So bummed

theartistformerlyknownas

climbingwife said:

My neighbor still has his Christmas lights up. I can't say it really bothers me. Actually, he still has some Halloween decorations out there too. 

Not legitimate.

KatWAG

Is there anyway to negioate with the HOA? Maybe others who live there would like this rule changed as well?

Could you reach out to the HOA President?

ashley8918

MyNameIsNot said:

KatieinBkln said:

HOAs are nuts, man.

I have always been under the (podunk? Naive? Who knows?) impression that when you own something, you can do whatever you want with it, as long as it doesn't affect other people. Then I moved to NYC and was shocked at all the rules that come with buying a condo or co-op. Sure, you are buying one apartment in a larger building full of people, but it doesn't really feel like ownership to me if your co-op board can unilaterally decide not to allow dogs.

Not that I will ever be able to afford even the down payment on a New York apartment, but even if I hit the jackpot, I can't imagine owning property that comes with so many strings attached.

But that's the whole thing, it does effect other people. Yes, HOAs can be very extreme, but if you've ever lived in a neighborhood where your neighbors refuse to take down their christmas lights or there's a dozen cars parked next door, etc, you see why those things matter. 

A good friend is trying to sell her starter home right now in a neighborhood with no HOA. Her next door neighbors refuse to clean up the junk in their front yard (including a giant broken television set). It technically doesn't violate any county ordinance, so there's nothing friend can do, but it's negatively impacting her ability to sell the house. 

I'm not saying matchy matchy ticky-tacky houses are great either, but I do think it's reasonable for an HOA to put reasonable rules in place for a neighborhood to protect the other neighbors. What's reasonable depends on the locale. I think one dog is extreme, but limiting the number of dogs people can have does make some sense. 

But how does this effect other people? Like at all?

wrigleyville

Awww, I'm sorry.

How many dogs do you have? I thought (Chef?) was your only dog.

lyndausvi

wrigleyville said:

Awww, I'm sorry.

How many dogs do you have? I thought (Chef?) was your only dog.

2.

We got a rescue last year.    I talk about him.  Posted a picture or two.  I've just never changed my siggy. 

Inkdancer

You can't get away from HOAs around here, unless you buy way out in the country. We went with the least restrictive thing we could find in our price range. I laughed about the ones that said any chicken coops on your property had to exactly match the roofing and siding of the existing house. Mini-house for chickens!

FiancB

Ugh, I'm sorry that sucks. I've heard of some people with multiple dogs of the same breed kinda getting away with it since people tend to not be able to tell them apart, but that would be annoying and risky. 

No way in hell I'd want to be in a HOA. I know someone who got bitched out for putting out the trash while wearing her bathrobe. I get the idea behind them as no one wants to have obnoxious neighbors, but there's just no way to implement these kinds of rules without being obnoxious. They shit on dog owners in particular for other reasons- a lot of times they won't let you fence your yard or it can't be over a certain height or whatever. I'm a crazy dog lady so that's a deal breaker in itself. 

chibiyui

ashley8918 said:

MyNameIsNot said:

KatieinBkln said:

HOAs are nuts, man.

I have always been under the (podunk? Naive? Who knows?) impression that when you own something, you can do whatever you want with it, as long as it doesn't affect other people. Then I moved to NYC and was shocked at all the rules that come with buying a condo or co-op. Sure, you are buying one apartment in a larger building full of people, but it doesn't really feel like ownership to me if your co-op board can unilaterally decide not to allow dogs.

Not that I will ever be able to afford even the down payment on a New York apartment, but even if I hit the jackpot, I can't imagine owning property that comes with so many strings attached.

But that's the whole thing, it does effect other people. Yes, HOAs can be very extreme, but if you've ever lived in a neighborhood where your neighbors refuse to take down their christmas lights or there's a dozen cars parked next door, etc, you see why those things matter. 

A good friend is trying to sell her starter home right now in a neighborhood with no HOA. Her next door neighbors refuse to clean up the junk in their front yard (including a giant broken television set). It technically doesn't violate any county ordinance, so there's nothing friend can do, but it's negatively impacting her ability to sell the house. 

