Clayton.Talk

By concerned

September 24, 2007 7:49 AM | Link to this

friend

By Michael

September 24, 2007 10:26 AM | Link to this

From my experience, and those of people I know who live under them,HOAs are not our friends. Rather, they tend to become another layer of power hungry beurocracy that will ultimately reduce property values. I hope that I am never in a position where I have to live under their auspices. There are already too many restrictions from the county and state governmental agencies. It is my property, I paid for it, and as long as I am not harming you or damaging your property, I should be able to do with it what I please.

By keith

September 25, 2007 9:04 AM | Link to this

A HOA can be friend if you’re getting your money worth out of them. I’m a former resident of Clayton county and lived in a HOA and it wasn’t a bad experience. However, I moved back to California and purchased a house in a neighborhood without a HOA. This was a big mistake. The average price of a house in my neighborhood is over $400k and several of my neighbors do not take care of their yard. They have junk in their yard, the grass needs watering, and weeds are everywhere. If you can’t take care of your house, someone needs to step in and make you do it. Your house is only worth the value of your neighborhood. When the condition of your house starts effecting my property value; I say a HOA is a friend.

By Miss Manners

September 25, 2007 11:21 AM | Link to this

I believe there needs to be more awareness of the HOA to those who are purchasing a home especially in new community where majority are first time homeowners. I’ve found that people are very proud of purchasing their homes and wanting to do what ever they want to and don’t find it necessary to ask permission to add a green or red door and not realizing that it is uniformity the neighborhood is in need to maintain the HOA board is managing. It’s hard to know those on the Board because everyone in the community works and don’t have time for this or that and the homeowners don’t read to understand what is expected of them, many have come to meetings only to grip about things that the Board don’t have anything to do with.

By Miss Manners

September 25, 2007 11:22 AM | Link to this

I believe there needs to be more awareness of the HOA to those who are purchasing a home especially in new community where majority are first time homeowners. I’ve found that people are very proud of purchasing their homes and wanting to do what ever they want to and don’t find it necessary to ask permission to add a green or red door and not realizing that it is uniformity the neighborhood is in need to maintain the HOA board is managing. It’s hard to know those on the Board because everyone in the community works and don’t have time for this or that and the homeowners don’t read to understand what is expected of them, many have come to meetings only to grip about things that the Board don’t have anything to do with.

By Susan

September 25, 2007 11:27 AM | Link to this

Keep in mind that covenants are written by attorneys for the benefit of the home owners association — they are not written for the homeowners. So if you agree with the rules, then HOA’s are your friend; if not, they are your foe. Read the covenants prior to buying a house because some do get pretty picky. If you find them too restrictive, don’t buy the house. But they do tend to keep the neighborhood from getting run down and help keep the property values up. Without them, your property could be adversely affected by what the neighbors are doing (or not doing).

By Carnivore 69

September 25, 2007 11:34 AM | Link to this

HOAs are your friend. I’ve been the president of the board of two different HOAs, and have found that property values go up when there is peer pressure to take care of your home and yard. More importantly, quality of life goes up. When there is a rogue neighbor who won’t take care of his own property, it is good to have a system in place to fix the problem.

Remember, board members are voted in every year or two by the community. If you feel someone is becoming too power hungry, vote them out and let someone else have a try. There is not enough power in the job for anyone to get a kick out of it anyway.

When you move into a HOA neighborhood, you are agreeing to play along with the rules of the community. Same as when you moved into the state of Georgia, you were agreeing to live by the rules of the state. If you want to live like an animal in a ghetto, that’s fine, but you won’t be able to do it in a HOA neighborhood. Fortunately, there are other places for you to live if you want to live like that.

By Atico

September 25, 2007 11:54 AM | Link to this

Any person that wants an orderly life should choose a community with a HOA. But whoa here just a minute. If the HOA is still in the hands of the Developer when you buy, BEWARE. These guys can change anything in the covenants in less that 5 seconds and you have to eat the change, good or bad.

This happened to me and about 30 other residets in Jackson County. The community was touted with a certain life style, and when the developer got tired of the management he just up and changed the covenants and the residents had not authority to challenge the “dubious dude” because of the loose State Laws that give them “Dictatorial powers.”

Again, I love covenants because they tend to keep the fringe neighbor in line, but always “BEWARE” of the nuts that need resume additions and other agendas that fill the offices of President etc once the HOA is handed over to the community by the Developer.

By bigguy

September 25, 2007 12:10 PM | Link to this

I am in total agreement with the “power-hungry” comments. I have found that HOA officers rarely have any experience in the areas they become instant experts. They usually have done very little or absolutely nothing for themselves to gain people’s admiration, so they look for a way to be important. I also wish someone would educate them that they cannot create their own covenants that override county laws pertaining to county owned property.

