Sometime my HOA really gets on my nerves

[GSOchristie]

We live in a planned community.  A community that cares enough about the environment to contain a green school, powered largely by solar panels and all this water conservation equipment.  But apparently if the desire to be greener is "ugly", it isn't as accepted.  I just want a clothesline to dry my clothes.  It is warm enough here that I can use the clothesline most of the year.  We can even make it so you can't see it from the street, but because our neighbors could see it FROM THEIR UPSTAIRS WINDOWS, we cannot have one.  Irritating.  Our neighbors don't even care, but because they could potentially sell their houses one day, and the potential buyers could potentially be offended by a clothesline, we are not allowed to put one up.  Not even one that pulls out then retracts.  The wind is blowing, it is 75 degrees and sunny, and I'm drying my sheets in the dryer, sigh.  

 

I know, I know, sad first world problems.

[Luckymama]

We're not supposed to have permanent clotheslines. Dh clamped a PVC pipe holder onto the deck into which I slide the pole for an umbrella-style clothesline.

[elegantlion]

OMG how stupid. I live in a rural town no HOA. I line dry my clothes over my deck rail. I live on a corner, every car passing by knows if it's dark day or bright day. No one cares. 

[Jean in Newcastle]

If you swear your neighbors to secrecy and install a retractable one, would anyone know?  

[Wolfmeis]

Install it. I had the same issues and I put in a retractable one.  They can't fine you for something that you can remove instantly.

[bettyandbob]

I string a line on my deck in the summer. When any of the homes visible to my deck are on the market, I don't use the line (except the summer my dryer was broken and we needed to put off replacing it).

[GSOchristie]

Maybe that's what I'll do, I'm afraid now that I asked, they will be looking for it.  Whoever "they" may be, the HOA spies  :lol: .  

[hjffkj]

ugh!!! I feel for you.  We've had a fit pit for the last 5 years with no problem, even though its in the bilaws that we can't have one.  Well our neighbor behind us just recently became the president of HOA and within a day we received something telling us to get rid of it.   Complete b.s.  that that is even a bilaw.  Honestly, if you saw the neighborhood I live in you would laugh if you knew it had a 'strict' HOA.  Its a lower income neighborhood that just looks run down.  The people are great and its very safe but appearance wise you wouldn't think that.  

 

I just got new windows put in.  I got approval to specifically install windows without grids (most have grids in the neighborhood but it appears many people when installing new ones go gridless because its cheaper.) Well the day before installation I accidently told my neighbor from behind (this is how I learned she's the president)  and she threw a hissy fit that all the windows are supposed to be the same as every other house.  I can't install those windows and its ridiculous I would ever assume it was approved.

 

I politely told her I have the evidence of the approval, the windows are paid for, the contractor scheduled, so if she wants the HOA to front the bill for the windows I already paid for and reimburse the contractor for a late reschedule I will gladly use gridded windows.  But if she wants to handle this legally I have a very free connection to legal help who would gladly take her to court with my proper approval procedures.

 

I have researched how to get a HOA dismantled many times but don't have the time or energy to work for that yet. Maybe when my kids are older. My neighbor thinks I should at least run for one of the board spots next time around.

[clarkacademy]

I don't see a clothesline as ugly though. That's really too bad. I'm sorry

[Venia]

What about a folding drying rack? Is not technically a clothesline and does the same thing. We use them inside too during the winter.

[bettyandbob]

I don't see a clothesline as ugly though. That's really too bad. I'm sorry

 

 

I don't either, but there will always be someone who just leaves stuff out for days and it could become like the people who still have fake reindeer, baby Jesus and a blow up snowman in March. I think banning them altogether stops anyone from having to draw a line and prove a that the 44dd bra has been swinging around for 2 weeks. I think HOAs wouldn't exist or have any need to exist if everyone understood and practiced common sense.

 

I think a retractable one sounds good. I might look into that for my deck. I only put the clothesline at the height of my deck railing, so that reduces visibility too.

