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Veteran says he's forced to sell home after HOA fines him for hanging US flag in flower pot

Helix said:
I don't support mandatory HOAs. If you want to join the club after purchase, then that's fine. However, I've found them to be a waste of money, and I participate in mine.
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Can you imagine the heads exploding if the argument used to decimate mandatory union dues was used against an HOA in a court case?
After all, if it's illegal to force an employee to pay union dues and join a union, then it should also be illegal to force a homeowner to join an HOA and pay HOA fees.
 
Superfly said:
Aaand this is exactly why people live in neighborhoods with HOAs.

You want to paint your house with zebra stripes? That's fine. Live out in the boonies where nobody can complain.

Those of us who want to keep our property values higher will stay in neighborhoods where our neighbors can't paint their houses with zebra stripes.
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Rest assured, it won't be an issue. I'd rather find a cave to live in.

I presume it's a function of where and how we are raised, as this dictates what seems "normal."
 
Checkerboard Strangler said:
Can you imagine the heads exploding if the argument used to decimate mandatory union dues was used against an HOA in a court case?
After all, if it's illegal to force an employee to pay union dues and join a union, then it should also be illegal to force a homeowner to join an HOA and pay HOA fees.
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Yep, I agree. Makes sense.
 
American said:
Veteran says he's forced to sell home after HOA fines him for hanging US flag in flower pot | Fox News


I was on the board of an HOA once. There can be some complete assholes on these boards.
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HOA's are a trip. You really need to read the rules before you buy, and I personally try to get a feel for how strict they are from local realtors and (if possible) residents. That's served me pretty well. We also attend meetings every once in awhile.

I have seen a guy get the crap fined out of him for painting his house a non-approved color and refusing to repaint for over a year. I'm sure that guy could have moved his flag somewhere slightly different and it wouldn't have been an issue.
 
WillyPete said:
Rest assured, it won't be an issue. I'd rather find a cave to live in.

I presume it's a function of where and how we are raised, as this dictates what seems "normal."
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Um - probably not. I was raised very poor, in what could only be considered run-down shacks most of the time. I'd never heard of an HOA when I was a kid, so it wouldn't be natural to assume that I would gravitate toward a community with an HOA.

I have no problem with people doing their own thing, so long as it doesn't affect my property value. When you start doing stupid **** like painting your house with zebra stripes, you are going to affect my property value, so maybe it's best you do live in a cave.
 
Ghettos should have HOA's to make sure property values stay down
 
American said:
Why don't you mind your own ****ing business, instead of playing moderator?
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LOL, I'm not the one implying someone made a personal attack like a wannabee moderator.... :roll:

I just wanted to know if the poster hit a bit too close to home for your snowflake sensibilities, ya seemed a tad testy over it, like it was a personal swipe at you and your vast (and of course just) HOA board experience.... :peace
 
Just avoid any HOA.....definitely not worth the heartburn.
 
notquiteright said:
LOL, I'm not the one implying someone made a personal attack like a wannabee moderator.... :roll:

I just wanted to know if the poster hit a bit too close to home for your snowflake sensibilities, ya seemed a tad testy over it, like it was a personal swipe at you and your vast (and of course just) HOA board experience.... :peace
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What are you 12? I never said I had VAST board experience, junior.
 
Roadvirus said:
HOAs are like miniature tin-pot dictatorships. You couldn't pay me to live in a neighborhood ruled by a HOA.
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Well I didn't know much about them at the time. We didn't have any problems personally, but I heard about neighbors that did. I remember the architectural chair giving another board member a hard time about where his mailbox was located. I told him that he didn't get to decide that, it decided by the Postal Service. Of course after that I was in his crosshairs.
 
ecofarm said:
We could probably have a "no American flags" HOA thread every week. Generally it's no flags. If American flags are allowed, people let them rot and that pisses everyone off. Sure, the vet would take care but does the guy who bought one for the 4th? No. So they say no flags.

I figure it's worth spending more to avoid an HOA.
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You are right.
This same vet might have protested if someone had put up a Canadian flag in a flower pot. The HOA has guidelines for a reason, and we they are to be followed for a reason. Don't like the guidelines, get them changed. Being stubborn about it isn't the way to go.
I agree, some rules are absurd, even some of our laws are a bit strange, but they aren't suggestions to be interpreted to our liking.
 
Polar Bum said:
Just avoid any HOA.....definitely not worth the heartburn.
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Agreed, When we went looking for our first (and current) home my first request was no HOA's.
 
azgreg said:
Agreed, When we went looking for our first (and current) home my first request was no HOA's.
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We did the same....why would I pay HOA fee's for the privilege of having someone tell me what color to paint my house or not to park my vehicle in my own driveway?
 
American said:
Veteran says he's forced to sell home after HOA fines him for hanging US flag in flower pot | Fox News


I was on the board of an HOA once. There can be some complete assholes on these boards.
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Dishonest title


"The veteran said he refused to give in to the request. He kept the flag in the flower pot despite being fined $100 every day. . . Seven years later, the legal battle was still going on, Murphree said. He said the HOA started “nitpicking” and giving him violations for things such as having a window display during Christmas. In the end he was forced to sell his condo three years ago due to the fees and a lien that was placed on it by the retirement condominium’s association or face foreclosure. "
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He wasn't forced to sell the home because of a flag. He deliberately ignored the request, knowing he would rack up $100 fines every day, because he intended to make a political statement, and he did this for seven years. He deliberately racked up $255,000 or so in fines.

