Galled over a garage - property rights and abuses

Atlanta Journal-Constitution ^ | February 24, 2004 | CHRISTOPHER QUINN

[Cincinatus' Wife]

FRANK NIEMEIR/AJC STAFF Scott Korowotny's car collection includes this 1972 Ford LTD full-size convertible, which the Ford buff is restoring. His family also lives in the garage.

[farmfriend]

Rights, farms, environment ping.
Let me know if you wish to be added or removed from this list.
I don't get offended if you want to be removed.

[ApplegateRanch]

>>The only thing the lawyers agree on is that the situation might have been avoided if the covenants were better written or if a review committee had been in place early on.<<

And the only thing I agree on is buying COVENENT FREE property. On general priciples, I can't stand these 'home owners' associations' that are all the more prevelant as time goes by. Hide-bound, petty Hitlers run them, for the most part.
Glad we bought in civilized area...and enough property to not have to look at any neighbor that 'offends' by daring to have different tastes or needs.

[GeronL]

Their lifes dream is to tell other people what to do?

[richmwill]

If living across from a garage "ruins your life"- you have more issues than I can even imagine.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

My gut reaction is, the garage builder should have considered the homes in the area and bought land where his business would not run contrary to other people's investments. Call it common courtesy or common sense. Why go out of your way to create problems and conflict? Life is too short and they'll be doing battle for years.

[Prime Choice]

I'd say Korowotny acted in good faith and the neighbors are just being petty.

If the plaintiffs in this suit don't like the way the garage (built to covenant spec) looks, I'd say let 'em pony up the cash to give it a "prettier" exterior. Otherwise, they can take a long walk off a short pier.

[flashbunny]

Apparently.

I hate the whole idea of these homeowner associations. Usually one busy body in the group decides it's their purpose in life to nitpick what others do with their property. If there is any justice in the world, the judge who hears the case will tell them to go to hell, or say 'if you want his garage to have a different exterior appearance, you can pay for the cost of changing it'.

[GeronL]

I agree

Anybody remember the 0 Cents stamps??

RINOHunter

[ETERNAL WARMING]

A difficult situation. I have to say that I wouldn't like to stare at that out my window either. I've lived all over the states and this time made sure I bought an older home in an established neighborhood so there would be no surprises. I was tired of dealing with it. I've watched the value of several houses plunge because of garages and other eyesores over the years.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

...I bought an older home in an established neighborhood so there would be no surprises.

That does afford some protection.

[Flyer]

Scott Korowotny's car collection includes this 1972 Ford LTD

A '72 LTD is part of a "collection"?

Hmmm. . . maybe I can sell him part of my "collection".

[Cincinatus' Wife]

LOL

[FreedomFlynnie]

Maybe I'm just young and iggnerunt, but...

Who bloody cares what someone else builds on their own property?!? If I were buying a house, I can't imagine letting something like someone else's buildings bothering me. If I wanted to be so anal that I insisted on controlling the view outside my window, I have the perfectly legal option of buying all the property within eyesight.

It's important to me that I have a nice clean car. I wash and vacuum out my car regularly, and it annoys me when my car gets dirty or rained on. I guess I should be able to demand that every car I drive around be washed regularly, or I should be able to force those drivers to go and buy new cars. After all, the rest of the world should have to bow to my personal preferences regarding anything I see, hear, smell, or touch. < /sarcasm >

[Cincinatus' Wife]

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Can't we just all get along?

[E.G.C.]

BTT!!!!!!

[sergeantdave]

The same rules are vague when describing what buildings — garages or houses — must look like. Four short paragraphs govern building materials, size, colors and locations. And they say metal siding is OK.

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This says it all - the rules are vague, written to allow people some broad measure of choice on what's built on their property.

The whiners are typical of big city socialist scum moving into a pleasant rural community and trying to impose their Marxist controls on normal people. We have a few of these morons in our community. They're shrill, screaming nincompoops who live isolated and bitter, mumbling to themselves as they aimlessly walk in circles shaking their fists at imaginary monsters. We mostly ignore them. If they get out of control, we exert community pressure to chase them back into their $300,000 dungeons.

[Blood of Tyrants]

I agree. He built the garage first and not just any garage, an ugly industrial building that is waaaayyy out of place for the neighborhood.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

And so many think the homeowners are the bullies. Good grief.