However innocent the intent of the formation of home owner associations when they were originally envisioned, from ensuring that neighborhoods kept a certain charm and pooling resources together to pay for community facilities such as walking trails and pools, their role in our daily lives continues to take a more and more sinister form.
For seven years and across eight states my wife and I had been travelling as I worked as an IT consultant training office and plant staff on how to use integrated business software. As our first child approached school age it was time to settle down into a regular 9 to 5 office job, so we settled here in southeast PA and purchased our first home.
Like most home developments built in the last decade or so these homes were placed in an owners association formed by the builder and run by residents. The association has its own community by-laws which you must agree to when signing the purchase documents for our house.
Of course, being first time buyers the elation of finally paying into our own home, rather than renting, put any concerns over this arrangement into the back of our minds. We signed on the dotted line, moved ourselves in and started unpacking. Two days after moving in a member of the association board appeared at our front door.
Apparently they check on new residents and she complained that from the ground floor windows, she could see a mess of boxes in one of our rooms. Taken aback a little, my wife told her not to be a peeping tom and to bugger off. We called the the head of the association and complained about this harrassment, and he did apologize.
Six months into our new home and we noticed that the monthly association fee we mailed in in a pre-addressed envelope was being cashed only sporadically, with some months never being cashed. We called and emailed the association and received the usual response that they would look into it.
Approximately four months later we received a court notice from the local county courthouse. We were being sued by an attorney representing the association and our house could be levied. The bill was $300 plus approximately $900 in legal fees. We contacted the attorney and spoke at length about the issue and provided copies of our repeated communications to the association asking why they were not processing all of our checks.
In this case, the attorney dropped the case and indicated the legal fees would be removed. Two months later we received another notice from the association, indicating that the legal fees were still on our account and as a result, we were behind and additional fees were being applied. We challenged this, again same response, they would look into it.
So this continued month after month, most checks cashed, a few not. The legal fees were dropped and our account appeared current for a while.
This month we received a letter from the attorney again, again they have 3 months for which they did not process the checks and they applied legal fees. This time we have paid all fees and asked for the legal fees to be reimbursed, we provided all copies of communications.
At this point we are beginning to wonder if this is a scheme to generate additional revenue from these fees. We are considering legal options, including suing.
However, this is all background, a much more concerning issue is an apparent attempt by the association to suppress political expression.
Today my wife and I and our two children went to the local Obama office and picked up campaign signs. We know our community has a restriction on lawn signs so we chose to pick up campaign signs that we could place in our windows. We placed these and I took my daughter to go and see a movie while my wife stayed at home and spent some time with our 11 month old.
Upon returing my wife was incensed, she had been out walking our dog about 40 minutes earlier when a member of the association board approached her. She asked if the house she was standing outside was her home (it was). She then warned my wife that political signs were not permitted in the community and we would be sued by the association if we did not take them down. Consider that these signs are in the exterior of our house, against the windows. There are three of them, we have about fourteen windows so three signs in fourteen doesn't seem excessive to us.
Well, my wife wasn't taking any of this and asked for her name and indicated we would be contacting the local DNC office and possibly the ACLU. We also indicated we would fight this in court.
Thats probably all we can do at this time, now we are waiting for the letter from their attorney. We are shocked at the apparent use of an organization (the HOA) which is meant to benefit residents, to suppress our rights.
In a country that prides itself in being the home of the free, how can these ridiculous rules and by laws be permitted by local courts ? How can anyone ever, claim to have the right to tell you not to voice your political views ?
The growth of home owner associations and their meddling in political expression is troubling. My wife and I are very interested in hearing from anyone else that has run into this scenario, and any tips for fighting back.
We will not be muted, we will not allow our home to be run as if its on the outskirts of Beijing rather than the outskirts of Philadelphia !