The Problem With Gated Communities

[JTP]

Never lived in a gated community, except for the old farm- had plenty of gates there- but have some kinfolks who do. They go on and on about how sweet it is to have neighbors who are just like you for miles in either direction, how everyone has to maintain certain standards (at least on the outside, superficial level) to keep up the property values, and how it is SO convenient to have several quality golf courses in the area.
Their only complaint is the age-old one of the wannabe-wealthy:
"Good help is just so hard to find"!
Don't believe me? - Just ask my Aunt ___.
Now, your really wealthy people don't have this problem. They pick out the cream of the crop of domestic help, move them onto the property and pay them well.
Your wannabes don't want any "substandard" housing anywhere near them, but they want waiters, waitresses, gardeners, swimming pool maintenance and greenskeepers, et cetera; and they want them ON THE CHEAP. The attitude seems to be, if you pay 'em well and give 'em a place to stay, and a few benefits, they'll just get lazy and start to steal from you.
So, what is the answer for our yuppie friends' dilemma?
Bus (that's right- BUS) them in from Hotlanta or Charleston or wherever. That way, you can pay 'em minwage with no benefits, a cheap bus ticket, and you can whine and piss and moan when you get what you pay for!

 

[Inkara1]

I just don't like the idea of paying a few hundred bucks a month for the privilege of having someone tell me what color I can paint the house, with them having the ability to come on my property, change something and then charge me for it.

 

[Mirlyn]

I just don't like the idea of paying a few hundred bucks a month for the privilege of having someone tell me what color I can paint the house, with them having the ability to come on my property, change something and then charge me for it.

I would think that could be called a homeowners association, not just gated communities.

My parents area has a HOA, and my friends has one. Ours does not. The one in my friends development calls for garbage dumpsters to not be visible from the street and that the garage overhead door must be shut. Neither of which is enforced and there are no dues. A set of rules with no teeth is pretty worthless, but it's there all the same.

 

[JTP]

I just don't like the idea of paying a few hundred bucks a month for the privilege of having someone tell me what color I can paint the house, with them having the ability to come on my property, change something and then charge me for it.

You've got that right! When you buy something, it's supposed to be yours- to do with what you want! Paint your house any color you like, hang your clothes to dry on a washing line, grow veggies in your front yard, drive whatever clunker suits your fancy, etc. What good is Freedom and Private Property and Free Enterprise and Capitalism if the Snoot Nazis are going to police your Castle?

 

[Professur]

Before Bish bought his place, he was looking at a 'condo' semi-detached house, with similar rules and regs where the exterior and grounds were concerned. I'll leave it to him to tell what my reaction was when he told me about it. Perhaps he can clean it up to PG-13.

 

[2minkey]

when some asshole next door paints his house a moronic color, and leaves shit strewn about her or his lawn on a regular basis, it makes the area look like shit and impacts property value.

perhaps sone of y'all are content to live in/around squalor.

me, i'll take HOA or similar, thanks.

you want to paint your place pink on a whim and store appliances on your porch? go live out in the middle of nowhere where your eyesore is only your own.

 

[Mirlyn]

You've got that right! When you buy something, it's supposed to be yours- to do with what you want! Paint your house any color you like, hang your clothes to dry on a washing line, grow veggies in your front yard, drive whatever clunker suits your fancy, etc. What good is Freedom and Free Enterprise and Capitalism if the Snoot Nazis are going to police your Castle?

I don't like 'em, but they do serve a purpose. I wouldn't much care for new neighbors who did no maintenance for years, letting their yards overgrow and their houses fall apart. When I go to sell and they end up being my comp's, I get shafted.

Kind of a catch 22.

 

[JTP]

Well, some of us buy property to live on and in, and others just look at it as an investment...
A stepping-stone to that wonderful day when they can "move it on up... to the East Side, or wherever..."
Some of us buy a house with the intention of staying and livingthere.
I'll take freedom and quality of life over having to abide some conformist rule any day.
There are plenty of 'burbs down in Florida now that were recently tidy little pink communities- mostly abandoned now. Invest quickly, before Mother Nature or the squatters move in!
Give me a blue-collar neighborhood of working people and retirees over yuppie snobs or gangstas any day!
And yes, neighbor- your tall grass, your clothes drying on the line, your cars and appliances in the yard don't bother me one bit!

 

[MrBishop]

Before Bish bought his place, he was looking at a 'condo' semi-detached house, with similar rules and regs where the exterior and grounds were concerned. I'll leave it to him to tell what my reaction was when he told me about it. Perhaps he can clean it up to PG-13.

