Are all HOA's/Parking Companies assholes? (Link)

[Fabricated]

http://www.parkingenforcementforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3

Short version: Guy moves into area, HOA takes over a year later, hires some company to boot people's vehicles if they don't have passes/illegally park.

Guy parks his Audi and forgets his pass after a year of not forgetting it, his car gets booted. The car was going up on blocks to receive a lot of work anyway (meaning he wasn't gonna drive it for a while) and he hates the HOA/Parking Company so he grabs some dollies and rolls the car into his garage. He calls the parking company and tells them the car is in his garage in case they want their boots (this company also has your car towed in 72 hours if you don't pay $140 to remove the boots...since it's now on his private property they cannot tow the car).

He never says at any point he isn't going to pay them, but tells them they are free to enter his garage to take their boots. Fury results, battle ensues.

[schild]

Hah. I thought he was in Tempe. You can tell by the houses and the garage style. Yea, HOAs in AZ are total clownshoes.

[Abagadro]

The problem isn't necessarily the HOA but the towing/parking company. And yes, every towing/parking company is a den of assholes.

[bhodi]

That is a great thread. I am awaiting updates.

I fucking hate HOAs and lot enforcement.

[Merusk]

HOAs are every nightmare of politics and high school petty cliques magnified 100x.  We regard it is a form of punishment for the company members who have to sit on them while we build-out an area.  Every petty argument, every tiny detail you've ever hated about groups of people comes out and you're forced to sit there and listen to it. For HOURS.

Yes, they suck.  Yes, it sucks horribly if you get one forced on you, but he should have gone to the setup meetings.    Like Abo said, though, the problem here, however, isn't the HoA it's the towing company that just found a nice new school of fish to troll. 

[stu]

So, the owners of the wheel boots also owned the parking spaces? Uhhhhh...

My buddy turned to me as we where walking out to my car (a car APS does not know about) tonight after the second post tonight, to go to the gym, and says,"Man, look @ all these poor people, they all have to suffer because of what your trying to do."

How much for the movie rights? teehee

[Oban]

I read the original vwvortex thread over the weekend and spent about an hour reading all of the comments, good times.

[Stormwaltz]

*raise hand*

What does HOA stand for?

[Abagadro]

Homeowners Association.

[Merusk]

So, the owners of the wheel boots also owned the parking spaces? Uhhhhh...

My buddy turned to me as we where walking out to my car (a car APS does not know about) tonight after the second post tonight, to go to the gym, and says,"Man, look @ all these poor people, they all have to suffer because of what your trying to do."

It's a gated townhouse community. He owns nothing beyond the unit itself, everything else is communal property owned by the HOA. It's certainly possible they could have bought them from the HOA, but I'd expect that's not the case.  It sounds more like the weasely parking company is trying to intimidate him.

As to his claims that "The HOA was forced on me."  He's a tool and didn't read his contract and/ or deed restrictions when he bought. I have yet to see a place with communal property that didn't have an HOA, because SOMEONE has to maintain all that landscaping, land and the gates he paid to live behind. It's certainly not going to be the developer or builder after the units are all sold.  More likely a year after he moved in D.R. Horton left and put things entirely in the hands of the homeowners, at which point the fees kicked-in. That's the way the last 3 companies I worked at have done things, so it seems to be pretty standard.

[Chimpy]

He needs a visit from Angle-Grinder Man!

[Selby]

I lived in an apartment complex when I first moved out here that was the exact mirror image of that place.  Except no boots, they TOWED your car and it was a $350 fee to get it out (8AM-5PM, M-F and some reduced hours on Saturday yet they towed 24-7).  Park over\on the line?  Towed.  Park in the same spot for more than 2 days?  Towed.   300 unit complex, 35 parking spots that weren't garages.  I will never live in another hellhole and go through that shit again.

[Stormwaltz]

Homeowners Association.

Ah, thanks.

[Ookii]

He needs a visit from Angle-Grinder Man!

That would be illegal so he didn't do it.  I suggest reading the whole thing, it's awesome.  Too bad it's not over yet, I want to know the thrilling conclusion.

[Rendakor]

This was a very entertaining read. Sadly I'm probably going to lose interest/forget before we get a resolution.

[Fordel]

I don't understand how this is even legal. Well I "understand", but not really.


So much cockmongery.

