Purple peril: Homeowners group threatens family over swingset's color

[EdinVA]

...
Marla Stout says the homeowners association for the vast Raintree Lake subdivision in Lee’s Summit has complained to her that the color is not in harmony with other colors in the neighborhood. She’s been told if the treehouse/playset isn’t removed she or her husband could be fined or even jailed. The Stouts and the homeowners association have an Aug. 21 date with a judge over the dispute.
...

Stout said she offered to repaint the swing set gray but that was rejected.

"Apparently they don't like gray either," she said. “We got very frustrated. There’s somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 homes in our community. There’s all kinds of colors. There’s people with bright purple doors. There’s trees that are the color of this swing set.”

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/08/14/purple-peril-homeowners-group-threatens-family-over-swingset-color/

This is what is wrong with America..... fascists in training..

[Right_in_Virginia]

Stout said she offered to repaint the swing set gray but that was rejected.

They should repaint it magenta and be done with it. 

[truth_seeker]

This is what is wrong with America..... fascists in training..

Nothing is wrong, except idiots that sign to acknowledge receipt of the documents to become part of a community, with Homeowner's Association Rules," then claim to not know or even follow the rules.

If you don't want to live in such a community (or follow the rules), don't buy a home there, plain and simple.

[EdinVA]

Nothing is wrong, except idiots that sign to acknowledge receipt of the documents to become part of a community, with Homeowner's Association Rules," then claim to not know or even follow the rules.

If you don't want to live in such a community (or follow the rules), don't buy a home there, plain and simple.

You missed my point, or I blew it.
It is all about conditioning.  Grow up with strong arm rules, then it is easier to accept them when you get older.
Same sort of thing with gas prices, it is conditioning.  Raise the price till people holler and then drop it till they are excited about paying twice as much as they were originally.

[truth_seeker]

You missed my point, or I blew it.
It is all about conditioning.  Grow up with strong arm rules, then it is easier to accept them when you get older.
Same sort of thing with gas prices, it is conditioning.  Raise the price till people holler and then drop it till they are excited about paying twice as much as they were originally.

I owned in an association for four years. It was and remains a great complex. My father was a builder and I am a real estate broker, so perhaps I have a different basis for deciding how to react on this subject.

People that cannot or will not follow the rules they previously agreed to follow, will have trouble in associations. The association has the upper hand, in the form of the documents the person signed in which they committed to follow the rules.

[EdinVA]

I owned in an association for four years. It was and remains a great complex. My father was a builder and I am a real estate broker, so perhaps I have a different basis for deciding how to react on this subject.

People that cannot or will not follow the rules they previously agreed to follow, will have trouble in associations. The association has the upper hand, in the form of the documents the person signed in which they committed to follow the rules.

The people that are buying do not understand they are signing away their property rights to the association and that there is no avenue for common sense or appeal.
It is by all definitions, group think, and the individual looses all rights.
Yes, they signed it, but contrary to popular opinion, not everyone is a lawyer.

[truth_seeker]

The people that are buying do not understand they are signing away their property rights to the association and that there is no avenue for common sense or appeal.
It is by all definitions, group think, and the individual looses all rights.
Yes, they signed it, but contrary to popular opinion, not everyone is a lawyer.

It isn't brain surgery, to understand association rules. Real estate agents successfully explain the parameters to hundreds of thousands of buyers, that are capable of grasping the subject.

Towns also have rules, for things like lot size, front, side and read yard setbacks, percent lot coverage, limits on building height, overnight parking restrictions etc. etc.

I can cover this in a few minutes, with most clients. And they do understand, without being lawyers or hiring lawyers.

[EdinVA]

It isn't brain surgery, to understand association rules. Real estate agents successfully explain the parameters to hundreds of thousands of buyers, that are capable of grasping the subject.

Towns also have rules, for things like lot size, front, side and read yard setbacks, percent lot coverage, limits on building height, overnight parking restrictions etc. etc.

I can cover this in a few minutes, with most clients. And they do understand, without being lawyers or hiring lawyers.

Do you explain what property right are and what property rights come with their deed?
Do you tell them they are signing away their property rights to the association?

I have a license also and found the industry loaded with misdirection and deliberate omissions to CYA the agent.

[Oceander]

Do you explain what property right are and what property rights come with their deed?
Do you tell them they are signing away their property rights to the association?

I have a license also and found the industry loaded with misdirection and deliberate omissions to CYA the agent.

That carries the faint whiff of "it depends on what 'is' is".

If I tell you that when you sign the contract you are committing to obey certain rules respecting what you do on your property, then you cannot later on claim that I fooled you because I didn't also say "oh, by the way, you'll be signing away some of your property rights when you sign."

The fact is that people "sign away their property rights" all the time.  Ever bought a policy for auto insurance?  You signed away the right to do certain things with your personal property - your car - because you agreed that if you did certain things with the car, then the insurance company would not be obliged to cover you under the policy.  In other words, if you want to be covered under the policy you have given away your right to do certain things with your car.

