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wincrasher65's avatar
wincrasher65
Explorer
Jul 04, 2014

Property rights, HOA's and your B van

I know this topic comes up now and again and can get people stirred up. Please keep your participation in this thread on topic.

I live in a small subdivision of fairly nice homes. Not rich people, but definitely nice and well kept. Our HOA has only a couple pages of rules - mostly concerning building your house in the first place. One item on this list is "no overnight RV parking". I knew that going in, so I can't really argue with it. I've lived here 5 years now.

I've also been an RV "enthusiast" while living here. During the warm months, I probably have my RV here at the house 3 or 4 days a month. Loading up, cleaning up, doing projects, etc. Mostly to load up and head out early the next morning. In these 5 years, no one has ever said a thing or cared. Nobody is saying anything to me now.

In fact, I had visitors for a week who parked their 5th wheel in my drive and stayed the week. My guests got to meet some of the neighbors, and everyone got along great at the cookout I had at the house. Not a single complaint or a grumble.

But now I think I've opened a can of worms. Because a neighbor has seen my RV at the house on occasion, he now thinks he can store his travel trailer permanently along side his garage. Now I'm not one to care, but the other neighbors are complaining, or at least chatting about it. Some are of the mind that since the rules have been ignored, he's entitled to break them too. Others are wanting a total crack-down - no parking ever.

To try to keep the peace, I've offered this neighbor free parking at my commercial building to store his RV when he's not using it. He was non-committal about my offer, so I'm taking a wait and see approach.

What do you guys think? I'm in the wrong? He is? Please refrain from the comments like "I wouldn't live in a place like that, etc. " It's a nice neighborhood, I generally like all my neighbors, and I want to continue living here.
Class B
  • wincrasher65's avatar
    wincrasher65
    Explorer
    Jul 04, 2014
    Good points.

    I imagine a good argument can be made that since the rules have been enforced capriciously, then they are not enforceable. There is a process, governed by the state, to change your HOA rules. I've never thought about it. I do remember that I signed a document with my mortgage that said specifically that I will not take any action to disband our HOA. But I don't think that violates that agreement.

    I may sound like a hypocrite, but I don't want to change the rules. There aren't many, and most are really reasonable. Generally, I'm a live-and-let-live kind of guy, so if it isn't hurting anyone, I probably don't care if someone is towing the line on the letter of the law.

    The last thing I'd want is to get cross-wise with this neighbor. We chat a lot and I like him - more of an acquaintance than a friend. I can see how he might see it as stated above.

    As far as my storage offer, it just came up in conversation - he was showing me his new rig, and I asked him where he was going to store it. He said he hadn't decided yet, so I said hey, you can store it at my building if you want. He asked if that was where I store my toys and I replied yes. That was about the total of the conversation - about a month ago.
  • toedtoes's avatar
    toedtoes
    Explorer III
    Jul 04, 2014
    wincrasher65 wrote:
    But is some ways these folks are strange. They may grumble/gossip about something for a bit, but then nothing comes of it because nobody will stick their neck out and make a formal complaint. Larry had a non-conforming mailbox installed last year (yeah, silly, I know) and tongues were wagging for a few weeks, but in the end nothing happened.


    Is Larry the same neighbor with the TT? If so, is it possible the grumbling is more about him than it is about the rules? Maybe he's just too carefree for the other neighbors?
  • toedtoes's avatar
    toedtoes
    Explorer III
    Jul 04, 2014
    The rule states "no RVs parked overnight" - not "no TTs parked permanently".

    So, yes, you are in violation of the rules on an ongoing basis. Because you have been allowed to disregard the rules (and have actually had people LIVING in an RV in your driveway), it's not really fair to tell the other guy he can't. Past practices count.

    There is also the question as to whether other homeowners in the HOA have been allowed to disregard the rule. Are there any other RV owners? Do they follow the rule exactly? Or do they maybe slide on it also?

    If the concern is that folks are afraid of this guy using the TT as an extra room, etc. then perhaps re-evaluating the rule would be a more viable option. Perhaps a rule allowing only 5-10 overnights per month would work. That would allow folks to have out-of-town visitors, pack and unpack for trips, etc., but would prevent broken down RVs from being moved in or from having folks utilize the RV for additional permanent living space.

    Otherwise, I suspect your days of working on your RV and having friends stay will be gone in the near future.

    P.S. I do think it was very nice of you to offer the free parking, but looking at it from his view I could see a slightly different version of the situation:

    Can you believe it? My neighbor routinely has his RV parked in his driveway. He's always doing work on this thing while it's there. He even had friends park their gigantic 5th wheeler there for a week and LIVE in it. But when I decide to park my TT discreetly by my garage, I get all sorts of******from everyone. And the last straw? This one neighbor, who routinely ignores the "no RVs overnight" rule, comes over and offers me a place to park at his business!!! Really? Why the H*ll isn't HE parking HIS RV at his work?
  • darsben's avatar
    darsben
    Explorer II
    Jul 04, 2014
    JUST STAY OUT OF THE MESS. Do not bring your rig home overnight. These things can get real ugly real quick.
    You do not want your rig used as a present day example for another party to throw under the bus. The party with the rig in the driveway knows the rules and he chooses to not follow them.
    Keep your nose clean and let others worry about what is going on now. If he puts the trailer in your building and something happens to it you could be held liable.

    Stay away from this mess
  • wincrasher65's avatar
    wincrasher65
    Explorer
    Jul 04, 2014
    I get your point - I'd be the last person to complain about it. I'd just like to avoid a crack-down, but it may be inevitable.

    But is some ways these folks are strange. They may grumble/gossip about something for a bit, but then nothing comes of it because nobody will stick their neck out and make a formal complaint. Larry had a non-conforming mailbox installed last year (yeah, silly, I know) and tongues were wagging for a few weeks, but in the end nothing happened.

    FWIW, this is a small development - only around 20 houses. Small enough were everybody knows everybody, and certainly everyone knows everyone's business.
  • charles's avatar
    charles
    Explorer
    Jul 04, 2014
    Your both wrong. If it states no overnight parking, that's what it means. You really can't complain as you have already broken the rule yourself. Stick with your wait and see approach, I'm sure you have an HOA board, let them do the dirty work that they volunteered to do.

    I live in a HOA and I bring mine home and park it overnight at least twice a month. if someone complains I will refrain from doing so. If someone parks one permanently I really can't complain about it either.

    Nick

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