Posted on 09/01/2015 1:54:48 PM PDT by BBell
A judge has sided with a Missouri couple whose purple backyard playset prompted threats of fines – and even jail -- from the homeowners association, according to Consumer Affairs. Marla Stout said the Raintree Lake Neighborhood Homeowners Association told the family they failed to get the color approved and that the purple hue did not conform in the neighborhood, the website reported.
(Excerpt) Read more at nola.com ...
In many cities, over 90% of all homes and any non-custom new homes are HOAd (and bear in mind that new homes provide even more than 90% of the liquid market, as they’re turning over at 100% vs. the non-HOA homes that are older, already owned and only come on the market when someone dies or moves). So it’s not entirely a free decision in a lot of places.
Municipalities encourage HOAs because then they can skimp on parks and so on and let the HOAs deal with it.
Then on top of that, there’s also situations like mine where I (unlike probably most people) read every single word of the CC&R’s before buying and, having never owned an HOA home before, concluded “Well, I don’t know what this means in practice, but it obviously can’t mean what it literally says, because they wouldn’t have sold even one house and here 75% of the development is sold already, so it must be a bunch of meaningless chin music.”
May real estate prices fall more quickly until the corruption is broken.
The HOA agreement/covenant didn't forbid purple swing sets. That was the HOA treating their opinion as if it were law. The judge was right to say that their enforcing their mere opinion --- not the written covenant --- was unjustified.
And the actual homeowners --- who alone are the REASON for the HOA and the source of the HOA's authority --- agreed with the judge.
Why do these independent type people move into a HOA?
HOA’s need to require all buyers to sign a statement that they have read the association documents and agree to them.
Of course any buyer with a few brain cells would have already read the HOA documents but there are always a few who agree to the terms and then whine that they never read them.
Our HOA selectively enforces rules, mostly to keep college kids from starting party houses. We’ve had a couple which is unusual for a neighborhood with million dollar houses.
“The HOA regs didn’t specify that purple couldn’t be used. They just said the color should be “compatible,” which is subjective.”
Then paint the house purple so it’s “compatible.” I saw a house where the owner had painted the trim to match his purple GTO Judge.
Just like gay marriage.
And yes, HOAs are obnoxious and fascistic. But to move into that set of rules and then buck the system is petulant leftist BS.
(Scrathces head.) WHAT?
Is gay marriage forbidden by the Home Owners' Association?
“We have met the enemy and he is us.”
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