I'm not saying matchy matchy ticky-tacky houses are great either, but I do think it's reasonable for an HOA to put reasonable rules in place for a neighborhood to protect the other neighbors. What's reasonable depends on the locale. I think one dog is extreme, but limiting the number of dogs people can have does make some sense. 

But how does this effect other people? Like at all?

Few people are going to be affected by Christmas lights up year round, but I think it's fair to say nobody really wants their neighbor to have a mini junkyard in their front (or back) yard. Aside from property values, it can attract animals people would rather not have (mice, snakes, skunks, feral cats ((I'm okay with the cats. Cats will kill all other undesirables)) etc. )

And I saw this as one who has warned H that if we ever end up in a development, if our neighbors are bitchy I will have the tackiest fucking Christmas display ever.

The long and short of it is. Some HOA's are dicks. Some are not. Such is life.

ashley8918

chibiyui said:

MyNameIsNot said:

KatieinBkln said:

HOAs are nuts, man.

I have always been under the (podunk? Naive? Who knows?) impression that when you own something, you can do whatever you want with it, as long as it doesn't affect other people. Then I moved to NYC and was shocked at all the rules that come with buying a condo or co-op. Sure, you are buying one apartment in a larger building full of people, but it doesn't really feel like ownership to me if your co-op board can unilaterally decide not to allow dogs.

Not that I will ever be able to afford even the down payment on a New York apartment, but even if I hit the jackpot, I can't imagine owning property that comes with so many strings attached.

But that's the whole thing, it does effect other people. Yes, HOAs can be very extreme, but if you've ever lived in a neighborhood where your neighbors refuse to take down their christmas lights or there's a dozen cars parked next door, etc, you see why those things matter. 

A good friend is trying to sell her starter home right now in a neighborhood with no HOA. Her next door neighbors refuse to clean up the junk in their front yard (including a giant broken television set). It technically doesn't violate any county ordinance, so there's nothing friend can do, but it's negatively impacting her ability to sell the house. 

I'm not saying matchy matchy ticky-tacky houses are great either, but I do think it's reasonable for an HOA to put reasonable rules in place for a neighborhood to protect the other neighbors. What's reasonable depends on the locale. I think one dog is extreme, but limiting the number of dogs people can have does make some sense. 

But how does this effect other people? Like at all?

Few people are going to be affected by Christmas lights up year round, but I think it's fair to say nobody really wants their neighbor to have a mini junkyard in their front (or back) yard. Aside from property values, it can attract animals people would rather not have (mice, snakes, skunks, feral cats ((I'm okay with the cats. Cats will kill all other undesirables)) etc. )

And I saw this as one who has warned H that if we ever end up in a development, if our neighbors are bitchy I will have the tackiest fucking Christmas display ever.

The long and short of it is. Some HOA's are dicks. Some are not. Such is life.

Oh, absolutely. But usually there are city ordinances for this sort of shit. Even if not, I have no problem with HOAs cracking down on this type of situation.

But I specifically want to know what @MyNameIsNot thinks is so incredibly awful about neighbors with christmas lights up and a dozen cars. Seems pretty ridiculous to me to say that this affects other people/

Inkdancer

ashley8918 said:

chibiyui said:

MyNameIsNot said:

KatieinBkln said:

HOAs are nuts, man.

I have always been under the (podunk? Naive? Who knows?) impression that when you own something, you can do whatever you want with it, as long as it doesn't affect other people. Then I moved to NYC and was shocked at all the rules that come with buying a condo or co-op. Sure, you are buying one apartment in a larger building full of people, but it doesn't really feel like ownership to me if your co-op board can unilaterally decide not to allow dogs.

Not that I will ever be able to afford even the down payment on a New York apartment, but even if I hit the jackpot, I can't imagine owning property that comes with so many strings attached.

But that's the whole thing, it does effect other people. Yes, HOAs can be very extreme, but if you've ever lived in a neighborhood where your neighbors refuse to take down their christmas lights or there's a dozen cars parked next door, etc, you see why those things matter. 

