Thats what I would call our local Home Owners Association(HOA).
We live in a nice neighbourhood,little windy roads overlooking a lake with beautiful houses.A long time ago,it was where people who retired from Delta and places like that came to live.We live on side that overlooks the houses that overlook the lake.My husbands grandfather owned this house and hubby ended up buying it from his father and uncles and thats how we can afford to live here.
There has always been a HOA which was somewhat active but it generally maintained the upkeep of the lake and signs and stuff like that.
My husband had a falling out with them and refused to pay his dues.
Anything to do with the HOA was voluntary.
Then a bunch of new people moved in and took over the Board,elected members of the board who are"their people" and are trying to put in a HOA by force.No one who lives here wants it but somehow these people are moving ahead.
They sent out a form on which you had to write your opinions on and here are some of their rules
they can come and check your yard and house at any time.
they can raise dues at any time
your dog cannot bark constantly or cats cannot wander around as they please
they can fine you for breaking rules thro a letter sent by their lawyer($75.00 for the fine +$25.00 to pay the lawyer for fining you)
If you fail to pay,they can put a lien on your house(a couple lost their house for not paying $200.00)
These are some of the rules worded in "lawyerease".They have hired a lawyer who specialises in raising dues,some of the neighbourhoods he works for have dues at $2200.
Who can afford stuff like this ?We are everyday,middle class people,who work hard for their living and make do with what we have.We dont live on the lake and dont use the lake like people living on the lake do,yet we are supposed to pay for lake specific things.In todays world,is it feasible to pay out sums of money like that?Not to mention we live in the worst county in GA.People have moved out from here in droves,leaving empty houses behind
The HOA has twisted the laws to suit them(flat out lied) and misused funds and now a core group against them has formed and I am hoping that they end up suing them.They meet and discuss laws and stuff and its like an underground movement!Sometimes there is a Board member hanging out to see who meets where!
10 comments:
Your blog is very interesting. I enjoy people that are not afraid to voice their opinions.
Sweetie
holy cow poo!!! i have never heard of anything like this before!!! fight the power girlfriend. or better yet, it may be time to succeed from the union of georgia.... keep us updated!!
Wow - that association sounds criminal!! Ours is a bunch of older people that host 2 picnics a year and just ask that you don't fertilize your lawn (so it doesn't run off into the lake creating weeds)and observe the boating hours (so you don't hear jet skis at 6:00 a.m.). This is how an association should be - friendly & reasonable.
how rotten...
I don't really even have any words of encouragement. I think it stinks...
Make a lot of sense to me . But what the heck you and i think alike.
dunno frasy - - based on past experiences with HOAs, i gotta tell ya that you can't win.....best bet, if you don't want to pick up and move to get away from them, is simply to pay them their dues and ignore them. court system being what it is nowadays you have no legal recourse against a HOA - the cheapest and easiest thing is simply pay it and ignore them......what a bunch of creeps in yours....
and my experiences are from both sides - - as a pres of two and as a ignoring member of the most recent buncha lamebrains...all i did was pay what they told me...
Makes a whole lot of sense to me also
Stop complaining honey. Just call Barry O. and tell him you want what the lake-side residents have. I'm sure he'll make arrangements.
That is UNREAL! I have heard of such stuff..but seriously!!
What a pain. Sounds like such an incredible infringement of your freedom (what freedom?) and invasion of your life.
We have a management association for our block of flats and the tight owner rarely pays for anything to be done - and always as cheap as possible - but at least it is not expensive and there is nothing draconian like the proposals you are talking about.
Incidentally, before I forget, I think your new images are absolutely beautiful.
Kate
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