Something like 35% of all homes in the US are governed by HOAs and roughly 2/3 of all new developments are adopting HOAs.
LilB0kChoy 89 points 4 days ago
IrateAnteater 112 points 4 days ago
Reason number 4629 why I'll never be immigrating to the US. "Land of the free" my ass.
Peppycito 39 points 4 days ago
I've recently just understood what a HOA is. As a Canadian I thought they were "Unincorporated Municipalities" or there's also "Rate Payers Associations" which is like a proto-town where there's a group providing town-like services amongst themselves. Which to me is some sick ass anarchist shit. But an HOA is just letting your neigbours tell you what to do? That's lame.
TipRing 11 points 4 days ago
I don't have an HOA but my property operates under deed restrictions that limit property owners in meaningful ways, establishing usage of the wells, easements, number of structures and so forth.
One of my neighbors repeatedly referred to herself as "the head of the HOA" and I told her she needed to stop saying that because we don't have one. I didn't say as much but I would hire an attorney to send a C&D if she were to keep that up.
SarahValentine 8 points 4 days ago
But an HOA is just letting your neigbours tell you what to do? That’s lame.
Sure, but there's a chance they could become the ones fucking their neighbors over for cheap thrills! That makes it okay! /s
SwingingTheLamp 3 points 4 days ago
HOAs vary a lot. In my city, every new development has one as a condition of getting permits from the city. That's mainly because cars and their infrastructure are stupidly expensive, the city just can't afford to maintain it all without raising property taxes. I have friends who live in an HOA neighborhood, and basically they just pay an extra monthly bill to cover snow removal, maintenance of common areas, and such. For them, it's nothing like the horror stories of HOAs that can take your house if your mailbox is the wrong color. It is just a group providing services that the city can't afford anymore.
pivot_root 7 points 4 days ago
It is free, but that privilege doesn't come for free.
As long as you have enough money and don't step on the toes of other people who have money, you can seemingly get away with everything.
OwOarchist 3 points 4 days ago
"With freedom and justice for all who can afford it."
SapphironZA 1 point 4 days ago
More like land of free to be asses.
DonutsRMeh -6 points 4 days ago
Don’t let the internet scare you. The USA is still amazing. I’m an immigrant myself and I could’ve never asked for a better place.
the_wizard_of_0Z -6 points 4 days ago
This is like the dumbest shit I have ever heard. You are no authority of anything. Why should anyone care what you think? Lots of people are immigrants. We have kids in cages and you are a insane person. You sound like a cop or a human who has lost its instinct to survive. Yeah the grass is greener but that is just because it is made of plastic.
LilB0kChoy -14 points 4 days ago
HOAs or something of similar form exist in a lot of places. They require residents to be involved though. Anybody who lives in an HOA or similar and doesn’t participate (go to meetings, read their bylaws etc.) contributes to the organization being abused.
HOAs are most frequently[citation needed] found in the United States, Japan, Canada, Australia, and the Philippines,[3] and to some extent in other countries, such as New Zealand, Israel, Mauritius, South Africa, most of the countries of the European Union, such as Denmark, France, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Austria, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Greece, Sweden, Belgium, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Estonia, Slovakia and Slovenia, and some of the Latin American countries, such as Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico.
OwOarchist 11 points 4 days ago
go to meetings
And fuck you if you've got a job, right?
That's why all these HOAs are run by retirees with too much time on their hands.
IrateAnteater 7 points 4 days ago
I'm in Canada. As it says further down that Wikipedia article, HOAs for detached homes are very rare. Condo boards exist, but mostly by necessity if sharing a building.
BCsven 2 points 4 days ago
HOA are not in Canada.
Closest we have is strata when an apartment or condo is owned by all the owners having a share.
You have yearly vote for who sits on council, and bylaws can be changed by voting. The Strata does not have to approve your purchase into the unit like HOAs do to restrict the type of person who can own.
untropvertimide 2 points 4 days ago
They require residents to be involved though. Anybody who lives in an HOA or similar and doesn’t participate (go to meetings, read their bylaws etc.) contributes to the organization being abused.
