A discussion on NextDoor has led to some great entertainment lately that also makes my blood boil sometimes.

The lake I live on has a gravity dam that has no gate or valve built in. It simply has a spillway to prevent flooding. Any sediment that finds its way to the water stays in the lake. So the lake is slowly filling up with muck. A lady posted about the the issue (her cove is very shallow apparently) and simply asked about what could be done.

I hardly ever post on there, but after a few useless posts that attacked the way the woman worded her question and did nothing to provide any info, I posted that essentially nothing can be done because no one is willing to pay for dredging. I know this because seven years ago, a proposal to charge a one time fee of $200 per property owner for dredging was voted down by the community.

Anyway, the posts that followed have been pissing me off.

People that don't live on the water think that only waterfront owners should pay. People that only use jon boats are't willing to pay because they don't need deep water. There are people that aren't willing to pay because the "HOA is just a bunch of pricks that are using all the money to line their own pockets".

One guy totally went off topic and basically said the lake needs to have HP and size restrictions because he can't boat safely. I had to respond with "Let me guess, any boat more powerful or bigger than yours is too big" . He responded with a bunch of safety BS and how he can't even go out on the lake because his boat will get swamped and capsize. Later on he basically admitted that, yeah, anything bigger than his 8hp jon boat should be banned (on a lake where the average boat is 20-22' with a 200hp engine.


What really pisses me off is that, these people knew what they were buying into when the moved here. The yearly dues are no secret and one visit to the lake and you can tell what type of boating takes place here. These people want to either have the lake life and not pay for it or come in and change everything to the way they want it.

Our dues are cheap for the benefits. We pay less than a grand a year and have manned, gated access to the community, a private police force (not security, but actual police), a full time maintenance staff, a full time HOA staff, several play grounds, three convenience centers for campers, two beaches, a clubhouse, a lake side pavilion, and miles of infrastructure. I can't believe that there are owners here that think we pay too much. I think its a bargain.

And it's so incredibly shortsighted of these people since the ONLY reason there is a community at all is the lake. There is no other reason people would be willing to live 45 minutes from town to be in this place if there were no lake here. If the lake gets to the point where people can't get boats in and out of the water, the property values will plummet (there are already few houses that are advertised as kayak access only and are literally 1/2 the value of the their neighbors house that has boat access). EVERYONE benefits from the lake being a viable recreational asset whether they use it or not. I can't get over how people can't see that a little bit of money now can prevent major ($$$$) problems in the future.

My personal opinion is that if you can't afford to maintain the place, GTFO. It's like buying a high end luxury car and never doing any maintenance, then complaining that your 5 year old luxury car is an unreliable piece of crap.


First world problems, I know, but still...

That sucks. $200 per person is a drop in the bucket to have a lake dredged. Perhaps figure out a way for it to go for a vote again citing some sort of environmental or drainage issue or anything. The economy is doing a lot better than it was 7 years ago, so perhaps people won't be so stingy.

quote:

My personal opinion is that if you can't afford to maintain the place, GTFO. It's like buying a high end luxury car and never doing any maintenance, then complaining that your 5 year old luxury car is an unreliable piece of crap.


First world problems, I know, but still...

No they are everday problems with people. Sounds like NEXTDOOR forum needs a moderator to keep things in line! You could volunteer...LOL

So the OP here doesn't like it that others don't share his priorities and views. Guess that's what this part of the forum is for. Its just good to remember that we don't all have he same views. On tax or assessment questions, its OK to have your own views and protect your bank balance.

I personally vote against almost all such things, looking at the past performance and realize most don't pay the returns I would want.

The platform is similar to city politics. If you wouldn't or couldn't spend your own money on the project, just spend others funds. Its easy when you're not spending your own money. Its not real money, its only tax dollars being blown.

quote:

Originally posted by rburg:
So the OP here doesn't like it that others don't share his priorities and views. Guess that's what this part of the forum is for. Its just good to remember that we don't all have he same views. On tax or assessment questions, its OK to have your own views and protect your bank balance.

I personally vote against almost all such things, looking at the past performance and realize most don't pay the returns I would want.

