KimberlyR1 (California)
Posts: 3
Posts: 3
Posted:
My husband and I purchased a townhome in California 2 years ago and we rent it to our adult daughter. Our son bought a unit in the same complex a couple of months later. This complex is located a couple of miles from our home and we visit frequently. We've recently received a couple of complaints from the HOA via the management company and I'm not quite sure how I should handle things before this situation escalates.
The only problems we've had are with our daughter's neighbor but we didn't feel that the problems were serious enough to complain to the HOA and possibly create an uncomfortable living situation for her. We just figured that the woman next door was a little strange. She lets her little dog run around the common area off-leash and we have twice returned the dog to her door when we saw it running around without the woman out watching it. She also has an 'outdoor' cat which is also a violation of the CC&Rs. Several months ago, my daughter was awakened at 2:00 a.m. by her own dog (my daughter's dog) growling and looked out her window to see the woman straddling the 6' fence that separates their patios and witnessed her trying to coax her cat from the roof. The cat has also defecated on my daughter's patio many times. More recently, a man started visiting the neighbor frequently and always brought his little dog with him. That created a terrible barking problem that had not existed before. The two little dogs together barked constantly. In addition, my daughter had caught the man looking over her fence on a couple of occasions which my daughter described as "kind of creepy." Also, while the woman does pick up her dog's waste, instead of throwing the poo-bags in the trash, she places them behind the plants near the front of her unit which is also a common area.
About a month ago, the barking had become a real nuisance and my daughter called me to complain. I suggested that she call Animal Control which she did. That seemed to take care of the problem as the man no longer brings his dog when he visits. Then, last week, I received a 'warning' letter from the HOA's management company stating, in part: "Excessive Noise" - A dog residing in your unit barks continuously all day / every day and disturbs other residents in the neighborhood. I called the property manager and learned that it was the 'problem' neighbor lady who made the complaint. As my daughter's dog is not much of a barker, it was obvious to me that the complaint was made in retaliation. In addition, my son just received a 'warning' letter stating that he was violating the CC&Rs by storing things in his garage. And to clarify, some of the garages have garage doors and some don't. It's up to the homeowner to put in a garage door if they want one and the CC&Rs clearly state that storage is not allowed in garages WITHOUT a garage door. My son HAS a garage door and he keeps it closed! So, now we have 2 BOGUS complaints withing a week. I guess it could be coincidence but our HOA bills come to us and my son's goes to him and he and my husband share the same name.
Now for the icing on the cake. Yesterday, I received a ballot for the new Board elections and the crazy lady next door is running for a spot. If she's elected, I fear that this current annoyance may become a real nightmare and I would really, truly appreciate any advice you good people with Board experience could give me with regard to properly dealing with all of this. We and our son pay our HOA dues ($215) religiously on the 1st of every month and the kids pretty much keep to themselves so this really should not be happening to us. Thank you in advance for your help.
The only problems we've had are with our daughter's neighbor but we didn't feel that the problems were serious enough to complain to the HOA and possibly create an uncomfortable living situation for her. We just figured that the woman next door was a little strange. She lets her little dog run around the common area off-leash and we have twice returned the dog to her door when we saw it running around without the woman out watching it. She also has an 'outdoor' cat which is also a violation of the CC&Rs. Several months ago, my daughter was awakened at 2:00 a.m. by her own dog (my daughter's dog) growling and looked out her window to see the woman straddling the 6' fence that separates their patios and witnessed her trying to coax her cat from the roof. The cat has also defecated on my daughter's patio many times. More recently, a man started visiting the neighbor frequently and always brought his little dog with him. That created a terrible barking problem that had not existed before. The two little dogs together barked constantly. In addition, my daughter had caught the man looking over her fence on a couple of occasions which my daughter described as "kind of creepy." Also, while the woman does pick up her dog's waste, instead of throwing the poo-bags in the trash, she places them behind the plants near the front of her unit which is also a common area.
About a month ago, the barking had become a real nuisance and my daughter called me to complain. I suggested that she call Animal Control which she did. That seemed to take care of the problem as the man no longer brings his dog when he visits. Then, last week, I received a 'warning' letter from the HOA's management company stating, in part: "Excessive Noise" - A dog residing in your unit barks continuously all day / every day and disturbs other residents in the neighborhood. I called the property manager and learned that it was the 'problem' neighbor lady who made the complaint. As my daughter's dog is not much of a barker, it was obvious to me that the complaint was made in retaliation. In addition, my son just received a 'warning' letter stating that he was violating the CC&Rs by storing things in his garage. And to clarify, some of the garages have garage doors and some don't. It's up to the homeowner to put in a garage door if they want one and the CC&Rs clearly state that storage is not allowed in garages WITHOUT a garage door. My son HAS a garage door and he keeps it closed! So, now we have 2 BOGUS complaints withing a week. I guess it could be coincidence but our HOA bills come to us and my son's goes to him and he and my husband share the same name.
Now for the icing on the cake. Yesterday, I received a ballot for the new Board elections and the crazy lady next door is running for a spot. If she's elected, I fear that this current annoyance may become a real nightmare and I would really, truly appreciate any advice you good people with Board experience could give me with regard to properly dealing with all of this. We and our son pay our HOA dues ($215) religiously on the 1st of every month and the kids pretty much keep to themselves so this really should not be happening to us. Thank you in advance for your help.