That's actually wrong. Homeowners associations require homeowners to be involved, not residents. There is actually a very strong difference between the meanings of "homeowner" and "resident".
In France a form of "HOA" exists for what some countries call condominium: co-owned lot of houses (FR: "lotissement"), or co-owned multi-appartments complexes. Only co-owners can participate to the full general assembly or be elected as a representative member in the "Conseil syndical" (aka. "CS", the council of co-owners representatives) ? Whether these owners reside in the complex does not matter, and such owners can be "moral entities" (ex: companies). On the other hand, residing rentees are not invited to participate, even remotely, to any of these general or CS-restricted assemblies. Usually these HOA and their provider named "syndic de copropriété" manage the complex as a whole, as they managed any part of the complex that is not a part of a unit. (aka. "common parts") The rentees are usually not even supposed to interact directly with the HOA.
Personal anecdote: residing as a rentee in an appartement inside a co-owned complex can lead to some interesting conflicts. For example, when the HOA doesn't maintain common water pipes, and these pipes flood the rented appartment, whose owner is neither available nor reactive. I've experienced the rentee side in this situation. Not fun. And it wasn't the clean water input. (And if you claim the owner wasn't fit to be a decent landlord, I'll actually agree. They weren't a malevolent, bad-faith greddy scum of a landlord, but they were indeed an incompetent one.)
HubertManne 8 points 4 days ago
I have heard many municipalities only allow new construction as planned communities because they don't want to do the trash and local roads and simplifies connections water/sewer wise and they require water run off management and such.
grue 5 points 4 days ago
The municipalities know the suburbs are a Ponzi scheme and don't want to be left holding the bag. Single-family homes on large lots simply don't generate enough tax revenue to pay for the infrastructure they use.
LilB0kChoy 1 point 4 days ago
I’d imagine it varies greatly by municipality but I’ve known of a number of new developments where I am where the local laws required developers to establish and manage an HOA while they build.
The developer hands it over to the property owners to run after a determined amount of time.
smh 3 points 3 days ago
I bought a home built in the 90s that technically had an HOA because the town required one when the subdivision was built. The HOA was defunct until 2010 or so when someone wanted to add an addition to their house. They put in for permission from the town. Town said "did the HOA approve it?" Homeowner went "HOA? Oh, I guess we should have one of those." After that, the HOA existed to rubber stamp home additions and send out email reminders to get your septic tank pumped. No fuss, no fees.
Current home is a condo with a shared roof. HOA is much more hands on and my biggest complaint is they suck at communicating expectations. Like, I'm fine following rules. I'm autistic, it's kind of my thing. Just tell me what they are before you yell at me for breaking them. (note: I'm easy to yell at because I have a history of abuse, yelling is more a tone of voice than a volume thing.)
On the other hand, anything outside my walls isn't my problem and it's way cheaper than renting was. And I go to the monthly meetings.
OwOarchist 3 points 4 days ago
I'll live in a goddamn cardboard box before I live in an HOA house.
ThatWeirdGuy1001 14 points 4 days ago
Daily reminder that one of the most famous serial killers stopped killing after he became president of an HOA because he got just as much satisfaction from it as he did torturing people to death.
Can't remember if it was Dahmer or the BTK killer but the point is still there
CancerMancer 3 points 4 days ago
Was he president of an HOA? I thought he was just a very annoying municipal compliance officer. I can see how people would cross those streams, given both roles are built for assholes who want to measure your grass height with a ruler and check your house paint against a swatch.
ThatWeirdGuy1001 1 point 4 days ago
Honestly I don't remember but like you said it's along the same vein
Edit: Just looked it up and you are correct. It was the BTK killer.
Sidyctism2 5 points 4 days ago
More like the gated good
wyldrstallyns 2 points 3 days ago
thegreatergoood
hedge_lord 2 points 4 days ago
The Greater Good.
plateee 13 points 4 days ago
My HOA seems to be one of the best options - $300/year and zero rules about bins being x inches from the house, paint restrictions, etc. The money goes towards the subdivision pool and that's it.