By Jay

September 25, 2007 12:18 PM | Link to this

I do not live in a subdivision with a HOA and would never do so. Read through some of the comments you see here. HOAs are great when they force people to maintain their grounds or prevent them from parking cars in their yards. These things drive down property values real quick. They are not so great when you need their permission to hang a wreath on the front door (this is just stupid), or have to be consulted if you want to change the color of your house or redo your landscaping. Receiving a citation and fine from the HOA because you wanted to save a few hundred bucks and pulled your pickup into the driveway and put it up on ramps on a Saturday morning to change the oxygen sensors would really suck. If you could be guaranteed that the HOA would stick to the big ‘sins’ and wouldn’t try to micro-manage your life they might be ok — but you can’t.

By adam

September 25, 2007 12:22 PM | Link to this

HOA are for power hungry people. They are just a piece of crap. I understand that they TRY to help raise the value of the neighborhood, but dont tell someone when to cut their grass, or tell them what kind of door they can or can’t put on their house. Yes I live in a HOA and if I had known that when I bought the house I wouldn’t have bought it.I am not saying I want to live like an animal however, if I am paying that much for a house I will do what ever the h-e double hockey sticks I want to with my house!!!!

By Gerald

September 25, 2007 12:23 PM | Link to this

I say “Friend”, because certain destructive elements of our society usually can’t get a foothold in a well organized community. We have had a few issues that needed mending to produce consistancy, but the overall relationship between neighbors and the board has been a great experience. The covenants should always reflect the values of the community, too. I would recommend it to my young friends when looking at potential property, especially when there are so many dynamics to consider.

By Free Dum

September 25, 2007 12:27 PM | Link to this

Hey, Keith, you meant affecting, not “effecting.” Glad to see that an educated, intelligent person is supportive of such fascist “associations,” filled with people omniscient enough to know when lawns “need” watering and weeds “need” pulling. And then with sufficient omnipotence to enforce their authoritarian small-penis desires.

By Ashley

September 25, 2007 12:37 PM | Link to this

I was previously a member of a Condo HOA that we spent approx $200/month for. I felt like that was a rip off but I do like our HOA now ($300/year) I feel like an HOA keeps peole mindful of their property and keeps properties from getting run down. Anyone who doesn’t think so should drive through a neighborhood without an HOA. There is always at least one house that is unkept or painted a horrible color and ruining the look of the neighborhood.

By Tom

September 25, 2007 12:44 PM | Link to this

I feel that HOA’s serve a usefull purpose. The problems that I have seen tend to stem from abuse of power and whatever property management company the HOA uses. The company our HOA was using was hostile and treated residents like enemies. When we would attend the meetings they would only give residents one minute to speak. There was an empty lot between my home and the next. The HOA decided a playground should go there. We disagreed and started a petition. The HOA said it did not matter as they had the right to do what they please without our consent. Eventually after some injuries occured the playground was dismantled. Since then there have not been many problems but a bad taste has been in my mouth ever since. I also feel violations are levied against people the HOA do not like, primarily minorities. Even the election was don suspiciously as notification of an election was not sent to all houses and when we met we found that the houses that were missed were minority owned. If I ever have the oportunity again I do not want to be in an HOA community.

By ELLE

September 25, 2007 12:48 PM | Link to this

I HATE HOA THEY ARE A RIP OFF….IF I HAD TO BUY THIS HOUSE ALL OVER AGAIN BASED ON HOA…HECK NO I WOULDNT HAVE THEY ARE CROOKS!!!…

By JazzyGA

September 25, 2007 12:49 PM | Link to this

HOA can be both friend and foe. I agree that they help keep the neighborhood looking good but sometimes they get picky. We seem to suffer from the weeds in the flower bed very often. (Not something my husband does every other week).
Recently, the HOA sent out a proposal to stop people from leasing their property. I was in total agreement, especially since someone in one of the subdivisions thought it was ok to lease to a sexual offender. There will be some extreme exceptions where they will allow and there will be a review of the reason and the who will be leasing. My husband says its your property and you should be allowed to lease to whoever you want to.

By Ms.Simon

September 25, 2007 12:55 PM | Link to this

HOA suck!!!

There is a HOA in my townhome community in Conyers.

The only thing they take care of is the lawn.

They harass you about little things that don’t even matter. While you have neighbors parking on the grass. Bad a* children littering on your property (There is a property line).

They will put a lien on your property if you don’t pay the high a* dues which in my community is due every 3 months. A complete rip-off.

When you complain about neighbors parking on the lawn. The HOA say they don’t see it when they “drive-thru” during the day.

I had to pay out of my pocket to pressure wash (not cheap) the siding on my townhome of some substance that I didn’t put there. While I’m looking at other townhomes with mold on their structure. Makes me sick.

By dick

September 25, 2007 1:02 PM | Link to this

The HOA will not object to the sexual offender as long as he keeps the weeds out of the flower bed and the grass cut and he doesn’t forget to put the yellow ribbon sticker on his SUV.

