Neighbor doesn't like our motor home...

[ottffss]

Similar story visiting some friends. Parked for several days on a triple wide section of street. A complaint was filed stating "abandoned vehicle." The constable paid me a visit while packing it up. Said - "You're not breaking any law but.... a complaint was made about this rig being abandoned." We both laughed. We chatted and he said it was his experience that practically brand new "motor mansions parked on the street typically are not abandoned." Pretty funny. The neighborhood finally figured out who complained and I later paid them a courtesy visit to allay their fears (whatever fears they may have made up) and give them my contact info. All is good now... But we (the cop and I that is) did have a good laugh! Abandoned, yea right.... Some folks will try anything....

[Barbara S.]

I had a class A motorhome when I first moved into my house 18 years ago. I found enclosed storage in the area but still needed it to be parked in the driveway for loading and unloading. Apparently this did not set well with my neighbor and after my first year there he approached me with a complaint that I had been parked X number of days that year. Have you ever had anyone count the number of days you have your RV parked in your driveway?
Eventually I became President of the HOA and that seemed to solve my problem. Now if there is a complaint about my motorhome in my driveway someone will call me before a letter is sent and I assure them I am either getting ready to leave for a trip or getting ready to put it back in storage. Oh, and the neighbors are still there but now we are friends and they even provided me with power for my motorhome (sitting in my driveway) when my house was hit by lightning.

[BigSkyBob]

My neighbors love my rig. In my subdivision there are 58 houses and 12 boats, 5 fivers and 3 motorhomes. Some HOA's are OK.

[HD4Mark]

We must be lucky so far. We had a concrete pad poured for our first RV. motorcycle trailer and PWC trailer. The new MH overhangs it by a few feet on both ends. Never dreamed at the time we would have one this big. While we are gone for the winter our 23' boat on a trailer is stored there. So far no complaints. The nut job across the street stores a small boat on a trailer and occasionally a lawn mower type trailer. Must be the reason they haven't complained to the town yet. I bet the town gets at least two calls a week from them about anything you can imagine.

Down the street a new guy moved in a couple of years ago. We live on a lake and he was heard in a local watering hole saying "things are going to change on the lake". Nice, if you don't like what goes on, why move there. In the winter snowmobiles race on the ice in our bay, have for years. We think it is cool to watch. This guy called the local police on the tavern up the road 19 times even after the owner repeatedly explained to him he does not organize the races, the people simply stop there when they are going on. Finally the tavern owner filed a harassment suit against this wacko. That ended that.

It is unlikely there will be any regulations against parking a boat at your house in a waterfront community so we hope this will protect us from any rules about RVs.

[LadyFitz...]

Originally Posted by sdennislee

I don't get the HOA thing. What benefit is there to buying a home in neighborhood where the board has so much say in what you and cannot do with property you paid for and I assume they charge some type of fee to the home owners.

I am considerate of my neighbors but would not allow any of them to tell me what I can or cannot park in my driveway or for how long.

What am I missing? There must be some benefit that causes people to seek out this type of arrangement.

The theory is the HOA will keep out riff raff and prevent property value devaluation from neighbors who do not keep their homes up. Sometimes it works out this way but, all too often, the HOAs get power hungry and abuse their power.

I personally feel that deed restrictions are a safer way to prevent property devaluating practices. Generally, the city will enforce them and are less likely to abuse their power. Note that I said generally. Tempe, AZ used to go nuts over code enforcement.

[W4MBG]

we had a neighbor down the street who we used to call the Mayor. seems he was appointed (in his mind) to make sure everybody on the street kept up with peeling paint, overgrown shrubs, etc. a real PITA. i was taking down a tree that had started leaning during a hurricane. this goof-ball ambled over to see what was going on. my son kept telling him to get out of the spot that the tree was going to end up in. he finally had to yell at the old coot to move! i couldnt get the chain saw to cut any faster, so he got away.

finally, a few years later, he was put into a home for Alzheimer patients. couldnt happen to a nicer guy.

