Try to get yourself elected to the Board.. I am sure there are other people there who are having issues. Once you get on the Board start to change things.
Try to get yourself elected to the Board.. I am sure there are other people there who are having issues. Once you get on the Board start to change things.
^^ My dad did this several years ago. He hated it, though he was the most qualified, since he didn't actually want to do it.
Now he just goes to meetings to berkeley with them when they screw up the Robert's Rules of Order they're supposed to be following - he's a lawyer.
T.J. wrote: In reply to HoustonNW: There are no disclosure laws for HOAs in Alabama. Alabama does not have any law to provide the homebuyer any protection when it comes to HOAs. I moved here from Virginia where it was a bit over the top, but the buyer had to get an official copy of the HOA rules 72 hours prior to closing and had to sign a form that you were provided them and understood them. In Alabama, there is no such law. I bought my house over the other ones in the running because the MLS listing stated no HOA. After a year and half I find out there is an HOA and there are restrictions, they just haven't been enforced because the developer was still in control of the HOA. I'm still waiting to get a bill from someone because I will not pay the dues when it comes. I did not do my due diligence when I bought the place. When I asked about no HOA I was told that I couldn't put an oil well in my yard...other than that no real rules. Turns out the actual rules specify how many and which species of trees are supposed to be in my front yard and how many bushes I need along the side of my house. Fortunately the thing has not ever been enforced, but I expect that whenever the developer turns control over the the residents there will be issues.
I would think this would show up in a title search. If it ain't on the deed, it don't count. But being Alabama, you may be screwed.
In reply to alex:
I hear you. My wife and I wanted to good citizens and went to ONE meeting 10 years ago when we moved in. It was like being back in Highschool again so we have never been back.
It sucks but if that is what it takes just put up with the pain until your issue is resolved.
T.J. wrote: In reply to HoustonNW: There are no disclosure laws for HOAs in Alabama. Alabama does not have any law to provide the homebuyer any protection when it comes to HOAs. I moved here from Virginia where it was a bit over the top, but the buyer had to get an official copy of the HOA rules 72 hours prior to closing and had to sign a form that you were provided them and understood them. In Alabama, there is no such law. I bought my house over the other ones in the running because the MLS listing stated no HOA. After a year and half I find out there is an HOA and there are restrictions, they just haven't been enforced because the developer was still in control of the HOA. I'm still waiting to get a bill from someone because I will not pay the dues when it comes. I did not do my due diligence when I bought the place. When I asked about no HOA I was told that I couldn't put an oil well in my yard...other than that no real rules. Turns out the actual rules specify how many and which species of trees are supposed to be in my front yard and how many bushes I need along the side of my house. Fortunately the thing has not ever been enforced, but I expect that whenever the developer turns control over the the residents there will be issues.
Unless there's something along the lines of "I agree to abide by all the rules of the Homeowner's Association or suffer the consequences" in the paperwork you signed when you bought the house, how is this even legal? I'd think the HOA would need some sort of official contract with you for its rules to be binding, unless they're legally considered the equivalent of a city government or something.
Out HOA, we live in the country, just tried to amend the rules to make them more like everyone wanted - YAH!!
But they added one stipulation which has killed the amendment. The amendment was an all inclusive rule that said you couldn't sue or contest rulings just because someone else had something approved that was in noncompliance.
My metal shop has 14' walls. The HOA limitations say 12' unless your house if more than 200' off the road and/or not in full view from the street. My shop is 1320 feet off the road and hidden behind the house. They tried to stop me from building it. Actually one man on the board who had wanted 14' walls and was shot down because his was too close to the road and in plain sight.
I told them to sue me and they backed off big time.
But when it came time to put in my fake windmill structure to use a filler on my front pond they shot me down. But 6 months later a different board approved it and thought it was a wonderful idea.
HOA rules and enforcement isn't consistent over the years. What you bought into can disappear. Interpretation of the rules varies greatly so to the person who said "maybe you just like to benefit from others" it's not that simple. I'm betting you also said the solution to over zealous cops, red light cameras, short yellow lights, speed traps, etc. was to simply not break the law. That's not always so easy.
DeadSkunk wrote: Apparently they had been lax about TV antennas (aka :dishes) and the judge ruled against the HOA , saying that their rule book could not be selectively enforced when they felt like it, so he negated the whole book. I know one fellow who keeps his camping trailer at home because they can't enforce the rules.
supposidly HOA has NO control over TV antennas as long as they fall within FCC guidelines... http://www.fcc.gov/guides/over-air-reception-devices-rule
DustoffDave wrote: ... I have gotten many dirty looks when washing a motorcycle engine in the driveway, or even working on a car/bike with the garage door open. ...