By Agreed

September 25, 2007 1:21 PM | Link to this

HOA’s are good and bad. Yes I too must live under the rules and bylaws of the community, all the way down to what color pine straw or mulch I can have in my yard. But, I understand that the house and property is mine, and some comments here have stated, “just so long I am not damaging other’s homes or property, I should be able to do whatever I want with my home.” True in one way, untrue in another. If your home is unkept, it does damage to others but bringing down everyone’s property value. If your house stands out like a sore thumb, no matter how nice another house is next to yours, their home is effected. Also, remember this, IF you want a home in a subdivision with an HOA, but you don’t want to live under the rules, then DON’T buy in that subdivsion or area! If you move into a subdivision with fees and you do not pay them, laws state the HOA CAN place a lien on your home. So I agree and disagree with comments on this board. Just make sure you agree and can live under the bylaws of the convenents of the subdivision, otherwise you will have to live elsewhere.

By GaLiberal

September 25, 2007 1:28 PM | Link to this

HOAs are a necessity to make sure that a few people don’t destroy the subdivision of everyone else. For example, I would not want my neighbor to paint their house electric pink as it would affect my property value. It could affect the property values of others as well. So some type of restraint is needed. Similarly, I would not want my neighbor to run an auto repair shop out of their garage or have a bunch of rusting cars in their yard. HOAs make sure these cases don’t occur by setting limits on what people can do to their homes. If you don’t like a HOAs I suggest that you buy several acres, surround yourself with trees, and you can do as you damn well please (legally of course). Yes, the wrong people on the HOA board can make life miserable. We had a board member that didn’t like pit bulls and wanted to ban them from the subdivision (a lawyer pointed out it was illegal) and another didn’t want people using ‘power equipment’ on Sundays (she didn’t like people disrupting her outdoor dinner parties). They are no longer on the board. That’s why there are elections every couple of years. If someone gets out of line, vote them off the board. HOAs are a pain, but they are necessary to make sure things don’t get out of hand.

By bob

September 25, 2007 1:29 PM | Link to this

Communities with HOA’s are for mindless clones with no ability to think for themselves. If you are a mindless clone, please live in one of these HOA places. That gate isn’t to keep cool, creative people OUT, it’s to keep you IN with the rest of the douchebags! Get in and stay in!

By SUGE KNIGHT

September 25, 2007 1:32 PM | Link to this

I MUST SAY THAT MY HOA AINT WORTH A DAMN! THE ONLY THING THEY DO IS KEEP THE GRASS CUT. THE GRASS ONLY NEEDS TO CUT SIX TO SEVEN MONTHS OUT OF THERE YEAR. WHY DO I HAVE TO PAY MONTHLY DUES AND THEY ONLY WORK HALF? I WOULDN’T HAVE A PROBLEM IF I START SEEING SOME PROGRESS ON THE CLUBHOUSE AND PAVILLION, POOL, TENNIS, AND BASKETBALL COURTS. i MOVED IN THIS SUBDIVSION HERE IN NEWTON COUNTY WHEN IT WAS LESS THAN A YEAR OLD. WHEN I WAS BUYING OH THEY BRAGGED ON THE AMENTIES AND HOW THE HOA DUES ARE AFFORDABLE FOR ALL THAT YOURE GETTING. APPARENTLY SOMEONE LIED. ITS GOING ON THE THIRD YEAR SINCE I’VE BEEN LIVING HERE AND I HAVEN’T SEEN ANY PROGRESS AS TO THE AMENTIES THE NEIGHBORHOOD WAS PROMISED. I ASKED THE QUESTION WHY AND THE RESPONSE I RECIEVED WAS THAT WE DONT HAVE THESE AMENTIES BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE NOT PAYING THE HOA DUES. THATS A BUNCH OF BS IF YOU ASK ME. WHAT THAT GOT TO DO WITH THEM DOING WHAT THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO DO? DON’T THEY KNOW THAT IF YOU DON’T PAY YOUR HOA DUES, THE COUNTY PUT A LEIN ON YOUR PROPERTY? C’MON NOW, THEY NEED TO GO AHEAD AND PROVIDE WHAT WAS PROMISED. THEY ARE RECIEVING MY HARD EARNED MONEY, SO I WANT TO SEE THINGS CHANGING. THEY CAN COMPLAIN ABOUT PARKING ON THE STREET, CHILDREN LOITERING ON OTHERS PROPERTIES, PARKING ON GRASS, AND TRASHCANS ON THE SIDE OF THE HOUSE, BUT THEY CAN’T KEEP THEIR PROMISES. I WILL GO TO THE COURTS AND FILE A PETITION AGAINST THEY WAY TO PAYING RESIDENTS ARE BEING TREATED JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE SOME RESIDENTS THAT DON’T PAY HOA DUES. WHY CANT WE JUST VOTE HOA OUT, OR BUY THEM OUT. ITS JUST A RIP OFF.

By GaLiberal

September 25, 2007 1:39 PM | Link to this

Michael said: It is my property, I paid for it, and as long as I am not harming you or damaging your property, I should be able to do with it what I please.

