If you live in a housing development that is controlled by an HOA, you can incur nasty fines and possibly be foreclosed upon if you don’t comply with all of the bylaws.
For example, the NBC affiliate in North Carolina is reporting that one HOA in North Carolina fined a homeowner $1,000 for planting some pansies in a common area that the homeowner felt was being neglected. The homeowner refused to pay, and the HOA began to fine him $100 dollars a day until the fine came to a total of $7,000. Then, the HOA moved to foreclose. The case is currently in litigation.
Another homeowner was fined for planting sunflowers after his lawn died in drought conditions. These extreme examples show the power of some homeowners’ associations over property owners. According to the NBC affiliate, in a state like North Carolina, 50 percent of homeowners are under HOA bylaws.
White Mountain Landscaping Partners, a top-notch landscaping contractor, has insights to share about the current state of HOA laws and rules in regards to backyard landscaping.
Why Have HOAs?
HG.org states that HOAs came into prominence in the 1960s in order to help manage housing developments on smaller lots. The reason that lot sizes decreased initially was to promote affordability in housing. Also, it helped cities by reducing their overhead. The HOAs were providing services in place of the city. Developers used them to relinquish control over the development after a set number of homes were sold.
Other Benefits
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, HOAs have their benefits. There is usually a common area that might have a play area for children, a gymnasium and a swimming pool. Also, there is the benefit of the rules that help keep the neighborhood well maintained by all homeowners. HOAs can keep the snow plowed and resolve conflicts between homeowners that might otherwise end up in court.
Problems
Sadly, these HOAs can be run by people who may have extreme agendas or have an anal retentive personality. If you are the next-door neighbor to your HOA president, and he does not like how you part your hair, he could present problems for you.
Also, HOAs may be too restrictive so as to prevent any appearance of discriminating against any of the homeowners, which would violate state law.
The board of an HOA can limit your use of a common area, if they disagree with how you are using it. HOAs can fine you daily for an offense. That fine can then accrue to the point that you may be thousands of dollars in arrears in your HOA payments. At that point, HOAs can initiate foreclosure proceedings.
Also, HOA rules vary on how long before they serve you notice. It can be immediately, or they may give you two weeks to clear up the problem before fining you.
How to Fight Your HOA
Sadly, if you cannot reason with the HOA board and have no laws in your state or locality that protect you from HOA overreach, you will need to fight them in court.
If you like the community, it might be a better solution and less stressful to hire a professional landscaping contractor. Your local professional will likely know the HOA rules and be able to provide you the best individual solution for your particular home.
At White Mountain Landscaping Partners, we know the local HOA rules and bylaws about landscaping. We can creatively provide you an individual solution that keeps you and your HOA happy
