restrictive covenants

[Slinkytoys]

You can't really trust your real estate agent to know all the rules and regulations. I have to live on land that I can raise my show dogs and cats and horses etc.... Real estate agents have never been correct about zoning issues. I've made it my job to look up everything, that way all I have to blame is myself. I live where many many people are illegal with their properties and amount of animals. That is their problem, I made sure that I am legal----I sleep better at night.
If you have the time, get the covenants changed. Rally your possibly illegal neighbors to help. If your HOA has been ignoring its own regulations since the 80s, it's possible you have a loophole to use to your advantage.
I still can't fathom paying anywhere from half a million dollars and up, to find that you can't dig a hole, park your RV, put up a fence or paint your house the color you want it to be.

When did we give up our basic rights? I know I know, if you don't like the rules, don't live there.......but still!!! It's nuts. Especially when no one can even see your place because of the tree.

Slinky

 

[LizFM]

Quote:
This is my attitude too! I just can't get over the fact that I can OWN something and not be able to make basic choices about it. I live in an HOA right now and NEVER AGAIN.

One thing to keep in mind is that not all HOA's are created equal. There are articles in the local paper every so often here in Arizona (esp Phoenix metro), about people moving to the area from other states, moving from an HOA there to an HOA here, and being horrified at how much more controlling and restrictive they are here...how much more power they have. HOAs in other states might be of the "keep our property values up and keep the troublemakers away" in a common sense variety, but here they are very powerful.

In many cases the city governments here have basically turned over to HOAs, services and costs that would normally be city provided...upkeep of parks, trash pickup, etc. City & county governments here love HOAs because homeowners are paying taxes And HOA fees (many times in the hundreds of dollars) and the city is hardly providing any services or having any cost compared to non-HOA neighborhoods.

HOAs here can tell you what plants (and in what percentages!) you are allowed to have in your front yard. Ours got after us for having too many container plants! Ours also has rules about what sort of window treatments you are allowed and not allowed (you are supposed to have white mini blinds). And they can and do enforce these things!

When we moved here we had no idea. THere is some backlash against HOAs, but not enough. Until recently, HOAs could (and did) prevent people from putting up solar panels! Here in the place where you could generate enough electricity to run your whole house! They can't do that anymore but I'm pretty sure they can keep people from having desert or xeriscape or other low-water use yards. Which is ignorant.

 

[littlegorb]

as far as a petition, my city told my that mine was illegal because i did not get their approval. the signatures should be from registered voters. they told me to just come to the city office and verify that, not needing a lawyer.
selective enforcement. if you can prove that then you have a good argument. and it sounds like you do. you do not have to hire a lawyer for every little thing, but if your rights have been violated, a smart attorney will take your case.
there are all sorts of discrimination. i have been discriminated against because of a disability. my chickens help me to deal with that but i was denied having them. now my state has found my city in violation of my rights. more to come about that.
stick up for yourself, chickens are alot less nasty than a dog. my dog stinks, barks, and he's a pit bull. but that's okay, he's legal here in this town. he does not fertilize my garden or give me eggs. and he requires more attention than a chicken.
God forbid we ever have a real disaster and these hoa people need food. they will wish they had a different standpoint, and a chicken in their backyard!

 

[pufferfish]

Thanks everyone. I am glad most people agreed with me regarding to HOA. And for the property value, athomedaddy is living very closed to me (only 2 miles away). Their neighborhood is older but the property value is much higher than mine. Therefore, it's not the chicken who kept the property value down, it's the "PEOPLE"

 

[littlegorb]

ha! agreed! the hoity toities anyway. i think some people who buy into an hoa may be impulsive, they see a nice, neat neighborhood. later on they may want to "live", like have a garden and such. i would like to see a survey about people who buy into HOA's and how long they live there. i'm sure many decide they don't want to live a boring snobbish lifestyle and get out of dodge!