The problem is Michael, how do you know if you are harming me or damaging my property? Is the foul odor from your garbage pit ‘harming me?’ What about the odd purple and green colors you painted your house? Is that harming my property? In both cases, you bet it is. Your attitude is exactly what is wrong with the neon-con Rethuglicon ‘limited government’ view. The government is not there to interfere with your activities, but to protect me and everyone else from the consequences. Yes, it’s your property. But that doesn’t mean you can run a landfill (even if it’s just for you) or otherwise impact my quality of life. If not for these HOAs and other government regulations, there would be lot of lead flying back and forth.

By Agreed

September 25, 2007 1:43 PM | Link to this

For the comment above that stated they wouldn’t have moved into a neighborhood if they had known it had an HOA, I suggest you look at your closing papers, where LEGALLY you signed consenting to live by the covenents and pay the dues of the HOA.

By JustMe

September 25, 2007 1:43 PM | Link to this

Sure they’re your friend as long as you want to live in a N@zi-socialist regime and/or you are on the board and live under the premise that the rules don’t apply to you and/or you are a bored-to-tears housewife/SAHM control freak busy body looking for something to do.

That being said, I live in a neighborhood in which we pay a small quarterly fee for grounds upkeep and pool/tennis/playground maintenance etc. But my neighbors & I….we’re all mature, responsible adults who mind our own business and take care of our own.

All this whining about so-and-so next door won’t cut his/her grass and it’s affecting my property values and I’m trying to sell my house……..blah-blah-blah. HOOEY! I live in one of the most sought after communities in my area where houses are snatched up at the seller’s price. (WHEN one goes on the market, which is extremely rare)

Uh-oh……LOOK! While you’ve been reading this, five renegade blades of grass have bent ever so slightly out of their designated alignment - you’d better tend to that right away before you get a citation!

By Expected

September 25, 2007 1:58 PM | Link to this

Well, this is the Clayton County metro section. Enough said.

By MS

September 25, 2007 2:01 PM | Link to this

I have lived in both and I would prefer a HOA anyday over what we were subjected to before. We had every dog in the neighborhood running wild, basketballs bouncing all hours of the day, people turning their driveways into auto body shops, and neighbors who thought everyone wanted to listen to their music. I love the peace and quiet we have now and the look of a nice kept up community.

By Newlywed Brown

September 25, 2007 2:26 PM | Link to this

KEITH, you’re an ignorant a*******hole…grow up

By JustMe

September 25, 2007 2:33 PM | Link to this

MS, here’s a news flash for you - an HOA does not prevent those things, you just got lucky.

By WTF?

September 25, 2007 2:40 PM | Link to this

“Expected” if you took time to read these comments, you might have noticed that most of them are not even from Clayton residents so your comment sounds stupid.

I live in an HOA community, wouldn’t have it any other way these days & many of the comments here confirmed why this is the best solution.

Thankfully, our HOA does right by the subdivision. Unfortunately, they can’t do all they’d like to do because many homeowners are not paying their HOA dues. Our pool was closed this past summer because enough residents did not pay their dues to help maintain it, then they had the nerve to complain that the pool isn’t open.

We have a soft group of HOA members who refuse to put liens on people’s homes because they feel bad for them, assuming they have financial difficulties. Yes times are hard, but HOA fees should be treated and addressed just like any other debt & the homeowner should be forced to at least pay something on it, especially when you see new cars & whatnot on their property.

A few of us in the community are going to run for the HOA board next year, hopefully one of us will win & we WILL put liens on people’s homes if they refuse to pay or make some type of payment arrangement. If you don’t want to pay HOA dues, move somewhere that doesn’t have one, you are messing it up for those of us who do pay our dues on time.

By Dejae

September 25, 2007 2:57 PM | Link to this

I live in a community with an HOA and I pay dues quarterly. In the driveways, there are rusting cars, auto repair shops, and dogs on chains. I have to listen to their music and watch their children loiter. The pool is closed, the net at the tennis court is falling apart and grass is growing in the cracks, the playground is only a sign. The trees were cut down at the entrance. And even worse, I don’t know the board members, I get no newsletter or financial updates, and I can’t afford to move.

By Hasan3

September 25, 2007 3:23 PM | Link to this

My HOA is a foe! My monthly dues are extremely high and if I had to do it over again I would not choose a HOA community. I don’t see the money being put to use. They barely hold community meetings. The playground has old and broken equipment. To use the clubhouse you have to pay a deposit of $500 but you only get $100 back once the facility is cleaned. If you don’t pay your HOA dues they shut-off your water until it has been paid in full. It’s a BIG headache and I don’t like it. If anyone can provide any information on how Georgia law regulates HOA, please let me know.

By KEITH

September 25, 2007 3:29 PM | Link to this

HAY NEWLYWEED BROWN WHO YOU BE CALLIN A**HOLE YOU DA ONE BE NEEDIN TA GROW UP WIF ALL DAT NAME CALLIN JUS LIKE A FUS GRADER

By Netasha27

September 25, 2007 3:33 PM | Link to this

HOAs are FOEs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I live in HOA community and it is complete crap! My brand new community is running over with Section 8 renters and of course these folks don’t follow rules!! I pay the money so they don’t put a lien on my home, but they don’t enforce any rules and I can’t see where my money is being put to use. I can’t sell my home because only a fool would live with the ghetto riff raff I’m forced to live with. Never move into a brand new community! My neighbor is on Section 8 and doesn’t work,has ten children and the house she rents costs $250k. She does have a new boyfriend living with her now and he cuts the grass. :) One brightside.

