So you come home one day to find that the slope at the back of your yard has begun to slough off into the pond behind your property. You call your homeowners association, which is supposed to handle such disasters, but they do nothing because the pond in question still technically belongs to the developers, who also do nothing. Meanwhile, that slope become more and more like a precipice while the two possible responsible parties do everything but take responsibility. [More]
hoas
HOA Decides Not To Sue Man Over Controversial Christmas Display With Hundreds Of Lights, Live Camel
By 11.25.15
The Christmas show will go on this year at the home of one Idaho man who takes a next-level approach to the holiday: his local homeowner’s association has decided it won’t sue him over his display, which in the past included hundreds of lights, a live camel, carolers and of course, Santa Claus. [More]
HOA Sues Homeowner For Parking Pickup Truck In His Driveway
By 1.19.15
What is a passenger vehicle? Is an extended-cab pickup truck a commercial vehicle, or a passenger vehicle? A man and his homeowners association in upstate New York disagree on this point, with the HOA suing the truck owner in county court, seeking an injunction to force him to stop parking his truck in his own driveway. [More]
The Whos Down In California Whoville Are Mad At Grinchy County That Hates Christmas Lights
By 12.4.13
How’s a person supposed to get into the holiday spirit with Grinches running around putting the kibosh on warm, wonderful and glowing Christmas lights? Well in an Orange County suburb, those so-called meanies are worried not about the strands adorning a particular home, but the strings of lights stretching across neighborhood streets, potentially creating fire hazards and roadway traps for emergency vehicles. [More]
Publicity From Kentucky Case Prompts Lots Of People To Pay Their HOA Dues
By 12.4.13
If there’s any good that has come from the case in Lexington, Kentucky where a woman lost her home over unpaid homeowners’ association dues, it’s this: according to a local attorney who represents HOAs, a lot of people heard about the case and hurried to pay their back dues. [More]
Woman Doesn’t Join HOA, So It Seizes And Sells Her House
By 11.15.13
If I’ve learned anything from this site over the years, it’s that homeowners’ associations are evil and to be avoided. Sometimes you don’t have a choice, though: the home of your dreams or basic neighborhood amenities require it. And sometimes, as one Kentucky woman discovered, not joining the HOA means you can lose your house. [More]
HOA Bans Just About Everything Fun A Kid Might Do Outside
By 3.18.13
Apparently going by the notion that the best way to keep a child from getting run over while playing outside is to keep the kids from going outside, a homeowners association in Boca Raton, FL, has decided to ban just about any fun activity a child might enjoy in the complex’s shared areas. [More]
How A Homeowners Association Went Bankrupt Because Of One Obama Yard Sign
By 2.11.13
Back in 2008, a couple in Olde Fairhaven, Virginia put up a sign in their lawn showing their support for a presidential candidate. This simple action led to a feud that has raged for years and cost the neighborhood homeowners association hundreds of thousands of dollars. Now the HOA is broke, and the central “town square” that turns a clump of townhouses into something resembling a community is up for sale. [More]
HOA Installs Radar, Issues Speeding Tickets
By 11.5.12
With no one but themselves to police the speed limits of their gated a community, a homeowners association in Colorado has set up a radar system and begun issuing tickets to speeders. [More]
NJ Supreme Court: HOA Can’t Tell You To Remove Political Signs From House
By 6.13.12
As you may have heard, it’s a presidential election year, which means homeowners associations all around the country will be removing — and fining people for — political signs placed in residents’ front yards and windows. But the people of New Jersey are now free to announce their favorite candidates without fear of reprisal. [More]
9 Examples Why You May Want To Avoid Homeowners Associations Like The Plague
By 5.15.12
We watch a lot of real estate shows here at Consumerist HQ, especially the many variations on the “show three places and pretend to pick the one that you’re already in escrow on.” And while home buyers always remember to ask, “Are there HOA fees?”, they don’t ask the more important questions, like “Why in the world am I buying a place with an HOA?” [More]
HOAs Feeling The Financial Sting Of Abandoned Houses
By 7.8.11
With a sea of homes left empty by erstwhile homeowners who couldn’t afford the mortgage, a number of homeowner associations around the country have are stuck having to pay for the upkeep on vacant properties lest the value of the remaining homes be harmed any further. [More]
HOA Board Member Says They're Not All Money Grubbing Scumbags
By 7.1.10
Yesterday we wrote about how in Texas, there’s been a bit of a spree of homeowner’s associations (HOAs) foreclosing on people’s houses over just a few hundred in late dues, then selling the house to themselves and turning it around for a juicy profit. And now, the other side of the story. Robert is an HOA board member in Texas and while his association does sometimes foreclose in order to collect, there’s more to the situation than meets the eye. Here’s his take: [More]
HOAs Foreclose On Homes Over $500 In Late Dues Then Flip For Personal Profit
By 6.30.10
In Texas, Homeowner’s Associations (HOAs) are on a foreclosing spree, selling members’ homes on the courthouse steps for just a few thousand dollars simply because they are a few hundred dollars behind on their homeowner’s dues. Sometimes they’re even selling it to HOA board members, who turn around and sell the house for half of what it’s worth, netting a tidy profit. [More]
Man May Lose Home Over Refusal To Pay Dog-Walking Fine
By 4.20.09
A Florida man who won’t walk his dog on a leash now seems set to lose his $380,000 home, all because he refuses to pay a $1,000 ‘leash violation’ fine to his Homeowners Association. And he’s ready to kill over it.
