Owning a RV makes one a criminal!

First topic message reminder :

... At least thats how I have felt since June of last year. I figured I'd give a highlight on why I feel this way:

May of 2008 we bought a new house with room to park an RV on the side yard. 3/4 of an acre, but in an HOA. Their were rogue gates everywhere and RVs everywhere, and it is allowed to park your RV in the driveway per the covenants. CC&Rs read "RV may be parked in side yard if accessible with permission" and no mention of any reason I couldn't put in a gate to make it accessible. We parked the RV in the driveway for a few months, then I knocked down the block wall and put in a gate, and parked our RV and truck there. In June 2009, I received word that my RV would have to be removed and the wall put back in the original condition. Long story short, I was in the wrong for not getting the approval... But 3/4 of an acre of desert land is an absurd amount of property to have without any backyard access.

I've been fighting, arguing, and debating for around 8 months and have finally got somewhere in they now understand that having property this large is a curse without backyard access, and planting/xeriscaping this much land is unrealistic - and the threat of filling it full of small sheds makes them shudder - me too! I had to jump through hoops, find all the neighbors owners (they are all renters) and get them to sign papers saying everything was A-OK to do what we wanted to do. They were out of state so this was challenging.

In the meantime I parked my RV at a friends house across town that has no HOA and plenty of lot. During this we even had the house up on the market for awhile - only potential buyer had a contingency of backyard access so it failed to sell even at a loss. I went and got the RV last Monday since we're going on a spring break trip next month and needed to do some maintenance. On Thursday, I had city code enforcement over at my house saying I am blocking the sidewalk and I have to move the RV as soon as possible - no time frame given. Mind you, the 5th wheel goes over the sidewalk, but it's jacked up way high, and I live at the tip of a cul-de-sac with no curb space; I cannot even load the RV without putting in the driveway unless I block my neighbors driveways.

So I arranged a new storage place since I don't want to impose on my friend anymore, and before I could get it there this morning I got an official "warning ticket" for the same thing again.

I've heard people at HOA functions speak negatively of RVs and I really wonder how much is due to jealousy and how much is due to closed-mindedness. I feel I'm being courteous by trying to do my thing and doing so in a way the doesn't inconvenience others. Now the only way I can load my RV is to make it look ridiculous by parking it diagonally and then parking all my vehicles (2 cars, 1 truck) in front of my driveway and the short curb space we have. That, to me, is ridiculous looking and inconvenient to my neighbors since I get to take up half the small curb they got to park guests in as well.

This makes me want to go buy something in a field somewhere and build a house on it 100 miles away from everyone else. I tolerate my neighbors without question because they are good people, can't see why they can't return the favor. My immediate neighbors don't seem to be the problem, we are friends with most of the houses around us, but some dolt drives through and see's a RV and tries to find any means to get rid of it.

I can think of many hobbies that are much more annoying!!

Sorry for the rant, but I figured I cant be the only one?

Joel

We're fortunate. We don't have an HOA in our neighborhood. Some people have RVs or boats, but with our big back yards, everything is pretty much out of sight.

Tater

Yeah they can foreclose on you, although likely not going to happen. It's called a PUD rider and most people have to sign one if that live in a planned unit development with CC&Rs + HOA. It also keeps you from removing a management company to self manage, and keeps you from voting to remove the HOA.

I've tried many things, including trying to "rally the troops" over the last year. Seems most people are lazy and you are lucky to get them to show up one time.

I can essentially get 2 $25 fines per month with is pretty small. Then eventually they will file for injunctive relief and get a court order to have me stop.

Joel

We have a HOA in the neighborhood next to us on the north. They have some of the same stupid rules you have Joel. They almost had a hemorrhage when we parked our WC in the driveway (for 2yrs). I then built a shop with enough concrete to park the WC behind the fence line.
A good friend bought up there, he planned on getting a truck/trailer, then found out he could not part the RV there over night to even load for a trip. Rather than fight it he sold his truck and does the motel thing when traveling.

joelabq wrote:

I've heard people at HOA functions speak negatively of RVs and I really wonder how much is due to jealousy and how much is due to closed-mindedness.

Joel

I agree that some of it is due to jealousy and that some of it is due to persons who want everyone else to live by their rules. It's similar to people who can't afford a vehicle want everyone else to fund or ride mass transit even if it's not practically available in their areas. Should be user pay...if I have to pay more road taxes so be it but if a bus ticket costs $x you pay it.

Or public housing activists who want subsidized or free housing in ultra prime urban areas...why don't they move into the suburbs like the rest of us where housing is more affordable to them and the taxpayer too if it must still be subsidized?

Or people who can't be bothered to take care of their property want everyone else to let their properties slide into a "natural state"...this makes the complainers look like PC environmentalists when it's really just sloth.

Or getting back to your comment, "if I can't afford one I don't want you to either".