By GaLiberal

September 25, 2007 3:33 PM | Link to this

JazzyGa said: Recently, the HOA sent out a proposal to stop people from leasing their property. I was in total agreement, especially since someone in one of the subdivisions thought it was ok to lease to a sexual offender.

What right do you have to deny someone a place to live? Where do you want them to live? On the street and be a burden to the taxpayers? What happend to being allowed to live after paying ones debt to society? What about leasing to someone convicted of habitual drunk driving? Being so self-righteous, I hope that nothing like this ever befalls you. Then you would have no one to blame but yourself.

By I Want Out

September 25, 2007 3:44 PM | Link to this

All I can say is the HOA in my neighborhood has caused a mass exodus! The neighborhood is just about 4 yrs new, larger homes, mountainview and almost half of the homes are for sale!! The people on our HOA are crazy! How do you avoid that when you fall in love with the house first!!!

By vh

September 25, 2007 3:51 PM | Link to this

In some cases I think it would be helpful especially with people who don’t maintain their homes and which several are on Dorsey Rd. I have a nice house but sometimes I regret moving to Clayton County b/c people don’t seem to care about their community

By ejaxn

September 25, 2007 4:02 PM | Link to this

I can understand why some of you are against an HOA. My husband shutters when he reads the covenants outlining what we can and cannot do. We both hate being told what to do. However, some people cannot be trusted to maintain their homes. We live in a 20 year old, established neighborhood and it looks better than some newer subdivisions. Maybe I’m “drinking the grape kool-aid,” but it makes me happy to know I don’t have to deal with cars lined up in a driveway, uncut grass and loud noise. It was a pain when I had to have my picket fence installation approved, but at least I know that keeps someone from installing an unsightly chain link fence, etc. On my drive home I take several back streets near Marietta Square to bypass traffic. There are some great older neighborhoods, but you can tell the areas with no HOA. For every 3 nice houses, there is some jerk with grass 2 feet high, bright lipstick red shutters, siding peeling off, or a broken down car in the driveway. People just can’t be expected to have common respect for their neighbors anymore. So I’ll deal with the HOA and their rules.

By Jenna

September 25, 2007 4:08 PM | Link to this

I hate my HOA. We built our dream home in a very small community here in Acworth. We poured over the bylaws of the HOA and the fees were VERY reasonable.

As of now, we’ve had to give our HOA hundreds of “extra” dollars THREE TIMES in 18 months for things we didn’t even get to vote on. A new privacy fence was constructed around the pool area without anyone ever saying a word. Note they didn’t bother to remove the old iron fence, they just put a fence around the fence. They decided we needed new landscaping inn the front of the neighborhood, again without letting anyone know and it looks almost identical to what it was before.

I had two surgeries in February and my family was a little more concerned about me than cutting the grass (bermuda) for a week. We got a nasty letter the day I got back from the hospital after my second surgery.

We have a couple of new officers that no one got a chance to vote for. Our pool wasn’t really clean the entire summer and was even shut down by the county for a week.

What exactly do they need all my money for?

Looking back, I would have found another neighborhood without an HOA.

By The Attorney

September 25, 2007 4:17 PM | Link to this

I tend to be of the it is my property, let me do what is within my legal rights philosophy. I don’t need a small group of individuals governing by what they determine is ok.

Cities have laws in place to take care of a number of the issues mentioned: cars parked in the front yard, noise ordinances, leash laws. How does one more level of bureaucracy solve anything?

Also, I strongly disagree with the premise (within certain degrees) that what I do with my property directly affects YOUR property value. There is NO way to prove this causal relationship. If I want to paint my house electric pink…so be it. How can you prove that the color of my home decreased the value of yours? What if the next couple comes along, loves the color and pays more than the house is valued? Is it possible that the color helped INCREASE the value of your house?

The point is, HOA’s are often based on subjective viewpoints of what is acceptable. When my sister was house hunting, she ruled out a neighborhood because she didn’t like the style of the first house you passed when you entered the neighborhood. Oops…better get the HOA on that. She ruled out another home because two doors down a kid ran out into the street and scared her. HOA better adopt a policy to prevent kids from being in the street because home values are going down since the house next door didn’t sale!!!!

IMO, HOA’s should ONLY exist to take care of common areas like pools, tennis courts, community gates…things that a shared maintenance issues. Outside of that, use existing laws and be less intrusive into peoples’ lives.

By Torpedo

September 25, 2007 4:27 PM | Link to this

I like home owners associations, if you don’t mind the possibility of a neighbor having a purple door and painted pink on the outside, then you are better off without one.