Ever taken out a mortgage loan?  Talk about "signing away" your property rights.  Read the full text of your mortgage agreement sometime - it's in plain English (federal law requires it to be) - to find out what you've promised not to do with "your property."  Should that mortgage be undone because the mortgage company didn't tell you, in so many words, "you're signing away your property rights when you sign this mortgage loan."

[Oceander]

You missed my point, or I blew it.
It is all about conditioning.  Grow up with strong arm rules, then it is easier to accept them when you get older.
Same sort of thing with gas prices, it is conditioning.  Raise the price till people holler and then drop it till they are excited about paying twice as much as they were originally.

With all due respect, what you're saying is that the laws of contract - one of the basic building blocks of civilized society - is nothing more than fascist conditioning.  I don't think that's what you meant to say, but that is the necessary import of your words.

[truth_seeker]

Do you explain what property right are and what property rights come with their deed?
Do you tell them they are signing away their property rights to the association?

I have a license also and found the industry loaded with misdirection and deliberate omissions to CYA the agent.

I'm no genius, but I have a business degree, some graduate work in economics, a few law courses, a real estate broker license (8 college courses) and passed the broker exam.

I know the history of laws, which mainly dealt with property. We don't have "absolute" property rights in many cases. Your neighbor may have a "right" to cross your property, for example to get water to his property.

Each region is unique. My father was a builder since my earliest memories, and I was a curious kid. He taught me a lot, before I ever thought of getting a license after my corporate career.

So yes, I do school people to the extent their curiosity asks me for. But I do not have an obligation to overdo it. I have an obligation to inform him of what he should think about.

I cannot build above 3 stories, because of the city building codes. I am NOT in an association. That illustrates for you the FACT that property rights are NOT absolute.

I remember decades back that Houston had few zoning restrictions. You could build an apartment next to a factory next to an amusement park next to a hospital etc.

Somebody from Texas is better qualified to talk about those Houston property rights.

I would advise a client that even in the most remote regions of the USA, that much due diligence is necessary to determine exactly what are the restrictions on property rights, usages, etc.

[raml]

In both Michigan and California i took the real estate exam just because I want to  know the state laws on homes when I buy. You don't have to go as far as I did but it is buyer beware so at least read what you sign and if you don't understand look it up if you don't trust the real estate salesman you picked to help you. We are responsible for knowing what we sign and it is no one elses fault if you haven't a clue what you signed. I have bought two homes with home owners associations and 2 without because they were in the country on private roads. That same home owners ass. that stops you from doing what ever you like also stops others too and in the end will uphold your resale value a lot more that if you don't have one. I wish people would just grow up and accept responsibility for all they do and quit saying I didn't understand it. If you don't understand it then it is your fault if you don't research and find out what it is. The end!

[EdinVA]

I'm no genius, but I have a business degree, some graduate work in economics, a few law courses, a real estate broker license (8 college courses) and passed the broker exam.

I know the history of laws, which mainly dealt with property. We don't have "absolute" property rights in many cases. Your neighbor may have a "right" to cross your property, for example to get water to his property.

Each region is unique. My father was a builder since my earliest memories, and I was a curious kid. He taught me a lot, before I ever thought of getting a license after my corporate career.

So yes, I do school people to the extent their curiosity asks me for. But I do not have an obligation to overdo it. I have an obligation to inform him of what he should think about.

I cannot build above 3 stories, because of the city building codes. I am NOT in an association. That illustrates for you the FACT that property rights are NOT absolute.

I remember decades back that Houston had few zoning restrictions. You could build an apartment next to a factory next to an amusement park next to a hospital etc.

Somebody from Texas is better qualified to talk about those Houston property rights.

I would advise a client that even in the most remote regions of the USA, that much due diligence is necessary to determine exactly what are the restrictions on property rights, usages, etc.

Went back reread my last post and did not mean to "pound" on you, my apologies.

[truth_seeker]

Went back reread my last post and did not mean to "pound" on you, my apologies.

No problem whatsoever. I can look back onto most of my 67 years with observations about development. My county was about 150,000 when I first lived here at age 3 and today is over 3 million. In the middle at high school graduation it was one million.

And my father built homes, and was a self-educated type. President of the local BIA for a time. In the early days of planned unit developments, California led the nation setting down guidelines and regulations.

An example I remember was the builder's role in establishing the association, funding it, until a qualifying fraction of the homes were sold. There is government "oversight"  aimed at protecting the consumer. Calif. is a big consumer protection state, in the extreme.

Property rights are a balance, just as are personal rights. Today in many places "rights" involve things like views, which is a fairly recent consideration, for example.

Going back in time, the sheep men and the cattle men worked it out, or didn't as the case may have turned. And the properties distant from water, nonetheless needed water.