Just received a violation letter stating I need to weed my yard. I literally had zero weeds until all the rain recently. Then within like 3 days (in the middle of last week), some were almost a foot tall. We put out some weed and feed this weekend. I think it was a bit premature to start nailing people for weeds when we all know they spring up after a rainstorm. You should at least have the decency to wait until after the next weekend to allow working people a chance to deal with it.
The day the violation was dated was during a heavy storm. Why not also hit me with improper drainage due to standing water during the storm...?
I don't usually mind an HOA, but seriously... Come on now... You really need to give me through the weekend to deal with it. I'm not taking a day off work in order to weed my yard. If that's your expectation, maybe I can help you reset your expectations with a little knowledge about gardening. 

Yeah, that was bad timing on their part. Those weeds got some growth hormone from this past rain, especially the dandilions. Today was the first dry day to mow. Figures my shoulder is still giving me fits. I wonder when I will get my letter?? 

I have 10 days to comply, after which I may me ordered to pay $200/day that I'm in violation. It's supposed to rain every day for the next 10 days with the possible exception of Sunday and Monday.
So no church for my family this weekend I guess.
What's the reason for having an HOA again...? Isn't it to keep property values high by enforcing the bylaws? So... Aren't property values high enough now? I'm looking for ways to reduce property values so I'm not taxed out of house and home.
I'm kidding of course, Kingwood would be Porter without the HOA. I'm just hoping for a little common sense out of them. If you see weeds right after a rainstorm and simply must get excited about it, then note the address and drive by after the weekend. There's no sense in upsetting people by going off all half-cocked with a letter writing campaign. Be a good neighbor and give them a chance to handle things. I bet the HOA members have some weeds in their yard right now too. 

I wonder when they get behind on the mowing due to the weather on Northpark medians, who we can write to and get $200 split between all the residents per day??? It goes both ways, right? 

Slider...DO NOT USE WEED & FEED! Over time it will kill any trees...even if they are 20 feet away from the lawn! Go to Randy Lemmon's / Gardenline website and get info on what to use. I listen to his weekend radio show every weekend and followed his recommendations and barely have a weed in the lawn. A couple of weeks ago he read the Weed and Feed label and it was very frightening! Go to Ace or Kingwood Garden Center and they can also help you. Several of my neighbors probably use the Weed and Feed and their trees are barely alive even though they water a lot! Weed and Feed should be banned! 

^^^AGREE! 

HOA really bites here. I got a letter that said we had mold. Really? There was a small area on the backside of our chimney which meant they had to enter our backyard! When we go camping we have to pack it so we set it up to load most often the day before we leave. Usually get a letter than too. But it's ok that the house down the street was foreclosed and the weeds/grass in were almost 3-4 feet high and almost as bad in the front. No telling how many critters were in there. It' was like that for 2-3 years and just a couple months ago someone started fixing it up when the house caught fire. The house across the street was vacant for 4 years with the garage door wide open!! 

Yeah here lately they have been letter crazy!! Someone I know got a letter for weeds in her flower bed - they were day lilies !!! We got one for some mold on the side of our house- the person had to have been in the neighbors yard with binoculars to see it. Neighbors down the street got a 2cd letter for mold AFTER he had the house pressure washed! Been here 13 years and no one has ever had letters and now all the sudden everyone is getting them- for BS stuff. Yet the eyesores are still just sitting there 

Been here 13 years and no one has ever had letters and now all the sudden everyone is getting them- for BS stuff.

Maybe the letters are increasing because they now pay the individual who drives around a specified amount for each letter sent out? Too bad they are not as responsive in approving requests to paint etc. 

The ultimate bone head HOA move was several years ago. We were resodding our yard and putting in a sprinkler system.
The yard guys we used had their trailer, with their name on the sides, in our driveway. Several men in our yard working. Obvious to even the dumbest of the dumb what is going on in our yard
We get a letter from the HOA about a trailer parked in our driveway...
I won't go into the details the letter I sent back to them, but calling them Nazi's and Gestapo are the only names I can repeat here. 

Maybe we could use a performance improvement specialist to go in and evaluate processes.
Each letter that goes out costs money.
-Postage fees
-Paper
-Ink/toner
-Printer maintenance
-Electricity costs (laser printers are huge power consumers)

So just to print and mail the letter costs KSA probably $1 or more. Let's say they mail 5,000 letters within a month right around this time of the year. That's $5,000. This probably could be cut down to $500 or less just by checking the weather channel and using a bit of judgement.
The above figures don't take into consideration any compensation the people driving around may (or may not) get.
Now, I realize this is getting granular, but this is our money we're talking about. It'd be nice to know it's being used responsibly. Nothing wrong with a bit of oversight. 

Good judgment and HOA go together about as well as honest and politician do. 

I got one that said my registration on my truck was expired and am not allowed store vehicles at our house. I think they don't like that we have 2 adults and 3 vehicles 

Each letter that goes out costs money.
-Postage fees
-Paper
-Ink/toner
-Printer maintenance
-Electricity costs (laser printers are huge power consumers)

Actually, from what I have been told it is more than that. The individual who identifies the alleged infractions gets paid an amount (amount is not known) for each letter that is sent out to them address of the infraction. A waste of my HOA fees. Try and get an accounting. I have asked and been told it is in the mail but it never seems to arrive. 

Has anybody ever seen the HOA people out looking? I've never seen them. Once I replaced a shingle on the house and the color was a little off. A day or 2 after getting my HOA letter to replace the roof due to one shingle, a roofing guy came by and asked if he could see the roof. I think the roofing people drive around and turn us in? Good job security..... 

