#Hoas

[hometoursandotherstuff]

The homeowner says: "Due to some neighbors flying BLM and other flags, our HOA decided that we can only fly the USA flag. We received an email that someone reported our Pride flag. We complied and removed it. The new rules permit removable lights so... we bought 6 flood lights, and washed our house in pride colors. A little less subtle than our simple flag. A lot more fun for anyone complaining. If you’re interested, here’s the house now."

[geekysteven]

URBAN LEGEND: There's a guy who hides in the backseat of your car with a knife

SUBURBAN LEGEND: the guy with the knife doesn't have the specific brand and color of knife specified by the HOA

[gwydionmisha]

Boomers Threaten Our Housing

Summary:  On Monday September 16th, HOA announced an emergency meeting that members weren't allowed to vote or participate in.  That Thursday they rammed through a special assessment for $4416 and change due in 90 days.  This is on top of the $141 and change they raised us starting every month in August.  I am currently spending nearly everything on housing and bills.

The rate hike was legal as it was voted through properly: Reasonable notice. People allowed to vote. The second very likely was not, but that likely won't make a difference, as it would require a class action lawsuit by 51% of the people in the complex to stop it.

To give you an idea of the scale of the catastrophe, the entire special assessment is just under 5 months' entire income for me. Squirrel originally thought they could save a month's wages, but due to COVID and the extra high bill, they can only kick in about $1000. They think.

Special Update:

For the space of several hours, I thought we were okay. We had raised enough. Bwahahaha! No. I checked in with Squirrel about the payment schedule. One of the bills they normally cover in lieu of rent was about double, plus the loss of income from COVID they caught at work.

None of this is their fault. It is still extra painful somehow to have let myself relax and then get hit again. New totals are below.

They finally gave in on me paying in installments. Yay! Now I get to start moving a used car's worth of money across in chunks.

I have no idea how most of the people living here are going to pay. A lot of people are fixed income or students which is much the same financially.

Update 10/14/24 12:04AM:

I want to thank all the generous benefactors who have helped.

4416 needed.

Squirrel: 1000.00

Me: 2154.00

Pledged for later: 500.00

Total Raised 3154.00 (3654.00 With pledge).

[jerseygirlviews]

Arrowhead Lakes PA

Arrowhead Lakes is a gated community in Pennsylvania...Pocono Mountains area. People rent AIRBnB's here, and live here. It is run by an HOA. We all know how horrible those are.

Anyway, a friend of mine went for a vacation, and got a speeding ticket that they "Tried" to fight via zoom. The HOA kept their ZOOM call on HOLD for 20 minutes...wasting my friend's time to argue their situation. Then Arrowhead Lakes Association board kept TALKING OVER them, and when my friends asked questions, all they said was "We're Not Answering that." Every Single Time.

The speeding ticket was $100.00. The Security person lied. Not actual cop. Wouldn't answer any questions about his history etc. Arrowhead Lakes Community is on YELP and has 2.5 stars. They treat their residents like crap. They treat their GUESTS like crap.

[insipid-drivel]

Buddy, its not that serious. Youre the reason people hate tumblr 😅 im just a person that said one comment that clearly tickled you. Youre role playing an argument that no ones having. You just made stuff up to be mad about. Strange behavior.

Since you needed to tag me, im here to say im not biting that troll post. Also notice im not on anonymous sending threats?

Seek help. Step back from the key board. Its not that serious, its tumblr.

You're free to leave tumblr at any time if it makes you happy, because something I said clearly tickled you enough for you to show your ass up in my askbox. I like it here, been here for 11 years, and you're not gonna spook me by showing up in my asks like a creepy jack-in-the-box just to tell me "I didn't read shiiiiiit!"

I know you didn't read shit, because you wouldn't say you're not a racist on your blog while defending a system that was created to perpetuate religious and racial segregation if you actually had.

