But, in high density housing, people have to restrict themselves more, or be restricted, because proximity makes more things you do, annoying to those around.

If our rental had been in a non HOA, there would have been a drastic decline in the public spaces (noone taking responsibility for them), old and non running vehicles sitting on the street (because noone wants to pay for a lockup to put them in), trash cans out all the time, being blown over, and trash spread about (not my trash, not my problem, that is from someone elses tipped over trash can…)

When the tenant we evicted moved out, one if the bedroom carpets was soaked in urine, either she allowed her child to urinate on the floor, or she had a pet in there… don’t know which, don’t care either, but it cost us new carpet before we could sell (would have cost us new carpet before re renting too, because we always tried to put the house into the best condition possible before new tenants.)

Like the tenants that put the satelite dish up… we also found, after they had moved on, they had the com company dig in the back yard laying a connection, without, of course, telling anyone, and cost us $1200 to get the leak identified, fixed and new irrigation put down when they moved out… and having to placate a neighbor who was trying to sell her brothers house, and complained about the standing water between the houses – this was how we found out about the digging and the satellite dish on the roof…

HOA forces folk to do the things they should do naturally, if they are decent, mature, considerate people… but it has been our experience, there are not too many people like that out there now…

From reading your pieces, I see you have had those experiences too.

Entitled, envious, immature, inconsiderate, these are the folk HOA is designed to deal with, and if they do not want to live under those rules, they do not have to select a property in a HOA, they have a choice…

But everyone likes the way manicured public spaces, neat and tidy houses and yards, no trash, looks, with orderly and quiet neighborhoods, don’t they…

This is attractive, and appealing, and all they have to do is follow a few simple, common sense rules.

I wish there were no need for HOA but, until people grow up and develop mature outlooks and really care about the environments they live in, and those around them, I do not see them going away anytime soon, sad really.

it does seem for every slumlord story – there is a story of lousy tenants. both give all a bad name. we need a new system where pay to live, HOA, etc. are removed. at least that is the experience i desire. live and let live. freedom.

The last one said they had a ‘setvice dog’ for their disabled kid. Our rules were no dogs. But, because they termed it a service dog, we were not allowed to say no… we put the house up for sale. (Then we get a message from these potential renters saying they have found someone to take the dog!!) Truly, some people have NO morals.

The process to sell should have taken a month, this was a very nice house, it took 8 because the county changed the rules regarding housing inspections – every paint chip notated… almost as if the county did not wish us to sell, to force us to maintain it as a rental… and this was right before the virus revved up…

We spent 8 months paying 2 mortgages, very hard – particularly as we were getting 1 – 2 offers a month on the house.

We had our own engineers reports done at the end (if we had realized, we would have done that right off the bat) and the house sold for asking price.

If we had still had the house, we would now not be able to evict (the virus), and we would still be paying taxes, management fees as well as the mortgage, maintenance, and gardening.

So grateful we sold it in March. What a relief.

This HUD thing, not sure landlords will buy in – a guaranteed rent is one thing, but the higher maintenance, and, having to deal with neighbor and HOA complaints, then the mess when they move on, would more than offset that…

We rented to what I would term middle class, the rent was $1700 a month in Houston, average for the 4 bed single family property in a HOA development.

It seems folk – even those in what I would class as in middle class bracket – did not take the 10 min to read the HOA rules, and as far as the rental rules, ignored those too.

Too lazy or too entitled to read and follow. Cost us $600 to get a roof leak fixed, from a tenant putting a satelite dish up themselves, and not sealing it properly… (when the tenant rules said ‘do not affix anything to the structure’ pretty clear rule there) with all the other things that got damaged the deposit did not cover the costs.

We had neighbor complaints from kids lobbing things over the dividing fence, riding bikes on their lawns, and being beligerent… this was multiple tenants.

So, unless its a slum lord, I do not see landlords being enthusiastic about this… you watch, soon they will be forcing landlords to take them…

We are so glad to be out of it.