[Barbara S.]

Yes, there is a benefit to HOA. Not only do they police the subdivision to make sure everyone is in compliance with the rules, but they also negotiate contracts for lawn service, pool maintenance, fence repairs, etc. They have the authority to see that your home does not end up between two run down, purple or bright pink houses and your neighbors are not starting a repair garage on their lawn. Most subdivisions have rules that you agree to when you buy your house. Houston does not have any zoning laws. I do not want a business right next to my house. My HOA protects my subdivision from having businesses where homes are now. They also enforce certsin standards such as painting, lawn mowing, and general repair. All fences are the same style - all wood, all the same color, and all the same height. This makes the subdivision look uniform and increases our property value. While I do not like some of the rules, I did agree to them before I bought my house. I also like the fact that when I am ready to sell my house, it will be more valuable because of the HOA enforcement of the rules and maintenance of the ammenities (pool, playground, club house).

[bbeane]

All of us with RV's think they are just fine parked in the yard or where ever. The same holds true for our neighbors with boats, old cars in the middle of repairs, or in my case 35 chickens (8 roosters) 2 goats in a resid. back yard. That's the reason there are city and county codes and code enforcement officers, so we don't have to confront each other, and being that each thinks they are right thats what it usually turns into. We should know the codes and such before we purchase toys that need to be parked. If we are up to code then the rest of the neighbor hood will just have to deal with it, works the same way with thier stuff as well. It's what keeps our property values up and keeps the peace.

[sdennislee]

Thanks for the explanation LadyFitz and Barbara S. I guess our zoning laws here protect us from most of the items you mentioned.

We are adding an addition on to our house for a new garage and I had to jump through hoops with the zoning board for approval. They were concerned with size, style, etc... while the building officer was only concerned with structural integrity.

The city and neighbors are ok with the MH in the driveway. The DW thinks it tells burglars when we are home or away SO we are adding a new garage to keep them guessing.

I have seen the bright pink and purple houses you mentioned. I Agree I wouldn't want to live between them but they could serve as navigation landmarks in a storm.

I don't know that in today's economy if anything will help us with home values.

[Larry & Rita]

I can one up you all for crackpot neighbors.
We came back from a two week jaunt during which we blew a water line under the sink. I parked in front of my house so I could make the simple repairs, had complaints to the manager of the park (55+) cops called, had a tow truck show up saying someone called to have the rig towed, then one night I was closing up for the night when a van came buy very close to the RV but missed, then she reversed the van and clobbered my RV.
she was old anyway she told the police the street was to narrow and I should not have parked there and she ran into me, the cops were very nice and smiled.
She was 92 years old, had her DL taken away,was in her PJs and told the police, when ask why she backed in to me, that she missed me going forward.
She had good insurance tho

[Mekanic]

Originally Posted by Barbara S.

....... I also like the fact that when I am ready to sell my house, it will be more valuable because of the HOA enforcement of the rules and maintenance of the ammenities (pool, playground, club house).

I think it is a wash. There are pobibly just as many That dislike
HOAs and would vaule(pay less) for your house than than those that would like a HOA and pay more.
Count Me as a non HOA owner. I just don't trust them.

[Chuck 1935]

This is why I moved into horse country. I don't play well with people that annoy me. I believe in letting people alone and when someone decides thay want a piece of me I am willing to give them more than they bargained for. Sooo here I am with no rules, no homeowner associations, no neighbors, and no threats of going to jail because I'm a jerk. As the song says, "there will be peace in the valley etc. etc."

[JohnRR]

Originally Posted by Chuck 1935

I don't play well with people that annoy me. I believe in letting people alone and when someone decides thay want a piece of me I am willing to give them more than they bargained for.

I like that

[sdennislee]

Originally Posted by JohnRR

I like that

Exactly