We've lived in our current house for 10 years, and have had several issues with our HOA so far. These mainly involved receiving warning letters for infractions that never occurred, like parking a trailer in our driveway when we don't even own a trailer, or storing our trash can in an unapproved location, except the spot was fine according to the rules.

I've bitched about it in a few forum threads about HOAs over the years. Luckily, it had been several years since our last bullshit interaction with them, and things had been calm for a while. Until recently, that is.

A little while back, we received a warning letter from the HOA stating that we had 10 days to repaint the trim on our house (which looks fine), and to remove any shrubs in our front flower beds that obscured the view of the house (i.e. all of them), otherwise we would be fined.

In talking with a few neighbors, they all received similar threatening letters from the HOA, with similarly out-of-left-field infractions listed, although their infractions were different. Some of us approached one of the board members to inquire about the letters, and the response was "What letters?" with a confused look.

Once they looked into it, it turns out the HOA President (a stereotypical old retired nosy lady) had taken it upon herself to roam through the neighborhood, note anything she didn't like on various houses, draft up these threatening letters with the HOA name and board member's names, and send them out. All without the knowledge of the rest of the HOA Board.

Needless to say, she was forced off the Board. Which left a vacancy.

So as much bitching as I do about the HOA, I decided it was time to nut up or shut up, and submitted my name to be included on the ballot for the vacant board position. I was just informed that the spot is mine.

Hopefully, as part of the HOA Board, I can try to counteract any more bullshit, and help ensure things are handled in a more neighborly way than dreaming up infractions and sending out threatening letters.

And if not, we plan on moving out into the county in 5-10 years anyway.

Sell out!

good for you. Be the voice of reason.

Good luck. I lived in my neighborhood for 16 years and got very frustrated with the HOA so I ran for a position on the board and won. I only lasted one year before I resigned as I became frustrated with both the people in the community and the rest of the board.

It is absurd how some people try to make life hell for the board members by always making absurd requests and I also was frustrated by how the board was way too stringent on how they interpreted rules.

I still hate the HOA as I will get a certified mail notice that cost $7 to warn me about my trash can left in view one day after trash day when I was out of town. They make me pay the $7 plus a $10 fine. My next home will never have an HOA.

Excellent... Let the purges begin. Time to take a page from the Stalin memes in the other thread.

Everybody should be on their HOA board of directors (BoD) once and nobody should be on their HOA BoD twice.

The OP's HOA BoD story is much like mine. When I moved into Alaska, it was the first neighborhood I had ever lived in with a HOA. I moved in with the ground covered in that vile white crap and it was -7F out (my pen froze checking off boxes as the movers brought them past me). I had zero clue what my landscaping in front of the house was supposed to be desirable and what was a weed. On a Saturday in early summer, I hired my coworker's daughter (college student who needed money and more importantly had lived in Alaska all of her life) to weed it and told her I wouldn't 2nd guess anything she determined was a weed and pulled out. On Monday, a warning letter from the HOA BoD arrived and was full of threats if I did not rectify my landscaping in front of the house. I threw it in the trash as the situation was already handled. I went out of town for 2 weeks and color me surprised to return to a bunch of weeds in the same landscaping (19.5 hours of daylight between sunrise and sunset makes vegetation grow astoundingly fast). I open the mail and there is another letter from the HOA BoD with a $50 fine for not addressing the issue in their warning letter. I removed everything except the 4 rose bushes, installed a commercial grade weed barrier, replanted known landscaping, and mulched it. Never heard a peep from them the rest of the brief summer.

The next spring, my doorbell rings just as I walk-in from grilling dinner on my back deck. I open the front door and a member of the HOA BoD is standing on my door step and proceeds to layout a case that the HOA BoD is 4/5 busybodies on a power trip and they put out more fines per year than the first 4 years of the neighborhood's existence combined. Additionally, one member does a daily walk with a clipboard looking for every ticky tack thing she can find, she opens people's gates and looks in backyards for infractions, and worse of all herself and one other HOA BoD officer violate the very things they fine others for and haven't been fined. In his hand, he is holding a petition to recall the entire HOA BoD including himself (IMO, that gave him a lot of credibility). He asked me a little about my background and after a few minutes asked if I'd be willing to run if we can recall the existing HOA BoD. I said that I'd have to think about it.

