Truean: I swear, your clients (not all of them, I realize) seem to think law firms are glorified convenience stores. I'd almost expect them to ask "Can I upsize that to a large tort with a side of injunction?"
You sir are extremely close to being sigged.
well if the neighborhood he bought a house in was part of a HOA, isn't there nothing you could have done to get him out of the HOA?
I always thought if a neighrborhood has a HOA, and you want to live in that neighborhood, you have to pay the HOA. are you saying there is a way around that ?
The issue isn't getting around the HOA. The issue is, he had no, no, idea there even IS a homeowner's association. He didn't know it existed at all, wasn't expecting to pay dues to anyone, or be told he couldn't do what he wanted with his house.
Think of it like a housing/building inspection you get before buying the house. Only instead of inspecting physical stuff--the roof, plumbing, sewer, electrical, or foundation--I'm inspecting the legal stuff and picking up the things, like an HOA, that the title company doesn't find/doesn't consider a problem. The sewer inspection won't tell you about problems with the roof and the title company won't tell you about the HOA. I will.
So what good does knowing there's an HOA on the home you're buying do for you? Same thing as having an inspector tell you the foundation needs work, you either need to negotiate the buying price down to cover the defect or not buy the house. If you don't know that there is a physical or legal issue with the house, then you'll figure it out when the bill to deal with it comes later. Ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure....
In short, not paying a lawyer to look at the title and purchase paperwork is like buying a house without getting a building inspection done: risky. What you don't know can hurt you and can really hurt your pocketbook/rights when it comes time to deal with it later. ***I have a retired client who cuts across his neighbor's yard while giving him the bird every single day on his way to the park because he has an easement letting him. The easement cannot be blocked or anything even.... He has the legal right to walk across the land to get to the park.... ***
When did HOA turn into the mafia.
Seriously, I have never seen one that was not a pack of assholes.
Like a lot of things, they started out sane. It's a pain in the ass if my neighbor paints his house the ugliest color of vomit neon green with a blood red boarder trim and the guy next to him has a smurf blue house with the garage door painted yellow. Then they get like three of these prebuilt storage sheds from home depot and put them next to each other but they can't put them RIGHT NEXT TO each other, because they have little roof overhangs.... This means there is about 6 inches between them with grass that never gets cut sticking out. Plus, they just throw all their shit in that little space/black hole and raccoons/rats/vermin just love it in there. Never mind the guy with the effectively abandoned house next door who claims it is a "rental" but nobody's lived there for months and I haven't even seen a car in the driveway or a light on in 3 years, so the whole building/zoning/safety code violation ridden place is going to rot.
Technically the zoning, building, and/or health boards should do something about it, but meh.... We're in a budget crunch and nobody cares/has the money to pay enforcement personelle and/or gives enough of a shit to do anything. Now, I know the ins and outs of the system to get on these people/how to make them give a shit SOMETIMES, but there's often jack shit you can do.
Has it gone too far? Yes. Is it all bad? Not necessarily.
When did HOA turn into the mafia.
Seriously, I have never seen one that was not a pack of assholes.
Well they started harping me when I let the grass died for a month in the front yard. Told them their names aren't on my title and made no agreement with them. Told me they can fine me, told them they try and I will burn the grass on "accident"
That seem to work
Careful dude. While admittedly funny as hell, that can come back to bite you. Namely, if the HOA is smart/ruthless and has a lawyer who is partially sober and pissed off, then they might take affidavits from the people who heard you say you'd burn down the grass on accident. Then, they show said affidavit to your insurance company/use it in the suit to fine you.
I ended up doing that with some jerk who threatened to flood his condo over something similar after he too cussed me out on his doorstep. Incidentally, he had water damage to his unit a few months later and a very inquisitive insurance inspector with affidavits from three people saying they heard him threaten to flood the place. He ended up getting paid eventually, but not before they took their time investigating the crap out of everything. He won't look at me to this day.
Now, I don't mean to say you'd actually burn things or whatever and I imagine your HOA might not even have a lawyer or know its head from its ass. Just trying to look out....
Truean: I swear, your clients (not all of them, I realize) seem to think law firms are glorified convenience stores. I'd almost expect them to ask "Can I upsize that to a large tort with a side of injunction?"
To tell the truth, I get that sense with a lot of people regarding a lot of businesses. Instant gratification, smiling service, low prices, and God help you if you don't meet all three of those expectations, and throw in a free coupon while you're at it. I'll admit to falling into this trap a few times, myself, but usually I have the decency to just decide I don't need the service after all and deal with the consequences rather than insist I was entitled to it despite refusing it.
Sadly yes. They want it yesterday, beyond perfect, to have their hand held through everything, to do any stupid thing that they feel like doing, to make the other side suffer, and not to pay for anything.
Given the choice between consumers and zombies, I'd gladly take the zombies. While both of them want to devour you whole, You're allowed and expected to shoot one of them in the head.