Gated Texas Community Declares War On Domestic Pickups!

It's not the first community in North America to do this but it is brazenly unconstitutional.

— EnnNorak (View Profile)

Posted on 8/19/2008 1:25:57 PM | | Votes: 3   

Right to the point, EnnNorak.

Fortuitously enough, just last night I finished the Urban section of "Economics Facts and Fallacies" by the economist Thomas Sowell. While I cannot recall if he mentioned HOA's in specific he does talk about the judicial erosion of property rights and methods through which wealthier communities exclude middle and low-income individuals from moving in.

The thing that is the biggest point though is that these people are demanding something for which they are unwilling to pay, so in order to get it they usurp their neighbors property rights in and attempt to force them to do it.

The funny thing though, is that I am not so sure these HOA micro-dictatorships are in places that are actually all that wealthy. Sure wealthier, but certainly not very wealthy. I know that the place there that I want to move here has no such outside-vehicle restriction, and it is one of the few places in Denver where one of your immediate neighbors is a billionaire. The neighborhood is very old, has relatively large plots for in town(most would be between 3-5 acres)and rather expensive (the only house I have ever seen for sale there was $20,000,000, although they did just reduce it to $17,500,000 I believe) so these houses aren't exactly little copies fo eachother or pathetic bastardizations of some style.

— cdoke (View Profile)

Posted on 8/19/2008 2:31:48 PM | | Votes: 1   

Reality is that they can do what they want if the majority of owners agreed to a set of covenants & restrictions. When someone buys a house in a subdivision they are required to agree with these covenants & restrictions or face certain predetermined penalties.

For example, in my subdivision you can't have a dish receiver on your roof or elsewhere on the property- doesn't mean the cable company has a stake in the subdivision, just that the majority decided when creating the covenants that they didn't want to see dish receivers on roofs of 3000-6000 sq-ft houses (amongst many other restrictions- the covenants book was something like a 1/2 inch thick).

— mscottc1 (View Profile)

Posted on 8/19/2008 2:32:39 PM | | Votes: 1   

don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it's "right"-- it certainly doesn't make any sense to make it OK to park a basic Avalanche outside when a King Ranch F150 would not be allowed. The "luxury vehicle" reference doesn't hold water for this comparison. The trouble is if specific vehicles are allowed & all others banned. If this isn't the case, then this person has legal grounds to do as he wishes with parking his truck.

— mscottc1 (View Profile)

Posted on 8/19/2008 2:39:10 PM | | Votes: 1   

How evil are HOAs?

http://home.satx.rr.com/cdma/sovereign.htm

It's an interesting read.

— dodahman (View Profile)

Posted on 8/19/2008 3:05:04 PM | | Votes: 2   

Oh I just remembered; My friend Jacob had a problem with the HOA at his former upscale condo buildling a few years back. I don't remember what the specific problem was, but I do remember that he went into the HOA meeting and threatened to turn his house into Section 8 (low-income) housing- they shut their mouths that instant.

Frankly, it strikes me that many of the HOA people have psychologicl problems relating to control, but I do know that when they receive a nice little letter from your lawyer, their behavior changes for the better.

You may have singed a conract and agreed to the convenent, but that contract is not the law, and it cannot violate the law.

— cdoke (View Profile)

Posted on 8/19/2008 3:09:32 PM | | Votes: 2   

Actually the original ordinance has merit. Texas is full of self made millionaires, working people so to speak. The ordinance was put into place so those that had company trucks would not park them in the front drive. These trucks typically have advertising on the side of them and may be dented up.

Basically an eyesore.

Now while his truck probably does not fall in the category, he does fall under the letter of the law so to speak. Basically he needs to petition the HOA to have the verbiage changed to allow exceptions.

— Agent009 (View Profile)

Posted on 8/19/2008 9:45:21 AM | | Votes: 1   

Then they should just change the law to ban cars or trucks with advertising from driveways.

— _43LE (View Profile)

Posted on 8/19/2008 11:46:19 AM | | Votes: 2   

That is the way my bylaws are written. IMHO he is going to the press vs going through the HOA process. Just simply park the darn thing in the back until you get the policy revised.

— Agent009 (View Profile)

Posted on 8/19/2008 12:45:55 PM | | Votes: 0   

I am speculating as well, however my HOA which is managed by the same company, has a bylaw prohibiting vehicles with advertising on them to not remain in front of a house for more than 1 day unless work is being performed. Also there is a bylaw that states all vehicle in public sight must be in good repair and have a valid inspection sticker. This effectively prohibits anything broken down vehicles and roughed up work trucks from gracing us with their presence.

— Agent009 (View Profile)

Posted on 8/19/2008 10:35:19 AM | | Votes: 0   

what? and you think Cadillac Escalade is.

— blueshirts0819 (View Profile)

Posted on 8/19/2008 10:02:40 AM | | Votes: -1   

HOA's are a necessary evil. Who do you think stands a better chance of their home not tanking like a rock in the current housing market; an HOA home or a non-HOA?

They make sure their homes are kept to the best standards, guaranteeing a quality product to the new homeowners. Plus, they help keep the "trash" out of the neighborhood too.

The only downside are the dues and strict regulations. If you're not the OCD type or a disciplinarian, an HOA home probably isn't for you.

