privacy

All homes in HOA are privately owned the road is dedicated my two questions are: Is it an invasion of privacy for the Pres. to come running down with some HOA business every time you pull in,or going into your storage building looking for you and yes he is watching you can't get the car shut off without him showing up.We have neighbors with binoculars, neighbors standing in someones carport(they use another neighbors for their Doggie Doolie)and stare in our windows this makes me uncomfortable. Is it an invasion of privacy for the Pres. to furnish a list of names to the entire HOA of who has and has not paid assessments.

BB5,

You have some strange neighbors. Binoculars? Staring in windows? Aren't those called peeping Toms?

Some people do strange things. I remember reading about one parent who would video tape the school bus driver every day when the bus picked up her child. She finally stopped when the school bus driver's husband followed the school bus and and started video taping the parent.

BB5,

This has been discussed several times. Personally, I wouldn't do it. However, this information is obtainable from the records of the Association and the membership has a right to see the records. They might have to piece the information together, but it's there and available for the asking. (Even if they can't see your individual lot account, asking for a list of members in good standing will typically allow a quick conclusion of those who are behind in assessments because they wouldn't be in good standing. Typically, such a list must be made available at the annual meeting when elections are held).

Based on it being releasable, some Boards have chosen to release the names or lot numbers of those properties behind in Assessments.

Tim

short answer, no, the prez running down to talk to you is not an invasion of your privacy. Nor is sending out lists of deadbeats and thieves. The binoculars might be.

I guess we will have to disagree Jennifer. They are taking services without paying, that's theft. A person who commits theft is a thief.

As for deadbeat, while I know of no legal definition, I would wager the better part of my paycheck that 90+% of the people refuse to pay their dues have money available, but choose not to spend it on their obligation to the HOA.

It's only MY experience, and not data, but every person behind in dues in my former HOA had many of the following items:

2 or more cars
a boat
cell phones
internet service
cable TV
Premium Cable TV
babysitters
eating out 2+ nights a week
beer and liquor
cigarettes
drug habits
Vacations, typically with airfare and hotels

Bottom line, if you sign a contract to pay money to a group, and then refuse to pay that money because you are flat broke, and have no spare money, I apologize for my slur against your name.

But if you have a cell phone, HBO/Cinemax, Jet Skis, toy haulers, etc., then you are a not broke, you are just a deadbeat who has decided to let his neighbors pay your way in life.

You know I used to think this way until it happened to me...I lost my job and the job market dried up. It wasn't like I wasn't out there everyday applying for jobs. I usually spent more than 6 to 8 hours filling out applications online. (Which in today's world is over 95% of the way you do it). When I wasn't online, I was going to job fairs, networking, reading newspapers, and driving around looking at company signs and writing them down to apply to. There wasn't a way I wasn't looking and I am professionally trained in job hunting.

No, I couldn't get hired at "Walmart" or take a job mopping floors. Which is a job I would have begged and taken in a heartbeat. The situation is that I am an educated and highly trained individual. Which means a "Walmart" views me as a worker who would quit within a few months/weeks. Training isn't cheap for these companies and it takes atleast 6 months to recover those training costs. They would ONLY hire me as "Part-time". Well part-time paid less than my unemployment check. It also put my receiving unemployment at risk if I were to get fired while working part-time. May not be able to apply or qualify for it if that were to happen. One bad day and one bad customer would be all it took...

Applying for jobs in my field and specialty meant that about 100 people also applied to that same position. It could take weeks for them to even view my resume. Then I would have to compete against atleast 20 - 30 people of which one was guaranteed to know the hiring manager or be related to them...Meanwhile those weeks of waiting means more weeks of unemployment...

You ever try to live on unemployment? In our state that was $220 a week IF you didn't take taxes out. (It's increased a little since). That means you ONLY got $880 a month. A car payment alone is atleast 1/2 of that with insurance/gas. Can't get a job without a car if your city doesn't offer public transit. Plus it's on most applications that you need to have a vehicle or reliable transportation...

I point this out because IF you had seen me during this time...You would have seen a new car in my driveway, a nice house, and cable internet in my home. Should I have feel like I was a deadbeat for having these things but not paying a bill I couldn't afford? I don't think so. Collecting unemployment isn't a handout. It is something I paid into while I was working. Going to a foodbank? Can't afford food. Shopping at a Thrift Store? I need an outfit for a job interview. Going to free health care? I get sick and need antibiotics...People out there aren't out there for "handouts" but out there for "SURVIVAL". Once you get a small taste of the reality of this economy...you will realize NOT to ASSUME anything when you see it...I thank GOD everyday for the blessing of a job and able to pay my bills...So should you...

No car means you can't go to interviews and network to find a new job (unless you're in one of the few US cities with decent public transit). Employers also want you to have reliable transportation or you can't get hired. Even selling a car would be a mistake in most cases. Unless you put a very large down payment on it when you bought it, you can't sell it for what you owe.

No internet and you can't apply for jobs because that's the way the world works now.

When money is tight you have to pick priorities because they're isn't enough money to go around. That's just a fact. Each creditor feels like they are the one who should be most important, but that's just not true. Even selling and moving on is not an option because people with no jobs can't get apartments or downsize into smaller homes.

My point was that the reason there's often such animosity between the BOD and the other members of the community is that board members get jaded, resort to childish name-calling, and lose all empathy for the situation people find themselves in. Someone doesn't understand the (often badly written) CC&R's and they're stupid. Someone gets behind a couple of months of on their dues, never mind that they've been paying on time for years, and they're a deadbeat because they don't sell everything they own to pay HOA fees. A first time home owner buys into an HOA without knowing what they're getting into and they get advice to move. As though selling a home in this market is easy and quick.

BB5, Donna's advice is good. Just tell them to back off. It's not so much a privacy issue as it is unacceptable to be uncomfortable in your own home. You have to set your boundaries and then make people stick to them. Pretend to be talking on your cell phone every time you come home until they get the message that you won't talk to them then. I can't imagine dreading coming home just because of people running down the street to bug you constantly. This would get annoying even if it were a friend.