Be careful of the lil' old people walking around, they just love to complain to the HOA... Stupid chit too... I know one street where an older couple walk & yep they turn in their neighbors. I also have a neighbor who calls on stupid stuff. New family moved in & they weren't there but a few days & made a call about their lawn needing to be cut. It's like really... give the people a chance. 

I found one out taking pictures as we were putting a new roof on the house, He got upset when I went out and wrote down his license plate number and showed up at his house taking pictures.

Yes, I am a jerk that way. 

Several people on our block got notices too. Mostly for weeds/grass not mowed or flower beds not weeded. Our yard is a swamp with all this rain so we're putting in a French drain to the tune of $1000. I just tossed the notice in the trash. I haven't been well lately and this stuff is low on my list of priorities right now. Wish they had the guts to come to the door to discuss this personally. 

Wish they had the guts to come to the door to discuss this personally.?

LOL... Sorry that made me laugh. When they cannot even answer an e-mail or send you something other than insignificant violation letters, that's never gonna happen 

With our registration they had to walk up to our vehicle to take the pictures 

When they cannot even answer an e-mail or send you something other than insignificant violation letters, that's never gonna happen


Because they don't get paid enough to knock on the door of every violater. That could take all month. 

Because they don't get paid enough to knock on the door of every violater. That could take all month.?

Looks like you support their letter writing scheme(s) if it is valid or not. Maybe you are one of the individuals who drives around??? 

I didn't render an opinion one way or the other. I just explained why it is the way it is. 

So just to print and mail the letter costs KSA probably $1 or more.



KSA doesn't manage HOA's. To myunderstanding KSA is a HOA. It is managmeent companies that do the HOA work. Andrew maybe consider following your deed restrictions to avoid problems? I've never gotten a letter and my yard is never perfectly tip top. I dont support all their actions but we are grateful they keep up our subdivision so nice. 

It happened the same with me!!!! I actually wrote up an rant text in the last hour in KU before reading this!!!
It is ABSURD!!! My yard was super nice and we actually spread weed killer on the next day of the inspection (got to know all the dates after I called them pretty pissed off). 

Andrew maybe consider following your deed restrictions to avoid problems?


I follow my deed restrictions, but getting a letter for dirt on your fascia boards the day after it rains (an example) is a bit ridiculous. Sorry but I do not see anything they do to keep the villages (they are not called subdivisions) nice except collect our money and send letters when they deem there is an infraction. Maybe you are just lucky to date and someday you too will get a letter. 

Villages and subdivisions are the same thing. They are more commonly referred to as villages because they are incorporated. 

I've spoken with several of my neighbors today and they ALL received the same letter about weeds. This is crazy.
I'll reiterate again that if you truly are violating a bylaw, then you deserve to get a letter. I don't feel that observing weeds in a yard in the middle of the week right after or during several rainstorms is appropriate. The HOA really should give an appropriate time frame to allow the people to do something about it before harassing them.
This is not much different than a police officer seeing you changing a flat tire and instead of helping or at least making sure the area is safe, he gives you a ticket for failing to maintain your vehicle due to the flat tire you're in the process of replacing.
Weeds in your yard for 2-3 weeks, send a letter; mold or mildew on your house for 2-3 weeks, send a letter... these other tactics are just too heavy-handed and serve to do nothing but turn people even further against the HOA's.
I once got a letter because I replaced a piece of siding on a Saturday, caulked and primed it... but had to let it dry until Sunday when I painted it to match the rest of my house. Got a letter for that 12-16 hour period that the single piece of siding was a different color. A better way would have been to observe it on a Saturday, come back after that Sunday and see if was still there... If not, no harm... just people trying to keep their house up and follow the bylaws by doing so. What's the thanks for doing this work from the HOA...? A letter stating I'm violating some bylaw. 

My HOA (sterling) sent me a violation letter about parking my RV in the drive. The only issue I have is that I don't own an RV nor has one ever been in my drive. 

Careful... you're violating the bylaws governing what color a soccer ball can be. and now there's some hair gel on the post in the background that needs to be cleaned. Oh, and the post is not painted an approved color (navy-blue is approved, baby-blue is not)!!!

:) 

Yay MWC!!!! 

We received a letter a few years back about re-sodding the front yard and that I had 10 days to comply.

This was at the beginning of February.

So, I called, asked the girl, "what month are we in?"
she said "February."

Then I asked, "what season are we in?"

She said "Winter."

I said, "what month/season will it be in 10 days?"

She said, "February and Winter"....she was getting annoyed , but I kept on.

So, I said," who plants or even sells sod in Winter?"

She said, "I'm not sure that anyone does."

So I said, "Exactly....so, how do you suggest I comply with this request?"

She told me to "disregard it" and apologized.

This is the type of shizz that makes HOA's look bad. 

My HOA (sterling) sent me a violation letter about parking my RV in the drive. The only issue I have is that I don't own an RV nor has one ever been in my drive.?

It was a preemptive letter in case you were considering it. 

lol 

Yet they turn a blind eye to driveway partiers. 

Yay for me there!!! (for you me dear Emp) 

It was a preemptive letter in case you were considering it.

Clearly I was mistaken, they were being proactive. Then again it was Sterling, I am feeling conflicted. 

I just got one for my Christmas lights being up for 3 years. 

The Day I Tried to Live --- 3 min ago - edit - quote - put user in the ice box - put user in the ice box and remove recent comments - hide comments
I just got one for my Christmas lights being up for 3 years.




You need to stop that! It's just not Christmacy in March! Lol