Advice needed re: HOA
Advice needed re: HOA
ZMAN : This how Friendswood development set this up back in the 1970's. And then the Texas Legislative set the rules on how deeds restrictions could be changed. Your Realtor and Title company are supposed to inform buyers that we you are moving into an area that has HOA's. Then it is the buyers decision if the want to live in an area that is HOA deed restrictions. The title companies are required to provide deed restriction to the buyer at or before closing. The waste of resource is sending out ballads to change deed restrictions. Just going to the HOA meeting is cost efficient. Many of the HOA's in Kingwood are pretty easy going but there are some on power trips. I stayed on the HOA for awhile to keep the crazies off. There are some who wanted to raise the HOA fees by triple in one year. Another issue we have is that now you can put a fence around your front of your house. The HOA all voted on what material's it can be most Iron. But in order to but up a fence in the front it requires a City of Houston permit, and most are denied. The residents think the HOA can tell the city grant the permit, which it a big NO! The COH takes no requests from HOA's.
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>> Any advice on what to say when I state my case
ChesterAtkins : Tell them to **** off. They're lucky you not only replaced it, but added value (curb appeal) to the community.ZMAN tipped 
eighteen 100 credits for a post in this forum discussion.
ZMAN : Several people have tried but the City of Houston denies the permit. They are claiming they need access to the plumbing and gas lines. It is so ridiculous. The city says if you put it up they have legal authority to come tear it down. It is not the HOA is the problem here it is the COH. Homes like the former George Forman house was grandfathered in because the fence went up before the COH annexed us.
Theoldman : KAM doesn't replace fences. I think the fence replacement in the area you're referring to is the responsibility of Bear Branch Trail Association. Many of our communities in Kingwood have spent a lot of their reserve money to repair storm damage so in some cases funds are tight. With regards to the fence not having a cap on top, it would depend on what their community bylaws say are required.
ChesterAtkins : No doubt the right thing to have done was to submit the form for approval before you had the fence installed. Not knowing all of the details, it sounds like you had a quality fence installed and the only potential issue is that the rot board is 12" high whereas the original one was 6" high. It sounds like you have reviewed the bylaws that were agreed to in writing during closing when you purchased the house and that there was no mention of the rot board height. If that's the case, then you likely have a good case to say that you are in compliance with the height restriction even with the 12" rot board. The appeal meeting would likley be with your HOA board members, which are not the ones that rejected your fence application. Keep in mind that the HOA board members are volunteers that live in your community. My experience is that the board members are reasonable on bylaw variances so long as it doesn't set a major presedence in the way the community looks. All of our communities are private property and therefore the HOA fees are there to cover our communities expenses which can be a lot. There's no zoning in Texas so our community "bylaws" are there to protect our property investment. I encourage people to read the bylaws of the community (before they by their home) so they understand what is & isn't allowed. Best of luck on your appeal!
Were your dues past due?
Gammyof2 : I plead the 5th... 
As a former board member go to the next HOA meeting and present your fence with pictures and ask for a variance. Unfortunately you cannot change a deed restriction in Texas without a mail out vote and a 3/4 responses from the residents But the board can approve a variance's . We did all the time. A few years back the Texas legislator passed a law that said the HOA board cannot approve/disapprove of any improvements or work it is an independent committee that does this approval. They have to follow the deed restrictions to the letter even thought they are outdated. We use to look at all the proposals at the meeting and say ok (except for outrageous things). An example or the new garage doors that look really nice but they are not on the 1980's approval list. So they come the meeting and we say yes. Keep the letter that gives the approval because when you go to sell your house you have to show the HOA approved your improvements.
Chrysanthemum : Had one son who got approval from HOA for a garden along front of house. All materials and plants were listed. Landscaper was using rocks vs mulch. Was approved via email which he printed out and put in file. 15 years later he received a letter saying he was in violation and to remove rocks and replace with mulch. He found approval email and they backed off, lol.
mutton : HOAs dont like facts. .....or questions.
luv2eatsushi : I am sure they were shocked he still had the email, lol. I think they just missed the material list at the time. They were actually nice about it and said they were putting in his current file so he would not get another complaint from them « Back to Chat
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