COMPLYYYY!

[telophase]

Last week I posted the response from the HOA when we asked if we needed to get approval just to remove dead bushes from our yard, the ominous "You do not need to submit to remove the dead."

I'm sure that some of you were "Uh, why would you bother to ask about that, it's self-evident that they'd want dead bushes gone, right?" and others, perhaps people drifting through since most of y'all who are regulars are pretty nice about this sort of thing, were like "This is why I'd never buy a house in an HOA!!"

To answer part 2 of that: this was the compromise between cost of house and distance from work, as in if we wanted a house not in an HOA, it was either spend significantly more, drop a metric ton of cash in renovations, or spend 45 minutes twice a day on angry Texas freeways to get to and from work.

For part 1 of the question, on Friday we got an answer from the compliance coordinator of the agency that the HOA uses to manage the business end of the organization. They're the people that do the driving round snapping photos of the dead bushes in your yard and sending you nastygrams, and things like that. Said coordinator told that no, we HAD to get approval just to remove, and copied a letter sent last year from the HOA to homeowners that included the sentence "All landscape and hardscape changes in front yard must be pre-approved by the Architectural Control Committee (ACC)."

Riight. So myrialux emailed them back saying that we'd talked to the board member in charge of that, and she'd specifically told us we don't need approval to remove the dead stuff. This morning the compliance coordinator emailed us back to let us know that they'd spoken to that board member and that she'd said yes we can remove the dead stuff. And said we could contact her directly if we needed additional information, helpfully telling us her name and giving us her email.

Yes, that would be the person we specifically said that we had talked to previously. GAH.

Anyway, today's ominous sentence is "yes you can remove the dead but need to submit for the replacement." I present to you, Midjourney's interpretation of both the previous Ominous Pronouncement and today's Ominous Pronouncement!



"You do not need to submit to remove the dead."



"yes you can remove the dead but need to submit for the replacement."

This one had too many good options and in the end I couldn't decide between these two, so you'll have to tell me which one you like better and why.

Option 1:


Option 2:

Comments

[trobadora]

OMG, they do have their omninous pronouncements down!

(I love the floating gravestones. :D)

[telophase]

I love the floating gravestones, but I also love the little story going on in the second that looks like either a funeral or a resurrection. XD

[selenite0]

My condolences on the HOA hassles. I'm a type 2, but I figure you've probably heard my rants before, and are thankful to be spared if you haven't.

[telophase]

I am very much inclined to your point of view, but I'm also very much inclined to not driving 45+ minutes on the highways twice a day, and that won out in the end. We did not put an offer on the house until after we examined the HOA documents with a fine-toothed comb, however!

[selenite0]

I see the trade-off, and that's a reasonable way to handle it. I just don't want to live under any government that isn't bound by the Bill of Rights.

[telophase]

Totally understandable. We might be moving in a year or two, and if that's the case we won't be bound by work (i.e. we're living on a revised budget to see if we can live on myrialux's income alone right now), and so don't have to worry as much about a commute. In which case "no HOA" gets pushed higher on the list of desirables.

[ellenmillion]

Those pictures! That HOA! (I have one written into a series I'm working on that I feared was over-the-top and now I realize that it is not at all and perhaps I've even underplayed them...)

[telophase]

I do not believe it is possible to go over-the-top with HOAs. There's always stories floating about of the HOAs that repossess houses if you can't make the payments or can't keep it up to standard, that mostly go unnoticed until they pick on a veteran (the one I'm thinking of is a wife of a serving soldier who couldn't do...something or other...and the HOA tried to evict her. Which did not go well in the court of public opinion!).

Our HOA can only fine us or slap a lien on the house if we don't pay the fine for, like, six months, and they couldn't even do that the first five years! Our experience has mostly been that the actual people on the board are reasonable--we've had the same president for most of a decade because nobody else wants to be president--it's the management company that's uptight. But we do keep subscribed to the newsletters and show up for the yearly meetings just in case we get a tinpot dictator showing up.

I will note that our HOA rules say we can't park a hovercraft in front of the house. Presumably it's OK in the driveway if it's less than 13 feet long.

[chemicalcain]

Those are good reasons to buy a house in an HOA. My priorities would have been different, but that doesn't make your choice unreasonable for you. I hope you love your home even if the HOA sometimes causes frustration, and I hope they approve your ideal landscaping quickly and with another ominous-sounding sentence.

[adafrog]

I like your versions better than the RL versions.
Also, do you have to replace them?