Are you just getting dirty looks from the board of directors of the HOA or from random people who live in your neighbourhood? If it's neighbours, then maybe you're one of the few people in the neighbourhood who doesn't like the rules, and the HOA is not out of control, but actually creating/enforcing a set of rules that the majority of homeowners in your neighbourhood support? Just a thought.
I assume the board of directors is elected right? Why not run for office stating that you'll get rid of ridiculous rules and prevent new ones from being created? Or why not vote out the people who are making the ridiculous rules? Or go to meetings and lobby for changing the rules? If a lot of your neighbours are in favour of changing the rules, get a group together to go to a meeting and voice your opposition. Don't bitch about it here and then not make an effort to make it better.
Bob
coolusername wrote: car trailers are not allowed in my subdivision, i cannot get it behind my house or in the garage, anybody got any advice..........camo tarp, invisable paint, etc....it is a 20' flatbed "RED"...........
Well, tell you what I'd do. Move.
Having said that (which, honestly, is what I'd do - or rather never move there in the first place. No HOA. Ever. My life is complicated enough without extra people to give me hell) my tire trailer lives in my storage locker. Your trailer is too big for a place like I rent, but there are places that rent trailer parking. If you voluntarily agree to live in a housing prison, that's what you do. Either that or buy a BMW (with four doors, and in a conservative color please!) and golf for a hobby and never do anything that isn't in line with what everyone else in the prison deems okay to do.
put a 2x4 railing on it, park it outside the front door, and call it a deck.
T.J. wrote: In reply to HoustonNW: There are no disclosure laws for HOAs in Alabama.
So what?
They are a matter of public record, and tied to your deed.
There should not be a need to disclose that which is already public information.
It was YOUR responsibility to read them when you bought the property, or a least your attorney's responsibilty to bring them to your attention.
Did you do a title search? Did you need a disclosure law to tell you if there was a lien on the property?
It kind of annoys me to hear people whine about HOA's . When I realized I didn't like mine, I moved.
perhaps you could start a petition to have the HOA dissolved?
Probably doesn't take a petition. Probably takes a majority vote (or 70% or whatever is specified in the covenant.
BTW, there is no such thing as a covenant without a timeframe. Sometimes they are 50 years, and some neighborhoods keep "acting" as if the HOA exists when it has, in fact, been terminated.
tuna55 wrote: For instance, my stepfather works for Time Warner. He cannot, due to the silly HOA, park the van at his house without stipulations. He has to either have a car cover over it or take the ladders off, the cone off, and cover the logos with magnets. I suggested that they get a car cover done up that looks exactly like the van, logos and all.
Reminds me of a true story of a college professor who protested silly dress code rules by showing up in a full 3-piece suit with tie made out of clear plastic. He was nice enough to wear opaque briefs 
Technically he didn't break the rules 
jrw1621 wrote: Call it a religious requirement and force them to oppress your religious rights.
Hey, remember the Paved Church of the Holy Cone? Let's make that one of the requirements of our religion. It commands us to park cars that may be unsightly and may not be running, and trailers, in our driveways. All praise be to the Holy Cone!!!
But seriously berkeley HOAs. They're just opt-in fascism (if you think that's an exaggeration, look into how they manage landscaping and other "community services")
In reply to coolusername:
He was accusing me of whining, not you. My point wasn't to whine, as I perfectly understand that it was my lack of due dilligence that got me where I am today. I was just pointing out that in this state it is ok to list "HOA: none" in the MLS ad, when in fact there may be a hundred page list of rules. I made the mistake of trusting the real estate agent and not demanding all the facts. About half the neighborhood was as shocked as I was when it came out that there was an HOA...some folks lived here 3 years and never knew. I only said it because people were blaming the OP for buying a home with a set of HOA rules he doesn't like and my point was that it is entirely possible that he didn't know about said rules until after the fact. It is easy, especially if you moved from another state with wildly different laws.
I would think that if they listed HOA: none , it would be a misrepresentation .
Their answer to that was that the dues are none...for now, until the developer turns it over to the residents then it will have dues. In short, I didn't do my homework.
Either way, that's neither here nor there helping the OP hide his trailer in plain sight.
I didn't actually accuse you of anything. I recognized that this entire thread revolves around the concept that there must be a way to avoid following through with things that were previously agreed on or committed to. I wasn't accusing you personally.
"HOA: none" is not non-disclosure. Its mis-representation, and should be illegal in any state that requires licenses for realtors. That would be, umm ... Everywhere.
FWIW, I will be moving soon.
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