The next weekend, my doorbell rings again and it's a woman who looks like a grandma. She proceeds to go on and on about how her good name has been tarnished by lies. I ask her a few questions and she leaves no doubts that she's the one going on the walks with a clipboard and opening people's gates to go in their backyard. Additionally, she just exudes the busybody on a power trip vibe just as the guy the weekend before had said. I politely ask her to leave, and I go find the business card the guy the weekend before left and ask him to put me on the ballot if we can successfully recall the HOA BoD. Further, I told him my campaign slogan is "I'm too busy to look in your backyard."

A few weeks later, I'm on a business trip to Houston and find out I'm elected to the HOA BoD. We managed to recall 4 out of 5 (including the guy who started it all and requested we recall him too), and 3 out of the 4 recalled proceed to be a thorn in our side right up until the day I sold and moved to Can-eh-duh. They submitted hundreds of anonymous complaints to the HOA mgmt company, and they showed up to every HOA BoD meeting and accused us of neglect and worse. The reasons we recalled them were just the tip of the iceberg. For example, HOA bylaws required sheds to be preapproved by HOA BoD and to be made from wood siding. One homeowner bought a plastic shed from a big box store and they started the faceless campaign of letters, fines, late fees, and attorney fees. The homeowner actually enclosed the plastic shed in wood and paid the $12,000 in fines, late fees, and attorney fees. Another example, an airline pilot who was constantly gone on flights to Asia and Lower 48 racked up $7500 in fines, late fees, and attorney fees for a minor landscaping issue. Even worse, the HOA BoD attorney had informed them that they had violated Alaska HOA state laws in the manner they handled the hearing the homeowner had requested. We settled with him and paid the uncollectable legal fees out of the general fund (i.e. all 63 homeowners had to split the legal costs the out of control HOA BoD had racked up while violating Alaska HOA state laws).

That busybody power tripping HOA BoD had destroyed any sense of being neighbors and a community. We put in place a campaign of restoring a sense of community with an annual neighborhood block party in a cul-d-sac, an annual neighborhood Christmas party, moved the BoD meeting from the management company's office on the other side of town to a HOA BoD member's house so it'd be convenient, having a neighbor nominated contest for best looking yard (quite a contrast to looking for opportunities to fine), etc. Additionally, zero letters were written without (1) one of us first stopping by in person and discussing issue like neighbors and (2) if that didn't work a letter was only sent if 3/5 HOA BoD members agreed to it (that really stifled the one holdover we weren't able to recall). One of the new HOA BoD members was in ministry and he had a gift in interacting with people in a positive manner which greatly aided restoring a sense of community and being neighbors.

When the regularly scheduled election occurred the recalled HOA BoD went house to house and lied their ass off passing off their misdeeds as ours. They desperately wanted back on the HOA BoD and took a few plays out of the Democrat playbook. 4 of us were re-elected and we were able to get rid of the one carryover that wasn't recalled. Myself and one other knew we were moving out of state in the next year so we started looking for replacements for ourselves in hopes of keeping the good thing going and try to prevent new or old power hungry busybodies from getting back on the HOA BoD. The neighbor who had paid the $12,000 in fines, late fees, and attorney fees for the plastic shed replaced me when I moved to Can-eh-duh and believe me she was extremely motivated to keep a neighborly HOA BoD in place and keep restoring a sense of community.

One of my co-workers is submitting his resignation for the HOA president position this week.

He said he had people knocking on his door at night and waiting in the driveway in the morning for demands that included painting light posts different colors and immediate mold remediation on the neighbors siding.

You are a brave man.

However, i think a person could be fairly succesful at it by setting themselves up for success (e.g. quick and to the point meeting agendas, separate email account for complaints and concerns, proper distribution of bylaws and HOA rules, etc.)

