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> "We were being bullied on our own property." Solution - Refuse to purchase property subject to an HOA. I realize this might not be a tenable solution for som

> "We were being bullied on our own property." Solution - Refuse to purchase property subject to an HOA. I realize this might not be a tenable solution for some people, and I find that to be a very unfortunate situation. We should really educate our friends, kids, neighbors on the perils of these often-broad and legally binding agreements that seem to be sneaking into real-estate contracts/deeds at an alarming rate nationally. If you aren't comfortable with each and every provision being enforced upon you, don't purchase! Regarding the grass lawn situation, there are alternatives like mixing in clover varieties which actually fix nitrogen (e.g. improve soil health) while requiring considerably less water than most lawn grass to survive. Here in urban Denver my wife and I have opted for a 100% "mini clover" lawn in both the front and back yards. It's already green and growing while neighboring yards are still dead winter brown grass. It also stays nice and green well into the late fall after most grass is dormant/dead. I realize this doesn't do a lot to address the biodiversity angle the article took on, but it's a potential alternative for those seeking options. If you allow it to grow a bit you'll get flowers that are helpful for pollinators in addition to the healthier soil. I can attest that after you give the clover seed 6 weeks or so to set roots and sprout (no walking on, keep it moist) it will serve you for years. We're on year 4 at our house. No regrets.

r00fus 2y ago
We literally threw down clover seed on our barren front yard and it's a lush green expanse now. Like almost zero effort other than initial watering.
- toomuchtodo 2y ago
  What kind of clover?
Evil_Saint 2y ago
It is really hard to avoid them. I think the only solution is a federal law allowing you to opt out of any HOAs.
- jghn 2y ago
  Depends on where you live in the US
- toast0 2y ago
  Tax foreclosure generally leads to a property free and clear of all encumberances. It's a bit of a pain to arrange though. :P A federal opt out would be a huge intrusion into contract law, IMHO. It's pretty easy to avoid HOAs, they have to be disclosed. It may be hard to buy where you want to buy and avoid HOAs though. But my parents' house doesn't have an HOA (but does have pretty picky city code enforcement), and the two houses I've owned didn't either; although the first did have a dry covenant that everyone I talked to said is unenforcable and I found amusing. Tends to mean older lots or more rural, because new developments like to setup HOAs, presumably because the buyers of new homes don't reject them. Some sort of association is also more or less required if there's any form of shared responsibility, like in a condo.
  - kcplate 2y ago
    > It's pretty easy to avoid HOAs, they have to be disclosed. This is why I always cringe when my neighbors on social media bitch about HOA. It just floors me that there are people who simply do not read HOA covenants before they buy their homes.
    - toasterlovin 2y ago
      And also that this from OP may actually be a causal relationship for many: > It may be hard to buy where you want to buy and avoid HOAs though. Gotta fully accept the tradeoffs you make.
      - kcplate 2y ago
        Exactly. I’m no fan of them and have had a battle or two in the past with a previous house I owned. My issue was not due to ignorance, but a weird interpretation of a statute. I had a tree die. I removed it because it was unsightly. I was dinged because I wanted to replace it when the season was appropriate for planting another tree. Had I left it in I wouldn’t be in violation. So I had to plant a tree (that subsequently died), just to plant another when the season was right. Just dumb. I swore I’d never buy in an HOA community angain after that, but around me, non-HOA communities are crap. I want to maximize value and opportunity to resell so, HOA it is.
jwarden 2y ago
I am surprised by this negative attitude towards HOAs. In my experience they have been absolutely necessary and helpful. I own a condo. The HOA maintains the exterior of the buildings, the shared driveway including snow removal, the landscaping. Every cent I pay in HOA fees is accounted for. The HOA board are other owners who work for free. I have also heard of badly run and even fraudulent HOAs, that take money and then don’t use it for the good of the homeowners. But I doubt this is the norm.
- chgs 2y ago
  There’s a difference between a managment company looking after a shared building and a management company with authority over individual plots
- spicyusername 2y ago
  Condo HOAs serve a very different function to suburban HOAs. Suburban HOAs essentially function only to browbeat everyone into maintaining their property according to arbitrary standards. While usually well intentioned, initially, because these standards are arbitrary, they often result in abuses of power. In either situation, condo or suburban, the politics of an HOA often result in the HOA becoming dominated by bad actors, increasing the propensity for abuse.
InfamousRece 2y ago
It’s even worse. Sometimes you can be comfortable with all provisions at signing, but then the provisions change or the interpretation of them can change. It does not take much to elect some nut jobs to HOA board - especially that most owners don’t vote and even smaller portion run in HOA elections. Sometimes it’s not even HOA board that changes but the management company. And those management companies tend to be incentivized to find as many violations as possible.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]

