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satellite install

Started by DonaldD5 • 19 replies • 1451 views

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DonaldD5 (New Hampshire)
Posts: 4
Posted:
Hello
i tried searching on the topic that i wanted advice on. but i could not find the advice that i needed unless i lived in a condo or a town house. i bought a regular family home not a condo or a town house we had directv installed last week. as i had it mounted on my roof. i get a fine and the HOA told me to move it. it's not like it's gonna fall off the roof and hit someone in the head either as it's on there secure as i would not want it to blow off and fall on my head . i would really like to know what gives these idiots the right to tell me what i can and cannot put on MY roof??? i am speaking with my lawyer also to see if this is even legal. and no it's not an eye sore eith since the house is hidden by trees..
MelissaP1 (Alabama)
Posts: 13,836
Posted:
Welcome to HOA living. Yes, they can tell you where to put that satellite dish. They may not be able to tell you that you can't have one. It's all in the aesthetics. No one likes to see a Satellite dish in the front of a house. I'd suggest you move it to an area that can't be visible. Just to save you a dime with a lawyer...
Former HOA President
TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,061
Posted:
Don,

Associations may specify locations that must be tried first to obtain a good signal from satellite. However, they can not prohibit you from having a dish and mounting it where it works.

See Subject: ASK THE EXPERT: Satellite dish placement in HOAs and condos from the Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association, a new sponsor of this site. The link can take you to the thread or simply look for it at the top of the forum threads.

I also urge you to look at the FCC site (who has the regulations on other the air receiving devices (OTARD))
See https://www.fcc.gov/media/over-air-reception-devices-rule#Q
JohnC46 (South Carolina)
Posts: 14,265
Posted:
Read the links Tim posted.

Basically an HOA cannot prohibit the install of a satellite dish. They can limit where it is installed but even then if the installation point is the only point best for reception, they cannot limit it where it is installed. This is especially true of stand alone homes.
TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,061
Posted:
Get a letter from your installer specifying that where it was mounted was the where the best signal level was obtained.
Submit that letter along with the OTARD regulations.
KerryL1 (California)
Posts: 14,550
Posted:
There's plenty of places to find info on this topic as pointed out by others.

What gives those "idiots" the "right" to tell you what to do is spelled out in the documents YOU signed when you bought in your HOA. Read them all. Now, read them again.
JanetB2 (Colorado)
Posts: 4,219
Posted:
Tim and John nailed it in my opinion.

They can regulate to an extent; however, if the satellite company states that they needed to install in that area for best signal OR for effective "grounding" of the satellite dish then the HOA must allow. After many years of battles on the federal and state levels the HOA's have lost this battle to a great extent. In the past HOA's were being too stubborn and unreasonable ... so Federal and State governments had to take control and mandate.

StevenH3 (District of Columbia)
Posts: 12
Posted:
Donald, The SBCA (Satellite Broadcast and Communications Association)can assist you with this, while the HOA may have specific regulations they are superseded by FCC rulings regarding the installation of a satellite dish. Our organization is experts at these issues. If you would like to contact me I will be happy to have one of my staff assist you with this.

Regards,

Steve Hill
President
SBCA
[email protected]
DonaldD5 (New Hampshire)
Posts: 4
Posted:
well after speaking to my lawyer today. after she did some research on my house she told me that i am not in an HOA and that the only reason the covenants are there is to make sure that i don't paint my house hot pink with bright yellow polka dots and have junkers up on blocks and making sure that i don't the house get all dilapidated. as well as she is calling the builder and informing him that he can't fine me for putting up a dish since it doesn't ruing the charm of the town!!
MelissaP1 (Alabama)
Posts: 13,836
Posted:
How good is this "lawyer"? You can be in a HOA but it is builder owned/controlled. The documents are on file at your local courthouse. So if it was the builder fining you, then they may be able to.

There is a difference between an owner owned operated HOA and a Builder one. This smells like you have a builder who is still in control. So your lawyer is maybe not understanding the full situation. They may not realize it's builder controlled/owned. They may be thinking it's owner turned over.

Make sure to ask the right questions...
Former HOA President
JanetB2 (Colorado)
Posts: 4,219
Posted:
Hmmm ... I predict your attorney will be in for a rude awakening if claims no HOA to the developer. Who does the attorney think enforces the CCR's attached to your property title? ... that would potentially have to be some type of homeowner / property owner association. Did the attorney look at your bylaws?
KerryL1 (California)
Posts: 14,550
Posted:
I was thinking along your lines too, Janet. But the attorney says there is no HOA, so there wouldn't be any bylaws, right? Well, I suppose his development could be incorporated in some other way and, then, would have Bylaws?

I'm also thinking that maybe this attorney isn't the right kind for Dennis' questions.

