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I think that your point is the tip of the iceberg. How many say that you can't plant certain plants? Can't have gardens? Have to always keep your yard pristine (=using way too much energy). Why own a home if you can't do with it what you want to do? Isn't that called renting?

in California, there's legislation that protects owners from HOA restrictions on solar panels. so if you live in California, go solar!

Yeah, don't get me started... So since we purchased our condo from a previous owner we may not replace our allergen-causing, off-gassing carpet with wood flooring due to noise issues, but if we would have purchased a unit direct from the builder (for $50K more) we could have paid for an upgrade to get wood floors. Suddenly these noise issues disappear if the builder installs the flooring???

This is why I would NEVER live in a neighborhood with a HA. That being said, I think it is unfair to complain about it once you have knowingly moved into that neighborhood, assuming the HA guidelines/rules were given to that person beforehand. I assume it is the "restrained elegance" that attracted those people to the neighborhood in the first place. Now he moves in and decides he wants to break the rules? Personally I'm not a fan of HA's, therefore purposely stayed away from them when house shopping.

Thankyou christy. I live in a community with a HOA and I knew what that would entail. That said I am allowed to have a compost pile, gardens etc..

I don't agree with everything any given HOA may have in its rules, and I probably would never buy a house with an HOA, but that's the reason you research and read the rules before you buy! The declarations and rules are available for prospective homeowners, in fact it's part of the buying/ real estate process. Don't complain about it once you've agreed to it. Just find one with regulations that you like. Besides there's more to an HOA and Condo Association than just restrictions. Like bill paying, maintenance help, and a sense of "community." It's easy to complain, but don't negate the benefits.

Our HOA president said that although our HOA guidelines don't allow solar panels, it wouldn't hold up in court. Several of our neighbors are in fact considering them and the building committee has said they would approve them as long as the panels maintain a low profile. Also, in Colorado this last year the State gov't passed a bill (or law?) that said HOA's can't prevent anyone from using solar panels or building windmills; they can however limit placement and aesthetics, which I find to be a good thing. There is a right way (and aesthetically pleasing way) to do most things, but not everyone has that sense.

Our City (Longmont, CO) in fact requires (for the last decade or so) new developments to have HOAs and driving through town you can definitely tell, which neighborhoods have HOAs. They can certainly be annoying, but they are effective at getting folks to pull weeds, paint their homes and not park junkers in their yard. And, in our area they also plow sidewalks around the neighborhood and even the streets on major snows, which is a good thing.

The thing is, most things people laud about HOAs are things already covered by most cities' code enforcement. Where/ how high your fence can be, junkers in the yard, snow removal, all things regulated by City code. I would rather neighborhood associations focus their energy on encouraging homeowner pride and maybe offer maintenance, and gardening workshops to encourage the residents to maintain their home without duress.

This article was about us. Our HOA’s governing documents (CC&R’s / declarations) contain no restriction against solar panels, and our Association’s President (soon to be ex-president after this affair) lives directly across the street from us!

Needless to say, we won the case, and the court ruled that we have the right to install our proposed photovoltaic system (8.5kw), and the association must reimburse us all of our costs and damages, plus a $1,000 civil penalty (per the California Solar Rights Act). This was a case of first impression for the California Superior Court, as it seems that no other HOA in California has been so pig-headed to actually take a case like this to court when they are so clearly on the losing end.

The problem we see with HOA’s is that it’s easy for them to spend the association’s money in fighting what they knew was a bad fight. They figure that the homeowner will back down and give up rather than to fight!

For anyone in California in a similar situation, we have a website set up with all our court documents, including our complaint, the HOA’s answer, our motion for summary judgment, and the judge’s ruling. Hopefully, this can be of use against other California HOA’s:

http://www.terrapacifica.com/spanishhills/

Hope this helps!

Marc & Chris Weinberg