[WayAbvPar]

I tried to read the thread, but the grammar snake spit venom in my eyes before I could finish the OP.

[Rasix]

I wish my HOA had some sort of parking enforcement capability other than sending you a mean letter.

Typically there's one of my redneck neighbors' trucks sitting in front of my house 24/7.  Last week half of my driveway was blocked by a neighbor's car for the better part of a day  Luckily it was only blocking my car and it was almost far enough over to block someone visiting and parking in my driveway.   All of these houses have 2 car garages and driveways and yet there's always cars parked in the street.  There's one hispanic family that even tends to have cars parked halfway into their front yard.  Classy! There's a decent number of renters, so I imagine most garages are being used completely as storage space or for weight benches. 

But again, all you get are nasty letters,  and I tend to get the letters for my neighbor's parking transgressions in front of my property.  You get the same letter if you've got too many weeds in your front lawn or forget to take in your trashcan after pickup.  I think there might actually be action taken if people had their vehicles up on blocks sitting in their driveway or front yard, but this isn't Marana.. so we don't have that problem.  Yet.

[HaemishM]

HOA's can suck my left nut. I fucking hate those little groups of tinpot dictators with a passion. Fuck them in their tiny, puckered, overly manicured little assholes.

[Yegolev]

I was booted once and I took it off with a pair of pliers.  Kids today have no motivation.

[Merusk]

I wish my HOA had some sort of parking enforcement capability other than sending you a mean letter.

Typically there's one of my redneck neighbors' trucks sitting in front of my house 24/7.  Last week half of my driveway was blocked by a neighbor's car for the better part of a day  Luckily it was only blocking my car and it was almost far enough over to block someone visiting and parking in my driveway.   All of these houses have 2 car garages and driveways and yet there's always cars parked in the street.  There's one hispanic family that even tends to have cars parked halfway into their front yard.  Classy! There's a decent number of renters, so I imagine most garages are being used completely as storage space or for weight benches. 

You can have them towed if they're blocking your driveway.  Curb cuts are nono-land for parking.  Call the cops, car is gone if it's still there when they drive by.  I had to do this several times when I lived near XU and the basketball fans decided my apartment didn't REALLY need to leave anytime that night.  Nothing's funnier than seeing 2 drunken college kids try to argue a cop out of towing dad's car.

Other than that, yeah, the HoA can only file leins and send nasty letters because it's a public road if you're in a traditional subdivision.

HOA's can suck my left nut. I fucking hate those little groups of tinpot dictators with a passion. Fuck them in their tiny, puckered, overly manicured little assholes.

For every tinpot dictator you have 5-25 (depending on subdivision size) self-righteous asshats who have decided that despite knowing the rules when they bought the house, they shouldn't apply to them.  OR 3-5 guys who decide that every rule must be scrutinized or added-to or further defined and so take up 2-3 hours of every meeting.  "I'm never going to actually Install a basketball hoop, but do they REALLY have to be clear plastic and wall mounted?  Can't we set them near the road and have any style backboard and any number we choose?  Here's my 2-hour presentation on why this is a good idea..."   

The worst offenders actually aren't on the HOA board.  They're the housewives and retierees who circle the subdivision looking for ANY infraction no matter how minor and write nasty letters to the HOA board or show-up at the next meeting with their log/ photo journal.

[Nija]

Rasix, try talking to your neighbors.

HOAs suck. Then again I'm the guy with all the cars.

But now I have parking for 6, including 2 in the garage, so ALL YA'LL CAN JUST FUCK RIGHT OFF.

[Daeven]

*raise hand*

What does HOA stand for?

Clueless Totalitarian Fuckwits. Don't worry about the letters not matching. They're silent.

[murdoc]

The worst offenders actually aren't on the HOA board.  They're the housewives and retierees who circle the subdivision looking for ANY infraction no matter how minor and write nasty letters to the HOA board or show-up at the next meeting with their log/ photo journal.

When I had a condo, I got on the condo board for a little while and this was SOOO much worse than the petty bickering and attempted dictatorships of the board.

[Merusk]

Clueless Totalitarian Fuckwits. Don't worry about the letters not matching. They're silent.

 

[HaemishM]

*raise hand*

What does HOA stand for?

Clueless Totalitarian Fuckwits. Don't worry about the letters not matching. They're silent.

Well-played geek. Well-played.

[Sky]

I thought they were Witless Totalitarian Fuckwits.