Is that actually possible? I'll narrow it down to the laughing. Needless to say, between Prof's advice and reading the owners document/agreement..I dropped that puppy in a hurry.

when some asshole next door paints his house a moronic color, and leaves shit strewn about her or his lawn on a regular basis, it makes the area look like shit and impacts property value.

perhaps sone of y'all are content to live in/around squalor.

me, i'll take HOA or similar, thanks.

you want to paint your place pink on a whim and store appliances on your porch? go live out in the middle of nowhere where your eyesore is only your own.

In our area, the city will regulate the minimums. You can get a fine for not mowing your lawn and it gets too long (8"), having too many weeds, laws that say when you can take out the garbage/recycling, the storage of 'unused' vehicles on your proprty etc etc.. Not quite as draconian as HOA rules or condo-maniac obsessive-compulsive specs.

You can always complain to the city about your neighbours' crap on their lawn. They're pretty good at replying.

 

[JTP]

when some asshole next door paints his house a moronic color, and leaves shit strewn about her or his lawn on a regular basis, it makes the area look like shit and impacts property value.

perhaps sone of y'all are content to live in/around squalor.

me, i'll take HOA or similar, thanks.

you want to paint your place pink on a whim and store appliances on your porch? go live out in the middle of nowhere where your eyesore is only your own.

There's a lot to be said for living in the middle of nowhere.
There are advantages to space, privacy, and freedom that you can't put a $ value on.
Take your HOA and etc.- each to his own.
I left my place opened up this past weekend, except for the screen doors. When I returned, the only invaders were a few 'skeeters that found their way in.

 

[Inkara1]

I would think that could be called a homeowners association, not just gated communities.

It would be... not every neighborhood with an HOA is a gated community, but I'd venture to guess every gated community has a HOA (if nothing else, to pay for gate maintenance).

 

[JTP]

"You can always complain to the city about your neighbours' crap on their lawn. They're pretty good at replying."- Mr. Bishop

Ah, you see? That's the difference! When you live in a city, or the overgrown sprawl of Suburbia, and the "crap on your neighbor's lawn" offends you, your first resort is to complain to the local "officials". That should be the last resort.
Out here, you go next door and have a polite parley. Take 'em some of your home-grown tomatoes or whatever, shoot the breeze for a little while, then say Hey, "By the way, that crap in your yard is causing me grief/ hardship. It's drawing rats and roaches. Let's work it out- have a Yard Sale or something".
No need for raised voices or hard feelings, much less need for the LAWYERS and Sheriffs to get involved. They should be busy catching criminals, not getting involved in petty neighbor squabbles.
Everybody wants to be the "Neighborhood Enforcer" these days, when it comes to the Mickey-Mouse stuff.

 

[valkyrie]

Most communities, especially gated ones (how moronic), have HOA's. This is why I don't live in one. When you buy your house you are supposed to be told upfront that there is an HOA and that there is maintenance fees for that HOA (and what they are).

As for the "help" ... my answer is this: if the house is so big that you can't clean it yourself with the help of your family (spouse and children), sell it and buy a smaller one that you can maintain. Suck it up and get out the toilet brush.

 

[JTP]

Most communities, especially gated ones (how moronic), have HOA's. This is why I don't live in one. When you buy your house you are supposed to be told upfront that there is an HOA and that there is maintenance fees for that HOA (and what they are).

As for the "help" ... my answer is this: if the house is so big that you can't clean it yourself with the help of your family (spouse and children), sell it and buy a smaller one that you can maintain. Suck it up and get out the toilet brush.

Ah, the Voice of Reason!

Never understood the need for "domestic help". If you are such an important big shot that you just don't have time to manage/clean/maintain your own Castle... maybe the Castle's too big. Maybe you're wasting space and oxygen.

 

[Gato_Solo]

According to a cop I know, gated communities are also havens for meth factories due to the lockout of real police.

 

[Frodo]

At least HOAs are voluntary. I know some real asses that go so far as to tell me what kind of light bulb I can use, and I didn't even vote for them!!

 

[paul_valaru]

the problem with gated communities is when you are trying deliver a pizza before your 30 minutes are up, and uncle enzo pays you a personal visit, and you crash into a pool

 

[Gonz]

me, i'll take HOA or similar, thanks.

Glad to see it comrade.

Me, I rather see pink refrigerators than live next door to snotty assholes who worry that my address numbers may not be of the right color.

The day you pay my mortgage is the day you tell me how to live. Neither are coming too soon.

 

[Altron]

At least HOAs are voluntary. I know some real asses that go so far as to tell me what kind of light bulb I can use, and I didn't even vote for them!!

In a lot of areas, even ones that aren't gated, you need to join the HOA as part of buying the house - it isn't optional.

If I buy a piece of land, it is mine to do what I damn well please on it. That's why my great great great great great grandfather fought the redcoats in 1776!

 

[2minkey]

Me, I rather see pink refrigerators than live next door to snotty assholes who worry that my address numbers may not be of the right color.

right. just like i'd prefer not to live next prole morons that lack taste. it goes both ways, sugarplum.