But I'm worried that the two trustees (who are in their 70s) will kick it and someone less hands off will take over.
blargh513 17 points 4 days ago
Oh sweet summer child.
Nobody thinks THEIR HOA can turn to shit, but all it takes is maybe five people to take over and fuck it entirely. I moved into a one of these shitbag neighborhoods because it was the only thing available at the time that fit the budget and met the other criteria. Buying during late covid was a mess. I've spent a LOT of time pouring over the legal documents, charters, etc and pulling as many docs out of the county recorder's website as I could find. The pastiche of state and local laws that interleave into HOAs is a confusing mess at best. In the case of mine, the board members got something through that changed the voting requirements for dissolution of the HOA from 60% to 95%. No, they did not hold a vote to do it, they just did it via the procedures laid out in the founding documents. I've NEVER witness or been invited to any voting activities, yet we have a new board president somehow. It's the same group of ten white boomers that just trade back and forth. Right now, the only thing that's holding them down is that they pissed away all the money so they have little to nothing left to engage in any sort of legal battles with homeowners. However, they did just raise the fees (again, no voting that I am aware of) so that may change.
Your HOA may be benign now, but all it takes are a handful of assholes to fuck up the whole thing and create misery in the process. A few boomer busybodies, maybe one lawyer and you're fucked.
Also, many of these things will "sell" the management to a 3rd party that will run them like a slumlord. They will send people out to generate infractions and fines that they get to keep. Grass too long, fine. Mailbox not right, another fine. Garbage out too early/late, that's a fine. Most of the money goes to the management company, the board trustees will put the rest into the HOA funds, but there is almost zero oversight for what happens to the money.
HOAs are bullshit I would love to burn mine down; I'm half tempted to start a legal battle with mine just because I know that they dont' have a lot of money and I might be able to bully them into something, but I'd never get rid of it. Plus it would be an expensive gamble.
NightFantom 17 points 4 days ago
Would it hurt to sound less condescending?
OwOarchist 8 points 4 days ago
Yep. Doesn't matter if this HOA is 'one of the good ones'. It can become a horror show at any time whenever the leadership changes.
Duamerthrax 1 point 4 days ago
One of the most basic people I know lives in one and when I asked him why, he just said the properly values are high. He not the most creative person and doesn't really care about politics or anything really, so it works for him.
FenrirIII -3 points 4 days ago
You say that until you live next to someone who literally parks multiple vehicles in their front yard, blasts loud music all day (and most of the night), has dogs running loose, and then starts building a second house on the edge of your property.
Many Americans are selfish, stupid people who will do whatever they want until someone stops them. We all know calling the cops is useless and often just escalates the assholery. I'd rather deal with an HOA run by geriatrics than a pissed off trashy person who has endless access to gasoline.
OnyxRex 2 points 4 days ago
music would be a problem but I won't complain about the cars in their front yard if they don't complain about the giant garden in mine. Besides, maybe they'd let me borrow their jack stand or help me change my rotors.
FenrirIII 0 points 4 days ago
I appreciate that you want to see the potential positives, but it's just not realistic. If it's a cool person, like the kind that would help you out, they're probably not the same person who acts so obnoxiously and rudely.
mnemonicmonkeys 2 points 4 days ago
Most municipalities have ordinances for noise and leash requirements. I doubt you even bothered to call the cops on them
FenrirIII 0 points 4 days ago
Ordinances and laws don't matter in many places. Until his pitbull bit a kid walking in the street, the cops AND animal control never came out once despite multiple complaints. Cops don't care and animal control had other problems (wildlife in the nearby nature preserve). My eife wouldn't take our dog out because we'd get swarmed.
I don't know why your first assumption is that this is all somehow my fault.
wyldrstallyns 0 points 3 days ago
Well, that's a false equivalency if I ever saw one.