A good friend is trying to sell her starter home right now in a neighborhood with no HOA. Her next door neighbors refuse to clean up the junk in their front yard (including a giant broken television set). It technically doesn't violate any county ordinance, so there's nothing friend can do, but it's negatively impacting her ability to sell the house. 

I'm not saying matchy matchy ticky-tacky houses are great either, but I do think it's reasonable for an HOA to put reasonable rules in place for a neighborhood to protect the other neighbors. What's reasonable depends on the locale. I think one dog is extreme, but limiting the number of dogs people can have does make some sense. 

But how does this effect other people? Like at all?

Few people are going to be affected by Christmas lights up year round, but I think it's fair to say nobody really wants their neighbor to have a mini junkyard in their front (or back) yard. Aside from property values, it can attract animals people would rather not have (mice, snakes, skunks, feral cats ((I'm okay with the cats. Cats will kill all other undesirables)) etc. )

And I saw this as one who has warned H that if we ever end up in a development, if our neighbors are bitchy I will have the tackiest fucking Christmas display ever.

The long and short of it is. Some HOA's are dicks. Some are not. Such is life.

Oh, absolutely. But usually there are city ordinances for this sort of shit. Even if not, I have no problem with HOAs cracking down on this type of situation.

But I specifically want to know what @MyNameIsNot thinks is so incredibly awful about neighbors with christmas lights up and a dozen cars. Seems pretty ridiculous to me to say that this affects other people/

I get the dozen cars thing. At my last house, the neighbors would park right across the street from my driveway, which made it difficult to back out (we had a street only wide enough for about 1.5 cars. It was not well-planned.) Occasionally having a large party is totally okay. Continually parking in a way that inconveniences your neighbors is really rude. 

lyndausvi

Inkdancer said:

You can't get away from HOAs around here, unless you buy way out in the country. We went with the least restrictive thing we could find in our price range. I laughed about the ones that said any chicken coops on your property had to exactly match the roofing and siding of the existing house. Mini-house for chickens!

LOL  I would imagine chicken coops would be a no-no there.  Not that we want one.

We live in coyote, mountain lion and bear country.  There are also deer and elk around. 

 So some of the rules make sense.  Trash cans must be keep in the garage until trash day and then they have to be put back in that night.     Now on the surface people will think it's because trash cans are "unsightly", but there is a true environmental factor.   Wildlife will get into those, which might hurt them as a result.

Bright flood lights is another one.   Those do impact the wildlife.   Not sure the rule on xmas lights.  I didn't see anything, but wasn't looking hard either.

Campers, RV, boats being stored outside are all visual.    We don't have that stuff anyway, so it doesn't impact us.  And with it being a golf club I'm not surprised.

There is a development near by that is a HUGE elk migration area.  I don't see any fences over there.  I see large groups of Elk in backyards. I'm wondering if fences are banned not for looks, but to allow the elk to roam freely?  Not sure.

The place we were looking at does allow fences, but of course, must be approved.

In order for developers to gain approvals there are some restrictions placed on them. Some might be for environmental reasons passed on to homeowners?   

All that said, limiting 1 dog seems really dumb.   It's a single family home.

MyNameIsNot

ashley8918 said:

chibiyui said:

MyNameIsNot said:

KatieinBkln said:

HOAs are nuts, man.

I have always been under the (podunk? Naive? Who knows?) impression that when you own something, you can do whatever you want with it, as long as it doesn't affect other people. Then I moved to NYC and was shocked at all the rules that come with buying a condo or co-op. Sure, you are buying one apartment in a larger building full of people, but it doesn't really feel like ownership to me if your co-op board can unilaterally decide not to allow dogs.

Not that I will ever be able to afford even the down payment on a New York apartment, but even if I hit the jackpot, I can't imagine owning property that comes with so many strings attached.

But that's the whole thing, it does effect other people. Yes, HOAs can be very extreme, but if you've ever lived in a neighborhood where your neighbors refuse to take down their christmas lights or there's a dozen cars parked next door, etc, you see why those things matter. 

A good friend is trying to sell her starter home right now in a neighborhood with no HOA. Her next door neighbors refuse to clean up the junk in their front yard (including a giant broken television set). It technically doesn't violate any county ordinance, so there's nothing friend can do, but it's negatively impacting her ability to sell the house. 

