Free Republic

BRENTWOOD, NH (WMUR/CNN) - A New Hampshire homeowner is under court order to clean up his yard that's littered with thousands of boxes. If he doesn’t, the town will do it for him and stick him with the bill. Meanwhile, his neighbors are hoping their community will finally go back to normal. Michael Bates found himself back in court after failing to clean up his property in Salem, MA. The town estimates that there are some 2,000 boxes containing printers in the yard.

I used to have a flower garden in my backyard. A few years ago I decided to move my flowers to the front yard so my neighbors could enjoy them. I found that I could keep some them blooming in the winter by surrounding them with water in containers and covering them with transparent tarps. On warm days I uncover them so can enjoy the ones that are still green or even blooming. They often begin growing again in early March so they are doing well by the end of April. A week before Christmas I got a letter from...

Denver mom Sarah Cohen says drawing sidewalk chalk art is one of her three-year-old daughter Emerson's "simple pleasures in life.""It's definitely better than video games," Cohen told KCNC. However, the homeowner's association in Cohen's neighborhood feels differently. They say Emerson's drawings -- usually of hearts and flowers -- are distracting and offensive blights on their community."My initial reaction was, 'You have to be kidding me," Cohen said. The association, called Innovations and Courtyard Traditions at Stapleton, temporarily banned children from drawing on sidewalks, saying anything that offends, disturbs or interferes with the peaceful enjoyment is not allowed on shared spaces.They...

No, this isn’t about the subprime housing finance fiasco. It only relates in that some people are happy to let someone else pay for their responsibilities. This is about the dastardly institution known as the homeowners association. Mutual benefit corporations are formed and owners within a subdivision pay a membership fee for their equally shared benefits. I bought a home in such an association five years ago. Okay, these arrangements are socialistic at best, but I wanted to be a good immigrant and go with the flow, as long as the association was meeting it’s obligations. We have 2 benefits...

MAHWAH -- Two white watering cans and a yellow broom dangle above the porch of a stone and shingle house perched atop North Hillside Avenue. Just below, empty flower pots and plastic chairs and tables clutter the entryway. "No trespassing" and "Beware of dog" signs line the sloping property. The more-than-100-year-old house has been home to Samantha Moor for 10 years. Its sloppy condition is the reason she nearly spent the night in jail. Moor, in her late 40s, was arrested Tuesday morning and sent to the Bergen County Jail for failing to pay $4,921 in fines issued by Mahwah...

One of the bonuses of an election season is the lively debate that takes place on our front lawns. Political signs - some plain, some biting - mark the vitality of our door-to-door democracy. Yet, for a growing number of Americans, that showcase of democracy is unthinkable. They are among the estimated 50 million people who live in communities governed by some form of homeowner association - gated, planned or retirement communities, cooperatives and condominiums. For the past several years, an estimated four out of five new housing units have fit this category. They are popular for good reason. They...

Can you be too patriotic? Kure Beach resident Jerry Wolf considers the United States flag, and the pole in his front yard he flies it from, two of his most prized posessions. Two months ago, he built the pole in his own front yard with his own two hands. He lights it every night, and teaches his daughter what it stands for. But Wolf, an Air Force veteran, must choose between his flag and some of his neighbors, who are ordering him to ground Old Glory for good. "I don't want to live in a neighborhood where people are...