FenrirIII 0 points 3 days ago
And OP I'm responding too isn't making a sweeping generalization? It's not a false equivalency to compare an actual experience without an HOA to someone's made-up generalization about HOAs. The fact that people so blindly repeat this broken line of thinking proves that most people have never actually dealt with an HOA. Sure, there are bad ones, but not every single one.
It's a circlejerk of uninformed people who just want to hate on something they really know nothing about.
Wildone 129 points 4 days ago
My hoa has this. Wish I knew before I moved in. My car got vandalized, and the offender was their friend. They decided to protect him and not give out the recording. Also sent out email with disclaimer: cameras are not for our safety or security. What are they for then?!?! Stalking us?!?
the_mighty_kracken 73 points 4 days ago
You don't sue the guy, you sue the hoa and/or the person who told you they weren't going to give you evidence.
SaharaMaleikuhm 42 points 4 days ago
The ones who have the recording, genius
Wildone -5 points 4 days ago
Ha, good luck with that. Suing hoa is like shooting yourself in the foot. Gotta sell and move out before doing that, and by now they already deleted the recording. So it will lead nowhere. Nothing i can prove.
wyldrstallyns 4 points 3 days ago
You aren't expected to do the legwork. That's what an attorney is for.
WoodScientist 11 points 4 days ago
You need to run to be your HOA president.
OhStopYellingAtMe 93 points 4 days ago
When I was house-shopping, I refused to look at any house that was in an HOA.
Nefara 47 points 4 days ago
Some HOA's are literally just to pay for the maintenance of a shared private drive, which IMO is reasonable. So, we explicitly refused to make any offers or consider any homes in HOA's which didn't let us see their charter. Interestingly enough, that was all of them... makes you think.
ikidd 22 points 4 days ago
Where I'm from, the board has to make all documentation and meeting minutes available to people considering purchasing.
And it's a damn good thing they do, I've had friends discover some pretty expensive things that were lurking in the wings for future costs, like mold abatement and foundation problems.
BasedMaquisEddington 44 points 4 days ago
What you don’t want to pay a surcharge every month for the privilege to fund a micro government focused on harassing its constituents?
Ya fuck HOAs
Brosplosion -2 points 4 days ago
Depends on the HOA. Some are basically microdictatorships, some are just actually a group of homeowners trying to make sure their neighborhood doesn't fall apart. Several of the houses down the road that don't have HOAs have broken furniture and smashed cars in their front yards. Imagine trying to sell your home living next to that.
We pay about $500 a year to our HOA, and that gives us access to a neighborhood playground/yearly events/etc. Only time we had to reach out was to build a fence and it was just verifying we were in the guidelines for type of fence allowed and not encroaching neighbors.
BradleyUffner 13 points 4 days ago
Just remember that the board and rules can change over time. What seems reasonable now may not be what you'll be dealing with next year.
Don_alForno 8 points 4 days ago
guidelines for type of fence allowed
Huge red flag. There's a giant spectrum between "no trash in the front yard please" and "guidelines for type of fence allowed"
Tollana1234567 80 points 4 days ago
also ring cameras are spying too. i see them still installed in most houses.
Someonelol 3 points 4 days ago
Just go take a walk in a couple of residential areas. You'll see them fairly quickly.
mirshafie 3 points 3 days ago
Ring video doorbells do exist in Europe, but they're not very common. Apparently they are very common in the US, and they record video of things it sees. I think the legitimate use-case is to record if your packages (that are left by the door) are tampered with or stolen.
Here's an article: https://www.eff.org/...
JasonDJ 8 points 4 days ago
Bah even private cameras are dystopian (unless you go through the rigamarole of self-hosting, and maybe have a "remote site backups" agreement with a friend/family member).
I shudder to think how many hours of home security video Bezos has access to. I wonder how quickly the worlds largest AI datacenter can comb through all of them and identify the ones with naked or partially-clothed children, and, ahem...set them aside.