I'm not saying matchy matchy ticky-tacky houses are great either, but I do think it's reasonable for an HOA to put reasonable rules in place for a neighborhood to protect the other neighbors. What's reasonable depends on the locale. I think one dog is extreme, but limiting the number of dogs people can have does make some sense. 

But how does this effect other people? Like at all?

Few people are going to be affected by Christmas lights up year round, but I think it's fair to say nobody really wants their neighbor to have a mini junkyard in their front (or back) yard. Aside from property values, it can attract animals people would rather not have (mice, snakes, skunks, feral cats ((I'm okay with the cats. Cats will kill all other undesirables)) etc. )

And I saw this as one who has warned H that if we ever end up in a development, if our neighbors are bitchy I will have the tackiest fucking Christmas display ever.

The long and short of it is. Some HOA's are dicks. Some are not. Such is life.

Oh, absolutely. But usually there are city ordinances for this sort of shit. Even if not, I have no problem with HOAs cracking down on this type of situation.

But I specifically want to know what @MyNameIsNot thinks is so incredibly awful about neighbors with christmas lights up and a dozen cars. Seems pretty ridiculous to me to say that this affects other people/

STUPID FUCKING BOXES STUPID FUCKING BOXES STUPID FUCKING BOXES

It affects other people's property value. You may not care unless you are trying to sell or need an appraisal for something, but a home is going to have a lower value than a comparable property that's in a neater neighborhood. For a lot of people, their home is their largest asset and they want to do what they can to protect that value. 

I can see that not everyone is bothered by christmas lights being left out all year, but things like tons of cars or junk in the front yard bother a lot of people. I personally didn't like living next to neighbors with tons of cars because they took up all the street parking and someone was constantly driving on my grass or blocking my driveway. Being late to work because I had to get someone to move their car was enough of an effect that I didn't renew my lease.  

ashley8918

MyNameIsNot said:

ashley8918 said:

chibiyui said:

MyNameIsNot said:

KatieinBkln said:

HOAs are nuts, man.

I have always been under the (podunk? Naive? Who knows?) impression that when you own something, you can do whatever you want with it, as long as it doesn't affect other people. Then I moved to NYC and was shocked at all the rules that come with buying a condo or co-op. Sure, you are buying one apartment in a larger building full of people, but it doesn't really feel like ownership to me if your co-op board can unilaterally decide not to allow dogs.

Not that I will ever be able to afford even the down payment on a New York apartment, but even if I hit the jackpot, I can't imagine owning property that comes with so many strings attached.

But that's the whole thing, it does effect other people. Yes, HOAs can be very extreme, but if you've ever lived in a neighborhood where your neighbors refuse to take down their christmas lights or there's a dozen cars parked next door, etc, you see why those things matter. 

A good friend is trying to sell her starter home right now in a neighborhood with no HOA. Her next door neighbors refuse to clean up the junk in their front yard (including a giant broken television set). It technically doesn't violate any county ordinance, so there's nothing friend can do, but it's negatively impacting her ability to sell the house. 

I'm not saying matchy matchy ticky-tacky houses are great either, but I do think it's reasonable for an HOA to put reasonable rules in place for a neighborhood to protect the other neighbors. What's reasonable depends on the locale. I think one dog is extreme, but limiting the number of dogs people can have does make some sense. 

But how does this effect other people? Like at all?

Few people are going to be affected by Christmas lights up year round, but I think it's fair to say nobody really wants their neighbor to have a mini junkyard in their front (or back) yard. Aside from property values, it can attract animals people would rather not have (mice, snakes, skunks, feral cats ((I'm okay with the cats. Cats will kill all other undesirables)) etc. )

And I saw this as one who has warned H that if we ever end up in a development, if our neighbors are bitchy I will have the tackiest fucking Christmas display ever.

The long and short of it is. Some HOA's are dicks. Some are not. Such is life.

Oh, absolutely. But usually there are city ordinances for this sort of shit. Even if not, I have no problem with HOAs cracking down on this type of situation.

