Forum Discussion
- MickeyBrennan
Strict HOA's??? Ignorant! Is this thinking like living in a controlled by others jail cell that you actually own yourself? The rules: You will live in tight lockstep with all your neighbors whether you like it, are physically able to, or have no financial issues arise due to health or age or income disruption etc. If you don't like it tough and you must conform or move away at a time when you are not physically or financially able to even attempt to handle such a disruption. Too bad you were so dumb as to have invested in your home for years and/or raised a family there, you are now being forced to leave if you don'e succumb to keeping up with the neighbors or their wishes.
Life constantly takes changes and any HOA should and MUST provide for them. Some of the worst junky backyards and pig pen homes are in HOA controlled developments and you might come down off your high horse and just look around.
The/your neighbors are not and cannot be the jailers and holders of the keys to a person's or family's lives! Perhaps you yourself will find yourself a victim of your short sighted thinking and it may happen sooner than you think. I want to hear about your lofty ideals and ideas then! Gobs of homes stacked like cordwood on postage stamp size lots controlled by HOA's are the areas that most often degenerate into blighted crime/drug infested areas a decade or so later. You live in PA and perhaps you'd like to go the Philly and look at what so many of these controlled living/HOA subdivisions/developments/etc look like today that were just like what you have described as what you wanted your neighborhood to be.
Strict HOA's are few and far between here in our region and have given way to reasonable HOA's and now there's so much less neighborhood friction and most neighborhoods have become even nicer, cleaner, and with a lot more upgrading and real yard maintenance that really shows. Check out the national ranking of the West Michigan living and neighborhoods as it's near the top and with the relaxing of insane HOA controls at the same time. Anytime people are forced to do something they don't like, grow not to like, changes in life forced, aging, and/or a lot of other factors, they will and always do resist and revolt in one way or another and it's a real killer for a neighborhood.
HOA's MUST have specific time limits written into them as times change and so the neighborhoods can refresh and revitalize themselves to keep on top and not always look like the developer's/contractor's original dream of "how many homes can we stuff in that area"? Look alike neighborhoods and developments are not only ugly but are usually the first to go downhill! Hundreds of examples in PA and many thousands in our country.
None of this HOA "stuff" affects us as we do not nor would we ever live where you are like or live like a puppet on a string and our neighborhood is gorgeous with all 1/3 acre on up sized lots and it's kept that way by personal responsibility, not forced ageless documents. Yes, boats and RV's are required by regional, county, township sensible zoning to be behind the front facia of the home after 2 weeks in the driveway unless it's either grandfathered in and being used/licensed (not just stored there) or there's a written physical/medical of need for such. If allowed in front of the home it must be on a established pad but may not be parked on the grass or next to the road. Pad may be concrete, asphault, or approved aggregate, not just dirt or sand. Sure works great around here and never heard one complaint in all the many many years we've been here and guess what? The neighborhood is very clean, upbeat, safe and you can leave anyting out without fear of theft, a very happy mix of young and old people/families, and all get along very well together as there's no friction caused by an constrictive tension creating HOA. Everyone lives their OWN lives in and on the land they own! HOA's are basically a way to try to control other's lives and living and some are happy to be sub-serviant puppets on a string! - Dang! Lot of diatribes on this thread.
It's thunk like some of the above that makes me happier no longer managing any. NJRVer wrote:
garysol wrote:
I agree with the last 2 comments. I also live in a neighborhood with a HOA and I am allowed to bring my rig home to load and unload only. I signed the HOA contract before I purchased the home so I have no one to kick but myself. These people knew the rules ahead of time and I call total BS on there explanation. They stated that the RV was needed in order for there son to live in case "The primary systems fail" . I really do feel for this family but would a whole home generator not provide the same safety net as that class A MH?
I agree. How stupid to spend $100,000 when $8000 would have provided what they NEEDED, but not what they WANTED.
Exactly! They wanted a motorhome, but needed a generator.fj12ryder wrote:
Quoted from the article:
"The zoning board wouldn't let the family slide and denied its request for a variance."
But did they request the variance BEFORE or AFTER their neighbors turned them in??happybooker1 wrote:
AND.... whole house generators are frequently NOT usable during hurricanes or the aftermath. If the gas is shut off for broken/flooded/whatever lines -- no whole-house generator.
My whole house generator, if and when I get one, will be run on propane and I will have a large tank sitting there ready to use.
bumpytoedtoes wrote:
smkettner wrote:
The variance is 2'. I agree if they now apply for a 3' variance to get a larger RV it could be denied.
But, did they ever apply for that 2ft variance? Or did they just ignore it and choose to park their RV beyond the 5ft set-back and then cry foul when they got in trouble?
According to the article they applied, but they denied it!dodge guy wrote:
toedtoes wrote:
smkettner wrote:
The variance is 2'. I agree if they now apply for a 3' variance to get a larger RV it could be denied.
But, did they ever apply for that 2ft variance? Or did they just ignore it and choose to park their RV beyond the 5ft set-back and then cry foul when they got in trouble?
According to the article they applied, but they denied it!
Again, did they apply for the variance BEFORE they started parking the RV there? Or did they apply for it AFTER they got in trouble for parking their RV there?- They live in a gated community with an HOA that allows them to keep the RV at the house. That sounds like a pretty lenient HOA. Obviously, the author of this article is biased against HOAs as there is no reason to mention the HOA in this article. The local Parish has jurisdiction over setbacks, not the HOA.
-Michael mgirardo wrote:
They live in a gated community with an HOA that allows them to keep the RV at the house. That sounds like a pretty lenient HOA. Obviously, the author of this article is biased against HOAs as there is no reason to mention the HOA in this article. The local Parish has jurisdiction over setbacks, not the HOA.
-Michael
yea, in that respect it is a fairly lenient HOA. However, the HOA can impose anything it wants to more strict than the parish. My HOA wanted to hire an attorney to keep on standby. there were at least three attorneys that specialized in HOA issues. that shows me that there is way too much litigation between HOAs and the lot owners. probably due to too restrictive/crazy impositions by the HOA. I am reminded years ago that one of the neighborhoods in a development in the DC area had a beautiful landscaping prize and the house that won the award was found to not comply with the rules and the best looking yard had to remove the offending "stuff".
bumpy- Did anybody look at the size of that boys wheelchair and how large it is? Has anyone thought about the turning radius that is required, so he can move in the RV? The boy is currently on a ventilator. Has anyone thought that his medical condition has deteriorated over the years and the support system needed is more extensive.
Still think they did the right thing. The generator is not sufficient to move this young man out of harms way if a hurricane is coming.
