The state’s homeowners’ associations (HOAs) are notorious for petty bureaucracy – including threats of eviction for the wrong kind of dog or decorative garage door hinges
If you had to name the state where a Vietnam war veteran almost lost his apartment for owning the wrong kind of dog; in which a ring of thieves made off with millions of dollars of residents’ money they were obligated to look after; and where a family was threatened with legal action over decorative garage door hinges, intuition would lead you to Florida.
Such absurdities from homeowners’ associations (HOAs) abound where the nation’s highest concentration of condominium developments, gated communities and upmarket resorts blend seamlessly with an abundance of petty bureaucracy and outright crookedness.
I’m confused… Aren’t HOA reps elected by the people living in the HOA? And generally, democracy should work better on a local level where people know each other, not worse… So why do they fail so bad?
Because much like in government, they like to hold meetings and elections at inconvenient times when most people are at work, so it’s retired and anger-motivated people that show up. And those are not the people you want doing it.
In my area, the representatives aren’t the people who live there. There’s a large renters population and the owners are focused only in property values not on the practicalities of actually living. They are not subject to their own rules.
In other areas, it can be because the kind of person who ascends to that position is exactly the kind of person who shouldn’t have those powers.
they are too small in general. They can’t pay to attract someone who might be willing but isn’t passonate. so often what is left is busybodies who are passonate and you let them do whatever as it is better than doing it yourself - you have other things todo with your time.