You're going through an awful lot of effort to let me know that you didn't read what I replied for someone who didn't actually read what I replied with. The "it's not that serious" retort in an attempt to minimize my response to you is a very transparent "I don't have a very good response for having my highly-inflammatory commentary publicly lampooned with a single Wikipedia page." If it's not that serious, then why do you feel the need to message me? Are you trying to flex in front of your followers or something? Because clearly you must be new here.

I didn't even know you replied until a few minutes ago because I was watering my apple trees and checking them for aphids. I'm hoping natural populations of ladybugs will keep them away, but I may have to spend some of my disability money on a box of ladybugs to set free on 'em since I haven't seen many this year. The only push notifications I get from trees are usually when the wind kicks up and a branch smacks me in the head, but that's between me and the tree, so I didn't see your ask until I got back inside. I don't blame my neighbors and have them fined for erratic tree motion endangering my hair, but you sound like the kind of neighbor that does.

And "You're role playing an argument that no one's having"? I wasn't the first person that spoke up against you? 3 other people just on the version that I saw reblogged to my dashboard had already replied to you with their well-founded arguments! I was just the first one that highlighted the racist side of the subject and how catastrophically negative the ramifications of them have been over the past century and how you can't be pro-HOA and anti-bigotry at the same time!

All that was in my reply were direct quotes from the Wikipedia page about HOAs and the "History" section, with the text copy+pasted over with its associated links to sources and citations for any users that may require tools like text-to-speech to read small fonts and blocks of text and look at the citations themselves straight from the comment. Did I intentionally antagonize you in my summaries after each paragraph because you were bragging about how you manipulate and control your neighbors using a historically-racist system? You're damned sure I did, because I don't like you and I'm not gonna bend over backwards to pretend to tolerate you or show you the slightest hospitality.

You are the skinhead that walked into my bar, and I'm the bartender telling you to get the fuck out so none of your friends that share your opinions ever think that my space is a hospitable place to revisit. You are sending an ask to someone that firmly believes that every human being on this planet, including you, deserves housing, food, water, a living wage regardless of employment or salary, and medical care given to them as basic rights and dignities. I'd sooner allow OceanGate to fly me into Venus than give you even the slightest inkling that approaching me at all with your ill-informed and discriminatory "opinions" already aired for me to see is something I will tolerate in silence, while I still recognize that you are a fellow human being. All you care about is having an expensive house - you don't give a shit about "community". You don't even seem to know what "community" really means. Your idea of "community" is more apt for the definition of a Potemkin Village.

HOAs were built on racist policies that white Americans couldn't stand to let go with the end of the Jim Crow era, and I am not about making friends with anybody that uses that kind of garbage to manipulate and control the people that are stuck with them as neighbors because "waaaah my property values!" The fact that you aren't incensed about how much religious, queer, and ethnic minority groups get fucked over by HOAs? Means you are not my ally. You are part of a centuries-old problem that I want to see fixed.

I own a home with my family. I pray all the time that my house's value fucking tanks, so that way my property taxes go down and saves me and my family more money every year. I want and hope to live in my home for the rest of my natural life so long as I can help it, and if enshittifying it to the sensibilities of property evaluators to save money works? Great! If you're aiming to keep the cost of your property sky high? Then you're already setting up to be somebody's asshole landlord, and if you love tumblr so much, you probably know how a lot of users feel about landlords these days.

Your beliefs about HOAs, are, in fact, discriminatory toward the real human people that have to put up with them, including you, and you're doing your part in carrying on the legacy of bigotry that HOAs were always intended to carry on. It's interesting how much good you seem to think you're doing while simultaneously treating your neighbors like they're beholden to you and your real estate advisor; that yours is the only property that matters, and they're just slow on the uptake that they have a new idol to genuflect to in order to maintain tranquility in their lives.

See, I don't give ground to bigots like you who use outrageously outdated and viciously discriminatory policies borne out of the Jim Crow era that favor you in order to exert your personal mandates and beliefs over your neighbors and their property when they're doing nothing to put you, your home, or your loved ones in actual danger or risk (and no, honey, lowering your property values because the neighbor isn't mowing their lawn to the right height or is working on a car within your line of sight does not count as putting you in danger).