By thatsme

September 25, 2007 4:39 PM | Link to this

Friend and foe. When I lived in a high-rise in VA, I thought they were the worst. There were so many restrictions that I promised myself that I would never live under an HOA again. When I purchased a townhome here in a new subdivision, it came with an HOA. I wasn’t thrilled, but I loved the home. This HOA has made some attempts at keeping order and have done a really good job (now if they could only keep these folks from hitting that darn entry gate when it doesn’t open up fast enough for their taste rendering it either open most of the time or like last week just closed and we had to enter through the exit gate while we waited once again for it to be repaired and if they could have all those cars parked in the drive-ways removed because people are using their garages as storage units, then I’d be happier camper. But they have addressed these issues on numerous occasions, and there’s only so much they can do). From what I’ve read on this blog, though, I see many people don’t like the folks that were voted in. I understand that in some larger subdivisions it is harder to get to know the people who live there so you can a feel for these individuals, but I’m also curious as to how many attend their quarterly and/or annual meetings to get rid of these folks that they are unhappy with.

By GA Native

September 25, 2007 5:11 PM | Link to this

I like having a HOA but I don’t like the fact that this is something I will have to live with for as long as I own the property. I think we should have the right to vote in or out the management companies and even dissolve the HOA if the majority of home owners (not renters) agree. Maybe we chould have 5 year contracts to have a HOA and renew based on majority vote as well as the right to fire the management company if they are not upholding their resposibilities.

By Robin

September 25, 2007 5:20 PM | Link to this

Years ago I lived in a townhome community up north with an HOA. At first when I moved there, I thought the HOA was a pain - I went through many iterations to put a deck on my property (needed to have privacy) - as the first to do it in the entire subdivision. Once I did mine, approximately 80% of the entire subdivision followed suit with my design that took about 6 months to get through (with no revisions).

Also, I planted flowers which one board member thought were vegetables in a flower pot in front of my place (they met the covenant requirements). One day I got home from work with my plants (which I had paid for and watered for a year) torn out of the ground and a notice of a $100 fine. I did not pay the fine and billed the HOA for the cost of the plants, which I eventually got.

However, the HOA in the end was WORTH IT!!! The builder had used substandard, experimental materials, to build a common roof. The HOA fought the builder in court and got the first settlement of its kind to replace the roofs. This saved me $10,000 on closing when I sold my unit - since I could prove that the HOA handled the situation properly.

By Tonya

September 25, 2007 5:45 PM | Link to this

After living in a small subdivision before where we had issues with neighbors who moved in next door, not keeping things up, having several roommates and destructive kids we chose to move into one with a HOA for protection. Or what we thought would be protection. Somehow we ended up with the only trash living next to us. Parking in front of our house constantly when there is no street parking allowed, kids always in our yard, our locked fence backyard at that, not taking care of their yard, leaving their garage door open, is at junk pile, they have no idea the garage was meant for their cars, not the street in font of my house. The HOA doesn’t do anything except talk to them because they play golf together. If these people lived next to them they’d be complaining and demanding results. I pay a lot of money every year to them to enforce the rules and they do nothing. The people next to me have been sued by a previous HOA, I know someone in the law firm who sued them. Why on earth move into a place with a HOA if they didn’t plan to live by the rules? I’m so sick of seeing their trampoline four feet from my fence, it was supposed to be approved by us and kept within the lines of the house but nobody will do anything about it. These people are trash, several people in the neighborhood do not allow their kids to play with the ones next door. But we’re the kid haters because we tell them to keep their kids out of our yard and keep their toys out of our yard. We are trying to decide whether to sue our HOA for them being so slack or once again sell and lose money. We lost $20,000 by giving our last house away to unload it we sure don’t want to do that again when we’re paying for protection. Good luck with your HOA taking care of you.

By Ann

September 26, 2007 3:20 PM | Link to this

I say FOE !!! The people who sit on these boards need to do more that remind people to cut their grass. They major on som many MINOR things that it is rediculous !! Homeowners are always at odds with these people over minor nothing !!!

By T.L.S.

September 26, 2007 3:26 PM | Link to this

I live in the Newton County Trelawney subdivision, at first I thought it was great that I lived in a covenant community. After dealing with the retired individuals called are board of Directors. It’s just a covenant for harrassment, there information is never correct, they send out letters to the wrong individuals do they apologize NO, they are like a keystone cop organization. We pay an asscociation fee to be harrassed.

By Tomb

September 26, 2007 3:48 PM | Link to this

Your HOA is only as good as YOU make it.If you don’t attend the meetings and vote for good officers you deserve what you get. I’ve belonged to several and observed the following: 1.Board members who have never been in management are the worst. They want the power they couldn’t earn on the job. 2. The best are the achievers. They don’t have to prove themselves. 3. Its really hard to get people to run for the office, and give the time it takes. 4. The most vocal critics won’t volunteer for anything. 5. A pretty board member will attract more men to meetings and community projects than flyers.

