HOA bites me in the butt

We built our house in 2007 in a downtown development. At the time we built, the covenants did not allow a boat to be stored outside but also stated that the developer was to provide onsite secure storage. We were told we could park our boat in the side yard behind our brick fence until such time a storage facility was provided. Well, the developer sold out to one of the Mega builders and they changed the covenants and removed any mention of providing on site storage.
Today we get a letter from the new Developer that we are in violation of the covenants and have 10 days to move my boat. It is behind a brick fence and barely visible from the road and has a cover on it, but none of that matters. One of my fishing buddies is an attorney and I am going to meet with him to see if I have any recourse.
In the meantime I guess I am in the market for some type secure storage for my boat.
If it would fit in the garage we could put in in there but it is longer than the garage so that is not an alternative.
When we lived in the country we had not HOA and our weird neighbor's boy friend parked an old RV up at the road next to the corner of our property an lived in it for a year. Nothing we could do since there were no restrictions to prevent it. Now we have restrictions designed to protect property values and it has bitten me in the rear.
Sorry for the rant, just really PO'ed since the boat has been there for 8 years and all of a sudden it is a problem.
SeaRay

That really sucks Mr. Ray, I live in the country for just that reason. I have enough people telling me what to do on a daily basis. I'll be damned if I'm going to have a neighborhood watch group tell me what, where, and how to keep up my property. Home owners associations are similar to unions. They start off as a good thing as they monitor all residents properties to be sure each home owners is abiding by the bylaws. Then they become all powerful and begin to tweak the laws to accommodate themselves. If the boat is covered, and not an eyesore, you should have every right to keep in on your property. When you signed the agreement it was stated that a storage facility would be provided and that you could keep your boat on site until is was available. Your attorney friend should offer you the facts that state your boat can remain until the original agreement is met.

Do changes to the covenants not have to be "voted" on by the HOA members ?? I know it's a pizzer for ya. Would a folding tongue on the trailer make it fit in the garage ?? GL

Hopefully you have the promise to build the storage in writing , that should be enough . I hope
Good luck

Hate you are having this problem Ray and do hope you can get this worked out shorty and painless!!

You want to buy a couple of goats.

Ray , You welcome to park it in my yard. Cant use it up here though. No water to fish in. Hope ya get it straightened out.

If I understand this correctly....your boat is bringing down the value of your neighbor's property. Therfore, just trade your boat in for one worth ALOT more money. Problem solved!:cheers2


In all seriousness...my sister and her husband not too long ago lived in a real nice subdivision wth a covenant
and it didnt take them long at all after purchasing to want out so sold they did. I'm with them about the part of not wanting ANYTHING to do with letting somebody else (or a committee of folks) to tell me what I can have or what I can do on my own property. To each his own though. I hope you win in this deal. Sounds like you have legitimate paperwork to protect yourself AND your boat. Good luck!

What we learned the hard way is that the HOA is controlled by the developer until 85% of the homes are occupied then the homeowners take over. The original developer went belly up with only 18 houses built and occupied. (Small development only 55 lots on two streets). Mega builder buys remaining lots, changes covenants in HOA to suit his needs, takes out clause about providing storage area for RV and boats, but leaves in restriction on parking in one's own yard.
I only had the original developers word to park the boat in my yard, but it is behind a brick fence and you can only see if from one angle through the gate. But somebody got their bowels in an uproar and I get the notice. Only been sitting there 7 years and nobody said anything. Up until the Mega builder started building a house every two weeks we pretty much knew everyone in the neighborhood and I gave lots of them fish over the years so this came from the new crowd moving in or the on site rep. for the developer.
And it won't fit in my garage, but I am not going to put my boat in my garage and park my car outside so that is not an option. Car cost about 5 times what the boat did, it is just a stick steer Duracraft, but it is carpeted so I keep a cover on it.

Prior to this house we lived in the country on three acres. To be honest I got tired of all the maintenance that went with it, plus we had a pool we did not use much anymore so we opted to downsize and move into town. For the most part the HOA is there to protect the homeowners from someone doing something that would devalue the other homes. I love the convenience and low maintenance. I should have paid more attention to the covenants when we built, but then I did not expect the economy to go in the toilet and a new developer to take over the building. Live and learn, die an forget it all I guess.