DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
48 comments:
if its in the HOA docs, sorry you should have checked
one reason i will never be in a hoa
HOA's are unfortunately very powerful---it's a shame that being reasonable about a situation can't be done...
I don't know this person whatsoever and totally agree with him. I would think this fence adds value to the development. For a HOA to take something like this to court is absolutely insane!
Your fencing is beautiful and appears to be adequate in protecting children from gaining access to your pool. I do not understand why you are being targeted because that extra 11" creates additional protections.
Legal proceedings are stacked against the middle class because it costs big money to go to court.
Nice fence!
By sighing the HOA contract you agreed to abide by items listed in the contract. Now Obama can pick and choose what laws he wants to follow or ignore, but you must follow the law and stipulations of the contract.
People knocking each other down to be on the HOA are usually die hard liberal democommunist. Alls good till you disagree with them or refuse to listen to their orders. They should be at the top of the list for when SHTF day.
When you live in an HOA you give up some property rights because you are worried about the other idiot doing something stupid on their land, or your development needs to band together to get reasonable prices on services like lawn care or snow removal for whatever reason.
HOAs also tend to attract people who like to control your life. Not all HOA leaders are bad, but plenty are! I'm not sure who wants to spend their time snooping around on their neighbors and telling them what to do all the time, but I've seen it time and time again. Arbitrary standards get applied here and there. And sometimes favorites don't seem to be in violations when it's convenient to somebody who isn't you.
When I was house hunting, I could have paid about 20% less for a <4 year old home with almost 0 expected maintenance in the next 5 years vs. a 60 year old home with at least a decade of deferred maintenance. The new home's HOA was super active, had billions of rules (so big I didn't even bother reading them), their newsletter was full of stuff about "increasing property values" every quarter, and the entire neighborhood was so sterile I could just never see myself wanting to come home there.
I chose an older home with maintenance needs in an older neighborhood with almost no restrictions and covenants. Yeah, my late neighbor was in bad shape and didn't maintain his property at all (I cut his lawn and cleared storm debris a few times to help him out). But he never complained when I was too busy to cut the grass for a few weeks, or it took me a year to repair the rotting shed siding present when I moved in, or I went many weeks before requesting limb pickups because I didn't want the city having to drive by once a week for small loads, which would have cost them a lot more time and money in the long run.
If you want to do what pleases you on your property, it's just so much easier avoiding HOAs entirely. Once you sign the purchase docs on the house, you're stuck with the rules in place until you can somehow get them changed.
This should be lesson for everyone. If you have an HOA you need to check the rules. It would be nice if we all could work together to resolve issues such as this one. However, that will never be the case - NEVER! The answer really is to move out to the country and avoid the HOA.
Nice fence and it seems to compliment the house.
Randy, I support you 100%. Can someone respond and tell me what is the purpose for HOA's. I have friends who live in a development with HOA and they havnt had a meeting in years but continue to pay dues. For what??? And where does the money go? because they sure don't cut grass, the people who live there are responsible for that. They don't even have a community picnic or social.
Nice fence, too bad you're in a HOA........
I live in a community with a HOA, and there are both good and bad scenarios. What is strange is why did they let you get this far with the fence before making an "attack mode"? Someone from the HOA would/should have seen you out there installing the fence as it sure does not look like something you put up in a few hours. It is unfortunate if they allowed you to get this far before saying anything as I am sure there
are all kind of bylaws written about what you can and what you can't do in the neighborhood. For safety reasons, I think you were in the right; however, it seems like the bylaws have precedence over what is logical.
I personally would never live anywhere with an HOA. This HOA seems like the type that give all HOAs a bad name. There is nothing wrong with that fence. It is not blocking someone's view like a wooden fence would. The extra 11 inches is only help protect the property owner from someone jumping the fence to go into the pool. So if he lowers the fence and someone jumps it and goes into the pool will the HOA be liable? Sounds to me like someone is jealous that someone else has something nice and they want to rain on their parade. Maybe someone will release the names of the people that make up the board of this HOA so we all know who they are.