[clarkacademy]

Can't you just ignore them? I mean it is your house can't you just tell them to go away? I never had an HOA so I really have no ideas about them never even heard of them till this board

[QueenCat]

I like living in an HOA neighborhood (a requirement for me to buy a house).... but some do go a bit far. I like our clothesline rules but they aren't as strict as yours. You just can't be able to see it from in front of your house, from the street.

[KungFuPanda]

Put up one of those umbrella ones that you can take down.

[QueenCat]

Can't you just ignore them? I mean it is your house can't you just tell them to go away? I never had an HOA so I really have no ideas about them never even heard of them till this board

 

Every neighborhood we have lived in has had an HOA (I don't consider houses that aren't in HOA neighborhoods). It is listed in the title for our house that we are in an HOA neighborhood, and will abide by the HOA bylaws. Depending on the HOA, there can be fines after warnings, and liens on houses for not paying the fines. Ours gives you a warning & time to correct the matter..... and then you can take the violator to court if they do not fix the problem. I prefer a fine/collections system but that's not what we have. The only time they do liens is if you do not pay your annual dues.

[bettyandbob]

Can't you just ignore them? I mean it is your house can't you just tell them to go away? I never had an HOA so I really have no ideas about them never even heard of them till this board

 

 

Most HOAs have the ability to fine you, put a lien on your property and disrupt the sale of your home.

 

That said, I really like my HOAs (I'm covered by two because I lived in a townhouse community in a larger planned community). The HOAs take care of a lot of services for me (snow is expected this weekend and I don't have wait for the state to clear my street, plus the HOA clears all bike trails so we can walk if roads are still dangerous). The amount of outdoor recreation (pools, tennis, basketball, fields, plus nature trails and a nature center) is phenomenal.

 

When I was young I lived in a suburb without an HOA in the 60s-early 70s. People did all kinds a weird stuff to their homes and it really does affect home values. These were homes on 1/4 acre lots where every 5th house was the same model. It doesn't look good to close proximity neighbors to build a 6 foot tall cinder block fence around it. Christmas decorations all year long. And more.

 

When you buy a home in a neighborhood with an HOA you need to research the HOA before you purchase, so you know the history of that HOAs behavior, you should also be able to look at the HOAs financial statements so you can see if they are fiscally responsible and they are able to continue to provide the services they are supposed to provide.

[Lara in Colo]

I refused to even look at houses that had HOAs.  Our neighborhood is actually increasing in value because people are starting to want a house without HOAs. 

I will take the weird colors and the occasional broken down car so that I can have toys in the front yard and not have to have permission to put in a stone pathway (yes our last HOA actually made someone remove a pretty stone pathway because his neighbor didn't like the style--?)

 

Honestly I think HOAs turn neighbors into narcs and ruin the sense of community.

[Murphy101]

It's not a clothesline! It's a squirrel tightrope! <---- actual words of a teen of mine. ;p

[hjffkj]

I wish I had started dating my dh before he found the house we are in now.  I was 2 weeks too late  Had we been dating (when we started dating it was pretty serious right from the start and knew that marriage would come, it did 7 months later,)  I would have convinced him to stay far away from HOA!!! Sadly, we are stuck in one that I think mismanages its money and nit picks on really dumb things while ignoring things that matter (there is a tree growing in the middle of the tennis courts!)

 

I will NEVER look at houses with HOA again.

I refused to even look at houses that had HOAs.  Our neighborhood is actually increasing in value because people are starting to want a house without HOAs. 

I will take the weird colors and the occasional broken down car so that I can have toys in the front yard and not have to have permission to put in a stone pathway (yes our last HOA actually made someone remove a pretty stone pathway because his neighbor didn't like the style--?)

 

Honestly I think HOAs turn neighbors into narcs and ruin the sense of community.

 

[jewellsmommy]

It's not a clothesline! It's a squirrel tightrope! <---- actual words of a teen of mine. ;p

 

Exactly. And that is a community service. If you don't train your squirrels to keep their balance then they might fall off the branches and litter the pretty streets with their dead bodies. I think you can sale this to the HOA. It's all in the delivery.  :D

[fraidycat]

I refuse to look at houses in HOA neighborhoods. I prefer less government in my life. :D

 

Which is really a moot point, since we live in an apartment, so have to follow their rules. But, if were ever going to buy again, it'd be where I can do what I want, when I want!

