HOAs Can Kiss My American ---

This is why I will NEVER live in an HOA.

Hey folks,

Do you have a Home Owners Association where you live. If you do, I feel sorry for you. I do not, nor will I EVER live in an area that does. It really is a simple concept to me. I, Peter Carlock, go to the Bank. I get a loan, called a Mortgage, and or, I simply pay cash for it. I go to Person A and BUY Land. I own it.

Now on that land, I already, in most places, which I still feel is unConstitutional, I still have to get the Government's permission to Build, what to build, to Well, or Not to Well, Shed? Pool, In some area's, I would not even be allowed to park in my own Driveway, if I have more than three Cars, or a Truck with a Business Logo. That's the Government. Federal, State, Local.

OK. So I comply with all that. I build, move in. Now, I get a knock on my door.

"Hello Mr. Carlock, I'm Mr. Smith from the {Area} Home Owner's Association. Here is a list of do's and don't. Take a second to look this over."

1- No more than ONE car in Driveway. {Even though the Local Government said 2}
2- No Pool. {Even though I have a Permit to build one.}
3- No dogs.
4- No Smoking. {On my own property, and or in my own house. Not kidding}
5- No Parties unless pre-approved by the AHOA.
6- No Roses, Mrs Smith is allergic.
7- No Pink Window Dressings, No painting unless Pre-approved AHOA Colors.
8- You will pay AHOA $2000.00 Yearly dues. To help us regulate you and your Neighbors.
9- We will tell you when to decorate for the Holidays. We will tell you when to take them down.
10- No Religious Symbols at all.
11- No out door lighting on after 10 pm.
12- The AHOA has final say over ALL matters, ALWAYS, and rules subject to change whenever and without notice.

"Any questions."

Me - "Uh YEAH. Are you paying my Mortgage?"
Smith - "No."
Me- "Did you pay for my Home and Land?"
Smith- "No."
Me -"Did I have a Vote in any of this?"
Smith- "You Voted For it when you moved in"
Me - "So you are telling me, after spending $250,000 for the Land, and Home, and After paying all the Taxes, Permit costs, Contractors, Moving expenses. YOU, someone who is most likely retired, with nothing to do, and a Life that is pretty much so unimportant you feel the need to mess with other's, YOU have the Right to tell me how to live and what to do ON my own Property?"
Smith "Well, no need to be Rude. You do not have to listen to me, but you will sure pay the fines when we sue you. Good day."

Folks, that is not fiction. That happens everyday, all over the Country. The sad thing is, when they DO sue, they usually WIN. Here is such an asinine story. It from the HOUSTON CHRONICLE - A (too) high-flying flag? Marine vet's 20-foot flagpole has homeowners association filing suit over a display of patriotism that stands taller than allowed By MIKE MORRIS

A Marine Corps veteran is being sued by his Cypress-area homeowners association because the flagpole on which he flies the United States and Marine Corps flags does not meet his subdivision's design guidelines.

Mike Merola and his lawyer, Lee Thweatt, say this is a classic case of overreach by a nitpicking homeowners association. Lakeland Village Community Association says it is seeking to enforce its rules evenly on all residents.

Of course it is. HOAs are nothing more than Busy Bodies that want Dictatorship Powers and Free Money. All they are, are "nitpicking," worthless people, with nothing better to do than tell others how to live their lives. HOAs were most likely started by a Liberal Democrat.

Standing in his backyard in a black T-shirt bearing an eagle and the American flag, the 60-year-old Merola called that argument "a lame excuse." After his application to erect a 20-foot flagpole in his backyard was denied, he protested in a series of letters and, ultimately, erected the pole anyway.

"They just don't understand, unless they've been in the military, to feel the pride that I feel in flying that flag high and proud," said Merola, who served in the Marines from 1969 to 1977. "The excuses and things that they came up with for me not being able to fly that flagpole, I just didn't buy. That's why I bucked the system and put it up."

The association's lawyer, Nina Tran, said her clients encourage residents who wish to fly the flag to do so — as long as that flag is attached to a 6-foot pole mounted on a resident's home, as the bylaws stipulate.

Says WHO? If I wanted to Fly the Flag. I would. I would be doing the Same as him. Who are you to say I have to have a Six Foot Pole. I'll tell you where you can put that Six Foot Pole.

Such an approach is "in keeping with the residential nature of the community," the board wrote in a statement. The suit alleges the pole is "a detriment to Lakeland Village and … (causes) imminent harm and irreparable injury to (the association)." The suit seeks a $10 fine for every day the pole stays standing, a court order to remove it and payment of attorneys' fees.

So the American Flag is against the "nature of the community, a detriment to Lakeland Village, and (causes) imminent harm and irreparable injury to (the association)." The American Flag folks.

"The problem with a flagpole of that height and that significance is that it flaps in the wind and causes noise to other homeowners," Tran said. "If we allow the mounting of a 20-foot freestanding flagpole in the backyard, who's to say that the next person isn't going to mount it to the top of their roof? We have to have standards."

You are an insignificant, money hungry Twit Nina. This guy served his Country. He put his life on the line so YOU have the Freedom to BE an insignificant, money hungry Twit. The American Flag is against YOUR Standards? Move.

But Merola, who moved into the neighborhood in March 2009, bringing the flagpole from his former residence, said he's received only compliments from neighbors about the pole, whether from kids skateboarding by on the walking path behind his back fence or from neighbors who've stopped to investigate the source of all the gossip.

Neighbors don't mind

"I don't understand why the homeowners association overreacted like this," said Thweatt, Merola's lawyer, and a Marine himself. "I understand they have to protect the property values of the people in that subdivision, but they've had no complaints. It's not like the guy painted his house neon orange."

Merola's next-door neighbors, Satish and Ann Kalra, said the pole does not bother them.

"The homeowners association should look at the rules again," Satish Kalra said. "If the rules need to be modified, they should be modified. … That would be the logical thing to do."

Tran said even if Merola has not received complaints, another neighbor with a similar flagpole might.

Like I said, A Twit. Preemptive Fining? Moron.

Thweatt, who took the case pro bono, said he believes the suit violates the Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005, which says, in part, that a homeowners association "may not adopt or enforce any policy … that would restrict or prevent a member of the association from displaying the flag."

No court date has been scheduled in the case.

"I hope we can come to some kind of agreement that will let me continue to fly the flag loud and proud for as long as I live," Merola said.

Me too. I hope that when you guys WIN this thing, you sue the Hell out of both this little Twit, and the HOA for Harassment. Something tells me you won't though. Something tells me that Mr. Merola is a bigger person. Too bad. Maybe if some of these Idiots get a taste of their own medicine, they will stop. But I have my doubts.

Keep up the good fight Sir. THANK YOU for your Service.
Peter

Sources:
HOUSTON CHRONICLE - A (too) high-flying flag?