By Mary

September 26, 2007 3:48 PM | Link to this

I have lived in a community that had a homeowners association and I have lived in communities that did not. I did not care for the association and I thought the fees were high considering what we were geting. Our fees were $500.00 and it was a very large community. They (the accosciation people) kept the flowers in the front well grummed and maintained, they keep the enterance clear of debri, they put up Christmas lights in the season and the pool was kept in fair condition,yet filled with kids from other neighborhoods (visitors).At one of the few meetings they had the subject was about the nieghbors fence and the other neighbors grass. I thought the fence was beautiful brick and rod iron and in keeping with the scale of the homes in the area. And as for the grass, clearly if you are not cutting your grass in an up-scale neigborhood were the houses are $500 and above, what you need is a neighbor to come and check on you to see if you need some help(cut it for them) that’s what real neighbors do! The last meeting I attend where I basically had enough of it already was when they were talking about not hanging your clothes on a clothes line…mind you no one ever did and if they did , that would be my cue as a neighbor to ask them if they need to use my drier for a week or so until theirs was repaired. That’s what real neighbors do! I am now in a community without a home owners accosiation and it is fine. The grass is cut and the yards are claen, the children swim in their own pools and I mine, we all make sure the flowers are watered and well manicured and there are no clothes line issues as of yet. It doesn’t take payments to be good neighbors, just treat your neighbor as you would like to be treated…this works for me. neighbors.

By BiteMe

September 26, 2007 3:56 PM | Link to this

OH, what an ironic time for THIS blog!

NO, they are NOT our friends! I live in Cobb - Moved into my condo 7 years with $170/month association fees. Over 7 years, the fee went up to a permanent $225 month! OH, but it doesn’t end there! They just sent me a litter stating that once AGAIN, they are charging a “special assessment fee” to each unit of $1,200, and expect it to be fully paid starting this Oct, ending March 2008 - THAT’S A LOT OF MONEY! They expect either a lump sum or $200 extra a month - THAT’S $445 A MONTH! FOR WHAT? The place is looking terrible - Trees cut down, and nothing being replaced. And now, there goes Christmas money, new clothes, anything that I need! We can’t even get landscapers out there to make the area look pretty, and my appraised value even went down, but my payments keep going UP! I just had to beg to get lights replaced in the back of our building, as they were all blown out and no one can see anything! It’s INSANE! Do they REALLY believe people just have $425 laying around to throw away???

By Budro

September 26, 2007 4:10 PM | Link to this

Do NOT go to Stone Gate Cottages. The HOA board members are embezzlers. Example: $50 assessment fee for Christmas - what did we get? Three wreaths. That’s right. There’s around 100 units that paid $50 apiece only to get three wreaths. The fees are $250/month for a pool and about 1/10 acre of landscaping. They won’t even let you see an itemized report of where the money’s going. They’re crooks. Another great story - I ran out of poop bags for my dog. I went inside to grab a grocery bag and promptly picked up the poop. The next day I received a warning from the HOA about not picking up my dogs poop. Hypocrites - a HOA board member walks around in his bathrobe with his dog off-leash and a beer in his hand every single day…no exaggeration. He’s breaking the leash law, the public indecency law and the open container law everyday and I get the warning. Stone Gate Cottages HOA’s = liars, thieves and hypocrites.

By Oh PLEASE

September 26, 2007 4:20 PM | Link to this

QUOTE: “He’s breaking the leash law, the public indecency law and the open container law”

It’s nice to see that the law degrees being offered by the Home Shopping Network include a course in Blogging 101

By HadBoth

September 26, 2007 4:28 PM | Link to this

I have lived in both HOA and non-HOA subdivisions. I currently live in one with an HOA and thank goodness they are there. Despite having them be very active, our neighborhood still looks like a trailer park. People have weeds and dirt for lawns, weeds two feet high, cars parked on their lawns, mold on their houses, it’s a disgrace. It has affected property values in our neighborhood by at least 20% from other neighborhoods with IDENTICAL houses. At least the HOA is trying, but people still don’t care. If you want to live like that, byt 10 acres in the country and you can keep all the junk cars on it you want!

By beau

September 26, 2007 4:35 PM | Link to this

As with most “control issues”, there is no absolutly correct answer. There are good and bad HOA’s. Depends an awful lot on those elected to office in the HOA. My mom moved into a neighborhood with an HOA, no real amenaties, low fees, just basic maint. No worries. Until…she wanted to install a picket fence in her back yard. Mind you, this is a cluster neighborhood where 80% already had such fences. Anyway, we went through the process of obtaining the approval of the HOA and much to our surprise, were denied. The basis for the denial was “county regulations”. Well, being a county employee, I wrote a polite letter back asking them to cite specific ordinances and for them to provide the name/office that these regulations had been confirmed with. The reply was one word, APPROVED. The HOA is only as good (or bad) as the those who are making/interpreting the rules.

By Jeffisgoofingoff

September 26, 2007 4:37 PM | Link to this

The only negative experience I’ve had is when a board starts abusing their power and then use that power to drain off all assets, which ends up increasing dues for everyone in the community.

In older communities, the board is usually made up of retirees and new families moving into the community often don’t want to get involved because of all of the bickering between the ‘old folks’.