[Jimbo]

Has anyone bought a piece of land/house with a HOA and gotten out of the HOA?  I'm not quite sure how that works, you can buy the land and you have to belong to all the others in the group?  I don't quite understand how that works, if someone wants to buy the property and do what he wants, no big deal, as long as it is within the zoning laws it shouldn't matter.  Sounds like some people have a hard on for power.  Plus how would you remove yourself from a group if you didn't like them and didn't want to move after you bought a house?

[Abagadro]

HOA's are usually based upon what are called Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions that are filed as a document of record against the property, often times as part of the original deed selling the property out of the development phase. You can't get around a deed restriction as the law allows "benefited parcels", i.e. the other properties in the development, to enforce the restrictions in the CC&R. CC&R's in planned developments or condo associations or that type of thing are usually set up by the developer and attached to every deed to the property that is sold.  That's how it works in Utah anyways and it is either that or similar elsewhere. The only way to get rid of them is by a specific mechanism set forth in the CC&R itself or by having a unanimous vote by all co-benefited parcels.

[rattran]

When I was living in the west suburbs of Chicago, all my neighbors (townhouse complex built in the early 70s, each unit had 2 parking spots included in the deed) decided to set up a HOA. We refused to join and had great fun until we moved mocking all the rest of the neighbors. They kept making stupid rules, and upping the fees every 6 months. It was amusing getting notes about all the new rules we were violating.
They banned trailers in the parking lot, charcoal grilles, bicycles in the back yards, chainlink fence, and gas forges before we finally sold and moved.

Good times.

[Merusk]

HOA's are usually based upon what are called Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions that are filed as a document of record against the property, often times as part of the original deed selling the property out of the development phase. You can't get around a deed restriction as the law allows "benefited parcels", i.e. the other properties in the development, to enforce the restrictions in the CC&R. CC&R's in planned developments or condo associations or that type of thing are usually set up by the developer and attached to every deed to the property that is sold.  That's how it works in Utah anyways and it is either that or similar elsewhere. The only way to get rid of them is by a specific mechanism set forth in the CC&R itself or by having a unanimous vote by all co-benefited parcels.

This is the way it works in Ohio and Kentucky as well.

I'm not sure how things work out in an after-the-fact situation like Rattran's describing but if you're buying a new home from a developer these days, chances are around 100% that you've got CCRs on the lot.  You can choose to 'ignore' the HOA that's set up and not pay fees, but they in turn can file liens that mean you're not selling your house until you pay up.  Alternatively they may just ignore that you're not paying and  deny you access to the facilities in the development.  Depends on how much of a problem you're being, I suppose.

If you want to avoid HOAs, be sure to read all of your docs.. and I mean ALL of them when buying a property.  If you're buying a newly built home, make sure to ask about CCRs and read all the crap they give you.  Some - like mine - only  restrict the size or placement of outbuildings.  Some (usually really high-end developments) go as far as to limit the plants you can have, the color of your house and the hours you can park outside of your garage.

[Salamok]

HOA's are usually based upon what are called Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions that are filed as a document of record against the property, often times as part of the original deed selling the property out of the development phase. You can't get around a deed restriction as the law allows "benefited parcels", i.e. the other properties in the development, to enforce the restrictions in the CC&R. CC&R's in planned developments or condo associations or that type of thing are usually set up by the developer and attached to every deed to the property that is sold.  That's how it works in Utah anyways and it is either that or similar elsewhere. The only way to get rid of them is by a specific mechanism set forth in the CC&R itself or by having a unanimous vote by all co-benefited parcels.

Or if the the contents of the CC&R are illegal, it's amazing what kind of crap can get attached to some of these older deeds (for example there are a lot of race based restrictions floating around on some of these 100+ year old deeds).  Title companies seem to have a very streamlined way to remedy the illegal items with minimal effort, not sure if the same methods could be used to remedy non-illegal items though.

[Abagadro]

No they can't. The illegal ones can be removed because they have been deemed to violate the law, usually fair housing statutes or even the Constitution. Non-illegal ones are almost impossible to get off without the consent of the other benefited parcels.

[FatuousTwat]

80% of mine are Jehovah's Witness, and they have been trying to get us out of here for years...

They will bring up some arcane rule and try to fine us, and we reply with pictures of 3 other people in the neighborhood doing the exact same thing.