5 ms·

Get rid of HOA’s first :/

by EricE 7y ago

digitalsushi 7y ago
Or if you want to be a bit of a rebel, make seed bombs: seeds mixed in with spheres of fertilizer, dried, and then lobbed onto the sides of roads (safely, at a low speed, and not to be destructive to personal property); you can litter with native species to help bee populations.
- frockington1 7y ago
  Please do not encourage to trespassing and littering. While the reasoning is in good faith, most people will just see a trespasser on their property and may take action against you.
- Jamwinner 7y ago
  I have sued someone for ruining some very expensive landscaping in a similar manner for the costs to remediate. It was over 60k. Sucks for them. Disrespect property at your own peril.
neurobashing 7y ago
Came here to say this. The one thing I am getting from the bulk of the comments is, not a lot of people with an active HOA that is fully committed to not just yards, but a very specific "look and feel". If you're curious about it: we have a nicely sloped back yard but one small part is 1)shrouded by the fence and 2)a tad lower/steeper than the rest, and so it's a mudhole where nothing will grow. Our HOA is constantly angry about it, as our back yard now doesn't have the required square feet of grass coverage. Similarly, others have problems getting grass growing in front yards because of house position, slope, and other factors. Constant harassment from the HOA that amounts to "why aren't you spending hundreds of dollars a year constantly re-sodding your tiny patch of townhouse front yard". My experience is common around here, FWIW. I have friends in different nearby neighborhoods with the same kind of snooping, nitpicking "fix it or we'll put a lien on your house" stuff.
danans 7y ago
It's not so much HOAs that are the problem as the priorities of those who actively participate in framing and enforcing their aesthetic conformity rules. The perfectly manicured lawn, in many places in the US, is a strong signal associated with middle to upper middle class status. It's a signal that you have the expendable income and time to spend on something non-essential. Many HOAs are used to enforce that signaling, rather than limiting themselves to ensuring physical safety through proper maintenance of homes. You can see this in HOAs that disallow front yard vegetable gardens (though that was recently banned in FL[1]). HOAs are actually necessary when homes occupy a shared parcel of land, like with townhouses or condominiums. In those arrangements, the landscaping is commonly owned. The aesthetic enforcement of things like lawns vs native grasses happens more in HOAs that govern large areas of suburban tract housing, where the HOA enforces rules on property that isn't actually held in common. 1. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article228219329.html https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-p...

Get rid of HOA’s first :/

by EricE 7y ago

Get rid of HOA’s first :/

Or if you want to be a bit of a rebel, make seed bombs: seeds mixed in with spheres of fertilizer, dried, and then lobbed onto the sides of roads (safely, at a low speed, and not to be destructive to personal property); you can litter with native species to help bee populations.

frockington1 7y ago
Please do not encourage to trespassing and littering. While the reasoning is in good faith, most people will just see a trespasser on their property and may take action against you.
Jamwinner 7y ago
I have sued someone for ruining some very expensive landscaping in a similar manner for the costs to remediate. It was over 60k. Sucks for them. Disrespect property at your own peril.

neurobashing 7y ago

Came here to say this. The one thing I am getting from the bulk of the comments is, not a lot of people with an active HOA that is fully committed to not just yards, but a very specific "look and feel". If you're curious about it: we have a nicely sloped back yard but one small part is 1)shrouded by the fence and 2)a tad lower/steeper than the rest, and so it's a mudhole where nothing will grow. Our HOA is constantly angry about it, as our back yard now doesn't have the required square feet of grass coverage. Similarly, others have problems getting grass growing in front yards because of house position, slope, and other factors. Constant harassment from the HOA that amounts to "why aren't you spending hundreds of dollars a year constantly re-sodding your tiny patch of townhouse front yard". My experience is common around here, FWIW. I have friends in different nearby neighborhoods with the same kind of snooping, nitpicking "fix it or we'll put a lien on your house" stuff.

danans 7y ago

It's not so much HOAs that are the problem as the priorities of those who actively participate in framing and enforcing their aesthetic conformity rules. The perfectly manicured lawn, in many places in the US, is a strong signal associated with middle to upper middle class status. It's a signal that you have the expendable income and time to spend on something non-essential. Many HOAs are used to enforce that signaling, rather than limiting themselves to ensuring physical safety through proper maintenance of homes. You can see this in HOAs that disallow front yard vegetable gardens (though that was recently banned in FL[1]). HOAs are actually necessary when homes occupy a shared parcel of land, like with townhouses or condominiums. In those arrangements, the landscaping is commonly owned. The aesthetic enforcement of things like lawns vs native grasses happens more in HOAs that govern large areas of suburban tract housing, where the HOA enforces rules on property that isn't actually held in common. 1. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article228219329.html https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-p...