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


               
2018 Jan 10, 8:26am   5,462 views  35 comments

by zzyzzx   follow (9)  

#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 - 35 of 35        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   fdhfoiehfeoi   @   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   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.
5   fdhfoiehfeoi   @   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.
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   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.
11   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.
12   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.
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.
21   RWSGFY   @   2026 Mar 3, 7:51am  

joshuatrio says

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.


Have been living in a HOA neighborhood for decade now and don't see what all the hate is about. They have been pretty reasonable so far. When we had a wild pig problem
they let the guy who was the most upset about his lawn being torn up to install a fence around it even though the rules prohibit it. I was able to shut down the plan to install Flock cameras by simply attending a meeting and talking sense into them. The budget has hefty surplus, the monthly fee has stayed flat and under $100 for many years before being slightly bumped recently - overall it's been smooth sailing. Of course it's all SFHs and we don't have money pits like community pool and such. Where I
lived before I do remember my landlord getting his monthly HOA fee bumped $700 per month overnight, but that was an attached condo and the HOA had a pool, a tennis court and a clubhouse. The bump was for deferred maintenance on the extra amenities. This shit creates ample opportunity for corruption.

Maybe I have a Stockholm syndrome, lol, but I do
like that my neighbors can't put some tenants into their garages and create traffic and parking hell on my street.
22   Tenpoundbass   @   2026 Mar 3, 7:56am  

Tenpoundbass says

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.


Apparently this is no longer true in South Florida. There are many examples of older houses having those additions done. But since this post I have found out it's not.
You have to build carports, garages or any adjoining slabs up to level with under roof slab of your house.
And they wont approve it if it lowers the ceiling below the minimum height, or the pour will be too deep.
It also screws up the existing side door entrance and engineering issues on making the lintels for new door and window openings.
23   HeadSet   @   2026 Mar 3, 9:37am  

RWSGFY says

the monthly fee has stayed flat and under $100 for many years before being slightly bumped recently - overall it's been smooth sailing. Of course it's all SFHs and we don't have money pits like community pool and such.

My HOA fee is about $50/mo (up from $15/mo when I moved in 10 years ago) and we have a very nice pool, clubhouse, playground, walking trails, small lakes, and monuments. It stays low cost because we have plenty of volunteers on the various maintenance committees. For example, one guy is a scoutmaster and he had his troop work on merit badges by building wooden bridges over the streams along the walking trail. When the berm along the lake needed repair, we had a couple of retired Civil Engineers do all the design, permits, and bring in the crew and heavy equipment to do the repair. The HOA treasurer is a CPA.
24   Eric_Holder   @   2026 Mar 3, 10:52am  

HeadSet says

RWSGFY says


the monthly fee has stayed flat and under $100 for many years before being slightly bumped recently - overall it's been smooth sailing. Of course it's all SFHs and we don't have money pits like community pool and such.

My HOA fee is about $50/mo (up from $15/mo when I moved in 10 years ago) and we have a very nice pool, clubhouse, playground, walking trails, small lakes, and monuments. It stays low cost because we have plenty of volunteers on the various maintenance committees. For example, one guy is a scoutmaster and he had his troop work on merit badges by building wooden bridges over the streams along the walking trail. When the berm along the lake needed repair, we had a couple of retired Civil Engineers do all the design, permits, and bring in the crew and heavy equipment to do the repair. The HOA treasurer is a CPA.


California is like another planet. Here it would be $400-1500.
25   Maga_Chaos_Monkey   @   2026 Mar 3, 10:54am  

Very nice deal you've got there! Mine are double on San Antonio in a higher than median neighborhood with a pool, clubhouse etc: $100/month
26   HeadSet   @   2026 Mar 3, 1:13pm  

Maga_Chaos_Monkey says

Very nice deal you've got there! Mine are double on San Antonio in a higher than median neighborhood with a pool, clubhouse etc: $100/month

Even $100 is a good deal. I presume your neighborhood is not gated and thus public streets. Neighborhoods with private streets can have some whopping monthly fees to escrow the eventual repaving.
27   Patrick   @   2026 Mar 3, 8:16pm  

Lol, just for kicks I looked at 1BR condo in Palo Alto over the weekend because it was under a million dollars.