You already see AI flagging innocent, private photos as CSAM...even "baby in the bath" that literally every parent has taken...and sometimes even calling the authorities. I'm absolutely certain that if their AI is flagging them, it's also...ahem...archiving them...for "further review" (with a bottle of lotion). And I'm also certain there are plenty of very fortunate perverts at mid-levels with access to it, who landed their dream-job.
wyldrstallyns 1 point 3 days ago
Let's not forget that said "good reasons" are all but absent in real scenarios. 🤮
jumping_redditor 9 points 4 days ago
private cameras make tons of sense for liability protection, but there is no reason to let the pigs access it without a warrant or you directly benefiting.
captainlezbian 2 points 3 days ago
Yeah you want a camera to be able to identify who robbed you, but not one that allows the cops to see your coke filled backyard orgy. The only way to have that is to have full control of the cameras and recordings
DaddleDew 62 points 4 days ago
You should be allowed to shoot at flock cameras with a pellet gun if you're standing on your property while doing it. If you can hit the lens from there, it was infringing on your privacy on your property.
KairuByte 29 points 4 days ago
In the US you are legally allowed to record anything visible from public property. Meaning the flock cameras could be pointed directly at your house and it’d be legal.
I mean, they’d suddenly disappear somewhat frequently, but they’d be legal while there.
MML 11 points 4 days ago
You can also claim other peoples property if it's been left over 48 hours and is in public. Parking was a fucking nightmare and we would have have these contractor dumpsters that had a really bad habit of staying long past their permit length, well I guess I have a dumpster to either scrap or sell. There's a form and a whole process, but make Flock claim every camera.
KairuByte 11 points 4 days ago
Hell no, the chances of getting fucked over for that are so high. Cut em off, bag em in a faraday bag before transportation, wait at least a day if no longer before opening the bag, then break em down into unidentifiable parts and dispose of what you don’t want.
Sidyctism2 7 points 4 days ago
But be careful to extract the up to 5 pounds of copper and 1.5 pounds of gold first
MML 4 points 4 days ago
Depends but only licensed/registered ones I would guess, another neighbor got cars removed pretty regularly cause he was fixing them to sell but he would park them on the street but without tags
cantstopthesignal 1 point 4 days ago path: 0 25317706 25317773 25319178, hotness: undefined, score: 1, children: 0
schipelblorp 6 points 4 days ago
Upgrade that pellet gun to an AR15 and I 100% guarantee we can get conservatives on board.
Track_Shovel 2 points 4 days ago
Apparently a big green laser does the job just well by cooking the sensor
brucethemoose 5 points 4 days ago
Especially at night when the camera aperture is wide open.
It’s honestly not worth it though, as a laser that big could mess up yours or someone else’s eyes.
explodicle 1 point 3 days ago
Won't the circular saw be dangerous too, and noisy?
OwOarchist 1 point 4 days ago
Now I want to figure out what's the maximum possible range a highly customized 'pellet gun' could shoot if you really engineer the hell out of increasing the range...
wyldrstallyns 53 points 4 days ago
The fact that your HOA is surveiling your house and its residents is disgusting enough to at least meet with an attorney, IMHO. 🖖🏼
Imgonnatrythis 52 points 4 days ago
My HOA has them and advertises them as a way to keep the neighborhood safer. Most people buy it. I hope the tide turns on these though and that more stories like this continue to show they can affect bottom lines.
Imgonnatrythis 4 points 4 days ago
Yeah, I'm still all for flockjacks and flock stumps though.
wyldrstallyns 1 point 3 days ago
Don't forget the 3D-printable Flock Sock —to protect the dear cameras from harmful radiation, of course.
Imgonnatrythis 2 points 3 days ago
Also for your balls. It's well known that flock radiation shrinks your balls.
mnemonicmonkeys 39 points 4 days ago
Lack of options
Crashumbc 14 points 4 days ago
I'd rather live in a tent.
No matter how "good" HOA may seem... It will go to shit and and you will get fucked. It's not if, it is when.