He claims it's "MY roof," but is it? Some HOAs or even non-HOA developments are responsibile for the roofs, as I recall. Maybe his is one of them.
TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,061
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By DonaldD5 on 02/06/2017 11:19 AM

well after speaking to my lawyer today. after she did some research on my house she told me that i am not in an HOA

Donald,

In your other thread, you specify that your Assessments are $50 per year and that there have been special assessments.

Granted, there are voluntary and mandatory Associations. With what you have provided in the other thread, it sounds very much like you are in a mandatory Association. Remember that an Association is created by the Covenants (CC&Rs). The Corporation (HOA Inc.) would be created by filing articles of incorporation. There are unincorporated HOAs. If your attorney only looked for a corporation, then they would be in error.

I would suggest that you ask your attorney why they believe that an Association doesn't exist.

Regarding the Satellite dish, the Association does have some say but they can not prohibit the dish. Normally, the Association doesn't want them seen from the road or front of the house. Therefore, if the dish can receive a signal being mounted on the back part of the roof, then the Association has a good case. However, the Association also can not cause undo delays. Therefore, if the Association regulations regarding the placement of dishes is not readily available (on the website or had been previously delivered to you) then you have a good case.

Steve is with an organization that deals with this all the time. He has offered to help you file a petition if needed with the FCC over the issue. Be sure to take him up on his offer if your Attorney's letter gets any type of push back from the Association.
JanetB2 (Colorado)
Posts: 4,219
Posted:
After your comment regarding attorney statement when looking at NH regulations you should have received a "Public Offering Statement" when you purchased similar to the following example:

http://www.summerfieldpa.com/AssnDocs/SF%20Public%20Offering%20Statement.pdf

Did you receive a similar document?
TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,061
Posted:
Janet,

Wouldn't that be only if it was a condominium?
JanetB2 (Colorado)
Posts: 4,219
Posted:
Hi Tim:

What I am reading is any developer who wants to subdivide property for resale is supposed to do this ... under this section according to some attorney sites:

http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/NHTOC/NHTOC-XXXI-356-A.htm

When I started googling those type documents both Single Family and Condo docs were coming up.
PitA
Posts: 1,416
Posted:
merely applies to direct sales by original developer

a 'resale' gives the purchaser the 'right' to ask for and obtain HOA info

a 'resaler' is NOT obligated to 'disclose' unless specifically asked

? can we not read the statute ?
PitA
Posts: 1,416
Posted:
356-A:9-b Resale by Purchaser. –
I. In the event of any resale of a lot, parcel, unit or interest in subdivided lands by any person other than the subdivider, the prospective purchaser shall have a right to obtain from the property owners' association, if any, prior to the contract date of disposition, the following:
(a) A statement of any capital expenditures and major maintenance expenditures anticipated by the property owners' association within the current or succeeding 2 fiscal years;
(b) A statement of the status and amount of any reserve for the major maintenance or replacement fund and any portion of such fund earmarked for any specified project by the board of directors;
(c) A copy of the income statement and balance sheet of the property owners' association for the last fiscal year for which such statement is available;
(d) A statement of the status of any pending suits or judgments in which the property owners' association is a party defendant;
(e) A statement setting forth what insurance coverage is provided for all property owners by the property owners' association and what additional insurance coverage would normally be secured by each individual property owner; and
(f) A statement that any improvements or alterations made to the lot, parcel, unit or interest by the prior property owner are not known to be in violation of any restrictions and covenants imposed upon the subdivided lands.
PitA
Posts: 1,416
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By PitA on 02/07/2017 11:09 AM
356-A:9-b Resale by Purchaser. –
I. In the event of any resale of a lot, parcel, unit or interest in subdivided lands by any person other than the subdivider, the prospective purchaser shall have a right to obtain from the property owners' association, if any, prior to the contract date of disposition, the following:
(a) A statement of any capital expenditures and major maintenance expenditures anticipated by the property owners' association within the current or succeeding 2 fiscal years;
(b) A statement of the status and amount of any reserve for the major maintenance or replacement fund and any portion of such fund earmarked for any specified project by the board of directors;
(c) A copy of the income statement and balance sheet of the property owners' association for the last fiscal year for which such statement is available;
(d) A statement of the status of any pending suits or judgments in which the property owners' association is a party defendant;
(e) A statement setting forth what insurance coverage is provided for all property owners by the property owners' association and what additional insurance coverage would normally be secured by each individual property owner; and
(f) A statement that any improvements or alterations made to the lot, parcel, unit or interest by the prior property owner are not known to be in violation of any restrictions and covenants imposed upon the subdivided lands.

DouglasN4 (Missouri)
Posts: 27
Posted:
Did your HOA indicate where it could be installed without violating architecture rules? Perhaps if the dish was installed someplace that was not visible on from the street then you would be in compliance.
My neighborhood (2 story townhomes) really let the standards down under the previous Board of Directors. Now nearly every home has an ugly dish stuck on the porch roof. Looks terrible.
I think these rules, when enforced, are good for all. It keeps things looking uniformly good.

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