I live in a community of 900+ homes and I sense that the board no longer suits its original purpose as it did when it was set up in the 70’s. I’d like to see the board broken up into smaller groups (representing each of the 7 or 8 divisions) with an annual dues paid to maintain amenities.

By HOA's can be good

September 26, 2007 4:47 PM | Link to this

I am currently a board member in an HOA community. To be honest I will never run again. However, I prefer an HOA community. I volunteered to run hoping to make the neighborhood a better community. I spend half my time trying to get homeowners to maintain their yards. And no we don’t send letters to homeowners because they have one weed sticking up in their yard. These are homeowners who neglect their yards for weeks at a time. If you are going on vacation or are medically unable to cut your grass then communicate with your board. I personally will listen. Although I’m sure many boards do not.

Also, I’m not concerned about the guy who is changing his oil on a Saturday morning. I think it is great that people take initiative to do things for themselves. For those that feel you have to report this, I think you have too much time on your hands. Do I want to see a rusted out car in the driveway. No Way! Do I want to see kids out playing? Absolutely, this is a family neighborhood after all.

All I want is for everyone to be responsible and follow the covenants. Everyone knew this was a covenant neighborhood. For those that say they didn’t, legally you must be notified when you sign your contract. You are again notified at closing. So just follow the rules, use common sense and it will be better for all.

And for those boards that think they are the gestapo, you have way too much time on your hands.

By Charlie

September 26, 2007 4:48 PM | Link to this

I hate HOA’s and CHOA’s. I’ve lived with both, and the people who want to get involved and be in charge of the HOA or CHOA always end up being power hungry anal retentive a-holes. They decide how they want their property to be, and then they want to impose their will on you.

Maybe I want a different type of plant in my front yard, or maybe I think my 3 year old light fixtures look fine and I don’t want to replace them. Suck it HOA!

By lopro

September 26, 2007 4:50 PM | Link to this

I moved into a neighborhood with an HOA that I soon found to be essentially dissolved for all intensive purposes. 99% of the homeowners feel threatened by the extra layer of government so nobody chooses to participate.

However, there are 2 or 3 homeowners that could drastically use the help of an HOA to get in line by force. However, the past president has found that taking real action would require extensive legal fees so the HOA had to essentially give up.

Overall, I say no thanks to the HOA, especially in a middle class neighborhood.

By Consultant

September 26, 2007 5:11 PM | Link to this

Hey folks, HOAs are almost always bad. Most people who like them rarely if ever go to meetings. They don’t have a clue. Guess what, good people make a good neighborhood. Not some outside company. Owning a home means responsibility. If you don’t want responsibility-rent. Voluntary associations-yes. Mandatory HOAs-no.

By Cruzin

September 26, 2007 5:13 PM | Link to this

Not all HOA’s are created equal. The one I live in rarely, if ever enforces any of the rules. Homeowners park their cars on the road all night. Dogs run loose, and some of the yards are so run down, the only thing lacking is a rusted engine sitting in the front yard! On top of that, this is a large HOA and I’ve wondered where all the money goes. I’ve yet to see an accounting.

By Sherri Frey

September 26, 2007 6:11 PM | Link to this

I live in Tucson now after 43 years in Clayton County (Conley.) I had never heard of an HOA!

Some are ridiculous! One weed and you are sited. This weed had lovely blue flowers and was ground hugging. Most here is rock and natural desert landscaping. I argued my “weed” was ground cover. I lost.

I hung a ceramic sun over my garage. Not allowed!

We moved and now I am in a nice HOA. We can do what we want as long as it is attractive. Time will tell.

By Greg

September 26, 2007 6:23 PM | Link to this

It depends. I live in an HOA covenent community and for the most part, I see the benefits. It is annoying having to ask permission to do simple things like put Christmas decoration on your house but it does benefit the neighborhood. I lived in a neighborhood in Lithonia that was extremely nice when we first moved in. Brand new houses, nice commons area, but without convenants, the neighborhood slowly deterioriated. People that needed to get their houses painted didn’t, cars were in the grass, lawns were unkept, shutters were missing from houses. You don’t get that in a covenant community. Well at least in our neighborhood. We’ll put a lien on your house if necessary.

By SUGE KNIGHT

September 27, 2007 9:35 AM | Link to this

I READ ONE THE COMMENTS BY SOMEONE SAYING SOMETHING ABOUT PEOPLE VOICING THIER OPINIONS ON HOA’S THAT DO NOT LIVE IN CLAYTON COUNTY. HOW CAN ONE BE SO SHALLOW? THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS A HOA IS A HOA, NO MATTER WHAT STATE,COUNTY, OR CITY ITS IN. I’M QUITE SURE WHEN PEOPLE COMMENTED, THEY WERE AWARE THAT THEY DIDN’T LIVE IN CLAYTON COUNTY. DUHHH! WHOEVER WROTE THAT COMMENT ARE IGNORANT! i JUST WANT EVERYONE TO CONTINUE TO VOICE THEIR OPINIONS ON HOAS, NO MATTER WHERE YOU LIVE. HOAS ARE GOOD AND BAD IN THE SAME WAYS WHEREVER.