You may get lucky for a few years, but eventually like Russian roulette, you will lose big.
grayclouds 6 points 4 days ago
You absolutely would not rather live in a tent. Living in a tent really sucks.
wyldrstallyns 10 points 4 days ago
You're missing the hyperbolic but reasonable point.
mrgoosmoos 1 point 3 days ago
you still have to put that tent somewhere you're allowed to be
Nalivai 22 points 4 days ago
My friend bought a house in a good neighborhood with "good HOA". Half a year later they went on vacation and while they were away, hoa people entered his yard with a key that they apparently have without informing him, and cut down a beautiful cherry blossom tree in his yard, then sent him a bill for a removal, with the explaination that the tree had "incorrect leaf density".
mnemonicmonkeys 10 points 4 days ago
Your friend should have sued the fuck out of them. If that tree was more than a few years old they could have been looking at 6 figures in damages
hereiamagain 3 points 4 days ago
HOAs have some crazy legal standings and abilities. IANAL but I wouldn't be surprised if that was technically legal according to their rules, and they are protected
I will never live in an HOA.
endbringer 3 points 3 days ago
I wouldn’t be surprised if that was technically legal according to their rules
I highly doubt those rules can override actual laws, even if they're in fine print you technically signed. I just don't see a bullet point "we can secretly make a key to your property and remove something from it without any notice" holding up.
kuerbiskernoel 4 points 4 days ago
What is HOA?
whereitsat 8 points 4 days ago
the importance of 'freedom' is central to the american experience. but, nobody in this country can mind their own fucking business, and every single person has some grand idea about how everyone else should live and then wants to go out of their way to make their insane fantasy a concrete reality.
the HOA is one such expression. in this case, it's when a bunch of upper middle class karens create a neighborhood government to tell you what you can or can't do with your property.
clif 6 points 4 days ago
path: 0 25323903 25325821 25326003, hotness: undefined, score: 6, children: 0
Basically a power hungry mini government that controls everything about your house
Gammelfisch 36 points 4 days ago
The municipalities are allowing it and the police are gobbling them up. As someone commented below, a fucking Ring camera is near identical to a Flock. In the near future, I'm certain Ring will also offer a camera, with options, that will read your ass.
f4f4f4f4f4f4f4f4 12 points 4 days ago
They already do gait analysis. It's not a leap to assume that Amazon can identify you from the motion of your ass as you walk.
f4f4f4f4f4f4f4f4 3 points 3 days ago
This is an interesting read: https://recfaces.com/...
You can do it at home with open-source software like OpenCV. The world's largest companies that have been collecting and analyzing surveillance data for more than a decade are now desperate to find profitable use cases for their "AI"...
merc 3 points 3 days ago
This paper makes it sound like it's still basically guesswork. It's a lot like lie detector tests. They don't really work, but maybe they can be somewhat useful tools when combined with lots of other things?
SalmonTractor 3 points 3 days ago
They already integrate with Axon
grayclouds 34 points 4 days ago
Flock cameras make it look like there's a lot of crime in the area
wyldrstallyns 16 points 4 days ago
That's because their presence alludes to anyone being a secret criminal, even your neighbors. 🤮 Watch out next for the armbands.
grayclouds 10 points 4 days ago
They're already soft launching this with trans people's ID's
wyldrstallyns 2 points 3 days ago
Yep. The armbands aren't just for arms anymore. 😒
chronicledmonocle 26 points 3 days ago
Fuck HOAs. I refused to look at houses within an HOA when I bought mine. I fired a realtor because they kept wasting my time showing me "wonderful houses" that were within an HOA, even though I explicitly told them no.
Nightsoul -6 points 3 days ago
Hoas are great for master planned neighborhoods, that are gated and have a community pool. The funds go maintaining the landscaping, gate, streets, and pool
They should not be used for any communities that lack of those . The problem is they are built into new housing and it's difficult to get rid of them.
Jax 11 points 3 days ago
The only people I've ever heard speak positively about HOAs are the ones causing problems for people within them. I'm not sure if that includes you, but it certainly paints my perception of this comment.
mushroommunk 8 points 2 days ago
Yeah,...gated communities? Private pools? Really kinda showing their hand there.
Grilipper54 1 point 2 days ago
I lived in an HOA neighborhood for a year with no issues. I didn't like the neighborhood because it was cookie cutter but the HOA never made any complaints to us.
