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Posted on 07/12/2025 12:53:19 PM PDT by Morgana
An Arizona man is facing hundreds of dollars in fines from his homeowners association after offering free water bottles to neighbors during the scorching desert heat.
David Martin, of Goodyear, first set up a free water bottle station outside his home in the Canyon Trails community at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic - a thoughtful gesture he and his wife hoped would inspire unity and offer relief during the blistering summer months, KPHO News first reported.
'It's really for the drivers, for the families, it's for the kids,' he told 12 News. 'It's to do something positive in a world that needs it.'
But in the five years since Martin began the gesture that endeared him to neighbors, he's also racked up several $100 fines from his homeowners association (HOA) - all for 'advertising' the free refreshments in his own driveway.
After petitions, board meetings and community votes, Martin is now preparing for a legal battle - one that he has all intentions to win.
'I stand firm on the fact that I'm not paying the fines. The cooler is not going anywhere, and I'll fight it,' Martin told 12 News.
'It's not just about water, it's about the community as a whole.'
In 2020, neighbors strolling past often paused at Martin's driveway, drawn to a cooler brimming with ice-cold water bottles - a welcome oasis against the relentless heat which regularly tops over 100 degrees in summer.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
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I moved to an HOA after living in a city neighborhood dominated by the actual mafia. I thought an HOA run by suburban neighbors might be better.
In practice, it’s only a little bit better.
As Albert Einstein observed, “In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not.”
“HOA’s should be banned.”
They can be. All they have to do is vote them out. But if they choose to keep them in force then they signed the contracts to follow the rules. If you don’t like the rules, vote to change them. But ignoring them just because you don’t like them and breaking them just because you want to is a violation of the contract you signed. And it appears this has been going on for a long time and the person ignoring the fines was aware for a long time.
Either you like the rules or you don’t. But you can’t just break them and not think there will be action against you. That’s how the law works. And the people in the HOA made the rules when the HOA was formed.
wy69
Exactly. You knew moving in there’s a HOA and probably had to sign for the HOA rules or by-laws. Don’t like it (and I don’t), don’t live in an HOA, or follow the rules and vote in new leadership.
I’m fine with my HOA. They mostly help to keep our hamlet looking tidy by not letting people park their “stuff” in the front of the house, aka RV’s, boats, trailers. If your fence is broken down they make you fix it. You can’t paint your house pink. You can’t rebuild your engine or leave your “project” car up on blocks in your driveway. You can’t park a car in the street regularly as this might interfere with EM vehicles and the snow plow (almost every house has at least parking enough for 4 cars though many people use their garage for something other than parking a car, but that’s their problem, not mine). They stop folks from “open space creep” with their fence lines and their backyard playgrounds and fire pits. And you can’t leave your garbage cans in the front of the house.
All for $25/mo.
I guess my point is I like a nice looking neighborhood - it keeps the value up.
I've lived under two HOAs. Never had a problem with either of them. The rules were simple. Don't do anything that decreases my property value.
Mow your grass. Don't paint your house pink. Don't have cars on cinder blocks in the front yard. Don't operate a Facebook Marketplace general store out of your driveway 7 days a week. Don't house 30 illegals sleeping on your floors.
I've managed to abide by the rules and I've never received a violation, ever.
Always check ... if the house you want to buy is under HOA rule, pass it up unless you are a ACLU (Anti-American Communist Lawyer Union) member, in which case you deserve it.
I never have and never will live somewhere with an HOA, nor sign any ‘agreement’ with one.
And that's your prerogative.
I Griffin hate HOA’s.
Yep, me too. I don’t like it, but I do like my property values, and we’ve had mostly reasonable HOAs w/ low fees. We are not the typical HOA, I realize.
You literally cannot live within a reasonable commuting distance of Phoenix and not live within an HOA. Almost everything was built after the 1990s. Even the old neighborhoods have incorporated HOAs.
“Don’t paint your house pink. Don’t have cars on cinder blocks in the front yard....”
See my post #24.
GMTA
Your experience reminds me of the quote from Harry Truman when he said, “My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician. And to tell the truth there’s hardly any difference”.
Yep, me too. I don’t like it, but I do like my property values, and we’ve had mostly reasonable HOAs w/ low fees. We are not the typical HOA, I realize.
Well, the matter of property values has two sides. I’m certain that we were able to get more house for less money than if this neighborhood had an HOA. Yes, some of my neighbors have derelict vehicles on their properties, and some have just plain junk lying around, but I don’t care. It’s their business, not mine.
Some people prefer HOA settings; I’m not one of them. Plenty of choices for all.
‘Code Compliance Officer’...future Democrat Congressman.
EVERY REAL ESTATE AGENT I EVER WORKED WITH WAS TOLD THE SAME THING:
NEVER SHOW ME ANYTHING IN AN HOA.
No one is ever forced to join an HOA. If you don’t like them buy somewhere else. It really is that simple. If you join, don’t whine about the rules or think somehow your noble cause, brilliant display, or cool exterior remodel is somehow above the rules you agreed to before moving in.
People who voluntarily sign a contract then whine when they don’t like the terms are pathetic and stupid.
Signing an HOA and then bitching about the HOA rules being enforced seems quite dumb to me.
Don't want an HOA? Don't move to a neighborhood with an HOA.
It's not rocket science.
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