On Mon, 4 Sep 2017 22:45:03 -0500, Leon lcb11211@swbelldotnet wrote:

On 9/4/2017 7:50 PM, wrote:
On Mon, 4 Sep 2017 17:03:51 -0500, Leon lcb11211@swbelldotnet wrote:

On 9/3/2017 9:12 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 03 Sep 2017 21:36:08 -0400, J. Clarke
wrote:

On Sun, 03 Sep 2017 21:06:41 -0400, wrote:

On Sun, 03 Sep 2017 16:32:16 -0400, J. Clarke
wrote:

On Sun, 3 Sep 2017 14:56:55 -0500, Leon lcb11211@swbelldotnet wrote:

On 9/3/2017 12:57 PM, dpb wrote:
On 03-Sep-17 12:13 PM, Leon wrote:
...

FEMA is paying for hotels for those flooded out of their homes. $4K
would be way too much for a big percentage of families to pay.
FEMA provided trailers for flood victims during the aftermath of Allison
16 years ago, thousands of trailers. And yes the city allowed the
trailers to be situated near the affected homes.

But would they let a homeowner put one on the lot itself and a private
trailer rather than FEMA in one of the designated locations is the
question???

--




I do not know the rules, I'm sure it depends on the location. BUT I
recall seeing the trailers everywhere, mostly in driveways.

If it's designed to be a house trailer or RV and if it's on your
property, why would there be an issue?

A house trailer would be an issue just about anywhere but a RV trailer
might be different. OTOH, if you're living in it, the gendarmes might
get a little tight-lipped about it.

Are you suggesting that in Houston it's illegal to park your RV in
your driveway?

Not allowed here (dumbass HOA).

I would not buy any property that was afflicted by an HOA. Of course
the town here thinks it's an HOA so I really need to look into moving.

It's getting hard to buy without an HOA, anymore. Developers use them
to protect themselves during build-out, then dump the mess on the
homeowners. Ours may have gotten the message that we're not
interested (haven't heard from them since the last annual meeting but
this year's is next Saturday).

In the Houston area the HOA takes over where the local governments leave
off. Our HOA pays for landscape crews to keep up with the common areas
and the entrances. The HOA pays for maintenance around the neighborhood
and pays for street lighting, mosquito control, etc.

The only common areas we have are the two entrances to the subdivision
(~70 homes). The HOA plants annuals around the signs and mows around
them (big deal). I'd prefer they plant perennials and ditch the
signs. They serve no purpose, now that the subdivision is completely
build. They also bought an unbuildable lot off the last developer
(the first went bust in '08) for some unknown reason. It would make a
lousy park or whatever. It's at the edge of the development and would
only serve as a place for kids to drink (and whatever). That's what
the cul-de-sacs were before the subdivision was built out.

Down here and I suspect there too, the developers are board members on
the HOA. Until the subdivision is actually built out the developer's
remains on the board.

Yes, and has veto power over the board. That's why I said that HOAs
are designed to protect the builder during build-out. He couldn't
care what happens after.

Purchasing the unbuildable lot from the developer
"down here" would mean that the HOA would be able to elect it's own home
owner board members and do what is best for the HOA vs what is best for
the developer.

It's just one lot (and the last one). The builder has ultimate
control until he sells the last house.

Our neighborhood is about 12 years old but the HOA was
not controlled by the home oners until about 6 years ago.

About half the subdivision was built in 2006 and 2007. Wen the fit
hit the shan in 2008, the builder went bust (with some foundations
started) and the other half of the lots reverted back to the bank. A
new builder bought the property from the bank in 2014 and finished the
subdivision in 2015 and 2016 (finishing the houses on those 8YO
foundations). The HOA bought the unbuildable lot in 2016, IIRC, just
as the last of the homes were selling. Note that the builder(s), nor
the bank paid any HOA fees.

I actually prefer to be in a strict HOA, you can not buy in a
neighborhood with knowing and agreeing to the rules and regulations.
Our HOA is not terrible to deal with....I'm the president. ;~) But we
do want residents to pay their dues and to not be the eye sore on the
street.

The problem is that everyone has a different definition of "eyesore"
and the definition charges dramatically over time. It's not just
"eyesore" that changes, either.


Well that is true but when you buy into a subdivision with a HOA "here"
you agree to the terms or you cannot close on the house. So by
initialing that you agree to the terms, you agree. If you have problems
with that you have no one to blame but yourself.

The fact is that the rules *can* change after the game begins.

Not pointing the finger at you, just speaking figuratively.

Understand. I don't know if being appointed to an HOA board makes
people crazy or if it's only the crazy people who sit on HOA boards.

Not pointing a finger at you, just speaking figuratively. ;-)