Our driveway got plowed because of the HOA so that was nice.
Neighborhood was not very attractive in the sense that there were barely any trees in any of the yards.
5318008 0 points 2 days ago
I think it's like plane crashes. We hear a lot about when things go wrong, but if it actually works, there's nothing to talk about.
A friend's grandmother lives in an HOA. She never has issues.
We should probably have the dues, complaints, charters, and whatnot be public to avoid some of the mystery. You wouldn't move to a new state without being able to look up the constitution, other laws, or tax rates on a public site... (well you shouldn't anyway). I don't understand why we've decided it's okay at the community level.
Jax 2 points 2 days ago
A friend's grandmother lives in an HOA. She never has issues.
Of course a little old lady doesn't have any issues - HOAs exist to make their lives easier. Why do you think they end up with rules like 'dogs can't bark after 10 PM'? Do you really think it's a young person making that rule?
1995ToyotaCorolla 23 points 3 days ago
Because our country has a weird obsession with "government overreach" and somehow a private entity policing your every move is "more free" than a municipal ordinance.
Rooster326 14 points 3 days ago
It's because the government said let's all get along, and treat black people as humans and HOA's were a legal way to enforce segregation...
cantstopthesignal 6 points 3 days ago
It allows individuals to harass members of the community they don't like through ticky tack violations that can be selectively targeted at any type of "other." At the inception of HOAs that "other" was usually some type of race, but it can apply to anyone who doesn't conform or just who your crabbiest neighbor might not like because they hate kids or don't like that someone drives a nicer car than them or are just angry at their lot in life.
Earthwormjim91 4 points 3 days ago
Our HOA is a municipal government. It functions exactly the same as an HOA but ran locally by elected government instead of a private company.
Being municipal government doesn’t really make it any better.
DeadMartyr 4 points 3 days ago
The only thing I think is reasonable is in cities like SF, the HoA pays for elevators to operate and usually a full-time security guard(s). Its annoying that if I get a condo that I have to pay an HoA fee (some are insane and basically just rent) but if its reasonable I can see it being worth it.
But in suburbs? I genuinely have no idea why I would want to be in one. And the fact that youre forced to pay dues just because the previous owner of the home youre trying to buy was in it is wild to me
Rooster326 6 points 3 days ago path: 0 25343020 25343581 25345731, hotness: undefined, score: 6, children: 0
bitjunkie 1 point 2 days ago
In townhouses, HOA dues typically go to redoing the decks/roofs, trash collection, and landscaping. I kind of get the need for it in this case, since one person neglecting these things could have major implications on the value of the attached units completely outside the other owners' control. HOAs are largely the stereotypical Karen bullshit, though.
DonutsRMeh 16 points 4 days ago
HOA itself should lower property value, let alone surveillance. I can’t ever imagine myself living in HOA.
HubertManne 5 points 4 days ago
you can't live in a condo type building without one or renting which is even worse given the power your landlord has.
Tollana1234567 14 points 3 days ago
people should be aware of AXON cameras too.
limelight79 14 points 4 days ago
I used to live in a condo and sometimes went to the HOA meetings. One time they were discussing a couple vehicle thefts that had happened in our parking lot, and whether they should allow the local police to patrol the lot (noting that the police could also ticket cars that, say, had expired registrations, too - it wouldn't necessarily just catch theft). It was a pretty good discussion of the pros and cons, though one guy was screeching about having a police state.
Then, a few topics later, in the same meeting, there was a discussion about a proposal to install cameras that would take pictures of all cars coming and going out of the lot. Guess who was strongly in favor of that.
FlexibleToast 12 points 4 days ago
Is there an app that shows you where flock cameras are and where they are pointed?
MentalEdge 21 points 4 days ago
Several. The big one is DeFlock.
unemployedclaquer 10 points 4 days ago
This Realtor is an idiot. Advocate for the buyer?
unemployedclaquer 7 points 4 days ago
I'm not a realtor, and I hate that business, but yes absolutely. You're working for the buyer or the seller.
