No, it’s the past tense of “Godwine” - far less addictive than “Godsmack”.
Tell us how you really feel. Most of us don’t choose to live in an area with homeowners associations, they are a reality. In the DC area, unless you are willing to spend $700K fro a house within 30 minutes of the city, generally you have a choice, apartment or condo/townhouse. And with that you get homeowners associations. So I guess all of those middle class people get what they deserve. :dubious:
Bullshit. You live in it. You chose it.
I’m 100% with what UNA said about this.
I know a million people who think like you do. . .like they don’t have a choice. They DO have choices, but they just don’t like the consequences of those choices. They take the easy way out. . .find that comfortable, seemingly safe place to live where all the people look like them.
If you don’t want to live in a place with HOAs, you need to look around. Find a place in Takoma Park, the old Burbs of Silver Spring, Adelphi, Calverton, PG County, Baltimore.
And they’re not more expensive than any place around that has the home-owners fees.
But, people like the cowardly choice. They don’t WANT to live on the street with the hispanic families, with the guy who doesn’t mow, with whatever. They find that place that is just like the place that their co-workers own. The pay their fees, go on their way, and then bitch when they have to suffer the consequences of it.
People who think they don’t have a choice are usually just too lazy/scared to consider the alternatives.
Not really. I live in a row house in DC which I did not purchase for anywhere close to that price and I don’t have a homeowner’s association. The only people who can tell me what to do are the City and while they may be a giant pain in the ass, they don’t care what kind of decorations I put up, or what kind of weird paint scheme I paint my house. A rowhouse a couple streets down from me had stripes painted on it.
Houses are more likely to have the homeowner’s association around here, especially the newer ones. The older neighborhoods may have them, but generally they are pretty mild.
When we lived in Silver Spring in a small townhouse development (38 homes, if I recall correctly), we had an HOA, but it was one whose only interference in our lives was to place a few minimal restrictions (no large lawn ornaments, please repaint the trim the same color it is already, keep your pets leashed – not exactly draconian), while the benefits were amazing – complete lawn maintenance, including inside our fenced yard if we so chose; not just street snow removal, but sidewalks and clear up to our front doors, etc. In fact, while we were living there, they finished topping off all the various escrowed funds for street/sidewalk repairs, utility repairs, etc., and started refunding half of our $200/quarter fees.
Not all HOAs are awful. This one probably could be if complete idiots ran it, but the bylaws were written in sufficiently impenetrable legalese, and they had a sufficiently common-sense attorney who they’d depend on to interpret the bylaws for them, that it was a very well-run little HOA. And, of course, this was an older one, established about 35-40 years ago.
- BUMP! -
Just a quick update for those interested. The New Jersey case which was mentioned upstream is being heard in front of the New Jersey Supreme Court. It will probably go to the US Supreme Court after that.
Interesting. Thank for for the link. (This is an area of the law that I have some interest in.)