Florida residents force to remove garden or pay daily fines

originally posted by: FredT
Look as much as we want to rail against big government, this place is governed by an HOA. When you buy in such an area (no different than say an apartment complex) you agree to live by a set of rules. if you don't want to then you have to either move, don't buy, or attempt to take over the HOA.

It sucks for these people, but them are the rules

Not all HOA rules are actually legal. Just one example, the FCC has stepped in on several cases where the HOA has illegally tried to restrict antennas.

originally posted by: FredT
Look as much as we want to rail against big government, this place is governed by an HOA. When you buy in such an area (no different than say an apartment complex) you agree to live by a set of rules. if you don't want to then you have to either move, don't buy, or attempt to take over the HOA.

It sucks for these people, but them are the rules

Why anyone would invest that kind of money into a property and home to be ruled by people who are NOT government officials is beyond me. It's bad enough to own your own property and be Fd with by government code enforcement officers but to willingly allow some random numnutz to tell you what you can or cannot do?

No sympathy whatsoever for people who buy into the HOA garbage.

a reply to: AnonymousCitizen

As in the appearance was unacceptable? Or did you have to buy tv/Internet from a certain provider?

originally posted by: notsure1

originally posted by: Arnie123
Link doesn't work. I note it shows, Front yards, does this mean that can have it in their back yard and not have to pay fines?

Should it matter? My yard is my yard.

Not really your yard.
You rent it from the government.
Don't pay your property tax and they take the whole place from you and 'sell' it at auction.... so they can rent it to another person.

these HOA'S are all about power and telling people what to do! i believe they should be outlawed and yes your is your yard! just beacuse some dickweed wants the perfect neighborhood , a great example of this nonsense is the movie "Hot Fuzz"
with Simon Peg! it shows a perfect and humorous example of this sort of power! growing up we lived in a neighorhood that had one but it was mostly for beach rights and you could do what you wanted to with your yards, but since our family was the first to build in the neighborhood years befor anyone else built there he never paid but they left us alone! thankfully

a reply to: JAGStorm

HOA's suck.

a reply to: Hewhowaits

I agree, damn money grubin' control freaks...grrr

All HOA's suck....It doesn't matter what state they are in.

originally posted by: notsure1

originally posted by: Arnie123
Link doesn't work. I note it shows, Front yards, does this mean that can have it in their back yard and not have to pay fines?

Should it matter? My yard is my yard.

Actually your yard is called a common element....Basically not your yard.

originally posted by: JAGStorm
a reply to: intrptr

Very small and very rural now, but I lived in a larger one in Illinois and it was very relaxed also. The one in Illinois was just to pay for upkeep of the entrance sign and landscape, I don't recall the covenants actually forbidding anything and if they did it sure wasn't enforced.

I had an aunt who lived in a HOA community in Kansas that was so strict it even governed what sorts of light fixtures they could have inside if someone driving down the road could see them through a front window.

In Scotland, my parents owned Victorian apartments and homes. The title deeds of each property has the list of every owner through the 100+ years that they had been lived in. Because these were listed buildings, you couldn't change the window frames, add satellite dishes or anything similar to the outside structure of the building. Many top floor apartment owners bought out the rights to the attic space from the downstairs neighbors and converted them into penthouse suites.

There are new builds in other parts of the country, but some have restrictions that you can't put up washing lines, hang washing outside. Similar rules also apply to city apartment owners with balconies. Just to avoid the area end up looking like Hong-Kong.

The HOA is great for keeping the appearance of the surrounding area looking attractive. It's only when you want to become a HAM radio enthusiast, install your own electric satellite dish, have your own workshop shed, install your own jacuzzi, convert the garage into an extra room, let the kids keep some pets in an outside cage, have a chicken coop
that the HOA get in the way.

originally posted by: TimHeller
these HOA'S are all about power and telling people what to do! i believe they should be outlawed and yes your is your yard! just beacuse some dickweed wants the perfect neighborhood , a great example of this nonsense is the movie "Hot Fuzz"
with Simon Peg! it shows a perfect and humorous example of this sort of power! growing up we lived in a neighorhood that had one but it was mostly for beach rights and you could do what you wanted to with your yards, but since our family was the first to build in the neighborhood years befor anyone else built there he never paid but they left us alone! thankfully

HOAs came about because some people simply do not know how to be neighborly, particularly in more densely populated areas where your neighbors decisions and property upkeep can affect your property value.