For example, in the u.s. If you want to buy a house, get your own rep. If you want to sell a house, get your own rep. None of this is /real/ and it's fucking stupid but it is like cutting the grass. Its what you're supposed to do
But also yeah that real estate person has an obligation to advocate for their client
SleeplessCityLights 0 points 4 days ago
You know both the buy and seller have different Real Estate Agents, right?
Semi_Hemi_Demigod 6 points 4 days ago
I’m surprised the HOA didn’t turn them off in the first place
ETA: I meant that he HAO existing didn’t turn off the buyer
mushroommunk 10 points 4 days ago
Are you kidding me? HOA's love anything to do with spying and snooping. They are run as the quintessential mini fascist fiefdoms.
Tollana1234567 1 point 4 days ago
HOA loves spying, HOA are essentially mini- totalitarian/dictatorship govts
wyldrstallyns 4 points 4 days ago
Did you say Epstein files? The ones nothing is being done about? The same that seem to not only list hundreds of those currently in power, but that they consistently avoid consequences for? Yeah, those Epstein files.
the_wizard_of_0Z 4 points 4 days ago
I think this would be my breaking point for sure
SLVRDRGN 4 points 3 days ago
Sorry for the "clickbaity" in-video title but I thought this a great example of how people are fighting back: Youtube Link
Jankatarch 2 points 3 days ago
Is that censor a break in my screen or does that happen to everyone else while scrolling??
Edit: It was leaving temporary afterimages while scrolling. Other posts were fine tho. Restarting my phone seems to have fixed it, so a me-thing most likely.
MedicPigBabySaver -2 points 4 days ago
Fuck Reddit and Fuck Spez.
DarrinBrunner -3 points 4 days ago
My HOA is reasonable. Mostly, they just handle the landscaping negotiations. Everyone's yard looks great. No cameras, no Draconian rules. Just stopping people from doing shit no one wants to live next door to.
Xerxos 10 points 4 days ago
What counts as "shit no one wants to live next door to" might be completely different for you than it is for me. And even if you happen to agree with your HOA today, that could change the moment someone else takes over.
Relying on being lucky enough to have reasonable people in charge, and hoping that luck lasts for the entire time you live there, seems insane to me.
Of course, there are things that shouldn't be allowed, like turning your front yard into a garbage dump. But those are the kinds of things that should be regulated by laws or local ordinances, not left to an HOA board that you just have to hope consists of reasonable people...
Mirshe 2 points 3 days ago
Yeah, "no one wants to live next to a yard full of broken stuff" can very easily turn into "nobody wants to live next to a house displaying a Pride flag" or "nobody wants to live next to a house that has a car older than 2 years" or even just minor shit like "we don't want bird feeders anywhere in the neighborhood because birds reduce property value".
DeFlock
@sh.itjust.works
494
185
3925
Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs) are AI-powered cameras that capture and analyze images of all passing vehicles, storing details like your car’s location, date, and time. They also capture your car’s make, model, color, and identifying features such as dents, roof racks, and bumper stickers, often turning these into searchable data points. These cameras collect data on millions of vehicles—regardless of whether the driver is suspected of a crime. While these systems can be useful for tracking stolen cars or wanted individuals, they are mostly used to track the movements of innocent people.
Learn more at deflock.me
go to feed...
DeFlock
@sh.itjust.works
494
185
3925
Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs) are AI-powered cameras that capture and analyze images of all passing vehicles, storing details like your car’s location, date, and time. They also capture your car’s make, model, color, and identifying features such as dents, roof racks, and bumper stickers, often turning these into searchable data points. These cameras collect data on millions of vehicles—regardless of whether the driver is suspected of a crime. While these systems can be useful for tracking stolen cars or wanted individuals, they are mostly used to track the movements of innocent people.
Learn more at deflock.me
go to feed...
Flock cameras aside, I would never buy a home that's part of an HOA. There have been too many stories over the last 10 years of these terrible people abusing their power, up-to and including stealing people's home out from under them. That neighborhood is unlivable.
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