[mom2scouts]

I don't ever want to live in a community with a HOA.  I don't need a bunch of busybody neighbors telling me what kind of curtains I can have in my front window or that my car needs to be always parked in the garage because it's old and unsightly.  Both of these situations really happened to a friend of mine.

 

To the OP, maybe you could find some of those articles about how clotheslines are becoming hip for the wealthy, educated, environmentally friendly communities and show them to your HOA.

[GSOchristie]

Yes, ours is uber strict, we have to get approval before planting a plant taller than 18 inches  :glare: .  They come around every week in the summer and if your grass looks scraggly, you get a warning, the next week they have someone come and cut it for you for an outrageous amount.  Our lawns are roughly the size of a postage stamp and they use these huge riding lawnmowers so it takes about 2.3 minutes to mow the grass, but you will pay $50 for that service whether you wanted it or not :).  Our neighborhood does look very nice, but sheesh, I wish she would have some common sense when she's approving/denying requests.  Our backyard has a serious dip at the very back and we have a pretty tall privacy fence, there is no way you could see it from the street.  DH thinks we can attach the retractable one to the fence post and no one will be the wiser, unless they're peering over our fence.

[QueenCat]

I refused to even look at houses that had HOAs.  Our neighborhood is actually increasing in value because people are starting to want a house without HOAs. 

I will take the weird colors and the occasional broken down car so that I can have toys in the front yard and not have to have permission to put in a stone pathway (yes our last HOA actually made someone remove a pretty stone pathway because his neighbor didn't like the style--?)

 

Honestly I think HOAs turn neighbors into narcs and ruin the sense of community.

 

I've never seen one so strict that you can't have toys in the front yard............ we like them as they do help resale values in the areas we've lived in...... never had issues with it harming the sense of community.

 

[itsheresomewhere]

Double check your state laws. Quite a few states are putting laws on the books to allow clothes line and make it illegal now for a HOA to ban these.

[QueenCat]

They come around every week in the summer and if your grass looks scraggly, you get a warning, the next week they have someone come and cut it for you for an outrageous amount.  Our lawns are roughly the size of a postage stamp and they use these huge riding lawnmowers so it takes about 2.3 minutes to mow the grass, but you will pay $50 for that service whether you wanted it or not :).

 

I like this part......... if our grass gets over 8 inches (which is pretty high), you have 5 days to mow, or they pay a service to do it for you for between $50 & 75, depending on lot size. Grass gets too high, and you end up with varmint issues. If it happens twice in one year, you get a fine on top of the mowing fee. Unfortunately, we experienced that when we had a lax HOA board.

[bettyandbob]

My HOA has never checked the length of my grass. That would be annoying. Like I said you need to know the reputation of the particular HOA before you purchase. Ours is very well run.

[Ottakee]

Sorry to hear that. We are rural and want to stay that way. There are a few areas here in our rural area that have some HOA rules---nothing like pool, nature areas, etc. just some rules.

 

My husband would have a fit if we lived in a place with an HOA. Then again we have 5 acres.

[LMD]

this boggles my mind. Not allowed to have a clothes line? Everyone here has them! Most people don't have a dryer at all (I don't!). That would make me very angry & I'd ask them if they'd prefer a makeshift removable one - or send them the electricity bill for forced dryer use.

Crazy...

[PrincessMommy]

doing research on an HOA can only go so far, sometimes they change.

