Florida HOA Dispute

[t951]

Greetings all,

I have a question for the brain trust.

We got a notice that we are to go to mediation regarding our lawn. We got a notice last year that it was not according to HOA rules. (we have to use a specific type of grass (St. Augistine Floritam)). And that it had weeds.

Well, we did have weeds, and had had our yard re-sodded a couple of years ago. There are DOZENS of homes in our neighborhood that have been abandoned or are not maintained. We let them know that I had lost my job last year and that we were focused on keeping the house and not paying for another re-sod job.

We thought they went away, and have slowly been catching up on a years worth items.

So, now they want to go to mediation.

I was under the impression that florida HOAs had their teeth removed last year. Basically, if you are current on your dues that you could tell them to pound sand.

I would like to resolve this w/o contributing funds to attorneys.

Any ideas or directions.

Oh, we were going to replant instead of resod due to cost.

Thanks.

t.

[Heel n Toe]

They're gonna say you have to sell one of your cars
so you can pay for that lawn to be made
PERFECT.

[Tim Hancock]

I cannot even imagine what it is like to have a HOA try and tell me what I can do on MY OWN PROPERTY. I would simply tell them to ***** OFF!

[t951]

My father in law kept pushing us to be sure we were in a neighborhood that had it. I hated the idea. he kept saying, what if someone starts a pig farm in there? I told him that you can't have a pig farm on 1/2 an acre....

Anyway, he convinced the wife....and well, here we are.....

NEVER again will i waste my $ on an HOA.

[Tim Hancock]

I truly know absolutely nothing about HOA's, but what if you did tell them to ***** off? I assume you own the house and property. What legal means can they use to force you to comply? Who has jurisdiction in these circumstances?

[Rick Lee]

They will assess fines for every week or so long you refuse to comply and probably, if they're really ballsy, get a landscaping company to fix it for you and then file a lien against your house for their expenses and your fines.

I have had some epic battles with HOA's. The good news is that they usually respond well to pressure or telling them to feck off. Lay down and let them badger you and they'll never stop.

[sammyg2]

pictures of lawn? When you had it re-sodded a couple of years ago, did you comply with the HOA rules and lay down St. Augustine or something else?

If it's bad, man up and take care of it.

if it's not bad, call the local news station. They live for this kind of stuff.

[Jim Richards]

You own the property subject to the HOA covenants. You're basically eff'ed if you want to resist. They suck if you have nazi's on the HOA board.

[MotoSook]

It's general an automatic contract when one buys a home. Then they can put a lien on you home. We bought in a low power HOA and I told them to fuchoff when tried to halt my garage construction.

T- research your HOA contract, current laws, and draft a registered letter to them stating your case. Mediation or not, unless you have a local code or law that supercedes your HOA contract they can put a lien on your property if they are not satisfied. HOAs are the local government's way of skirting municipal governance.

[Heel n Toe]

Originally Posted by Tim Hancock

I truly know absolutely nothing about HOA's, but what if you did tell them to ***** off?

I would never live somewhere that had one, but as far as I know, you can't tell them to go fly a kite, because they made you sign the HOA agreement before they let you buy there.

[Rick Lee]

HOA's do have a magical power to turn normal people into azzholes. But I have won a few battles with them. I've racked up plenty in fines that I also got them to forgive.

[Paul_Heery]

The answer to your issues and concerns lie in the documents that you agreed to abide by when you became a member of the homeowner's association.

If you declaration and/or rules specify that your lawn must be St. Augustine Floritam and you re-sodded with something else, you are in violation. The documents of your association will specify what fines you may be subject to and what remedies the association may take to bring you into compliance. Most likely they have mechanisms to fine you and then bring a lien against your property if you do not pay those fines. They may also have the ability to fix the situation themselves and present you a bill for payment. If you don't pay that bill, they can start levying late charges. Then, eventually, they could get a lien on your property and bring foreclosure action if you don't pay up.

Again, the procedure, penalties and actions are all spelled out in your association documents. Take the time to read through them to see what your options are. Then, go to the hearing.

[Tim Hancock]

Originally Posted by Heel n Toe

I would never live somewhere that had one, but as far as I know, you can't tell them to go fly a kite, because they made you sign the HOA agreement before they let you buy there.

Well obviously I would never live somewhere that made me sign my freedom away, but if I was in the OP's shoes...... I would definitely be thinking of a way to get my pound of flesh back from these neighborhood Nazis.

[Dueller]

You're thinking of Florida Senate Bill 2080...allows you to deviate from HOA rules if you plan to establish a Fl friendly landscape primarily tto conserve water resources...

Senate Bill 2080: Legislation of Florida-Friendly Landscaping

What exactly are they complaining about? Dead lawn? Weeds? ttype of grass?

What remedy are they seeking?

[t951]

When we did re-sod we used the Floritam St. Augustine. There are 3 problems with that grass.

Its water hungry. (very bad here in water restricted florida......who the heck knew this swamp state would have water issues!!!).
It's easily overtaken by EVERY other plant life.
It's loved by bugs.

I know they passed a law in 2009 that said you could plant any grass. There are cascading effects for using water hungry pest infiltrated grass. We water, and the diluted chemicals get into the water table....etc etc.

I thought I had read that as long as you were current in your dues that you could basically ignore them. Basically, because some guy got jail time in florida for having a bad lawn that they redid the laws. The net of it was that they could only lien you if you were behind on dues. I am looking for that but cannot find it.

[Danimal16]

This was similar to the guy out here that had a HOA Nazi push him around regarding his TV antenna. Despite the FACT that federal law states that the HOA rules are superceeded by the Federal Law. The HOA attorney quite the HOA due to some of the Ahole board members. In the end the HOA suffered severly, the picked on the wrong guy, he countersued, won at jury and won puntitives. This is far more clear cut than the grass.

[MotoSook]

Mediation or a letter should consider your current hardship.

[Dueller]

Well, once again what are they trying to get you to do? Resod? Why? You have the compliant grass...yiou're just being eco-friendly by not watering/fertilizing it?

[ODDJOB UNO]

shaping all plants/bushes into male/female anatomy should do the trick. rastafarian dreadlocks worn at all times in public, possibly a BONE tied into hair on top of head, should shoo them away.



INSURED BY HK sticker or favorite spoon flavor on all vehicles.



get the aluminum foil helmets on NOW!

[Jim Richards]

Session :Bills : : flsenate.gov

go to line 843 of the bill.