HOA is $1,165/mo, and property tax similar, so about $2K/mo forever even though you "own" it.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/101-Alma-St-APT-904-Palo-Alto-CA-94301/19495786_zpid/

Another downside is that the afternoon sun was brutally heating the place up in the early afternoon, and it's only February.
28   MolotovCocktail   @   2026 Mar 3, 8:33pm  

Patrick says

Lol, just for kicks I looked at 1BR condo in Palo Alto over the weekend because it was under a million dollars.

HOA is $1,165/mo, and property tax similar, so about $2K/mo forever even though you "own" it.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/101-Alma-St-APT-904-Palo-Alto-CA-94301/19495786_zpid/

Another downside is that the afternoon sun was brutally heating the place up in the early afternoon, and it's only February.


SF residential R/E is actually going up in prices.

All that AI money is definitely not just being spent on datacenters.
29   Maga_Chaos_Monkey   @   2026 Mar 4, 7:59am  

HeadSet says

Even $100 is a good deal. I presume your neighborhood is not gated and thus public streets. Neighborhoods with private streets can have some whopping monthly fees to escrow the eventual repaving.


Correct.
30   FortWayneHatesRealtors   @   2026 Mar 4, 8:36am  

Seen quite a few HOA's. Always came down to the kind of people who lived there. Seen very easy going responsible places, seen very busybody places too, seen even corrupt places. Worst places are where HOA hires a "management company", those are always the worst. It is because they don't want to deal with their neighbors, they don't care about their neighbors, so they just offload all responsibility to a management company to screw them over on fees.

That's only my personal experience limited to about 10 or so HOA's overall. If you have seen different do share.
31   HeadSet   @   2026 Mar 4, 8:53am  

FortWayneHatesRealtors says

Worst places are where HOA hires a "management company", those are always the worst.

Yep. That typically happens with HOAs that nobody wants to volunteer for.
32   SunnyvaleCA   @   2026 Mar 4, 10:02am  

There are parts of silicon valley where it's common to rent out a house to high-tech workers. I've seen nice 2500 sqft houses where each of the 3 regular bedrooms has bunk beds and the master bedroom has 2 bunk beds. The owner rents to 10 workers at $1000/month, which includes utilities and internet. There are whole streets of these types of rental houses. You can tell because the street parking is completely full every night but quite empty during the day. And the vehicles aren't 30 y/o junkers, either — it's important to get to the office reliably. Driveway will have 2 vehicles parked side-by-side and the garage is full of stuff because houses out here don't have basements and the attic is way too hot and inconvenient. The garages often have stuff from past residents how are temporary out of the country (probably bribing someone in order to renew their work visa). For someone just out of paper-mill college it's a great way to earn tons of money, save it up, and retire back to India just in time before your visa period is up.

I don't see why the HOA would be solving the "problem" of people living in the garage when the real problem is occupancy of 10 to a single house — which is also against city ordinance here. Seems to me a hidden camera that films 10 people going into the house in the evening and 10 people coming out of the house the following morning would give you probably cause of an ordanice violation.
33   Misc   @   2026 Mar 4, 10:17am  

SunnyvaleCA says

Seems to me a hidden camera that films 10 people going into the house in the evening and 10 people coming out of the house the following morning would give you probably cause of an ordanice violation.


SCOTUS ruled that an unlimited number of related folks can share a residence. Try to prove they ain't cousins and you're Racyst.
34   HeadSet   @   2026 Mar 4, 7:21pm  

Misc says

SCOTUS ruled that an unlimited number of related folks can share a residence.

Here in Virginia, a Manassas judge ruled against ordinances even limiting the number of UNrelated people sharing a single-family abode.

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