I live in a community without and HOA, but we have some fairly strict zoning laws and other ordinances. My neighbor not keeping their grass cut or deciding to park his car in the front yard and do a brake change affects MY PROPERTY value, not just his.

If you want to live in a pig sty, put up pink flamingos and leave a broke down 18 wheeler in your yard, you have to move to a rural area where your actions don't necessarily affect your neighbors.

HOAs can be overbearing though, but you have understand why they exist...

a reply to: intrptr

I've lived in over 32 houses in my life. Some HOA some non HOA Just like anything there are good HOA's and there are bad.

The element people need to know is what they are signing up for. If you don't like it, don't buy in one. Just like when you join a gym, you are agreeing to their rules. If you don't like the rules don't sign up.

There are some places where there is a huge difference between HOA neighborhoods and non HOA, were are talking junk cars in the yard, purple houses, huge piles of trash, etc. Some might be ok with that, but some might not want to take a chance on a neighbor like that. It is all about choices. I have a friend that lives in a HOA that bans all vegetable gardens, even in the back. I would personally never live there, and that is my choice. She loves the neighborhood. Now if someone moved in there and planted a huge vegetable garden what do you say to that person? I know this story might not be the same case because it might not be spelled out in that language, but you get my drift.

originally posted by: seeker1963

Why anyone would invest that kind of money into a property and home to be ruled by people who are NOT government officials is beyond me. It's bad enough to own your own property and be Fd with by government code enforcement officers but to willingly allow some random numnutz to tell you what you can or cannot do?

No sympathy whatsoever for people who buy into the HOA garbage.

Fair point, but that a personal choice and in MANY situations its unavoidable. Like a condo or townhome. Great Xfiles episode on this subject BTW

Classic X-Files episode 'Arcadia" dealt with HOA's. Mulder with his basketball hoop!!!!!

en.wikipedia.org...(The_X-Files)

My parents got a house in an HOA in Florida and it's absolutely ridiculous sometimes. This one time, the HOA had people going around with a color palette to make sure everyone's mailbox color was an acceptable shade. If it wasn't, the homeowner had to repaint it.

a reply to: JAGStorm

Typically people don't 'buy into' the rules beforehand, only find out the details after the first time they try to have a garage sale or grow a friggin tomato plant. The rule book is issued to you after you move in anyway. They cost money included in your first month fees. The one here is a couple hundred pages thick. There are entire chapters on pools, the playground, lawns, how to park, ad infinitum.

Who would even make that stuff illegal anyway?

Oh, Walmart and Big Agro companies.

Besides the Insurance Companies, who see everything under the sun as an Insurance 'risk'.

You must be a developer, HOA board member or work for an insurance company.

What huh, no HOA ever did me any wrong. ---pfft

originally posted by: trollz
My parents got a house in an HOA in Florida and it's absolutely ridiculous sometimes. This one time, the HOA had people going around with a color palette to make sure everyone's mailbox color was an acceptable shade. If it wasn't, the homeowner had to repaint it.

They did that here with curtain colors inside windows.

They have a website and some busy bodies were wandering the grounds complaining about decorum on the site, opening listing home addresses with the wrong color or style curtains.

Give petty control freaks a reason to mind other peoples business and theres no end to the harassment.

a reply to: intrptr

Maybe where I live is different, we got the full covenants before even making an offer, maybe state laws differ. I actually
read through every single page, asked my lawyer about some items and even asked the developer. I've never had a problem in the community i've lived in. I have lived in terrible HOA's too. I've lived in non HOA's with problems too.

I totally do not work a developer, Hoa or insurance company.

originally posted by: Hewhowaits
Well, here is completely retarded governance at work in sunny Florida.
Apparently you cannot have a veggie garden in your front yard if you live in the community of Miami Shores...

Here the story from the Miami Herald.
Let me know what you think.
no veggies for you.

They can grow all of those items.. in their backyard.

Apparently the pool was more important than their health since they opted to build a pool in their backyard.