Never thought I'd say this, but.....
....I think that Home Owners' Associations can actually be a good thing.
We were forcibly a part of one in Columbia, within our Dove Park subdivision. There were many rules which we had to follow, and many of us complained about the "Big Brother" mentality behind it all. Now, in afterthought, I see the value in all of those imposed rules and regulations. I see what happens when those rules are NOT in place, and I'm not crazy about it.
In Cola, we were even warned (and then fined) if our trash cans were put out on our curb before sundown the night before garbage pick-up. We were also expected to wheel it back out of sight by sundown the day OF pickup. What that created was just another thing for us to remember and be diligent about doing....and it also created cleaner streets within our neighborhood.
There was also a law in Richland County which stated that all cars must be parked on pavement....none could be parked on grass in your front/side yard (or even on cement blocks, if you know what I mean). I'm sure this set off many residents....but again, it created a more visually pleasing drive for us each day.
We currently live in an old neighboorhood (i.e., most houses are built between 1930 and 1950). It is within city limits, which means there are certain regulations that are in place that would not be mandatory in the county suburbs. Yet I have found that some people, if left on their own, will not take pride or care in their houses or yards if it is not forced upon them to do so.
I am saddened when I go walking among the shady roads around our home....trash cans are turned on their sides, left there for days. Heaps of junk out EVERY week for the city workers to pick up....anything from old bookshelves to toilet lids to delapidated children's toys (where DO these people get all of this stuff?!). Houses with shrubs so overgrown that the front windows are totally shrouded.
Then, right beside a house full of haphazardly strewn filaments all over the yard, sits a perfectly manicured lawn, a house with freshly painted shutters and a weeded garden. It is simply mind-boggling sometimes.
Now, I understand that there are special situations that cannot be helped....i.e., an elderly person living in a house with no one to help them tend to it. But I am referring to the people who are home all day, working out of the house (or whatever), who simply let their surroundings fall to pieces. It harms others' real estate value, and it tarnishes the community as a whole.
Pardon my ranting and raving. I have never really had to think about such things until I have become a home owner (without a HOA to play policeman). I really hate to think that people all around us are really that lazy. Really. I am a realist, but this time, I'd really like to be an idealist...but it's difficult to do that when I see more evidence every day that I'm right. :0(
We were forcibly a part of one in Columbia, within our Dove Park subdivision. There were many rules which we had to follow, and many of us complained about the "Big Brother" mentality behind it all. Now, in afterthought, I see the value in all of those imposed rules and regulations. I see what happens when those rules are NOT in place, and I'm not crazy about it.
In Cola, we were even warned (and then fined) if our trash cans were put out on our curb before sundown the night before garbage pick-up. We were also expected to wheel it back out of sight by sundown the day OF pickup. What that created was just another thing for us to remember and be diligent about doing....and it also created cleaner streets within our neighborhood.
There was also a law in Richland County which stated that all cars must be parked on pavement....none could be parked on grass in your front/side yard (or even on cement blocks, if you know what I mean). I'm sure this set off many residents....but again, it created a more visually pleasing drive for us each day.
We currently live in an old neighboorhood (i.e., most houses are built between 1930 and 1950). It is within city limits, which means there are certain regulations that are in place that would not be mandatory in the county suburbs. Yet I have found that some people, if left on their own, will not take pride or care in their houses or yards if it is not forced upon them to do so.
I am saddened when I go walking among the shady roads around our home....trash cans are turned on their sides, left there for days. Heaps of junk out EVERY week for the city workers to pick up....anything from old bookshelves to toilet lids to delapidated children's toys (where DO these people get all of this stuff?!). Houses with shrubs so overgrown that the front windows are totally shrouded.
Then, right beside a house full of haphazardly strewn filaments all over the yard, sits a perfectly manicured lawn, a house with freshly painted shutters and a weeded garden. It is simply mind-boggling sometimes.
Now, I understand that there are special situations that cannot be helped....i.e., an elderly person living in a house with no one to help them tend to it. But I am referring to the people who are home all day, working out of the house (or whatever), who simply let their surroundings fall to pieces. It harms others' real estate value, and it tarnishes the community as a whole.
Pardon my ranting and raving. I have never really had to think about such things until I have become a home owner (without a HOA to play policeman). I really hate to think that people all around us are really that lazy. Really. I am a realist, but this time, I'd really like to be an idealist...but it's difficult to do that when I see more evidence every day that I'm right. :0(
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