 

[CaseFarms]

Some people love HOAs. Personally, I'd rather live with the possibility my neighbor decides to paint his house pink with green trim than pay fees to someone else so they can tell me what shade of curtains I am allowed to put in my front window (or face fines).

We backed out of buying in a community that had an "active" HOA (separate fees, a board, etc) and moved into an established neighborhood without such. However, despite NO HOA, after closing escrow I came across several restrictive covenants (CC&Rs) created at the time our tract was developed which disallow the keeping of livestock or poultry among other things. So far so good, but I hope I don't find myself in a similar situation to yours. I'd hate to have to go back to buying eggs

The city of San Diego has a pretty lenient policy in regards to keeping chickens, so hopefully the prior post (city/state ordinances prevail) holds true should my neighbors decide to (try to) enforce the CC&Rs.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
If you were assured that there is no HOA, then you need to determine whether the MUD is or is not acting in that capacity, and if they are within their rights or have overstepped their bounds.

Are the CC&Rs online? Are any deed restrictions or covenants filed with your property (you may have to check with the county recorder for this)?

Management companies like to operate everything they manage in the same way--it is much easier on them. However, it may not be in your best interests as a homeowner. For one thing, they are EXPENSIVE; far more so than self-mangement. HOA Board Members DO NOT normally have a salary, and usually must be members of the HOA. HOA members have voting rights.

I think the first thing you need to do is find out if you actually fall under their purvue or not--the best way to find out is to check your deed. You may be able to access some of the HOA information online as it sounds like it is more of a utility district and only a quasi HOA.

 

[pufferfish]

Hi sonoran silkies:
I have a copy of CC&R and CC&R is not on line. I read thru the CC&R, they did not mention anything about HOA but they did mention about a 3 members committee and they have right to enforce the CC&R. And three committee members are "selected" by the majority of lot owners. I also look over their 2007-2009 financial statement, they spent $8000 a year to hire a private company and paid $36,000 a year for director fee (committee members). They get pay $150 per meeting and plus each member get paid $150. Now I am very upset how they wasted our money on stupid things (such as fried chicken dinner). No wonder our water bill goes up every year but the pool and park service is still bad. I am going to write an article and inform everyone in this neighborhood how the board members wasted our money. Since the economy is bad, and many people lost their job in this neighborhood. I am sure people will be upset about how those board members waste our money. Maybe I can stir thing up a little bit. Not many people care about chicken, but many people care about how expensive their water bill is!!

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
I do know that it can be expensive to care for neighborhood facilities (I am president of my HOA, and yes chicken and most other livestock ARE allowed--no swine, however), but it does seem that the cost for some things is rather extravagant. I know we do not get paid--that is specifically disallowed in our CC&Rs (although we cn be reinbursed for expenses). We pay I think about $400/month for an accountant--there are some add-in fees associated with this, but still WAY less than $8K per year. We do rely on the directors and others in the neighborhood to step up and volunteer to oversee or perform other needed work (mostly oversee, but small jobs simply aren't worth the cost of hiring a licensed contractor or handyman. There is no cost associated with regular meetings, although our annual meeting costs a small amount--it could/would cost more if we did not have volunteer efforts. We used to rent space at a nearby school (originally it was free, and we kept on meeting there for a number of years after they started charging. The last three years we have met at our park ramada. We borrow extra chairs from a nearby church, so that cost is eliminated. We do purchase some snacks, although last year we made it a potluck. We also host several large neighborhood gatherings throughout the year (once again relying largely on volunteer efforts and semi-potluck meals).

I suggest you comb through your CC&Rs to determine what it takes to change them, and initiate a grass-roots movement to do so. I also suggest you run for the board and solicit some like-minded neighbors to do the same. Email me if you want some more specific information.

 

[littlegorb]

Sonoran, your HOA sounds like it has some common sense. potlucks are way better than a caterer anyday! and the volunteer part is excellent as well. sounds like you got it going on where you are, which is a sign of good leadership, common sense, and community. send some of that this way!