topsy turvy much?

Hmm. Seems a bit odd - sounds like a pro-peace semi-religious or at least semi-festive person being wrongfully accused, but account for media spin and the fact that homeowners' associations have a large say in what can or can't be put up in a given community, and it might not be as big a deal as it sounds. Anything gaudy or out of the ordinary has to be cleared where my parents live. We had to apply for permission to build a shed, to add a sun room to the back of the house, even to put up a little playground set for my little brothers. It's just how homeowners' associations work.

I imagine if anyone reported that story to the media, it would be the accused, and they'd put a nice spin on it to get themselves in the local paper and maybe get to keep their ugly Christmas decorations up a few more days. If it took saying that their neighbors called a peace sign a satanic symbol, so be it.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

This signals that the neighborhood has gone to pot and that it's time to move. If those quotes are indeed accurate, then that is one SERIOUSLY messed up community. At least the (former) committee members seem to have had some semblance of brains.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Well, if one family gets the go-ahead to build something or do something to their home, and then that isn't granted to someone else, sparks fly. Or if one family doesn't take good care of their lawn, or has really stupid-looking plastic deer out on their lawn (like in my neighborhood back home, yeesh), or has kids that are always terrorizing the neighbor's pets, it doesn't work out well in the homeowners' association. My mom's been vice president of the HOA a few years now, and she hates the politics of it all. The only reason she does it is that no one else is willing to take minutes at the meetings. :P

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Sassafrass

Since you seem to know about the HOA, could you tell us how we can avoid moving into an area where the HOA is thriving? Around here, only closed-gate communities with a board get the right to tell people how to trim and decorate their own, bought-and-paid-for property.

I mean, is there a way to be in the neighborhood and NOT have to deal with this cocksuckery?

I think Snowknight is right, though. It screams of a grudge. But its plain outrageous that they would disallow it.

Basically, when house-hunting you have to make sure you ask the realtor and talk to the owners of the house you're looking at, once you're considering it seriously. My family doesn't live in a closed-gate community, but it is a development that has gone up in stages, and it's semi-enclosed because there's no through street. What gives the HOA where I lived more power (they're not too bad, there're a few people with sticks up their butts but for the most part they're pretty low-key) is that with the development going up in stages there're the "Stage 1" people, the "Stage 2" people, and people even newer than that, which is some sort of retarded status symbol.

The clearest way to find out if an HOA is ridiculous is to meet the president and the vice president and gauge them - and if they're cool, ask if the HOA is cool, or if it's Nazi Germany all over again. Cool people can be frank with you. And if not frank, at least they'll gossip about it. :P

How ya doing, buddy?