come cut down for another neighbor a few months ago and saying if I didn't see progress, I'm going to hire an arborist to check out the situation and do what is necessary along the road easement, along with any other owners who want to chip in. I didn't ask for any money, didn't ask HOA or anyone else to do anything. Didn't ask permission. I just sent out a statement.

So one of the really really stupid shit fucks respond to my post asking where on the road I lived. Mind you I've owned here much longer than this stupid shit fuck and they know exactly who I am.

I CAN'T BRING MY SELF TO RESPOND WITH ANYTHING. Like it's so stupid I can't believe how stupid people are.

Just venting. Stupid shitfuck people.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/fuckhoa by /u/SchiesseMann on 2023-08-08 22:20:30.

Recently my buddy has been staying at my house a lot. Like multiple times a week, we have a few drinks, I won’t let him drive home drunk, so I make him stay. Now, I know there is a rule my HOA has where guests and owners cannot park their vehicles in the guest parking from 11pm-6am. However, he was parked overnight in MY OWN driveway. Today I received a formal letter called “1st Immediate Violation.” It had the make, model, and license plate of my buddy’s car on it stating that it violated the overnight parking rules. Fuck HOA.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/fuckhoa by /u/tamtamlee on 2023-08-08 16:44:45.

Hello all, I live in an HOA community part-time in a remote region. I turn the power off at my house from around Dec-April (about 4-5 months usually). Thus, no wifi when the power is off.

I have significant problems with the HOA doing criminal mischief during this time to my house while it is unattended (I cannot leave the power on because it is a fire hazard as the house is completely left for 4-5 months). I was just wondering if there are any recommendations from people in similar situations about cellular surveillance cameras or off grid surveillance cameras specifically for NO WIFI/NO POWER situations???

I have verizon and my phone works pretty well when on my property, so I was thinking LTE might be an option, but again, the reviews seem to indicate battery runs out pretty quick. I am also going to invest in like 5 trail cameras, but i have had trouble mounting them in the past. If anyone has recommendation for a good trail camera for surveillance and mounting, I'd appreciate that too. On the ones I have used in the past, the SD card runs out after about a month since there are so many deer and wild creatures walking by daily. Solar only seems to extend the life of cameras for a week or two according to reviews.

So far I have looked into Arlo and Vosker for LTE or off grid cameras, but it seems somes of the reviews for those options say the battery dies pretty quickly and lasts only a few weeks. Not sure if anyone has had good experience with a long-lasting camera? I would have loved 24-7 feed going to a cloud or something but assume this is not possible since it would kill the battery. I think I will look for a 24-7 feed for the time when i am there. It seems options are pretty limited for off-grid cameras... Any recommendations are highly appreciated.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/fuckhoa by /u/Future-Aerie2628 on 2023-08-08 02:56:34.

Just purchased a condo and saw that building components were removed with out disclosing to homeowners. This inflates the % fund health… anyone come across a similar situation?