It's been a long time, but I'm pissed off again!

[oly884]

Renting a place right now with a friend in Kirkland, WA and just got an email that my camper is in violation of the HOA….

I have decided that HOA’s are the scourge of the earth. Some idiot is whining that my camper is stored off to the side of the condo with my truck in front of it, blocking the view of it. I already hate this person and I don’t know even who it is. I have lived there for almost 2 months now of a year lease. This is going to be fun….

I’m going to get a copy of the HOA and start bitching about everything I see wrong with other people’s units until they stop.

Oh, and I’m going to simply put my camper on my truck and park it right next to the unit. I’m not ‘storing’ it, it is simply becoming part of my truck. It is mechanically attached, and it is necessary that I keep it on as I need it for ‘work related business’

Take that suckers....

Oh, and I'm going to get more, and bigger, gun stickers and be sure those are visible at all times.

[oly884]

And I'll be sure to get a picture of what it looks like so everyone can see how much of 'an eye sore' it really is.

[oly884]

Oh, and also... question for you folks.

If they still come back after the camper is ON the truck, which I'm sure they will, and enforce it. Is it unreasonable for me to simply move? I will probably loose some good money on this, but is it really worth the stress that an HOA will cause me. What's next, my truck isn't appealing? I'm too loud (though other neighbors are worse)?

[fustercluck]

If you bail on the lease, they might ding your credit or references...

[Ric]

When you moved in, was you notified of the HOA ? did you sign it before you moved in ?
when you signed the lease, did you read it ? is it something they added after you signed ?
I agree HOAs suc, but you have to remember, you signed the lease. now, if they added something after you signed, to bad for them.

[oly884]

I was not notified of the HOA. Nor was I given any documentation about the rules/obligations to the HOA. I read the lease in full, and that states the only obligation is to the owner.

The owner is a great guy, he also suggested putting the camper on the truck and going from there. So I have no issue with the owner. In fact, if I were to move out, it would be done to prevent myself as well as him from being involved in something not so friendly.

I don't want to move, but at this point I need a lot of clarification. However, if it continues with the bad neighbor/HOA, I feel it becomes necessary to cut my losses as I am not the one who would be hurt near as much as the owner could. I don't want to jeopardize his standings here. If I OWNED this place, I'd definitely fight it. However, this is not my fight. If I can't have my camper here or on my truck, that leaves me with very few options, and storage really doesn't have me thrilled. I'm paying extra in rent FOR the garage and the side of the unit.

Fuster, ideally, I would avoid a nasty leave as to not hurt my reference. As for credit, I don't want that to fall either, however, I have good credit standing and I have yet to switch my address officially over to here.

[Ric]

if you want notified of an HOA, and you didnt sign anything, you shouldnt have anything to worry about. :thumbup:

[oly884]

That's what I was figuring. However, I really don't want to get the owner in trouble either as he was the one who notified my roommate who, in turn, notified me. If it comes down to the point where I can't even have it on my truck then that leaves him with very few options as well. I don't think anyone wants it to come to that, but I'm already concerned about where this is going...

And FYI:
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y86/oly884/DSC_2523640x480.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y86/oly884/DSC_2524640x480.jpg

[neliconcept]

oly, did i ever tell you that my parents got SUED by the HOA at our gated community because my dad had a corvette body on a dolly but with a car cover and we live in a small turn around coldasack (however that is spelled) because it was classified as an abandoned vehicle, granted i can see a point, but we never got a knock on the door, just letters and emails, which pissed my dad off beyond repair.

we won but still had to find a place to put it

[slosurfer]

Well the camper looks okay, but I'm surprised you haven't received complaints from them about those god awful yellow lights on your truck. Send them to me and I'll dispose of them properly. :flipoff:

[Robinhood4x4]

What do the CCR's say? What rule are you in violation of?

[Ric]

wooow people are bitchin about that ? :headscratch: some people just seriously have nothing better to do. It look clean, nice, someone needs to be punched in the face. :confused:

[fustercluck]

Sorry you are agitated. I wish I could be a fly on the wall to hear the expletives fly...:D

[AxleIke]

Oly,

First, I agree with you 100%, HOA's suck.

Second, my advice is that you first put the camper on the truck. This will give you a small delay while you do the following:

1. Obtain a copy of, and READ, the HOA rules carefully. Many times, and especially in the instance here, the rules ARE NOT as stringent as the local idiot/HOA officer thinks they are. They may be seriously stretching a rule to apply here, which leads me to the second part of this.

Often, in an HOA agreement, a tenant has the right to appeal a violation, and make their case to the board of the HOA (or whatever they call it). Assuming you actually live around some reasonable people, who can see that your camper is in no way an issue, you may be able to overturn the complaint, and, with the exception of your time, come out of this none the poorer.

2. Failing that, I suggest you comb over your lease. The following would assume you were pissed enough, and had the money lying around, to pursue this legally.

If the lease so much MENTIONS another document, set of documents, or even alludes to these documents, a court will look to you to prove that you were in some way denied access to these. Since you likely weren't (no attack on you here, I've done the same) and were more likely disinclined to take the trouble to research it, the court would find against you. You would have to pay the fines, and still have the problem of your camper to deal with.