If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em!

quote:

Originally posted by maxxpower:
One of my co-workers is submitting his resignation for the HOA president position this week.

He said he had people knocking on his door at night and waiting in the driveway in the morning for demands that included painting light posts different colors and immediate mold remediation on the neighbors siding.

You are a brave man.

However, i think a person could be fairly succesful at it by setting themselves up for success (e.g. quick and to the point meeting agendas, separate email account for complaints and concerns, proper distribution of bylaws and HOA rules, etc.)

I was President of the HOA in my last neighborhood and pretty much had to move to get out of it. I was "elected" at turnover from the developer because I was the one that had fought the developer and called the out on many of the lies they told residents while we were under construction.

I had told all the residents that we would be different and not be like the HOA's you hear horror stories about which is easier said than done when you have people that refuse to speak to their neighbors and use the HOA like their private police force and then there are those that feel just because they attend meetings and are active in the community that rules do not apply to them.

Making the HOA great again.

You will be absorbed.

I served two years on our HOA, it was a tough two years dealing with some serious issues that had been let go. I was the outsider non-LDS (very LDS town) and from the East, it helped to get things done that I wasn't a "local".

I enjoyed my time, we did a lot of good but will never serve again.

My wife is currently serving as president of the board. Our neighborhood is small but it still takes up a ridiculous amount of her time. The biggest issue we have is getting people to mow their yard. It’s unbelievable how lazy people are. Do you really have to be threatened with fines and liens before you’ll get off you’re lazy worthless ass and mow the 3 feet high grass in you’re yard? And of course, the worst offenders are also the ones who are perpetually late paying their dues.

I have served on the board of two different HOA's in my lifetime. God bless you for doing this, but get ready for one of the most thankless jobs you will ever do.



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good for you

hopefully they will benefit from / appreciate your 'common sense' approach

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i was Treasurer of my HOA... and if you want my advice, institute a strict rule that you WILL NOT engage any homeowner on any issue except in writing or e-mail.

I used to say "When I'm out walking the dogs or washing my car, I'm not in a position to give you the attention you deserve. I won't speak to you about this issue now, but write a note or send me an e-mail and I will bring your issue to the Board personally."

Doesn't work 100% of the time. But if someone won't leave you alone, tell them that "if you persist, I doubt this will come up in front of the Board until such time as we get something from you in writing."

Learn to walk away...

I got suckered into helping out on the "maintenance committee", and now I am president. It really is an eye opening experience. Our HOA was formed/rules written in 1970 and is super easy. Dues are $25 per year, and the only real restrictions are you can't put up privacy fences, limit of 1 out building/garage and no lot splitting (we have 2 acre minimums per county building code), even if you maintain the 2 acre minimum.

The biggest PITA is filling out the forms for the title company when a house turns over. This must be don't every single time a sale happens. They ask for meeting minutes, budgets, etc... It's not hard to do, but it seems a few houses sell every month and I have enough crap to do.

I found out the reason some people are so strict about enforcing the rules are, once you let something slip, or approve a variance, you can no longer enforce that aspect of the covenants. For example, say you have a covenant for no basketball hoops. Someone installs a hoop and the HOA doesn't do anything about it. You can now not enforce the rules on anyone, and basketball hoops are now allowed going forward. Silly example, but you get the point.

We find that most people do whatever they want and don't notify the board for things they should...even if they will be approved. It's either ignorance of the rules, or they simply don't care.

My term is up in March, and I am resigning whether or not they have a replacement. I have far too many other volunteer things going on in my life to worry about the HOA.

I’m fortunate to reside in a condo with a reasonable and efficient HOA. The management company is good too. I served several years as treasurer, then declined to run for another term – figuring it was time for someone else to do the work.

But a few months ago I decided to join the board again, because only three candidates had agreed to run for the five board positions. It is a thankless job.

If you have annual meetings with all HOA members invited, you'll soon find out that the same people like to talk at these things, I swear they like the sound of their own voices.

I quit going.

Good for you. I served a term on our HOA. We were reasonable and I think we left the neighborhood in better condition.