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California HOA says keep the garage door open all day or we fine you


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2018 Jan 10, 8:26am   4,187 views  19 comments

by zzyzzx   ➕follow (5)   💰tip   ignore  

#housing #hoa #fuckcalifornia

http://fox40.com/2018/01/05/auburn-community-upset-after-hoa-tells-them-to-leave-garage-doors-open/

AUBURN -- An Auburn community is upset after their homeowners association told them they needed to keep their garage doors open during the day.

The rule calls for residents with garages to keep them open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. While some have been abiding by the new rule, despite being against it, others were keeping their doors shut.

Nine-year-old Jason, whose family lives at Auburn Greens, was concerned.

"I’m still worried a little. I’m still a little worried because I just think it’s all going to get stolen, you know?" Jason said.

Another article about this:
http://victorygirlsblog.com/california-hoa-says-keep-garage-door-open-day-fine/
A sheet of paper was the cause for concern, a list left earlier in the week by the Auburn Greens Unit 1 Homeowners Association.

"I don’t think it’s a good idea because they are going to steal my bike," Jason said. "I’ve got an electric scooter, I've got an electric wheelchair, I’ve got all kinds of stuff. So, I just don’t think it’s very good to have it open."

For every home like Jason’s that began following the new rule, there were plenty of others who refused to, like Shally Ia.

"I have nothing to hide. I understand somebody had people living in the garage. I don’t. I am following the rules," Ia said. "All I am asking is a reasonable way to get around this. If you want to do a monthly, bi-monthly inspection of my garage, I have nothing to hide. If I have something that's being stored in there and you don’t like it I’ll remove it."

Residents say a $200 fine and an administrative hearing are the potential punishment for keeping the door down, but for some paying the fine it may be worth avoiding a burglary.

"Fine, let me give you the $200 fine right now," Ia said. "Give me a month so I can get my stuff out, and I might as well clear everything out and leave the garage door open permanently because there is no point of having a garage door then."

A call to the HOA was not returned and the office was closed during the hours it had posted as opened. As some residents seemed to be testing how open the garage needs to be, regardless of the choice to keep the door up or down, many residents shared a common disdain for the rule.

"I hope it does change. I hope it does," Jason said.

The HOA monthly meeting is scheduled to take place in two weeks, and many residents say they plan to be there.

Comments 1 - 19 of 19        Search these comments

1   WookieMan   2018 Jan 10, 8:41am  

It's not just CA though. Unless you've got the time or are willing to take the time to be on the board and involved, NEVER live in a community with an HOA. There are exceptions to this of course, but those are usually high end communities where the HOA fee money is a nothing burger for rich owners. They just want the place secure and looking fabulous.

Even then there's some righteous attorney, doctor or empty nested women with the time on their hands to just cause fucking problems. My mother in law lives in a upper middle class subdivision ($350k-$550k houses) and they still have twats running around with fucking clip boards flagging the most ridiculous violations that most wouldn't even believe are real.
2   NuttBoxer   2018 Jan 10, 9:07am  

I saw this on the news a few days ago. Do HOA's have total control of the inside of a residence? If not, I'd say this is a dangerous precedent to try and gain that control. Next you won't be able to shit without leaving the door open, and running a livefeed to an HOA jumbo-tron.
3   WookieMan   2018 Jan 10, 9:08am  

Although I do have to say the reason for the garage doors being open is so CA. WTF, living in the fucking garage? I mean, CA weather is generally amazing (forest fires and mudslides aside), but if you can't afford the cost of living there are thousands of other great places in this country to live. And not in a garage.
4   NuttBoxer   2018 Jan 10, 9:16am  

WookieMan says
WTF, living in the fucking garage?


I think this is actually pretty common in South Bay San Diego, have seen a few places where it looks like things were rigged up for someone to live in the garage at one point. I think it's usually sub-letting, or Mexicans with extended family.
5   anonymous   2018 Jan 10, 9:22am  

HOAs are great when they confine themselves to mowing the grass and painting everybody's garage door every few years at a high volume, low-cost price.

Unfortunately, as Wookie said, they often get taken over by retired Army Officers, buttinsky Housewives, bored Retirees, etc. and not infrequently Realtors(tm) who want to impose their uniform aesthetic standard, to steer business to contractors, or just to be persnikity assholes.
6   WookieMan   2018 Jan 10, 9:26am  

NuttBoxer says
I think this is actually pretty common in South Bay San Diego

I imagine it is common. I don't live in CA, but love it and try to get there once a year or every other year for vacation.

That said, it wouldn't be worth living in a garage to be there. I get some people don't like winter, but there are amazing places all over where these people could not be living in a garage and have a much better quality of life. Sometimes the grass is greener on the other side even if it gets covered in snow for 2-3 months a year.