 

We moved into an HOA community 2 years ago and I hate it.   Same kind of stuff too.  The one that gets me is that there's a rule that no moveable basketball hoops are to be left over night (no hoops attached to the house either).  It's in the bi-laws, but it seems like every other house has some kind of hoops.  Neighbors we talked to before we moved in said the HOA was really not intrusive and never bothered anyone.   That, and seeing toys in yards (also a no no overnight) was actually a selling point to us because it meant the neighborhood had KIDS.  One neighbor even had a pink flamingo and I was SO happy!! LOL.   We moved from an aging community to this one.   Now we have a new board, and I happened to go to the board meeting (don't get me started on why),  and discovered they're going to start sending out mailings to everyone with hoops that they have to move them either into the garage or to the backyard overnight.   I got a mailing this summer because I left my trash can on the curb overnight - the night my grandson was born, btw.  One time and they send out annoying letters wagging their finger at me to put my trash can away.  Ugh.

 

To me an HOA is just another layer of gov't-style intrusion.

 

For 20 yrs we lived without an HOA.  Not one neighbor painted their house purple, had an abundance of gaudy lawn ornaments, or left decorations up all year.  I'd take gaudy decorations over an oppressive HOA any day.

 

Does anyone know of anyone who successfully changed their HOA to get rid of some of their stupid micromanaging type by-laws? 

 

 

[LMA]

Here is a place to start:http://daily.sightline.org/2012/02/21/clothesline-bans-void-in-19-states/

[PrincessMommy]

Here is a place to start:http://daily.sightline.org/2012/02/21/clothesline-bans-void-in-19-states/

 

that's great. 

[TechWife]

We live in a neighborhood with an HOA. We have to have one because of common land and the recreation center. We also have a no clothesline rule. Swimming is very popular in our neighborhood & in the summer, we all throw our towels over the rails on our front porches to dry out. It looks very coastal and is very practical. The HOA has never had a problem with that. I also dry comforters that way during the summer rather than run the clothes dryer for two hours. No one has ever said anything about that either, although they don't take too long to dry in the sun & heat. 

 

I would much rather have a clothes line in my back yard so that I could dry all of my sheets and some of my clothes that way, though. I've thought about putting in an architectural request to add a retractable one just to see what they would say, but I've never gotten around to it. I think our HOA does a great job of managing the common areas and the rec. center. It sure is a job I wouldn't want to have. 

[Barb_]

In general, I like ours and think they do a good job. But yeah, depending on where you live they can be irritating. Sometimes you don't know what sets them off. I have a trampoline in my backyard that has been sitting in the same spot for 7 years. Seven! And I just got a letter that it's too close to the fence wall. It's three feet away and it's supposed to be five. Whatever. Weird. As it was, we're actually in compliance because the rule is actually five feet from the property line. We live on a corner, so our property line extends another ten feet on the other side of the fence. But why would they suddenly have a mind to hit me with such a petty thing? We have good neighbors who don't turn each other in. Who knows.

[GSOchristie]

I'm going to look up NC law, but knowing NC, they have elected to not make a law.  Generally, I'm very happy with what my HOA fees allow me to do, we have miles of paved walking trails throughout the woods surrounding our neighborhood, we have a super nice pool that has a baby pool with a fountain, we have lighted tennis courts, two playgrounds (one at the school and one next to the pool), a soccer field, horseshoe pit,  a community center that you can rent for free, they tastefully decorate seasonally, and they plan lots of age appropriate events for my kids.  That is why we chose this neighborhood.  

 

What I find funny is that my garage is an eyesore. I try, I really do, but we have tons of Nerf guns, swords, bikes, a wagon, a kayak, fishing junk, etc, that makes it look like Sanford and Son.  My son constantly leaves the door open when he goes out to ride his bike or play with his friends.  Maybe I could make a deal, we'll keep the garage door closed if you let us have a clothesline ;).

 

 

 

[GSOchristie]

Here is a place to start:http://daily.sightline.org/2012/02/21/clothesline-bans-void-in-19-states/

 

Okay, so according to this chart, we are a yellow dot, which means we have solar access laws.  So does this mean if I put the clothesline up and the HOA sends me a letter, I can tell them I legally have the right to have access to the sun's rays to dry my clothes?  Would you ask permission, or just roll with it if and when it comes up?

