On 3/29/2015 6:47 PM, Joy wrote:
On 3/29/2015 11:45 AM, Christina Websell wrote:
"Joy" wrote in message
...
On 3/25/2015 12:49 PM, EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque) wrote:


Christina Websell wrote:

I would not want to rent. It means you cannot do what you want.

In the U.S., if you have the misfortune of OWNING where there is a
Homeowners Association, you can't either! Many of them began because a
development had common areas - like swimming pools - that required
maintenance. Unfortunately some HOA members have a power complex -
they
want to impose their notions on everyone else. (They seem to be very
prevalent in Arizona, where even if you own a good sized piece of
property, you cannot do what you want - meaning planting trees and
landscaping according to your own tastes.)

There was a court case here in California last year (or maybe the year
before) because a HOA told one of the homeowners he couldn't fly his
American flag because his flagpole was too high to met HOA
regulations. He
won the case, but most people just give in, or move.

You give up too easily.


That's an unfair and untrue blanket statement.
(gentle snippage)

It certainly is an untrue blanket statement. I suppose she cannot
fathom how different the US is to the UK. The government isn't going to
intervene.

I consulted with an attorney, figuring there should be a grandfather
clause. My parents hadn't had to pay more than the minimum annual HOA
fee for years. They had opted out of "Club" membership in 2001. (They
had to pay to do that, too, BTW.) He showed me a wall full of huge
binders/notebooks about where I live. Case after case. All the
covenants. In the end, he told me I'd be wasting my money trying to
fight them. He said not only would I wind up having to pay him, I'd
have to pay the opposing TEAM of lawyers and they'd drag it out for
*years* just to rack up the costs.

Jill