But I specifically want to know what @MyNameIsNot thinks is so incredibly awful about neighbors with christmas lights up and a dozen cars. Seems pretty ridiculous to me to say that this affects other people/

STUPID FUCKING BOXES STUPID FUCKING BOXES STUPID FUCKING BOXES

It affects other people's property value. You may not care unless you are trying to sell or need an appraisal for something, but a home is going to have a lower value than a comparable property that's in a neater neighborhood. For a lot of people, their home is their largest asset and they want to do what they can to protect that value. 

I can see that not everyone is bothered by christmas lights being left out all year, but things like tons of cars or junk in the front yard bother a lot of people. I personally didn't like living next to neighbors with tons of cars because they took up all the street parking and someone was constantly driving on my grass or blocking my driveway. Being late to work because I had to get someone to move their car was enough of an effect that I didn't renew my lease.  

__________________________________________________________

(dafuq is up with quoting today?)

Fair enough on the cars. If they are blocking your driveway, that'a a problem. I was picturing, like, a really big driveway with a bunch of cars in it (like, the neighbors driveway) and thought "Uh, so what?".

But I think attributing Chrismas lights in June to decreased property values is a pretty big stretch.

chibiyui

ashley8918 said:

ashley8918 said:

chibiyui said:

MyNameIsNot said:

KatieinBkln said:

HOAs are nuts, man.

I have always been under the (podunk? Naive? Who knows?) impression that when you own something, you can do whatever you want with it, as long as it doesn't affect other people. Then I moved to NYC and was shocked at all the rules that come with buying a condo or co-op. Sure, you are buying one apartment in a larger building full of people, but it doesn't really feel like ownership to me if your co-op board can unilaterally decide not to allow dogs.

Not that I will ever be able to afford even the down payment on a New York apartment, but even if I hit the jackpot, I can't imagine owning property that comes with so many strings attached.

But that's the whole thing, it does effect other people. Yes, HOAs can be very extreme, but if you've ever lived in a neighborhood where your neighbors refuse to take down their christmas lights or there's a dozen cars parked next door, etc, you see why those things matter. 

A good friend is trying to sell her starter home right now in a neighborhood with no HOA. Her next door neighbors refuse to clean up the junk in their front yard (including a giant broken television set). It technically doesn't violate any county ordinance, so there's nothing friend can do, but it's negatively impacting her ability to sell the house. 

I'm not saying matchy matchy ticky-tacky houses are great either, but I do think it's reasonable for an HOA to put reasonable rules in place for a neighborhood to protect the other neighbors. What's reasonable depends on the locale. I think one dog is extreme, but limiting the number of dogs people can have does make some sense. 

But how does this effect other people? Like at all?

Few people are going to be affected by Christmas lights up year round, but I think it's fair to say nobody really wants their neighbor to have a mini junkyard in their front (or back) yard. Aside from property values, it can attract animals people would rather not have (mice, snakes, skunks, feral cats ((I'm okay with the cats. Cats will kill all other undesirables)) etc. )

And I saw this as one who has warned H that if we ever end up in a development, if our neighbors are bitchy I will have the tackiest fucking Christmas display ever.

The long and short of it is. Some HOA's are dicks. Some are not. Such is life.

Oh, absolutely. But usually there are city ordinances for this sort of shit. Even if not, I have no problem with HOAs cracking down on this type of situation.

But I specifically want to know what @MyNameIsNot thinks is so incredibly awful about neighbors with christmas lights up and a dozen cars. Seems pretty ridiculous to me to say that this affects other people/

STUPID FUCKING BOXES STUPID FUCKING BOXES STUPID FUCKING BOXES

It affects other people's property value. You may not care unless you are trying to sell or need an appraisal for something, but a home is going to have a lower value than a comparable property that's in a neater neighborhood. For a lot of people, their home is their largest asset and they want to do what they can to protect that value. 

I can see that not everyone is bothered by christmas lights being left out all year, but things like tons of cars or junk in the front yard bother a lot of people. I personally didn't like living next to neighbors with tons of cars because they took up all the street parking and someone was constantly driving on my grass or blocking my driveway. Being late to work because I had to get someone to move their car was enough of an effect that I didn't renew my lease.  

