BiggerPockets

Our van was towed at our expense from common parking. In the bylaws it states that a vehicle MUST be moved within 24 hours or it will be towed. In the beginning of the week my husband got the flu. For two days he didn't go to work. The van received a ticket. We went and moved the van and all was good. He went to work at 6 AM Friday morning. Came home at 10:35 AM and talked with a neighbor. On Saturday morning at 11 AM our van was towed. some time during that time my husband got home and the next morning when the van was towed I took it to the store and back. I have no proof of this. Do we have a leg to stand on to get our money back for the towing? How come it is not enforced on everyone else? There is more that is happening but that is the most recent.

You violated the rules both in letter and in spirit, so why are you surprised you got towed?

On the fence, call whoever is in charge and promise to get the fence painted as son as it dries out. Seriously? There hasn't been so much as one day without rain since you put the fence up?

HOA's aren't for everyone, and apparently, you are going to have trouble living within the rules. I suggest that you sell and move to a place without a HOA.

Funny you should say that - I lived there for two years with no problems. I don't think I have a problem with the HOA I think the HOA has the problem. I enjoy living in my town home. I am not selling and moving because they are being.. shall we say, not nice. And it isn't ALL of the HOA it is only one man. The rest are pretty decent. As for the fence, sorry I posted that. I KNOW it needs to be painted. That wasn't my problem. My problem is WHY were we the only ones targeted since clearly the other two on either side of us ALSO need to be painted.

Wow, forget I even asked my question.

This issue has been resolved any way with my HOA. They paid for our Towing expense and apologized. As for the fence, it still hasn't been painted and probably will not be painted now till spring since we have snow on the ground on and off.

Amazing. No one really has even read the post have they? Just curious because your right . When we received the ticket we DID deserve it. It was there over 24 hours and I was NOT complaining about that.... When our van was towed it wasn't deserved. As it turns out, we were well and justified for getting our money back, one of the board members stated that she saw me go to the store that evening because she thought about asking to ride with - her car is the shop - that is the only reason she even remembered it - so the van did NOT deserve to be towed. I am sorry but you people are very quick to blame everyone but the HOA. I get along very well with our HOA. I agree and abide by the rules. I have lived there for 2 years without incident and your right Josh, I WILL be going and joining the HOA to keep this from happening to another Home owner.

I think most of you need to really read something before you post..

As for the fence, I am not saying that it doesn't need to be painted. It does. I didn't complain about that either, I am wondering why not everyone received a letter.

Again... truly amazed at how one sided this blog is. Why bother telling people they can post their questions when in reality you only want to hear about or from the HOA and put down the owners? Without the owners, without the buildings, you wouldn't have a HOA.

I managed property in Florida for over 20 years. I was a Realtor/Manager. I understand what it is like to be on a HOA board. I have been there and I know the excuses.

Originally posted by James Harkness

"I managed property in Florida for over 20 years. I was a Realtor/Manager. I understand what it is like to be on a HOA board. I have been there and I know the excuses."

Then it shouldn't come as a surprise when the investors here, who deal with excuses all the time, see things the way they do.

You readily admit that your fence needs to be painted. Instead of focusing on whether everyone else gets a letter, why not worry about your property?

LOL! Amazing! Thank you.

There's no telling it depends on the judge. The management or neighbors may have called to have it towed for a number of reasons. Do they have a problem with your family on any other issues?

Brian Haskins

Originally posted by Steve Babiak

And some people really want to be the violation police, and others want nothing to do with it. Find out which people are among those who police this stuff, and stay on good terms with those people; get on their bad side, and they will point out every little nit with your residence.

You hit it right on the nose.

It's not just my vehicle that he has picked on, he has picked on others. I love our rule about not having vehicles parked for longer then 24 hours. We spoke to the tow truck company and found out that they are the 3rd company to do business for this association. As it turns out, the other two quit because of the rudeness and nastiness of this one particular person in charge of parking regulations in our development.
Trust me.. I do not want a broken down car or any other car out there taking up space when it shouldn't be there. But it comes down to the point of enforcing the law for the correct reasons. In the beginning, by all means, we deserved the ticket. We told the HOA that we deserved it and gladly paid the fine. Things pile up and excuses can be made but we violated the rules. IN THAT INSTANCE. But to tow are car because you got mad for some reason? Not a good idea.

HOA sometimes choose to have the wrong people be the "police". You give someone a little bit of power and they take it a long way.

In the end we will be attending the meetings on a regular basis, we will find out who does what in the association and we will be more active.

As for the fence, I again, agree. It does need to be painted. I am not disputing that. I just wonder though, if your going to send out notices, wouldn't you want to send out notices to all? I find it funny that our fence in our area (and of course the neighbors on either side) is the only fence not really falling down. I feel that if your going to choose something to get on people about, instead of getting on the fence to complain about it not being painted, lets complain about the fences that are falling down.

Also, before you send out a notice for one, you should check to see if there are more violations.
But this goes back to me needing to attend more meetings. If nothing else, it has made me want to become active and that is a good thing.

Thank you to ALL who commented, even the one sided comments. You made me look at it from all angles and for that I appreciate it. Made me laugh, but I do appreciate it.

I think I like this blog and will come back for more.

:lol:

Originally posted by P NW

You are really upset that you are the only one who got a notice about the fence.

All you have to do is file complaints about your neighbors, and they will get notices too, and you will be happy because everyone who needs paint will have gotten a notice.

Thank you for the laugh. Maybe I am upset about that? I don't know, it is called equality. Either way your right and I did and hopefully they will. They want everything uniform then by all means, lets make it uniform. Now even the board members have to paint their rotting fence because theirs is not painted either. Go figure. :roll:

Wow - note to self, don't even think about moving into anywhere covered by an HOA. I'd lose my mind with people policing my own property and business like this!

Thank you Ofgift. That was amazing! Lots of knowledge there! I am learning more and more about HOA... I knew about "selective Enforcement" - only because I found out about that - the night I was doing research. Amazed me to tell you the truth. Just amazing.

"When you managed those places, did you go round and check the neighbors' (fences) to see if others needed a note, too?" Yes. As a matter of fact, when someone sent in a complaint, we (property managers) were to go and visit the complex. We were to gather unit numbers of the ones who needed to be fixed and while we were there, we documented other items as well. My broker figured that if we sent out a note to fix something, we might as well get it all done at once.

Out of all of the answers/information I have received, yours was the most informing. Thank you!