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mom3aut1not
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| Posted: April 27 2006 at 11:53am | IP Logged
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Our HOA is pretty restrictive -- mailboxes have to be 4" wide, black, and have white alphanumeric characters 1" in height. They have recently allowed portable basketball hoops in the driveway before 8 p.m. Fences can be only white, four feet tall, and of one particular design. And so on.
We live here because it is the perfect location for my dh. He now has a 10 minute commute. Before we lived here, we lived 1- 1.5 hours from his work. The commute time was not the worst part; it was the time my dh had to get up --3:45 a.m. He was getting sick all the time from too little sleep, and he was exhausted in a way that took months to cure.
So I put up with the dumb (imo) restrictions. The part I am dreading is that the HOA is about to be turned over to the actual home owners, and I have been told that some people live to find infractions of the HOA rules. Up to this point it has been run by the developer who is not so personally involved. (This must be why one of our neighbors has been getting away with using edging material that was not perfectly uniform. Gasp! The horror of it all!)
Still and all, the location and my dh's health make it worthwhile to live with such silly restrictions.
In Christ,
Deborah
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ALmom
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| Posted: April 28 2006 at 12:50am | IP Logged
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We looked at some land but when we found HOA, we ran! The restrictions are unbelievable - and one concern we really had was being outvoted by the HOA. The only amenities was common care of the entrance (and the exact number and placement of trees in your yard was specified). However, there was the HOA fee which could go up depending on who and what landscapers were chosen to take care of the entrance. Well, everyone else in the community was likely to have 2 incomes and 2 kids (and no time to do the landscaping ourselves and no concern for budgeting that we would have) and we would be a constant annoyance to them with our 6 kids and dog and bunny. They also specified that the garage had to remain closed at all times. We'd never make it!!!!
We're still in the city but with no HOA, no neighbors behind us (though we are on top of the one on one side). By city ordinance, we cannot have chickens but no one around here is ever home, I doubt if anyone would ever even notice. There is a leash law as well - but during the day we have the dog off leash in the yard with dc as she will not leave their side. We call her in or put her on leash before people get home from school and off from work (and on weekends). We have seen deer and fox in the neighborhood. It is the best compromise for us. We might not be too welcome in some parts of the counties around here as bi-racial and as Catholic. Also the country areas have absolutely no zoning laws so you could end up having your home next door to a junk yard.
Janet
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Bridget
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| Posted: April 28 2006 at 5:47am | IP Logged
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We are on 4 acres in a fairly rural area. No restrictions that I know of. The property behind us is being developed. We're bad. We keep joking about getiing some old, rusty cars to store out back in order to deter people from buying the property!  We love our deer and turkeys, we hate to see them driven away by building.
We would be a HOA's nightmare. We have half built tree forts, a chicken coop, a monster outdoor dog, we don't always get the outdoor toys put away at night and our garage door was broken open for nearly a year!
What hillbillies!
__________________
God Bless,
Bridget, happily married to Kevin, mom to 8 on earth and a small army in heaven
Our Magnum Opus
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Sarah
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| Posted: April 28 2006 at 11:35am | IP Logged
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Wow! I never knew it could be so strict out there. We just moved to a 3 acre neighborhood with no covenants.
We just moved out of "tweezer-ville" and I thought the no poultry, and no sheds rule was bad.
I do see how they are trying to keep the neighborhood nice for those people that go overboard, though.
We were very disliked in our former neighborhood. You could read between the covenant rules and see: "no kids, no home schoolers!
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Six boys ages 16, 14, 11, 7, 5, 2 and one girl age 9
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Jen L.
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| Posted: April 29 2006 at 5:32pm | IP Logged
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MacBeth wrote:
Jen L. wrote:
| Inhibit firemen! (or should I say fire fighters??!) This sounds like an excuse to me. |
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Yeah, I questioned it too...then the firefighters talked about not seeing the lines in the dark as they were running through back yards. I can totally understand that. We have a totally volunteer firehouse, and the only real expense, aside from equipment, is insurance. I think they'd like to get to the fire safely (often running on foot, as the village is tiny)...after that, they need to rely on skill and training.
A retractable clothesline that is taken down at night is acceptable. |
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Thanks for letting me know, MacBeth, that there are some legitimate reasons for this one! I'm not usually so cynical, but reading about the "no open garages" had put me over the edge, I guess.  . Anyway, now I'm wondering, do other neighborhoods with the "no clothesline" rule allow daytime use of a clothesline or the umbrella type?
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: Homeowner Restrictions
