May 7, 2025

Fighting the Man

I got a letter from the HOA listing complaints about my property. I have garbage bins in view of the street. Technically this is true. I live on a cul-de-sac. If one drives to the end and looks from the view of two houses (only 2), you can see the trash can. Whatever. I’ll move them to the back of the side yard for a while. Come winter I’ll move it back to the front where it is easier to get to. I could make a spot and put it in the garage but I don’t want to. 

They also complained about a stack of landscape blocks beside the house. There are about 15 of the kind you stack to make a small wall or circle a tree. They are stacked neatly beside the trash bins. I’m  tempted to leave them, there is nothing in the covenants forbidding it, but it’s not worth arguing about. 

See? I’m getting mellow in my old age. 

Besides, if I’m an ass they might insist I paint my fence. 

I know how it works, the company that manages the HOA collects a fee for every violation letter they send. If I fight they will find more stuff to cite me about. 

7 comments:

  1. Trash can in view? Oh my! The humanity!!!!

    [eye roll] The world is so stupid now.

    On an entirely unrelated note. I just put on some Bob Seger to help me through my (stupid) tasks this morning. Can you believe he's 80 now?!


    Fred

    ReplyDelete
  2. There's a reason HOA sounds like something else.

    ReplyDelete
  3. You bought the place knowing there was an HOA. Choices have consequences.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They are mostly benign I know the rule about the trash bins. I ignore it most of the time
      Joe

      Delete
  4. The big question with a HOA (and its management company) is whether they apply the rules fairly and equitably. If they enforce only because someone complains, that's not equitable. If compliance is lax throughout the neighborhood and someone suddenly decides to enforce compliance, the question is whether the rule actually has any force since nobody bothered to enforce it before.

    (My wife is VP of our HOA, which in all fairness is pretty easygoing compared to some. And yet, they get into this carp all the time because we have a few obnoxious unitowners...)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The trash can thing comes up periodically and everyone complies for a while then bad weather happens and they creep close to the front again.

      I don’t want my garbage in my garage so I push it sometimes
      Joe

      Delete