Regardless of what one thinks of the HOA's rule or its application to a flag, he chose to bring this situation on himself in order to make a statement.

:shrug:




Murphree said he lives in St. Augustine and has eight flags hanging on his property including one stuck in a flower pot.
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Another interesting piece of information.
 
Mr Person said:
Dishonest title






He wasn't forced to sell the home because of a flag. He deliberately ignored the request, knowing he would rack up $100 fines every day, because he intended to make a political statement, and he did this for seven years. He deliberately racked up $255,000 or so in fines.

Regardless of what one thinks of the HOA's rule or its application to a flag, he chose to bring this situation on himself in order to make a statement.

:shrug:






Another interesting piece of information.
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Dishonest title, nanny nanny booboo. Call someone who gives a ****. HOA's can be like Gestapo, I've seen it.
 
Mr Person said:
Dishonest title






He wasn't forced to sell the home because of a flag. He deliberately ignored the request, knowing he would rack up $100 fines every day, because he intended to make a political statement, and he did this for seven years. He deliberately racked up $255,000 or so in fines.

Regardless of what one thinks of the HOA's rule or its application to a flag, he chose to bring this situation on himself in order to make a statement.

:shrug:






Another interesting piece of information.
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Just a thought, there is a difference between a request and a demand. Their demand was unreasonable and he should have gotten the rules changed (if he has the support) or moved out long ago.
 
Superfly said:
Um - probably not. I was raised very poor, in what could only be considered run-down shacks most of the time. I'd never heard of an HOA when I was a kid, so it wouldn't be natural to assume that I would gravitate toward a community with an HOA.

I have no problem with people doing their own thing, so long as it doesn't affect my property value. When you start doing stupid **** like painting your house with zebra stripes, you are going to affect my property value, so maybe it's best you do live in a cave.
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That's, why I live, where there are no covenants. I dont care about other peoples value, I care about what I can do on my property. If I want zebra stripes on my house by god I'll have em. I am going to do a house in an automotive theme painted gloss white with bright blue racing strips about the mid with some automotive style chrome accents. Its gona be cool. Especially with an opposite (bright blue with white racing stripes) matching Triumph spifire in the front. Now to get the SO to approve. :confused:
 
Superfly said:
Amen.

While I am not a fan of HOAs (I'm in one myself and I hate it), as long as you play by the rules, you will have no problems. HOAs are like mini governments. If your HOA is too strict, you re-elect board members next year. If new board members are not re-elected, then you are in the minority and you have to suck it up. If you don't like the way things are done, find another place to live.

Besides, I'd rather have someone tell someone he can't have a flag in his flowerpot than have no HOA at all, and have some dirtbag with a 20 year old Chevy on concrete blocks sitting next to my home.

And I agree - his being a veteran does not preclude him from the rules that he agreed to when he moved in. My husband doesn't use this, "I am a veteran and you have to do this" mess every time he doesn't get his way.
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You would probably commit suicide living next to me. Or not. I have equipment and all sorts of other stuff on my property. And think you the Chevy on blocks is bad. Then again I live on a hundred acres, with a very nice house and HUGE 200ft by 200ft industrial building. My SO still peeved at that the shop. I got permission to build it. Honest. She never asked how big I was gona build it, and I never told. I have been busy making nice by putting a guest lodge/ summer get together place on top and disguising the shop with shubery and vines and even a waterfall. Problem is no matter how you doll up a 200ft' industrial building its still a 200ft industial building.
 
PirateMk1 said:
You would probably commit suicide living next to me. Or not. I have equipment and all sorts of other stuff on my property. And think you the Chevy on blocks is bad. Then again I live on a hundred acres, with a very nice house and HUGE 200ft by 200ft industrial building. My SO still peeved at that the shop. I got permission to build it. Honest. She never asked how big I was gona build it, and I never told. I have been busy making nice by putting a guest lodge/ summer get together place on top and disguising the shop with shubery and vines and even a waterfall. Problem is no matter how you doll up a 200ft' industrial building its still a 200ft industial building.
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*shudder*
 
Superfly said:
*shudder*
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I keep my stuff in an orderly fashion in nice neat rows. I even mow the grass around it once in a while. You got to remember you live in a neighborhood where everyone is crowded together 1/4 acre or what have you lots. When your neighbors are 5 to ten or more acres away people tend to care less about them and their property. Out where I live you have 1 million plus dollar homes next to 30,000 dollar trailer homes. (Bitteroot valley in MT) Nobody really seems to care. Fences make for good neighbors but distance is even better.
 
PirateMk1 said:
I keep my stuff in an orderly fashion in nice neat rows. I even mow the grass around it once in a while. You got to remember you live in a neighborhood where everyone is crowded together 1/4 acre or what have you lots. When your neighbors are 5 to ten or more acres away people tend to care less about them and their property. Out where I live you have 1 million plus dollar homes next to 30,000 dollar trailer homes. (Bitteroot valley in MT) Nobody really seems to care. Fences make for good neighbors but distance is even better.
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See that sounds even worse to me. My home is not just a place for my family and me to live. It's also an investment. I invested wisely in my home, and I already have quite a bit of equity built up into it already. If I chose to invest in a home next to something far less valuable than my property, it will decrease my property value, and increase his. I am not interested in increasing his property value, while losing money in mine.

Keep your million dollar houses next to mobile homes. Keep your chevys on blocks. Keep your grass grown up to your knees, and gone to seed.

I'll deal with my HOA and keep my constantly increasing property value.
 
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