HOAs and Rv parking

[cruizerEd]

Be sure to check your deed as well. The deed may have restrictions in addition to the HOA. The deed restriction are nearly impossible to amend.

[olmsteaj]

Many good points already mentioned. Don't go legal unless you are a lawyer with lots of free time. Participate in the HOA process - attend meetings, and run for an office. Befriend the existing directors and officers. Become friends with your neighbors and others who may have to look at your rig. Good luck!

[ponytl]

Having set up HOAs and been the original developer what i can say is,
A. You got a copy of the HOA rules when you purchased
this would imply you knew what you were getting at the time of purchase
B. In my case I wrote the rules, as a developer my job was to make a place people wanted to live, maintain property values, and have clear rules on what and was and was not allowed.

C. When folks decide that these rules do not apply to them it causes problems, Yes there will always be that one person that wants to bring up the infractions of others... but they are there in black and white

D. People commenting on what you can and can't do and the percentages needed to change rules ect.. there is no "set" set of rules, states try to stay out of what the rules can say, as long as they do not violate another law, ie "no wheelchair ramps"... The original documents will tell you how to amend the rules.

E. does it suck? all laws and rules suck... they are there for folks who do not know how to act without it being written down,

F. it all comes down to whatever it takes to maintain the value of the property, and just because a HOA rule has never been enforced before does not make it void, it just means that if it is going to be enforced (and it should be or changed) then it must be enforced for all.

read the rules you have, and see what they say... see if it is worth asking for a change... RV rules could be a slippery slope, Think of the worst case situation...

[sandpsycho]

I never lived in an HOA neighborhood until we moved to Texas. The land of Karen associations. Ours isn't to bad and allows them behind the back wall of the house. We are all on acre lots. We can park it in the driveway up to 72 hours a month. We can also build RV/shops to park them in. Even still I will never buy a house in another Karen colony.

[Useitagain]

Housing within a HOA ruled area can get complicated. One rule you support may conflict with other homeowners and the rules you do not support conflicts with other homeowners. I agree with others work with your neighbors and feel them out for what they would accept for changes.

[Fast E]

Originally Posted by vyndance

If others have RVs and are not getting letters see if Colorado has any selective enforcement rules.

HOA rules prevail. Private property. May have standing against the HOA. Good luck.

[Old Top Kick]

When we bought our current home, one of the things that we reviewed before making any offers was the CC&R for the HOA and any rules and regulations. Our HOA CC&R states that RVs (and other like things) cannot be parked in the streets or alleys of the HOA or on the yards adjacent to the properties. No mention is made of parking in the driveway. We were considering downsizing to a class C, so that was a consideration when we bought this place.

Earlier this year we did go ahead with selling our class A and buying a class C that would fit entirely in our driveway. It is fairly new and sits on a Mercedes-Benz chassis. Lot of oohs and aahs from the neighbors but no complaints to us.

After a couple of months we received a letter from the property manager retained by the HOA advising us that we could not park the RV in the driveway and that we had 2 weeks to move it off the property. He included copies of the CC&R that clearly was silent on parking in the driveway. I responded that had it been the desire of the developer that no RVs would be parked in the HOA on driveways, the CC&R would have so stated.

About a month later I received another letter demanding that we move the RV within 7 days or "further action will be taken." I wrote a detailed letter including copies of all correspondence and the CC&R and advised him again that since the CC&R said nothing about parking in the driveway, we considered the matter to be closed and would not be moving it.

He responded with a curt e-mail advising that he was referring it to an attorney for an opinion. That was nearly 6 months ago and it has never been mentioned again. We did have an attorney in the family look at it and they said that they really had no leg to stand on as the CC&R was clear and unambiguous. They also advised us that any change to the CC&R, which requires a 75% concurrence of all owners in the HOA, would not apply to any current owners so as long as we owned the property they really couldn't do anything about it.

There are a number of properties in the HOA that have various toys and commercial vehicles parked in the driveways. Nobody else was contacted by the HOA to have theirs removed so this kind of smacked of selective enforcement -- of a non-existent rule!

[AnywhereEric]

My HOA bitches if I park in front of my house for 2 days packing up and getting the refrigerator going. And you know moving your crap out of the house.
They send a letter right away. We been doing this for 4 years.

[bgkoontz1]

If you were in Florida I could tell you how to get rid of the HOA and their covenants. I did it. You have to read the documents very carefully and also the state statutes for HOA’s . In Florida that would be Florida statute 720. I now have an 18 x45 ft carport in the back yard that I park my 40 ft DP in.

[TandW]

Originally Posted by AnywhereEric

My HOA bitches if I park in front of my house for 2 days packing up and getting the refrigerator going. And you know moving your crap out of the house.
They send a letter right away. We been doing this for 4 years.

Buy and use about 6 or 8 of those little blue refreezeable ice bricks, and your fridge will be ready to take your food in no time at all.

[PeterFTH]

The rules are the rules - if you agree to them, you must abide by them. The end.

[arcaguy]

Originally Posted by efstewart

And yes, I would have no problem with others parking their newer model rvs, and many have for short duration. Since our lots are large and long, and covered by many trees, it is easy to partially or wholly conceal the Rvs from the road and out of view from neighbors.

Now you've hit the crux of the problem. What is a "newer model RV"? And what is an eyesore? If I have a 10 year old clapped out RV can I park it on my lot? If my neighbor has a beautifully maintained 11 year old RV will they have to park it off-site. This is the practical side of this issue. From the HOA's point of view it's just much easier to say you can't park any RV at all or you can't park an RV for more than X number of days. What you are asking the HOA to do is selective and subjective enforcement, something that is very difficult to do without running into problems. The much easier solution is to go somewhere where parking your RV is not an issue. Another solution would be to build a garage/pole barn large enough to store the RV, or is that not allowed either?

[Bonron]

Originally Posted by efstewart

We live in a woodsy neighborhood area of Colorado that has a reasonable HOA. It provides 24 hour roaming security for the neighborhood. Our annual dues are very reasonable, but the rules for Rv parking are limited, even though each house is built on a average of 3/4 of an acre or more.

The HOA board operates on a philosophy that if no one complains, then they will overlook minor things like extended Rv parking.

In the past, I was able to park my former Class A motorhome on my former property here long term, and since no one complained, it was not an issue.

We moved away, and then came back and bought another home in the same general area. This time, after parking my motorhome there for a couple of weeks, someone apparently walked by and complained. Eventually we moved it and sold it.

We may be buying a new 5th wheel in the future, and I like having the Rv on my property where it would not block anyone's view, my immediate neighbors would have no problem with it, and it would not be an eyesore for the neighborhood.

Question! Has anyone been successful in challenging their HOA's Rv parking restrictions, and if so, how did you do it?

I would like to see the written rules, that would tell a lot and save a lot of conjecture. The fact that you lived there previously and may have been grand fathered in and since you sold and then returned now you are subject to the current rules just like everybody else. Not knowing the rules I can’t give you much on what to do but maybe the board will offer some kind of accommodations. The courts are starting to look at the restrictive nature of Common Interest Communities and are allowing accommodations.

[Sharon455]

We no longer live in an HOA, but my last home had one. The rule was that RVs and trailers could be parked behind/to the back side of the home and must not be visible from the street. You also couldn’t block your neighbors’ views of any local mountains.
Sounds good, right? Not if you owned a home like mine built below grade (how did that pass code?) and on a corner because it would take an unnaturally high, and non-allowed, fence. The other side of the house was the septic field so no go there too. It was actually a deciding factor when choosing whose home to live in when DH and I married.