Now I have heard it all

My city actually does this, and it is reason #1 that I never recomend that anyone live in University City (st. Louis) Missouri. In order to live in a house (Even if you own it and have paid your taxes) You have to pay a city inspector to come look at your house and okay it for an "occupancy permit" which you must buy from the city. Note that this inspection is an inspection beyond the one that you need to get for your bank loan, and you pay for it as the home owner. Once you are issued your permit to live in your house, you are free to move in, but you must apply for a permit if you want to change ANYTHING. Amonugh the crazy things you need permits for are. Changing kitchen cabenits, Changing faucets in tubs, hanging any drywall or changing the location of any wall or door in your house. All of these things must be applied for and then inspected upon completion. I guess I didn't do my due dilligance before I moved here, but I didn't beleive that any such system could exist. I feel like if I own the house and want to rip out all the walls and live here with 15 people I should be able to do that, but under current system my house is only approved for 7 people so if we had quintuplets, we would be required by law to move out of our house. Again, if you are thinking about moving to St. Louis. Don't. If you have to move to St. Louis stay out of U City.

I'm like you, I don't like HOAs. Mostly it's people dictating what other people can do, on the outside but sometimes even on the inside. They may have a reason. I heard about this case where in a high end house the people apparently weren't very clean and the house was overrun by rats. They were everywhere. The rat house made the people living nearby feel kind of marked (hey don't you live next to the rat house?) like they were dirty, too. And of course those who tried to sell their house had a hard time because of that. Anyhow, it's still insane. My guess is if you don't lead a certain life style, don't have your house in order etc... they kick you out. Then you have to move. Another reason why I hate HOAs. I really don't see much of a benefit in them.

I wonder what they would be inspecting these properties for. Are they renting the properties out for the people during the time that the people don't live there? If so, I guess that would make sense. But if these are just regular properties, and not some type of a resort, I too would be in protest. I think not only our government, but large corporations in general take red tape way too far. Thanks for starting this discussion, and have a good evening!

i wonder how this has turned out mzkuma. please do keep us updated. some people have the foresight of a 2 year old and people who will agree to this are the biggest dopes in the state of florida. duh?!!! i wouldn't be a part of this and i'll definitely raise hell if a hoa dares to even imply what i can or can't do to my property. agree with you 100% that this is crossing the line. i'd be surprised if some members will actually agree to this. it was moronic that this was even thought of, more so if people actually agree to it. what's in the water in kenneth city anyway, turning sensible people into drones who follow things being shoved down their throats?

I hate HOA. I owned a home in a neighborhood that was a nightmare. The president would go for a walk and measure people's lawns with a ruler to make sure they were not too short or long just about daily. Once I left my son's little tike bike sitting on the porch while we had lunch. He was riding it before we went in and he wanted to ride it again when we were done eating. It was out there for half an hour max.. The president of the HOA lived across the street. She came over and told me that if I left it out there again at all for any length of time she was going to fine me. I could not believe it. She even wanted to approve what color people painted their houses and what landscaping you put in your yard (including flowers). I told her to back off at that point. I can put whatever flowers I want in my yard. The president of the HOA was a retired widow so basically all she did all day was go around the neighborhood and look for anything she could to try and bug people about.I can tell you I will never live in a neighborhood with a HOA again. They are more trouble than they are worth. This is going too far. What are they going to do... tell you what furniture you can have and what colors you can paint your walls? They have no business going into anyone's home.

I don't think anyone should have the right to inspect the inside of your home if you own it. What you have in your house and the way it looks is up to you and nobody else. They don't have to go in your house and anyone driving by isn't going to notice the inside of your house. I thought them telling you what your lawn had to look like was bad enough but now this. If they begin to do that then I would be moving and moving as fast as I could. I would never make it in one of those communities but I like to have my stuff the way I think looks good not what somebody else thinks looks good.

Let's see, first I wouldn't join any HOA. Do I own the house? Do I own the land the house sits on? Yes? GOOD, now get the F*** off my property. The person bending down to measure my grass would find their face suddenly planted in the pile of god exhaust sitting on MY lawn. Fine??? ROFL!!!! Try and collect it. I pay fines to the state or town when I break the law, not to some organization that has zero authority over my life. If I bought the house and land, I don't care where it sits or whta organization my neighbors belong to, I won the land and house, I do what I please on it and with it, as long as it doesn't violate town or state law. I would probably paint my house the most obnoxious color I could think of just to agrivate the HOA too. Something like deep orange with florecent green trim and purple shutters. I'm just like that.

As far as I know we don't have an HOA organization in our city. As a former City Commissioner, I know that homes were inspected by the Health Department, but usually this was a renter house. We do have a code inspector who makes sure things are up to code when a home is being sold. Even new homes under construction are inspected to mak sure the are build according to code. So many people had purchased homes in the past, and found that they had all kinds of problems pop up. So this is in place for protection of the buyer. It sounds like an HOA organization is put together as a "power play" by someone.

Even though I've heard of a lot of horror stories about HOAs this is almost beyond the pale, I would hope that the members of the HOA would vote against this and impeach the Board that instigated the idea. Any legitimate reason that the HOA would need to enter a homeowners residence would qualify a law enforcement or health official to enter the home and the laws for that are already on the books. Beyond that we don't need any more big-brother regulations. I have owned two homes, neither of them in an HOA neighborhood, but have long since decided that I am more comfortable as an apartment resident than a homeowner. I don't mind giving up some privacy in exchange for someone to fix the clogged faucet, shovel the sidewalk and deal with the city. And I really like the ease with which I can move if I decide I don't like the neighbors, or my job or lifestyle changes. But my landlord/maintenance only enters twice a year unless I ask them to and they have never said anything about m shabby furniture, nor my lack of house keeping even though I live in a very upscale apartment complex. They have always been very polite and thoughtful as long as I pay my rent on time and don't break the rules in the community area.