Just like you can't touch anything related to Harry Potter due to JK Rowling using it as her platform and primary source of funding for her transphobic campaigns, HOAs by their very nature and origin cannot be used "for the greater good" without simultaneously perpetuating the generational violence and hate that it's based on.

I already know that multiple people made extremely good and insightful arguments against your beliefs that HOAs exist for the greater good for your property values just by looking at the notes and comments of the original post after you added your thoughts without even mentioning how HOAs are rooted in racism and bigotry, so I know that the real person here itching for a fight is actually you, because you could've chosen after the 2nd person replied negatively to you to just let the subject drop and let the replies under yours be nothing but an echo chamber for people like me you don't agree with and laugh while you disappear into the horizon with no one the wiser.

Instead, you waited less than 30 minutes after I posted my reply building on theirs with actual cited sources and further information about the actual, factual history of the subject to start getting defensive and in my face while also bragging about not reading any of what I said. It's just nonsensical dumbassery on your part to say "lol I don't read troll posts" on top of bothering to engage with me at all. So, I guess, thank you for being my human prompt for continuing to expand on the subject of Why HOAs Are Bad? Anyway.

See my askbox? You're free to be anonymous on my blog. You're free to send me hate anons if it makes you happy, because there is nothing you can do or say to me, anonymous or not, that will genuinely cow me into behaving the way you want me to, which is why your only recourse is to block me and move on, per tumblr basic etiquette, or just don't engage at all. What are you trying to achieve here by even responding to me? An "I'm sowwy I pointed out that the system you love for keeping your house value sky high and manipulating your neighbors for the sake of your own self-interests is entirely rooted in bigotry and hate because you Sent Me A Message Without Anon Status?" I don't give a fuck about you, @glutenfree-rootbeer! I wouldn't spit in your ass if your guts were on fire! It's your ideals that I take exception to and bothered to engage with.

Your original comment already had plenty of backlash aimed at you specifically well before I chimed in. Tagging you directly only helped me see that you really are looking to die on the HOA hill and need yourself people to try to laugh at and punch down on - so much so that you're the one that can't step back from the keyboard and realize that you're 100% in favor of employing policies that enable racist, sinophobic, transphobic, homophobic, and antisemitic segregation policies and housing restrictions. I didn't even dip my toes into the subject of Redlining, either.

By the by, I actually edited out the multiple times I tagged you directly in my reply, but missed one or two tags by mistake, because I did take a bit to think and went, "Yeah, actually, maybe tagging them personally is taking it a little far. I'll post up my comment, but keep it vague who I'm specifically responding to," But you've been such a regular Johnny-on-the-Spot with getting back to me personally that I have a funny feeling you'd still be here pissing in my ear anyway.

To digress back to a topic that actually matters, you cannot defend HOAs and also claim in public that you are not a bigot or, at the very least, an absolute blight on anyone unfortunate enough to have you as a neighbor that dares to do anything on their property that offends you. You are espousing the use of associations that have only ever been used for the sake of keeping "undesirable" people out of your community or otherwise being beholden to you and what you think is the proper way to upkeep your neighborhood.

If you can't handle having your uninformed and ignorant views that you took actual time to detail under someone ELSE'S post, so stop acting like you're the OP when you're just another commenter like I was, then you're gonna have a bad time when someone like me shows up with more information than you're prepared to respond to.

If my followers, mutuals, or anyone who is fully welcome to reblog this and share with their own circle that are curious about how horrific the history of HOAs and their absolutely nightmarish ramifications on our housing market, national economy, racial relations between white and BIPOC communities, John Oliver did an entire 26-minute segment about it that covers even more than I did:

@glutenfree-rootbeer, you may wanna just go to lastsqueaktonight.com to watch the Chuck-E-Cheese episode as a special treat if you managed to read this far.