[TechWife]

Okay, so according to this chart, we are a yellow dot, which means we have solar access laws.  So does this mean if I put the clothesline up and the HOA sends me a letter, I can tell them I legally have the right to have access to the sun's rays to dry my clothes?  Would you ask permission, or just roll with it if and when it comes up?

I'd read the law carefully. In my state, a clothesline wouldn't fit the definition of what is allowed in the solar access law. 

 

I've thought of submitting a clothesline request and including this law of an example of how HOA covenants aren't meant to restrict eco-friendly practices, but I just haven't done it yet. We're hoping to do a small outdoor kitchen in a couple of years, maybe I'll put it on the plan for that and see what happens. 

[Berta]

My DH lived in a "planned community" with an HOA when I first met him. He was not allowed to hang towels on his deck and he had to special order the wooden swingset because the standard canvas cover came in three primary colors, which wasn't allowed. Only green was allowed. He got an exorbitant bill for FLOWERS. The ones that had been planted died and they had to replant them. This was in addition to his HOA fees. He also got a huge bill for snow removal because it snowed more than expected. He sold that house because I wouldn't move in with him after we got married. I absolutely refuse to live anywhere that has an HOA. There was also something that had to do with sewers and they were charging everyone almost 10k, paid over a certain amount of time. But that happened after he sold it.

 

I would definitely go with the right to access the sun's rays to dry your clothes.

 

 

[In The Great White North]

Here's the list:

 

http://daily.sightline.org/2012/02/21/clothesline-bans-void-in-19-states/

[Renthead Mommy]

In general, I like ours and think they do a good job. But yeah, depending on where you live they can be irritating. Sometimes you don't know what sets them off. I have a trampoline in my backyard that has been sitting in the same spot for 7 years. Seven! And I just got a letter that it's too close to the fence wall. It's three feet away and it's supposed to be five. Whatever. Weird. As it was, we're actually in compliance because the rule is actually five feet from the property line. We live on a corner, so our property line extends another ten feet on the other side of the fence. But why would they suddenly have a mind to hit me with such a petty thing? We have good neighbors who don't turn each other in. Who knows.

 

It probably was not your neighbors, but the 'inspectors'. In ours in Texas, the inspectors (they had some other title, but were usually refered to as Neighborhood Nazis) were retired guys who either never had any position of authority in there jobs, or had always been on power trips in there jobs.  That was why they became neighborhood inspectors, for the power.  

 

I was so happy to get out of that neighborhood it wasn't funny!  

[TechWife]

Okay, so according to this chart, we are a yellow dot, which means we have solar access laws.  So does this mean if I put the clothesline up and the HOA sends me a letter, I can tell them I legally have the right to have access to the sun's rays to dry my clothes?  Would you ask permission, or just roll with it if and when it comes up?

 

Not according to the way that I read it. In NC it says, "the installation of a solar collector that gathers solar radiation as a substitute for traditional energy for water heating, active space heating and cooling, passive heating, or generating electricity for a residential property." 

 

Since a clothesline does not gather solar radiation for any of those purposes, I think the HOA bans stand. 

 

If it were me, I'd ask permission & I plan to do so someday. I don't think there's anything gained by violating rules like this  instead of trying to address them up front. If they deny permission, you can then go to the HOA board & ask them to consider changing the policy. I think that they are more likely to listen to someone who is working within the system rather than someone who is bucking the system. I know others would disagree.

[Χά�ων]

Better to go ahead and do it then ask for permission and be denied.

 

I am anti HOA after our experience.

[PrincessMommy]

It probably was not your neighbors, but the 'inspectors'. In ours in Texas, the inspectors (they had some other title, but were usually refered to as Neighborhood Nazis) were retired guys who either never had any position of authority in there jobs, or had always been on power trips in there jobs.  That was why they became neighborhood inspectors, for the power.  

 

I was so happy to get out of that neighborhood it wasn't funny!  

 

I agree.  I think I saw our "neighborhood inspector" but then when the letter came it said "Someone complained"... ugh.  Seriously, I doubt if my neighbors cared about my trashcan.  I thought it was pretty underhanded to pit the neighbors against each other that way too.