r00fus 2y ago

We literally threw down clover seed on our barren front yard and it's a lush green expanse now. Like almost zero effort other than initial watering.

toomuchtodo 2y ago
What kind of clover?

Evil_Saint 2y ago

It is really hard to avoid them. I think the only solution is a federal law allowing you to opt out of any HOAs.

jghn 2y ago
Depends on where you live in the US
toast0 2y ago
Tax foreclosure generally leads to a property free and clear of all encumberances. It's a bit of a pain to arrange though. :P A federal opt out would be a huge intrusion into contract law, IMHO. It's pretty easy to avoid HOAs, they have to be disclosed. It may be hard to buy where you want to buy and avoid HOAs though. But my parents' house doesn't have an HOA (but does have pretty picky city code enforcement), and the two houses I've owned didn't either; although the first did have a dry covenant that everyone I talked to said is unenforcable and I found amusing. Tends to mean older lots or more rural, because new developments like to setup HOAs, presumably because the buyers of new homes don't reject them. Some sort of association is also more or less required if there's any form of shared responsibility, like in a condo.
- kcplate 2y ago
  > It's pretty easy to avoid HOAs, they have to be disclosed. This is why I always cringe when my neighbors on social media bitch about HOA. It just floors me that there are people who simply do not read HOA covenants before they buy their homes.
  - toasterlovin 2y ago
    And also that this from OP may actually be a causal relationship for many: > It may be hard to buy where you want to buy and avoid HOAs though. Gotta fully accept the tradeoffs you make.
    - kcplate 2y ago
      Exactly. I’m no fan of them and have had a battle or two in the past with a previous house I owned. My issue was not due to ignorance, but a weird interpretation of a statute. I had a tree die. I removed it because it was unsightly. I was dinged because I wanted to replace it when the season was appropriate for planting another tree. Had I left it in I wouldn’t be in violation. So I had to plant a tree (that subsequently died), just to plant another when the season was right. Just dumb. I swore I’d never buy in an HOA community angain after that, but around me, non-HOA communities are crap. I want to maximize value and opportunity to resell so, HOA it is.

jwarden 2y ago

I am surprised by this negative attitude towards HOAs. In my experience they have been absolutely necessary and helpful. I own a condo. The HOA maintains the exterior of the buildings, the shared driveway including snow removal, the landscaping. Every cent I pay in HOA fees is accounted for. The HOA board are other owners who work for free. I have also heard of badly run and even fraudulent HOAs, that take money and then don’t use it for the good of the homeowners. But I doubt this is the norm.

chgs 2y ago
There’s a difference between a managment company looking after a shared building and a management company with authority over individual plots
spicyusername 2y ago
Condo HOAs serve a very different function to suburban HOAs. Suburban HOAs essentially function only to browbeat everyone into maintaining their property according to arbitrary standards. While usually well intentioned, initially, because these standards are arbitrary, they often result in abuses of power. In either situation, condo or suburban, the politics of an HOA often result in the HOA becoming dominated by bad actors, increasing the propensity for abuse.

InfamousRece 2y ago

It’s even worse. Sometimes you can be comfortable with all provisions at signing, but then the provisions change or the interpretation of them can change. It does not take much to elect some nut jobs to HOA board - especially that most owners don’t vote and even smaller portion run in HOA elections. Sometimes it’s not even HOA board that changes but the management company. And those management companies tend to be incentivized to find as many violations as possible.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]