For those who may want to see what started this whole thing, you can see the original post with @glutenfree-rootbeer's take on how HOAs are good along with my and other users' response to how they aren't Here.

And rootbeer? Don't even try to edit it. I took screencaps. They're under the cut ;)

This is word-for-word an exact screenshot of what you touted for posterity, because you strike me as the kind of person that would try to panic-edit and cover their tracks for the sake of plausible deniability if things got too uncomfortable for you <3

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

HOAs are so backwards man. Like if your neighbors can charge you rent are you really a home owner.

[missremember]

Hi! I have a questionnnn!!! Are we allowed to write fanfic about your OCs from Hero of Another Story?... For no reason in particular *hiding piles of headcanons behind my back*

HOW DID I MISS THIS ASK???

Yes please feel free!! I'd love to read it :]

[steal-this-idea]

I saw this on Quora and I wonder how true it is because it certainly has a certain "truthiness" to it

If so, I feel like this goes a long way toward explaining why so many conservative-minded people jump at the chance to become self-appointed conformity police from anything to haircuts (think men in the '60s and '70s with their long hair) to the use of language (esp. when criticizing AAVE or really any younger person's slang) to the clothes people (but esp. women) wear to calls for greater equity, social justice, and fairness (because the status quo from which we have historically benefited shall not be violated!)

[thoughtslikeaminefield]

Please amuse me in the tags. 💋

[dr-archeville]

Homeowners Associations: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) [source]

"John Oliver discusses homeowners associations, the surprising power they have, and how to tell if a tree is “tree-shaped.””  [25 mins 27 sec]

[veronicabohnert98]

What You Need to Know to Avoid Predatory Lending?

Predatory lending is defined as any lending situation that is not structured in the borrower's best interests. To avoid predatory lending, conduct due diligence on any possible lender and ensure that they are licensed and in good standing with appropriate regulatory organizations.

Speak with your real estate agent: If you have questions about your lender, your agent may be able to help. Maybe your worries are just regular home-buying nerves. Perhaps not. An skilled agent should be able to tell the difference. Of course, if your loan was recommended to you by your realtor, this may not be the greatest alternative.

Examine your paperwork: Look for blank sections or documents near signature lines, dollar figures that do not match the amount you are attempting to borrow, and fees that are greater than usual. An origination cost that is noticeably higher than this is grounds for concern.

Make contact with a state or federal resource: If you believe your lender is acting unethically or illegally, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) maintains a list of local options organized by state that can assist you.

Please contact the FBI: Mortgage fraud is a felony. Contact the FBI if you believe you are a victim.

Contact the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) at the following address: To report a concern with your lender, you can email the HUD directly.

Speak with another lender: You have the right to a second opinion at any time. Try asking a trusted friend or family member for a referral to another lender. Speaking with another lender may either assuage your anxieties or confirm your suspicions.

In the US, a home invasion happens every 15 seconds. This alarming number demonstrates the need of taking every safety measure possible to safeguard your home and loved ones from harm with cove security system. We all desire a world that is more secure and tranquil. And it begins in our own neighborhoods.

[hometoursandotherstuff]

HOA told group member Icarus Tuesday to take down the "H A L L O W E E N" decor. So he added a "Happy T H A N K S G I V I N G."

Gothic Home and Garden member's post

[geekysteven]

I'm gonna start a homeowners association, but with counterintuitive draconian rules like that your lawn can only have venus fly traps

[gwydionmisha]

Homeowners Associations: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

[missremember]

HoAS chapter 9 is now up!

Due to...many things, this took a while. I hope the wait was worth it!

[gridleyfires]

An Overlong Short Story

A House in the Neighborhood For anyone who has been anticipating my complete book accounting, I apologize. I’ve moved yet again, and this move has been a toughie. But to the task at hand: The above book was panned on Kirkus Reviews, somewhat unfairly, I think. Still, it wasn’t my best effort. But I maintain it wasn’t all that bad. The novella attempts a very modern story during the Age of…