What does your local Planning and Zoning Commission say the fence height around the pool should be? I would make sure if I took 11 inches off it wasn't in violation of their codes.
HOA's are like country clubs for the middle class. Ensures that only people of the same mind set buy homes there. It's all good until you want to do your own thing.
2:07
That is a good point! I know many counties have a law that when you have a pool they must be fenced. What is the height requirement in Wicomico County? If they cut off 11 inches will that go below the height required.
How high is the stockade fence behind him at 1:52?
This is ridiculous ! I' m with this guy,
there are sooooo many more important things
people can do with their time.
Who ever complained should " get a life!"
I would never purchase a house in that neighborhood! This is a waste if time and money, totally wrong!
Yes, it's a pain dealing with HOA's.....but, they have the legal system behind them and their by-laws of incorporation which every home owner must agree to when they first buy a home in a development "protected" by an HOA. Unfortunately he is fighting a losing battle.
Its RANDY CAMPBELL folks! Think about it! Id bet he mouthed off to the wrong folks and now hes paying for it. Hes right about everything he says, but Im certain he stroked someones fur the wrong way. Good guy....comes off a little strong at times and unfortunately theres some people that cant stand being overshadowed by a talker. Like I said good guy...just has trouble keeping things to himself at times...
I just saw someone comment on his facebook page about raising the dirt at the bottom of the fence 12 inches....I wonder if that would work? lol As long as he graded it why not?
Like we don't have enough codes, policies, laws, bull crap, etc. in place by local, state, and federal government. These HOA's are a joke and the people are commoners that think they are a notch above.
Look up Donald Trump and what he did about a flag pole he had in the Florida Keys!!!! That's your answer
Go to the Fruitland Council and ask for a variance. HOA's win 99.9% of all court cases don't waste your money! going on the media will NOT change anything. The council can approve a variance if not the fence will come down or they will lien your property in fines and taxes! Play nice and get a settlement! The deed is actually the contract and you already agreed to follow the rules! Call the Ocean Pines people if you don't think the fence won't come down!
You people don't know how a HOA works then do you... You have to run it by them and get their approval before you can do anything with your property, it is that simple...
I get that there are High HOA fees in places, the HOA doesn't even provide you a service... But as some posters above said, you should have checked before hand and also, you should have checked to see if there was an HOA in your development you wanted to move into... Most places have an HOA these days, and the places who don't can still get them... IT takes the contractor or owner initially to get it started, and if not, then it is 2-3rds of the residence who want it can get it...
I personally think the HOA is a piece of crap and does nothing but tell you how to use your own property at expenses they can't justify... I have to charge you 300 a month to upkeep a road sign that fades every 10 to 15 years then times that by how ever many people live in your development... Just another away to take money from you... And bet your bottom dollar that if you don't pay said fees, hell will be unleashed on you by the hand of the govt...
In many of the newer age restricted communities, there is a substantial amount of common area that must be tended to. My HOA arranges for lawn maintenance, snow removal etc. I was well aware of the covenants and bylaws prior to purchasing. People have no one to blame but themselves if they chose not to read the documents. A development with an HOA might not be for everyone. But, some reasonable restrictions can protect home values. The problem for the HOA is / if they don't enforce all the rules/ then it becomes meaningless.
I think that the people in Eastfield Homeowners Association were so worried about this attractive fence, that they would go out front and look at their CHEAP CHEAP subdivision sign. It needs class more than anything in the subdivision. I personally think it's a disgrace to such a nice subdivision. The fence is fine and not only for safety but it's very pretty.
I'd check what the law is for protecting a pool from access by uninvited drowning victims. That's the only override I see that may be possible. If anyone ever did drown there, the responsibility would definitely fall then on the HOA, not Randy.
Second would be the steep dirt mound just at the fence line to bring it to the "proper" height. No sense in cutting the top off the perfectly good fence.
I never wanted to live where I was governed by an HOA, so I didn't move there, but you did.
Make the HOA sign off on the pool liability in your agreement to comply?
just add a foot of dirt under the fence....
I have heard stories about the petty nosy small minded meddling folks that make it their business to make issues out of nothing in Eastfields. From more than one person.
