Thanks everyone. I kind of figured I might strike out here. I moved to this HOA 5 years ago and have had nothing but constant issues. I keep an immaculate lawn and landscaping, I maintain my property, and don't make a lot of noise, have great relationships with my neighbors, etc. You'd think I wouldn't have any problems... (warning long-winded post to follow!)
Wood has always been an issue. I first stacked it outside. The covenants state we can have two cords. I live on two lots (and pay dues for two lots), so I stacked 4 cords, half on one lot, half on the other. They first told me that the wood storage restrictions aren't per lot. After a lot of back and forth, they had to give in, as that is not how it is stated in the covenants. But then they challenged me and said I had more than 4 cords. They had their "expert" come out and he estimated my wood pile to be 6 cords. I cut my wood short in the 10-12" range. The "expert" didn't seem to understand that if my wood is cut shorter than standard 16" that the math becomes different. It took a lot of slow talking and explaining to get this through to him. Eventually they had to give in.
They then said that the wood piles are unsightly. They were always meticulously stacked. Their issue was that I had a long line of wood, rather than the more traditional 4x4x8 type stacked cords. I informed them this wasn't in the covenants and there was nothing they could do. I still got so much pushback that I just relented and stacked them a bit differently.
I have since built a wood shed to store it in, both to keep them covered from the elements, and to keep the HOA off my back, as I figured if I had everything neatly stacked inside a structure, they wouldn't complain about it so much. However, this is not allowed. Apparently there is only one shed allowed per lot, and since I already have a storage shed, this one has to go. I should have checked the covenants, but I didn't. They're now telling me that I must remove the structure or face fines of $10 per day.
I spoke to the general manager here who said I could appeal it and that he would get back to me on a contact number and how to appeal. A couple weeks went by and I didn't hear back from him. I called and left him a voicemail and still never heard back from him. I then contacted the HOA henchman (I think her official title is chief administrative officer of the HOA) and couldn't get through to her for quite awhile. All in all, about a month had gone by. I then get a letter in the mail with fines of $300 for this structure. After several attempts, I finally get to speak to the henchman. She tells me there is no appeals process and I must remove it or the fines will continue to pile up. She is absolutely inflexible and unpleasant to put it in politically correct terms.
So here I am with daily $10 fines piling up. I've got a couple of ideas. First, The henchman's good friend, who is also employed by the development on a part-time basis has a small wood structure right next to her wood shed. It's small, maybe 3x4 feet, but a structure used to store wood nonetheless. I specifically pointed this out to the henchman, and she blew it off. So her good friend (and coworker) knowingly has this structure, and nothing is being done, yet I'm being fined on a daily basis and ordered to remove my structure. I think I have a basis to claim unfair enforcement of the covenants.
My next idea is if all else fails, I will put up a large sign stating that the HOA is harassing me. I read through the covenants, and they have restrictions on for sale signs, but surprisingly no other covenants specifically forbid signage. Furthermore, a court already ruled in favor of another homeowner being harassed by a HOA who put up a critical sign. Eventually the homeowners got their way and they removed the sign.
A Loveland man removed a controversial sign from his front yard Thursday more than a month after he constructed the billboard to criticize his neighborhood’s homeowners association. But Rich …
www.reporterherald.com
This being said, I'm already looking for some land to build on where I won't have HOA Nazis watching my every move.