__________________________________________________________

(dafuq is up with quoting today?)

Fair enough on the cars. If they are blocking your driveway, that'a a problem. I was picturing, like, a really big driveway with a bunch of cars in it (like, the neighbors driveway) and thought "Uh, so what?".

But I think attributing Chrismas lights in June to decreased property values is a pretty big stretch.

Girl, you've seen house hunters. ANYTHING can affect property values.

ashley8918

@Chibiyui True dat. That show, my god. "Im going to pick house B, because the kitchen in house A is painted yellow, and I'm not about that life."

WUT?

MyNameIsNot

I give up on quoting; the boxes hate me.

I've never lived anywhere that people had big enough driveways for that many cars. I'm talking about four cars in the driveway, two in the front yard, and then the rest taking up the limited street parking on the cul de sac. 

And yeah, christmas lights alone aren't enough to change property values. (I still thinking leaving them up all year is tacky, but I can accept that it's a matter of opinion).  It was an off-handed reference about neighbors who don't like to keep up with the exterior of their homes. Maybe the neighbor who refused to cut his grass more than once a month might have been a better example. Snakes are more tangible than property value.

lyndausvi

ashley8918 said:

@Chibiyui True dat. That show, my god. "Im going to pick house B, because the kitchen in house A is painted yellow, and I'm not about that life."

WUT?

It's so frustrating watching some of those shows.

Now I know a lot of it is scripted, but come on.

MyNameIsNot

lyndausvi said:

ashley8918 said:

@Chibiyui True dat. That show, my god. "Im going to pick house B, because the kitchen in house A is painted yellow, and I'm not about that life."

WUT?

It's so frustrating watching some of those shows.

Now I know a lot of it is scripted, but come on.

It's all fake!  Remember the knottie who was on house hunters international?  She said they had to already own their house before they filmed the show. So basically, they came and filmed them looking at their own house along with two other houses that might not have even been on the market when they were looking. 

If one more person says that a walk in closet is too small or that they simply can't live without granite in the bathroom, I'm going to scream. I like seeing properties, especially in other places, but I can't handle the FW entitlement of these people.

themuffinman16

When I moved apartments, I had such a hard time finding a place that allowed a cat.  Landlords kept asking me if I could give him up...., My response before walking out was, "I will sign a lease the day you decide to give up your children for somewhere to live."   I hate HOAs. It's your property, but they always want to tell you what to do with it.

bethsmiles

ashley8918 said:

@Chibiyui True dat. That show, my god. "Im going to pick house B, because the kitchen in house A is painted yellow, and I'm not about that life."

WUT?

Watching SO watch those shows is hilarious. He has yelled at the TV multiple times with things like "You can paint the damn kitchen, what's wrong with you?!" 

hellohkb

Ah Lynda, that sucks! Kind of reminds me of a place my parents looked at when I was a kid when we were moving to DE. The development only allowed you to hang certain color curtains. CURTAINS.

I don't see why more than one dog is a big deal for a single family home. Craziness.

lyndausvi

MyNameIsNot said:

lyndausvi said:

ashley8918 said:

@Chibiyui True dat. That show, my god. "Im going to pick house B, because the kitchen in house A is painted yellow, and I'm not about that life."

WUT?

It's so frustrating watching some of those shows.

Now I know a lot of it is scripted, but come on.

It's all fake!  Remember the knottie who was on house hunters international?  She said they had to already own their house before they filmed the show. So basically, they came and filmed them looking at their own house along with two other houses that might not have even been on the market when they were looking. 

If one more person says that a walk in closet is too small or that they simply can't live without granite in the bathroom, I'm going to scream. I like seeing properties, especially in other places, but I can't handle the FW entitlement of these people.

My  come on is for the script writers.   Seriously, they suck and a believe too much in their make-believe Hollywood world.

That said we watch them all the time.  Mostly incredibly jealous at how much people can get for so little money.

The average listing here is over $1M.    

It makes finding a house a little difficult.

KatieinBkln

bethsmiles said:

ashley8918 said:

@Chibiyui True dat. That show, my god. "Im going to pick house B, because the kitchen in house A is painted yellow, and I'm not about that life."