3. If your lease indeed makes NO mention of the HOA rules and regs, it would be grounds for you to be let out of your lease. However, it provides NO relief for you to continue storing your camper. You landlord IS very much bound by the HOA, and he would incur the fines as a result of your violation. Since you have indicated that you wish to avoid causing your landlord problems, at that point, your only option would be to move out. If your lease, as I said, does not include mention of the HOA, then you would be able to do so without damage to your credit/references, since your lease would be invalid.

HOA contracts, do, unfortunately, have the full force of law behind them. Any owner purchasing land/buildings inside an HOA signs a contract saying that they will abide by the rules, and understand the punishments associated with violation. HOA's generally have a law firm employed to make their contracts, and defend them against lawsuits, so any action on your part, as I said, will cost you some money.

Good luck.

[oly884]

Thanks guys, the camper is now on the truck. We are in the process of getting the HOA rules and I will read about what they consider is wrong.

I was relayed the info so I am not sure exactly what we are in violation of. I believe it is "storing an RV" which, in the case of the camper, it is NOT an RV. Now if they have the word camper in there then it covers that. However, they would have to have a pretty clear cut line stating you can't have a TRUCK with a camper on the side of the house. Considering that my truck is my primary mode of transport, let alone my ONLY mode, I don't think they would have much luck in calling it an RV...

Anyways, I'm going to read through the lease a few times (it's a pretty general lease) but the first few times I saw no mention of any HOA nor were documents produced for me.

As I also stated, if the problem persists with the camper on the truck and they claim that I am still "storing it" then the question does not become where can I store my camper, but rather, do I really want to live here? It is something that bothers me when I pay a good sum of money to live in a place and I cannot use it, with-in reason, as I choose to do so. We've had one party and received no complaints from it, we are always nice, make sure the exterior looks good, etc., etc.

[Bob98SR5]

I知 going to get a copy of the HOA and start bitching about everything I see wrong with other people痴 units until they stop.

Oh, and I'm going to get more, and bigger, gun stickers and be sure those are visible at all times.



Yes, get a copy of the HOA asap and read that to death. The smartest move is to see if it is true that you are violating the HOA rules. If yes, i guess you have to comply or face fines. that would suck. As for getting back the neighbor who is complaining, by all means :)

About the gun stickers: just call Corky and his tough guy numbchucks on them.

[Bob98SR5]

just fyi too: CC&R's are different than "Rules" at least they are in CA. CC&R changes require majority votes by homeowners and rules can be created and enforced with little to no notice by the board of directors. States govern CC&Rs, so the board has to be very diligent about majority votes and record keeping

[Seanz0rz]

haha, nah if youre going to do psych warfare on em, you gotta play Panama

[Tofer]

let me know where you live, and i'll move in next door... then they will bitch about me and my ugly blue truck, my lifted trailer, my non running 4runner and me riding wheelies down the street on my quad....

http://photography.eakland.net/d/928-5/P1010089.JPG
http://photography.eakland.net/d/4096-4/Copy+of+DSC_6803.JPG
http://photography.eakland.net/d/3806-4/DSC_6790.JPG

[surf4runner]

If I OWNED this place, I'd definitely fight it.

HOA dont necessarily suck, but the people who control them DO!
run for the office. i know plenty who have become the pres for a year, made there changes and then quit. cant go back and change then.
fight the fine print as well.

when i owned a condo, the mgt company changed hands almost yearly, which meant they would try to enforce new rules, that were previously allowed. tried to fine me-didnt work! couldnt enforce what was previosly allowed :P


i have a neighbor who spent over a year sending the cops/fire dept over before they finally fot sick of it and started fining me, another year later im still fighting the fines and still dealing with the :asshat:
no HOA issue-city laws, just a nosy neighbor who needs his ticket punched...

[oly884]

If I OWNED this place, I'd definitely fight it.

HOA dont necessarily suck, but the people who control them DO!
run for the office. i know plenty who have become the pres for a year, made there changes and then quit. cant go back and change then.
fight the fine print as well.

when i owned a condo, the mgt company changed hands almost yearly, which meant they would try to enforce new rules, that were previously allowed. tried to fine me-didnt work! couldnt enforce what was previosly allowed :P


i have a neighbor who spent over a year sending the cops/fire dept over before they finally fot sick of it and started fining me, another year later im still fighting the fines and still dealing with the :asshat:
no HOA issue-city laws, just a nosy neighbor who needs his ticket punched...


As much as I hate to disagree with you, HOA's do suck. Yes, there will always be the case where they do more good than bad, but any time that much power is given to a group of people, problems will start. Power corrupts. Look at the government!

If I buy something, it becomes MINE, now with-in reason and out of respect for my neighbors, I should have the right to use my property as I choose. Being subjected to a small board of we-know-what's-better-for-you people will only cause problems because at some point, they will disagree with every other person, then what is fair? If a neighbor doesn't like something on the side of my house, or this or that, they can come and talk to me and I'll be, for the most part, willing to cooperate with them. Having a body of people that can literally TAKE your house from you and sell it with you being completely SOL goes against every single thing this country stands for. I will never willingly choose to move into a place with an HOA, and if I have little choice, I will be a part of it to ensure that the power remains in the hands of the people living there, not the pricks on the board.

Since I am renting, I doubt I could get any position on the HOA's board. Otherwise, I would be all over it. However, what bothers me more than the rules is the coward who complained. If you don't have the capabilities to engage a person face to face and make a kind suggestion, then you must have no life.