HOA policing

Hey guys, this is Elizabeth Coe with the Loudoun Times-Mirror. (www.loudountimes.com)
I apologize to anyone who received the below question in a private message. I did not mean to offend anybody by sending this to you.

I wanted to see if any of you had thoughts/ comments on a topic for a new
article I am working on. Here's the basic idea:

Some people believe Homeowners Associations wield too much power, without
any checks and balances. What are the common problems with these
quasi-governmental organizations and how can homeowners seek remedies???

The plan is to go to some of the larger HOAs in the east to see what
residents/ board members feel about this issue. Is there anyone out there
policing HOAs? Should there be?? Let me know!

If you'd like to be interviewed/ quoted for this please send me an e-mail
response or you can call me at 703-777-1111!!! If you send a reply e-mail
please include your FULL name. Cliff and other HOA board members, you can also comment if you'd like to from the standpoint of what it's like to be part of an HOA and how you feel about the above question. (Cliff I will most likely be calling you and other HOA presidents about this topic once I hear more from residents.)

Also... we're going to put together a little box / graphic of the TOP 5
things people say they do NOT like about living in an HOA. And the TOP 5 things they do like.

Any thoughts on that?

Thanks to all who choose to comment on this subject. I am just in the beginning stage on this so feel free to get in touch and let me know what you think!

Elizabeth Coe
Eastern Loudoun Reporter
Loudoun Times-Mirror
9 E. Market St.
Leesburg, VA 20176
703-777-1111 x1317
F: 703-771-0036
www.loudountimes.com

 

HOA stink! Active members are those who have waaaay too much time on their hands.

 

Haha,

Ole timers, for a minute there I read "HOA Stink!" and had a flash back to Huangwonlow, or whatever that name was.

Anyone remember the real name?

 

One time I had a long saga with our HOA president. He posted extremely negative comments on my business repeatedly, with a simple HOA President as his signature with no disclaimers. I tried to tell him it was a misunderstanding several times, but he continued to be negative. I was willing to take care of the problem, but he was hesitant, endorsing the work of a competitor. When I saw the competitor's job, there were far greater inconsistencies (even though it was not a terrible job). I finally was "allowed" to redo the work at my own expense, but this action was never mentioned by him on this board (where he had berated me).

Nothing has irritated me more than this. I appreciate the little things that those active in the HOA do that add up to a huge difference. Even though it is a thankless job, I think far greater care and tact should be demonstrated by these individuals, especially when they have something negative to say about their neighbors.

Bear

 

So your posting on an HOA website, asking for feedback for your newspaper on things negative (and positive... uh huh) about... the HOA?

Thats pretty rich.

 

Well I guess I am one of the the gulity "offended" parties in all this.

I received this PM and forwarded it to Cliff. But it wasnt because I was offended yet it was because I thought he had the right to know that someone was on the HOA sponsored message boards phishing for negative feedback about the HOA.

As for me, I am to new to the area to have any complaints about the HOA and I think it is tacky to use the HOA boards to try to get a story about what we dislike about the HOA.

 

I'd be willing to bet no one could stop at the top 50 things they didn't like about Broadlands if we didn't have an HOA.

 

i'm a fan of HOAs-whether or not i always agree. with such a melting pot of cultures, people from different parts of the U.S., and in general- varying opinions on what is tasteful, offensive, intrusive on neighbors or acceptable landscaping- a community like ours NEEDS an HOA.

do i think ours is overbearing, power hungry or full of busy bodies? absolutely NOT. they are 40-60 hour a week working folks just like most of us in this community (that's working outside of the home AND stay at home parents) who happen to also give up a lot of precious time to keep our community nice, clean, safe and as much fun as possible.

some people who like to complain do so on EITHER side- if the HOA DOES something, or if the HOA doesn't. so take any negative feedback with a grain of salt and consider the sources (who are they, do they always have negative things to say, have they ever attended a meeting, do they contribute to problems or solutions)

if the question is would Broadlands be better off without an HOA- NO WAY,it'd be a mess. Do changes need to be made in the way our HOA does business? I don't think so- I've been to meetings and think every resident has every opportunity to be heard and considered. Do I think some of the rules are a bit over the top? A few- but I know they need to be in order to keep the borderline problems from spilling over into out of control messes.

i think a more interesting article could be written about teens and what more they think should be done about the vandals and criminals among them- what they think the motivation is behind what their peers are up to and how they feel about it... but i won't hijack this topic...

 

Absolutely agree. Well said.

Perhaps instead of fishing for negative stories on our forum, Elizabeth, you could write an article on how journalists skew things out of proportion either to flat out create a story that doesn't exist or to make a story sound interesting. Because, of course, no one wants to write a story about how much we appreciate our HOA--it's much more fun to stir up controversy and write about excessive power, etc.

On behalf of others, a big thanks to Cliff and others who volunteer their time to make Broadlands among the best communities to live anywhere.

 

I think HOAs are great. Having had time to drive through HOA-less areas such as Sterling Park and Herndon, I would not trade for the world. The rules and regulations we live by make our neighborhood a better place. The events put on such as Broadlands Live are fun and worthwhile. The people who are active in HOA are generous to give their time as well, and I greatly appreciate. As a homeowner (not a business owner) the positives outweigh the negatives.

I am also not sure that I agree that this forum is the wrong place for this reporter to solicit opinions of HOA's. Don't assume its going to be a negative story, I am sure most people love the HOA.

 

Well said!!

I also got a PM from this "reporter" and chose not to respond. FYI, she has also been fishing at Brambleton's site as well.

 

What I really don't like, quite frankly, is reporters trolling for stories on an HOA neighborhood forum.

Enough said.

 

She has added some things in the public post that were not in the PM, like the 5 things people do like about HOA's. But this is pretty much the pm I got.

 

Bear, the anonimity of this forum is too convenient for those "few" people who have an axe to grind. And in Journalism 101, you need to be able to verify your sources.

 

having lived in a non-hoa neighborhood before, i like the HOAs. It can be frustrating at times and time consuming, but thankfully i don't have to look at tacky decorations around the holidays. Nets out to be a positive thing in my view.

 

You couldn't be referring to colored Christmas lights and inflatable Santas? I have those, so you must mean some other tacky holiday decorations!

 

I'm afraid it gets much, much worse than that. Your tacky decorations are just fine