It must be Friday today, I'll feel better in a couple of days...lol

It's sad because I'm not rich, and some of these people have things I would like to have, but they chose to spend their money one way and I choose my way.

Well, this will very likely be the most expensive mistake I will ever make in my life, but if I am to make another expensive one it won't be an HOA as I will live in an apartment before I do this again. At least when I don't like it I can move more conveniently.

I do wonder how many people feel the same way in the grand scheme of things. I mean, do these areas really attract more people as potential buyers, or is it just those people (like me) believe that it won't turn into something big.

No matter what, I'm getting out of this place, even if I am to pay someone to buy it. If I don't it's likely to go legal pretty soon and I'm not real interested in that.

Joel

Another update:

Sold our house again 3 weeks ago. These buyers have money, low balled us, we countered with another low ball but it helped us cut our losses a little. We move in 8 days, and everything is pretty finalized. We will only lose about 20k instead of what I thought it would turn into. We were able to still buy the other house we planned on being in already a month ago as the market is so slow it was still available.

Soon, freedom. Can't wait to close the door on this!

Joel

Wow...thanks for getting back and updating us. Good to hear you'll finally be able to escape, if at a loss. Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do. And you were definitely in that spot. Anyway, here's hoping the next 8 days go smoothly!

put a law suit on the HOA for $30K. Mental abuse, undo stress, and long term sexual disfunction.....






Hate to see you had to take a loss, Hopefully you'll make it up on your new home when the market gets back to the top of the bubble again. Just remember to sell before the bubble burst , live in the Cat til the prices bottom out and do it all over again......

Wouldn't that be the life.

However, that goes against every grain of wisdom I have... buy high, sell low. Someone has to get rich, why not it be off of me? :)

In reality, I'm not out on luck yet. Turns out the new house costs me only $50 more a month when you compare to this old house with mortgage + HOA, and i'll be saving money compared to today since I'm paying for RV storage. Plus, even in this market, the house appraised at 25k more than my purchase price.

Add that to the fact that the house I am in now has no patio (was planning to add one this year), and the new one has one that would cost me $10k to build myself. Timber beamed and all that jazz, 40' x 20' so very large. Landscaping is done unlike the home im in now, and plus in the new one I can actually change the front to my liking instead of having Neighbor-Nazi tell me only fruitless plums and certain color rocks can be there. Bleghch! Only 7 days to go and everything is rolling along smoothly. Commute to work will be easier, and the view is better.

So, at least temporarily in a blissful state until buyer's remorse sets in.

The hardest part on the sale of this house aside from selling it, was meeting the buyer during the home inspection and having to talk around the question "So, why you moving?"... I won't lie but had to stick to the better job, bigger house desired excuse and just leave the rest off. It doesn't make me sleep better at night, but what choice does one have?

Joel

6 More days, but who is counting!?

Joel

"So, why you moving?"...

Differnt strokes for different folks,,,, But some people really dig that kinda structure. My sister lives in a gated golf resort. Reynolds Plantation on lake oconee, eatonton,GA. You should see the rules for this place. I can't even drive in and see her on a whim, She has to tell them to let me in. Its buttoned up tighter than fort knox. The place is super nice, but it wouldn't ever be my cup o tea , no matter how much money I had.

These HOAs are kinda sneaky in they don't have to post the exact rules before closing... Just the Bylaws which don't cover it all.

Your sisters type of place wouldn't even be on my radar during any purchase recon I'm doing. You are right, some people do dig that kinda stuff, but I sure can't wrap my 3 brain cells around it.

No matter, I got 3 days left and my house is packed and ready. Once keys are in hand, we'll be out faster than we moved in. Not that I'm anxious or anything

Joel

but I sure can't wrap my 3 brain cells around it.

I think I'm nwod ot flah A Neuron

Just an update. We moved! Seems the only solution to a HOA problem, and seems to have worked. I even had a weed ordinance warning on my new home from the city, and never been happier to pull all the weeds. It might be shocking to some, but I had to take care of my front yard (previous owners haven't lived in the house in a year). I'm ecstatic about having to take care of my front yard, first time we've "had" to and YES! It's mine!

It's been a week since we moved, I went and got the cat over here to see if I needed to modify the gate. I do, gates just to narrow for the angle of the entrance, but as soon as I brought it over I had an older gentlemen come over and introduce himself. Come to find out, he's been here in this neighborhood a year and was chased out of another HOA in the same city that I'm familiar with because of his 31' TT.

I'm apparently among a fee HOA refugees! woohoo!

Anyway, now our life moves on and we can just go back to having city rules only instead of even more restrictions.

Joel

Contratulations Joel. Good to see that smile on your face! Too bad you had to go through what you did, but it's all better now. And that's what matters.

All's well that ends well. Smooth(er) sailing from here.

TC