WUT?

Watching SO watch those shows is hilarious. He has yelled at the TV multiple times with things like "You can paint the damn kitchen, what's wrong with you?!" 

I saw one where I shit you not, the woman kept harping on wanting it to be "move-in ready" and gave the biggest, heaviest SIGH when it was suggested that she could paint/have painted the walls in a house that was otherwise perfect. "I really wanted something move-in ready!"

BITCH WHAT DO YOU EVEN--I CAN'T--BYE FELICIA!

lovegood90

That really sucks! Especially that your time was wasted like that, ugh. Also doesn't make any sense to me- are they going to limit the number of children you have in the house too (if you decide to have children)?  (not saying children and dogs are the same, obviously).

thisismynickname2

I'm very WTF over the one-dog-single-family-home issue  So weird. 

Where I live, you might have a weight restriction on pets in a building (condo or apartment), or they may be pro-cat while anti-dog. My building allows dogs of all sizes BUT limits the units to two adults only. (They're all one-bed units.) Since I thought that was weird when I was buying the place, my dad said, and I shit you not, "That's to keep out poor people." Oh. 

My building is very strict on things that pertain to common areas, but I can tell a lot of it is either for safety or to keep costs down. Like, using the elevator for anything big (large boxes, new furniture) is a pain in the ass, but it forces you to request protection for the walls or else we'd be paying more in assessments to fix the walls of dings and scratches, you know?

My sister's HOA (townhomes) won't let owners use anything but white window covers on windows facing the street. That seems utterly ridiculous to me. 

lyndausvi

thisismynickname said:

I'm very WTF over the one-dog-single-family-home issue  So weird. 

Where I live, you might have a weight restriction on pets in a building (condo or apartment), or they may be pro-cat while anti-dog. My building allows dogs of all sizes BUT limits the units to two adults only. (They're all one-bed units.) Since I thought that was weird when I was buying the place, my dad said, and I shit you not, "That's to keep out poor people." Oh. 

My building is very strict on things that pertain to common areas, but I can tell a lot of it is either for safety or to keep costs down. Like, using the elevator for anything big (large boxes, new furniture) is a pain in the ass, but it forces you to request protection for the walls or else we'd be paying more in assessments to fix the walls of dings and scratches, you know?

My sister's HOA (townhomes) won't let owners use anything but white window covers on windows facing the street. That seems utterly ridiculous to me. 

My condo in St Thomas was limited to 4 people (regardless of age) for the 1 bedrooms.

Reason was fire code.

Benefit of the rule is 20 college age kids are not all sharing a 1 bedroom unit during spring break. Our condo was on the beach and there were a lot of owners who did short term rentals.

WinstonsGirl

This is kinda pissing me off now.  What if your dog is a huge Irish Wolfhound??  He'd still be bigger and more obvious than about 10 chihuahuas, if they don't bark.  Maybe you could say your 2 smaller dogs add up to the one huge dog a few doors down??  

There is a house around the corner from us who regularly has 5 different cars/vans parked on their driveway.  I keep hoping to drive by 1 day and see a 6th smart car or something similar parked on the last little square of pavement.  

thisismynickname2

lyndausvi Oh Fire Code, yeah that makes sense. I sure hope it's that and not what my dad said! 

But some might classify 20 college students as "poor" too. I know I sure was. Eight girls in one cheap 2-bed hotel room for spring break, woo hoo!

teddygirl9

Can you appeal that? Do they ever make exceptions? If you love everything about it, I'd be inclined to fight for it a bit. I've never had any experience with HOA (besides watching house hunters) so I assume they aren't common here.

 

eta - I'm going to take my christmas lights down when i get home today...

banana468

thisismynickname said:

lyndausvi Oh Fire Code, yeah that makes sense. I sure hope it's that and not what my dad said! 

But some might classify 20 college students as "poor" too. I know I sure was. Eight girls in one cheap 2-bed hotel room for spring break, woo hoo!

There's actually an open case in Hartford CT regarding this exact situation. There are a few couples and children living in a mansion and its against the housing codes. But if it was a couple and their in house servants shit would be fine.