— Bmw8ter (View Profile)

Posted on 8/19/2008 10:12:10 AM | | Votes: 0   

im sure we all know what you mean by keep the "trash" out of the neighborhood.......are all HOA honestly that bad.....I dont have one from reading such pretentious comments I never will, and from what I heard...the rules changed as the people moved in didnt fit the Pristine neighbors, and were deemed just "trash"...its almost 2009 right

— bmwdrvr (View Profile)

Posted on 8/19/2008 10:46:35 AM | | Votes: 0   

Communist? I think you mean fascist.

— Rupert (View Profile)

Posted on 8/20/2008 1:15:16 PM | | Votes: 1   

When did a Honda Ridgeline become a truck?

— dodahman (View Profile)

Posted on 8/19/2008 11:16:50 AM | | Votes: -3   

Well it sure ain't a car and sure ain't no bus or a SUV or a mini camper or a motorbike, so I guess it's a truck.

— sector (View Profile)

Posted on 8/19/2008 12:26:57 PM | | Votes: 2   

Last time I checked, a truck has a rigid steel frame, not a stamped sheet metal unibody. The Ridgeline is more like a revival of the El Camino/Ranchero to me. Which I don't consider a truck either.

— dodahman (View Profile)

Posted on 8/19/2008 1:10:05 PM | | Votes: -1   

Yes you may be capable. But what about your neighbors?

Just because you can afford a nice home in a nice community doesn't mean you intend to take care of property in the fashion that community wishes.

I have seen more than my fair share of houses that look unkempt on the outside, yet the homeowner always drives a immaculate high end luxury car.

The difference it that his unkempt home lowers my property value, and is unsightly..

— Agent009 (View Profile)

Posted on 8/19/2008 12:50:27 PM | | Votes: -1   

I wish my parents property value would go down some. It has been paid off 10 years ago. And, they don’t plan to move out. The neighborhood is all right. The property taxes started at $3,000 back in 1970...last year my dad had to pay over $7,000 for property taxes. It is not fun to send that kind of money off to Dallas.

— hatepusss (View Profile)

Posted on 8/19/2008 2:00:48 PM | | Votes: 1   

Yep Dallas taxes do stink!

— Agent009 (View Profile)

Posted on 8/20/2008 9:02:54 AM | | Votes: 1   

200-500 sounds low for a gated community. I wish I could find one for 200k.

— 0to60 (View Profile)

Posted on 8/19/2008 12:43:31 PM | | Votes: 2   

Actually that neighborhood shows a low end of $800K and a high end of almost $5m. In real world figures down here that is 5,000 to 8,000 sq ft.

— Agent009 (View Profile)

Posted on 8/19/2008 12:56:16 PM | | Votes: 1   

Me too - I can't believe there is such a law telling you what car you may have on your own driveway.

— Rupert (View Profile)

Posted on 8/20/2008 1:16:30 PM | | Votes: 1   

I agree! The Ridgeline is just horrible (like much of HondAcura's designs lately)
The Ridgeline was a complete failure because of the fact it had atrocious styling and was not even a "truck" at all.
Now that I think of it, I haven't seen one in quite a while.

— audirevolution (View Profile)

Posted on 8/19/2008 3:01:31 PM | | Votes: -1   

Actually a HOA "can" preserve property values and encourage responsible maintenance within the community. So living with one can be very easy, actually 99% of the people live with it in perfect harmony.

For example my current neighborhood's bylaws are very reasonable and enforced. However my prior community bylaws were never enforced. Basically the HOA maintained the common grounds. So I will give you a nice example of with an active HOA and without. About 6 months ago we had straight-line winds in excess of 70MPH rip through both areas.

After a reasonable time (90 days) for clean, up my current community started issuing notices for downed fences and damaged tree clean up. In other word move up repairs on the priority list. If there are extenuating circumstances they can notify the HOA for consideration. In 30 days this community was cleaned up, and we put it behind us.

My prior community unfortunately still has downed fences, fallen trees and roofs with tarps on them.

This HOA elected not enforce any rules, so this community is still a wreck. People are taking their time or simply electing not to repair the issues. In fact one on my old neighbors actually took an unplanned vacation abroad, in lieu repairing their property. (after all isn't it more fun to spend 10K in Hawaii than spending 10K on a new fence?)

Both of these areas are relatively affluent, but you have to remember everyone is busy these days so things like this can take a back seat or other priories may prevail.

The ramifications are the following:

1. It is unsightly to every one not just the home owner.
2. In many cases the unsafe damage is a magnet for children to play around and cause serious injuries. (already happened an the HOA in now in a lawsuit)
3. According to MLS comps The strong HOA home values are maintaining their upward momentum. The lax HOA the home values are now dipping. So the irresponsible people are now affecting responsible people’s values.

While in a perfect world we all like to think people are responsible, in reality they are not. This is why you have laws and a justice system and yes the need for an HOA.

So yes, HOA’s have a valid place, however if they are too restrictive then take matters into your own hands, and get on the Board of Directors and make a difference. IMHO opinion this guy failed to realize the rules, and rather than ask for an amendment in lieu of rather broad wording, he simply went to the press for sympathy. He also had the option to buy a home that was in a community that did not have an HOA, that choice was purely his.

Remember no one is telling him he can’t own the truck, just he can’t park it outside in the front. BTW The appraisal district shows that his home has a 4 car garage, so he obviously has a driveway out of sight.

— Agent009 (View Profile)

Posted on 8/20/2008 9:59:53 AM | | Votes: 1