HOA's that think that they need to keep track of their neighbors, in any way are sorry individuals. I wonder if they will have the inside of their homes inspected. Better yet, why don't they just gate themselves off in their own little world and leave others alone. What are they going to do if the H.O. is elderly and not able to do the repairs. Are they going to fine them or have them carted off to jail? When will people like that realize that they need to get a life and not at the expense of others? DCMerkle

Here's a link to something about this story. Seems the decision on the neatness ordinance has been delayed: http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2141084/posts [i]The proposal basically sets standards for upkeep and appearance and gives town officials the right to enter homes. If the owner refuses to allow the official to enter, the town can go to a judge for an "administrative search warrant" to allow access to the interior of buildings. Violations would cost up to $250 a day. Angry residents likened the proposal to rules created by Communist or Nazi dictatorships. One person said the result would be to create a network of spies to snitch on neighbors to council members and other town officials. Someone suggested the town should change its name from Kenneth City to "Petty City." [/i] I really don't think it's gonna pass.

My ex and I when married years ago built a home in a neighborhood like that. Our home plans actually had to be approved by the developer. And then he gave the approval for our exterior paint colors as well. I found him rather arrogant and didn't care for that at all. I remember at Christmas the entire neighborhood was REQUIRED to purchase the luminary lights from them so that every house was lit on two different nights. Now don't get me wrong I like holiday decorations, but I don't like being told I HAVE to do anything. Most of the people in that neighborhood were upper class snobs anyway and I'm glad I no longer live there.

That is rather disturbing. I live in a neighborhood where all the houses have the same floor plan, but we don't have to have the same plants planted in the yards, or the same color garage doors, or the same color front doors. I wouldn't live in a community like that. My house looks pretty much the same as everyone else's, but I want to put my own twist on the yard, and the inside of the house. How is what this HOA doing even constitutional?

I know little about it feel not good //

i can't stand HOA's my mom has a rental across the street from the HOA lead person, she's constantly sending my mom letters about the garbage can being out too long after the garbage man picked it up, there's one little weed sticking out, ugh, it's irritating. they do not have a right to go into peoples homes and tell them how to live, that's crossing the line!

I'm not sure that I would like an interior inspection unless I was leasing or renting. In this case then the owner has every right to know that their property has not been damaged or altered. I am a real estate investor and I inspect my properties but interior and exterior 2 times a year. The other exception would be if this was in the bylaws prior to my purchase. But I would not personally live in a subdivision that did not have a HOA. It is for the most part to protect you as the homeowner and your property value. I don't want to buy in a neighborhood and the values go down because the pride of ownership is not evident. I don't want my neighbor to paint their home polka dot green and purple, because like it or not, that choice effects every member in the neighborhood. I don't want the grass of my neighbors home to look like a corn field because the husband has worked the last 4 weekends, because it has an effect on the curb appeal of my home. I don't care that your kid thinks the front lawn is his parking garage. I don't want to see his toys littering the lawn when i drive down the street. I don't want your son to change his oil on the front lawn. I live in a gated community and most of the homes are professionally cleaned, the yards are professionally landscaped, the tennis courts are lit, the pools only have people swimming in them, the golf course is professionally managed etc. Usually in homes in this price range it is not a problem because you want the professionalism, you want the manicured curb appeal. You don't want 35 different colored houses. The neighborhood is always secured so we don't have to worry about residential crime. If you are caught doing something that is against the bylaws of the subdivision, then you will be notified in writing with a date to cure the problem. You will be informed of the cost to cure if management has to cure the problem. Again we rarely have someone that goes against the rules, as part of your orientation to buy everything is up front and you know what to expect. If you live in my neighborhood you will conform or pay the cost.

Not owning a home I'm not familiar with all the ins and outs. But this sounds like they are trying to act like the rules and regulations people need to adhere to when buying a condominium which is one reason I wouldn't want to. If you buy a piece of property you should be able to do with it what you will. Regards

We live in an apartment complex. The on site manager and staff do have rules that we as tenants have to follow. No BBQ grills if you have a wooden deck or a wooden balcony (duh) and no junk on the back porches or front porches. Our "garden" area must be kept clean of weeds and trash. Our trash is not to be set outside our front door...we are to walk it to the dumpster at the end of the building. The property manager is a bit of a strict one, but she has to be otherwise our community will look horrible. She got onto a neighbor in the townhome across the street from ours for changing his oil in his driveway. He usually does it in the garage behind closed doors, but his wife's car or something was in there and even though it took him 15 minutes and he didn't spill a drop, he still received a warning letter letting him know that car maintenance on property was not allowed. I've even had people be evicted over simple things like trashy back porches or overgrown flower beds/gardens. As for buying something, no. I would not live in an HOA community. It's my house. I pay the mortgage. I decide when and what to do with my house. Obviously no one has the right to erect a 50 foot tent in their back yard or whatever, but as long as it doesn't devalue the property of the neighbors or cause a nuisance (like running a beauty parlor out of your living room) to the neighbors, then whatever works is fine with me.