I also agree with your previous sentiment with HOA's pushing the boundaries of what should be considered private. The problem is that you most likely sign away any recourse when you buy into buildings or communities that have HOA's. So while I think everyone would agree it's overstepping for something that had the original intent of just mowing the lawn, I don't think there's much owners can do. Except get on the board and get the fucking idiots off it that thought this was a good idea. Which isn't always easy. That's why I say get involved asap IF you decide to purchase where there's an HOA. Regardless of how well it's run.
7   Goran_K   2018 Jan 10, 9:32am  

It's usually illegals who this rule targets. This leads to having nearly no parking spaces available on the street. More noise. etc

While I agree with the sentiment from the HOA, this is not the way to solve the problem.
8   Ceffer   2018 Jan 10, 9:41am  

In California, people have deep and meaningful sexual relationships with their cars. Living in the garage makes sense.
9   Malcolm   2018 Jan 10, 9:53am  

People are living in garages, which is not a big deal on its own. San Diego even waived fines if people would simply get the proper permit for illegal conversions. Now, with the short-term rental opportunities, communities are finding that struggling residents are turning their homes into hotels. They are desperate and communities don't want transients, so we have a very heated good-faith dispute. It is very easy to do a conversion, some people already have finished garages. Do that BTW, it adds value to take the time to drywall your garage walls and ceiling. If you have a nice car, it looks bitchin' to have it in a finished garage, with an epoxy coated floor.

You will often also see RVs with electric cords going to a house. People let extended family live in RVs, pool houses, pretty much any space. My brother-in-law took a single family house, walled off the master bedroom, built a little casita and has my mom living in a small trailer house (tastefully done) on the property. So a single family residence is actually four units. Other larger homes are being chopped up to have like six units. I hear stories in Palo Alto, of whole communities of RVs on neighborhood streets. I would not try to move here under any circumstances at this time.
10   zzyzzx   2018 Jan 10, 10:13am  

WookieMan says
it wouldn't be worth living in a garage to be there


Still better than living in some filthy third world country.
11   Ceffer   2018 Jan 10, 10:33am  

There are better places than Auburn in the California foothills to run a thriving meth lab in your garage.
12   anonymous   2018 Jan 10, 10:41am  

True this can happen to all HOA. But at least in CA we have APPRECIATION to help offset HOA bs.
13   zzyzzx   2018 Jan 10, 10:54am  

Goran_K says
this is not the way to solve the problem.


I have to wonder how that meeting went when someone came up with this idea. Seriously, an occasional inspection for someone living there or meth lab would have been sufficient.
15   Goran_K   2018 Jan 10, 11:55am  

zzyzzx says
I have to wonder how that meeting went when someone came up with this idea. Seriously, an occasional inspection for someone living there or meth lab would have been sufficient.


Yeah it just seems so heavy handed. Why would anyone vote for such a dumb rule?
16   joshuatrio   2018 Jan 10, 12:09pm  

WookieMan says

It's not just CA though. Unless you've got the time or are willing to take the time to be on the board and involved, NEVER live in a community with an HOA. There are exceptions to this of course, but those are usually high end communities where the HOA fee money is a nothing burger for rich owners. They just want the place secure and looking fabulous.


Despite how insane HOA's can be, I'd guess the majority of them are pretty reasonable. Just be active on the board and know what's going on and you won't have any real problems. The HOA we're involved in is pretty cool and reasonable. Any requests I've made, have been approved.

The reason I LIKE having an HOA, is it helps keep neighborhoods from looking bad, and from going downhill. One of the rentals we lived in had a non-active HOA, and property values were in the decline. Overall, there are pro's/con's to an HOA, but if you're thinking about buying into a neighborhood with one, email the board president and try to get a feel for the community.
17   Ceffer   2018 Jan 10, 12:13pm  

HOA's make life a living hell. If you can't leave a few junk cars on blocks, a boat, an RV and a semi on your lot while manufacturing meth in your garage, then freedom has no meaning!

Lawns are for wusses.

If you want to rent out your garage, then so what? Carbon monoxide poisoning is an excellent eviction notice.
18   Tenpoundbass   2018 Jan 10, 12:22pm  

This is exactly why I don't live in a communities with HOAs.
Also why I live in a community that if you want to make your garage a rental efficiency you can, as long as it's up to code and you get tax id.
19   HeadSet   2018 Jan 10, 12:52pm  

In Auburn, can one "AirBnB" garage space?

Maybe the homeowners can Trompe-l'œil a closed garage door to look like a pristine open door garage. Include a '57 Chevy or a Bentley in the painting. Or get funny by painting an immaculate garage, but include a rusted hulk old Dodge pickup on blocks.

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