The platform is similar to city politics. If you wouldn't or couldn't spend your own money on the project, just spend others funds. Its easy when you're not spending your own money. Its not real money, its only tax dollars being blown.

If the community was sold with a navigable lake (by boats) and is in an HOA, then the lake should be maintained so that it is always navigable. The entire property should be maintained in the same condition it was origionally sold in.

HOA you say? I could write a best seller book on the experiences I have had with mine.

Now they want to charge me for receiving the HOA mailings. In the past, they would sometimes forget to sent me meeting notices, etc so it was voted to have all mailings certified.

I mean, I'll pay my $200, but only if we don't allow any boats of any type...

$200 is a bargain.

A buddy of mine just got hit with a $1,000 assessment because his subdivision needed to excavate the existing retention pond due to sediment build up.

Our HOA dissolved, the city took over the maintenance of the tiny parks and grass...we were all assessed like $2k!! At least it is a one-time only thing, no dues but the HOA was only like $120/year.

This is just a regular suburb way outside of the city, no lake! People suck, the $200 should be no big deal and should have been written into the HOA bylaws or planned for as a routine thing to be done every X number of years.

I'd buy a 1/2 price "kayak" house and hope it gets dredged before I want to move and sell for a big 'ol profit. Worse case, sweet half-price house will full price view!

I love Next Door just because on any given post about any subject it usually turns into mid slinging and name calling with 3 comments and they goes wildly off topic.

As far as the lake...I would agree, as someone who grew on on a lake, that $200 is nothing and if people weren't so short sighted they would see that it the lake ends up all mucked up and areas become unnavigable they it will eventually take its toll on property values and then no one wins.

The HOA board of directors can't assess $200 per property? Have to hold a property owners vote? Wow.

quote:

Originally posted by cne32507:
The HOA board of directors can't assess $200 per property? Have to hold a property owners vote? Wow.

With the way our bylaws work, this cannot be done. Any property owner can submit a ballot initiative during the annual vote if they have the minimum number if signatures. In response to the dredging proposal a few years ago, someone proposed a max increase in dues at 5% a year. This passed and has made any major expenditure harder to fit in the budget.

People are cheap, petty, and only care about themselves. Any doubt, take a routine drive some place or better yet go out in public where lots of them are afoot.

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine:
People are cheap, petty, and only care about themselves. Any doubt, take a routine drive some place or better yet go out in public where lots of them are afoot.

Well said.

quote:

Originally posted by Kevmo:
I love Next Door just because on any given post about any subject it usually turns into mid slinging and name calling with 3 comments and they goes wildly off topic.

My Next Door group is entertaining because we have a new neighbor who is bat shit crazy.

She recently started a thread complaining that the police were “refusing” to undertake an investigation into the theft of her purse - that she’d left unattended in her shopping cart while she walked around the store looking for something.

Once upon a time, there was a lifeboat upon the ocean, and many people sitting upon seats in the boat.

People had drills and were drilling holes.

Some drilled holes under their own seats, and other drilled holes under the seats of others, while all argued about the drilling that was going on and what was ethical, moral, right or wrong.

The sharks did not give a shit.

The End.


-bedtimestorymonkey

I suggest to the OP that he start a petition drive for an initiative to change the name of ________ Lake to __________ Meadow.

From what I read, the average homeowner in this enclave might not get the point. Funny though.

At a board meeting years ago, someone made the point of calling it the Royale Mudflats, instead of Lake Royale

No lake here but I do live in a HOA community. Recent hail storm did about $400,000 damage to roofing. HOA insurance policy has a deductible equivalent to $2300 per household, so there will be assessments to cover that.

Typical property value is $350K, and you would think that the owners would suck it up. But no, screaming and crying and finger-pointing like it was the end of the world.

Personally, I carry insurance coverage for HOA assessments. $500 deductible and my insurance company will pick up the rest. For 3 years when I served on the HOA board I repeatedly recommended such coverage to the other homeowners, but apparently many of them paid no attention. It costs me about $30 per year for that coverage.

Other peoples' children. I refuse to accept responsibility for them.