All you have to do is use common sense. Most HOA don't have full
or
even part time employees sitting around to process complaints,
violations, etc. Usually any complaints from residents, sightings by
a member of the violations committe or board, etc are handled when they
have their next regularly scheduled meeting. Then, the notices that
are actual to be sent out may be processed by a management company that
handles that part of the process. So, a delay of a little less than 2
months isn't that unusual.


I find it unusual only because had I let the lawn go for another two
months that there is no way there'd be any kind of delay in notifying
me about further fines or requests to get things done ASAP. I found it
egregious because it looked like they were sending it out on Sep 26 on
a supposedly Aug 3 issue after it should have been plainly obvious that
the problem is long resolved. I think therefore that my reaction is
reasonable based on how that looks to me. But again, if you insist that
a bureaucratic delay of 2 months isn't unusual then okay, I'll accept
that as a possibility.

A letter was sent out by the HOA on Aug 3, telling you that the lawn
was already overgrown. You say you were only away for "a couple of
weeks at the end of July, beginning of Aug", so how is it that it was
already overgrown, spotted, a letter sent, and yet it wasn't cut until
"around mid Aug?" If you cut the lawn the day before you left and
then promptly cut it again 2 weeks later, it doesn't sound like this
would be possible. It sounds to me like the lawn was not cut for a lot
longer. It's also hard to figure how a lawn could go from getting a
HOA letter for being brown in late July, to getting sprinkler repairs
done, to getting another letter Aug 3 for being overgrown, with you on
vacation somewhere in that period too. Something is wrong with the
timeline here.

IIRC, I remember two letters being sent. One was sent in mid July
because the main front section of the L-shaped lawn wasn't growing and
dying and it took maybe a couple of weeks for me to figure out what was
going on and get to digging up and replacing/reinstalling parts of the
sprinkler. In the meantime, I had upped the water duration to 20
minutes/day to compensate for what later I found to be leaky faulty
sprinkler housings/heads on the front part of the lawn while the rear
section part of the lawn where the spinklers were working were
overgrowing quickly and I was waiting until the dying part grew back
before cutting the whole lawn so the Aug 3 letter was probably
referring to that.

Just before I went on vacation, everything seemed in order, the dying
part grew back sufficiently and then I cut the entire lawn properly and
went away forgetting that I needed to turn down the water to 1/3 of
that. 20 minutes/day watering for two weeks with Bermuda grass and it
will overgrow pretty quickly. So I cut it when I got back and for the
past couple of months things have been fine. The lawn is evenly watered
at the right amount and I've only had to cut it no more than every two
weeks or less to keep it in good shape.

Again, I think people are missing my point entirely. I'm not claiming
the lawn wasn't in bad shape at one point. But it wasn't because of
laziness it was because the spinkler system had been broken and was
breaking down further and I was working hard to figure out what was
going on then fixing it. Cutting it before going on vacation and then
expecting it not to need cutting for two weeks is reasonable had I
remembered to cut back the water. So okay that was my oversight. I
don't deny the lawn wasn't in good shape and I agree people had a right
to complain and threaten fines to get it done but I got it done and its
been fine for the past two months.

So what bothered me particularly though was seeing a notice 2 months
later over an issue that I worked hard to fix and has been maintained
properly then seeing them send a notice about it two months later. If
it was just bureaucratic delay, then okay, but on initial perception it
seemed to me that they were instead sending out a notice over an old
problem because they being jerks and not wanting to let it go. Am I
being completely unreasonable to have this perception???

Anyway I have not yet responded or contacted anyone from the HOA yet
precisely because I wanted to take the best course of action possible.
This is why I posted this message so that I could get feedback and I'm
glad I did. Rather than going in assuming they were being jerks for
dredging up an old issue I'll have to also consider that it was just
bureaucratic inertia which isn't as egregious as what it initially
appeared. But had I been on the "warpath" as people claim, I wouldn't
have bothered, I would have gone in and punched people out well I
haven't and don't intend to do that.

How is it that you have no proof of the repairs to the sprinkler
system, which you claim were substantial? If a contractor did it, you
should have a bill, canceled check, etc. If you bought the materials
and did it yourself, you should have bills, credit card receipts, etc.
Even a neighbor or someone who saw you doing the work could be a
witness.

If they demand proof for what I'm stating here to have happened then I
suppose I could provide it but I would consider that kind of
inquisition-like atmosphere to be extremely hostile and not neighborly
especially in light of the fact that the lawn had been well maintained
for over two months. They should accept what I've said as a good
explanation and therefore decide that a fine is unwarranted but if they
insist on being jerks and want to impose a fine then do it and let's
just move on. In fact if they had only stated the fine amount they were
seeking and it was small enough, I'd just rather pay it and move on
rather than having to continue dealing with an issue from months back.


If you want a favorable outcome, without starting a war, I suggest you
send your wife or another representative to the violation hearing,
And also consider taking the advice to move to an area without a HOA,
as I can see you are headed for lots of future problems if you stay
where you are.

I don't accept this "like it or leave it" advice. If something is
unjust or not right it is better to fight it then leaving and
slinkering from it. Nor do I feel like I should be forced to move out
of state because of bad HOAs.