And this is a shining example of their character.
And yea, their sign is crap and what they paid for it is even more embarrassing.
FORCE them to sign in to pool liability! That will stop all legal force against you!
You should file an appeal and cite B.O.C.A. (Building Owners & Code Administrators) which recommends 54" height for fencing around pools. Our HOA recently revised the fencing height rule for pools.
I would never ever ever buy in a neighborhood with an HOA -- totalitarians every one.
Nothing to see here boys and girls. Before people buy a house in a community governed by a HOA's covenants and restrictions, the prospective buyers are provided those covenants and restrictions to read over. It's the law. If they like what they read, they sign on the dotted line and buy the house. If they don't, they keep looking for, what to them, is the "perfect" house. If you move into a community government by a HOA, you agree to submit plans to the architectural review committee of the HOA to ensure that what you're about to build is authorized under the covenants and restrictions. It's really a very simple and painless process. If you decide to go ahead and simply build without getting the okay, you're on your own. The cries of "They're paying the bills, they should be able to do what they want with their house" isn't applicable. They knew and accepted the conditions when they moved into the house. The homeowner in this case - the male isn't even on the deed, it's his wife's home from a previous marriage - went to arbitration (an impartial third party)in Baltimore and lost. Now the husband of the legal owner of the property is boo-hooing, trying to get the uninformed to feel sorry for him. The house if up for sale and there is a lien on the property. If they don't make the required modifications to the fence to bring it within the requirements of the covenants and restrictions, the buyer of the home will be forced to. Again, if you do not want to live within the purview of a HOA and the community's covenants and restrictions, don't buy a house in a community with a HOA.
Someone asked why you get for your HOA fees. Generally you get the common areas of the community maintained, including signage. You get mosquito spraying in the summer months, and you get enforcement of the covenants and restrictions. And if you live in a community where you're paying HOA annual dues and don't have a meeting at least once a year and violations of standing covenants and restrictions are not being enforced, tell your HOA they better step up or they're going to be sued. HOAs have a legal responsibility to enforce any existing covenant and restrictions violation that is brought to their attention. They do not have the option to pick and choose.
Add the foot of dirt. Name the communists who are doing this. Karma baby.
I feel he has 11" of more safety around his pool. I think if it was a wood stock cade fence that would be ness but it's a nice steel/open fence and it looks great, so they should pass it, or try to work it out with him. He has spent a lot of money on his lot and he has one of the best looking homes in the community, pool safety fence and lot divider fence should be different heights, please check in to that !!!!!
And what does Obama have to do with this???
I agree with the man in this video. It's ridiculous that people waste precious time and resources on something as stupid as the height of a fence around a swimming pool. How embarrassing for the members of this HOA board. What comes around, go around. Thank God, I don't live in Maryland anymore. Virginia rules!!!!!!!!
I'll bet at the time the height restriction was voted in it was regarding wood panel fences that destroyed the view around the neighborhood, and the association wanted to avoid having a neighbor looking like he'd built a fort. With that forgotten, it's now enforced by the retired folks who have nothing better to do than to hassle their neighbors.
How's the market value now that this is public ?
The HOA rules were created by the developer as a method of assuring a particular neighborhood "style", thereby maximizing their return on investment. The individual home builders were aware of this when building and the residents were aware of this when purchasing.
This not about politics or control. It is about money. The HOA membership has no choice but to enforce the rules as written, unless they have a large majority of homeowners willing to discuss the issues and change the rules.
Sorry, Randy. You shouldn't have bought in one of those developments. I remember back when it was Malone's corn field.
The real Randy shows! While he is dead right with his safety issue for his fence, he is so hurt he will take it out on others! The fact you say you can't support little league or softball etc is crap! Your more than successful! This didn't hurt your ability to be there for your community! Spiteful man you are Randy! Always have been! But I 100% agree with you on the fence!
I totally get it. He has a pool and they don't. Jealousy at its finest.
4:23 PM - There are a lot of pools in the neighborhood, the others just have fences that conform to the HOA rules.
8:34 is one of the jealous ones
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