DIYbanter - View Single Post

Ed Pawlowski[_3_]

On 3/23/2021 11:59 AM, wrote:
On Tue, 23 Mar 2021 02:38:37 -0700 (PDT), "
wrote:

On Monday, March 22, 2021 at 7:25:22 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Mon, 22 Mar 2021 10:24:46 -0700 (PDT), "
wrote:

As I understand it, those covenants are changed by a vote of all
the homeowners who are subject to those covenants. I bet when
you buy in those neighborhoods, you agree to abide by the covenant
and any changes that are made according to some rules set out in
the agreement.

My knowledge is limited, since I'd never buy such a house.

Cindy Hamilton
It is state by state and maybe even down to the local level somewhere
but in Florida they can change the bylaws and possibly the covenants
at the annual meeting and it does not have to be a unanimous vote.

Both you and micky thought I indicated a unanimous vote. "All" indicated
that all homeowners in the covenant can participate in voting, implying
not just the governing body.

Cindy Hamilton

The most onerous things HOAs do can be a simple rule change that the
board can do by majority vote. In some cases it is just an
interpretation of an existing rule that stretches the meaning but you
need a lawyer to fight it and you still might lose. At my wife's HOA
they had cases where one board member would create a policy without
even consulting the other board members and the people would just go
along because they didn't know.
I am very happy we don't have a real HOA here. In fact, I am the one
who raised the rabble that defeated the idea of reinstating the HOA
that expired in 1978. The vote went 14 "for" to 44 "against" in the
most heavily attended annual meeting in the history of our
neighborhood. I just took the time to knock on every door in the
neighborhood and see what they thought.

Buying a new house in Florida without an HOA is difficult unless you buy
a piece of land and build. I was not willing to do that.

I did, however, take the time to read the regulations. They were not
overly restrictive. Nor did I hear from anyone when I broke a couple of
rules the first week here.

I used PODS when we moved and they sat in my driveway a little longer
than the rules. Not a big deal but it is there to prevent someone from
putting on in front of the house for permanent storage.