A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have." — Thomas Jefferson
Anyone who knows me in real life knows that I am not, uh, shall we say... lacking of opinions. I often have an opinion. And if I know you, I usually feel free to share it. Um. Loudly.
We live in a subdivision without a Homeowner's Association(HOA). I like that fact. I was quit pissed off when, in our old neighborhood (with a HOA), a few busybodies made it their business to tell the rest of the neighborhood what they could and couldn't do with their house (their own property).
So you can only see where I'm going when I say that there's a small group of people lobbying for starting a HOA in our new neighborhood.
HELL NO.
HOA's can vote themselves in all kind of rights in the form of by-laws. Then they can determine that you've violated those by-laws and assess fines. Luckily in Illinois, they can only go so far as to fine you and lien your house, unlike the less unfortunate states where they can actually foreclose on homeowners who don't play the game. So Rob and I have found ourselves in the unlikely position of organizing the neighborhood. Which is basically what we're against in the first place. Ironic, huh?
I don't understand how people think that the "someone has to take care of it" theory actually works out. They actually believe that someone will be able to make the decisions and everything will just work out fine. What happens when that very same someone decides you're in violation? If people would just take care of their own crap, someone wouldn't be needed. I'm not going to just sit here and let someone run my life for me. Take responsibility people!
So now, we've got to be nice and try not to step on anyone's toes while still assuring that the rights to our property remain ours. What a pain in the ass.
**http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/153618
how did the meeting go?
Posted by: Jan | February 21, 2010 at 05:00 PM
Hope your meeting went well. Remember patients is a virtue. Sometimes when you give people enough rope they hang themselves.
Posted by: G'ma Darra | February 21, 2010 at 05:15 PM
Sounds horrendous! Over here we have groups like that in blocks of flats but not in neighborhoods of houses. I'll be interested to hear how the meeting went.....
Posted by: arizaphale | February 22, 2010 at 12:28 AM
Yuck, I am not a fan of HOAs either. We've only had to deal with them when we lived in apartments and that was enough! There is nothing more annoying than getting a note on your door telling you your "plant is too high". How did they even know my plant is doing drugs? Idiots, all of them.
Posted by: the weirdgirl | February 25, 2010 at 05:50 PM