Question about cops and for those who live in Association communities

[Weezy]

nother good point is that the police can't be called to enforce the HOA. That's a contract dispute not a public safety issue. And we know now, based on CA fire code, that it's not a public safety issue. (i.e. if a cop shows up, show him the CA regs. If he starts talking about the caller saying it was against HOA, remind him that the HOA is a contract dispute and none of the police's business)

 

[Pilgarlic]

nother good point is that the police can't be called to enforce the HOA. That's a contract dispute not a public safety issue. And we know now, based on CA fire code, that it's not a public safety issue. (i.e. if a cop shows up, show him the CA regs. If he starts talking about the caller saying it was against HOA, remind him that the HOA is a contract dispute and none of the police's business)

Exactly true.

 

[Ridire]

nother good point is that the police can't be called to enforce the HOA. That's a contract dispute not a public safety issue.

Bingo.

My tact when dealing with something like this with the police:

1. Always be friendly and polite to the cop...he didn't cause this problem and really doesn't want to be at your house busting your chops.

2. Always work in the phrase, "I know you're doing your job and had to respond to a complaint, and I respect that...".

3. Tell the officer that the bottom line is that this is a civil matter, not a police matter and apologize that he/she had to waste time to respond to it. I would use the exact phrase "civil matter".

 

[unionrdr]

The cops around here give some line that it's also in line with city code or something. They also say the will enforce HOA codes. I wanna get outta here & get out in the country. wife & kids hate the idea. They aren't the ones getting harrassed & fined for stupid things. HOA's are worthless to me.

 

[mannye]

Whew! I really like that I live in the "wild wild west" of Miami Beach. There are very few things I could do in my backyard or driveway that would get any kind of police or neighbor attention!

I guess it's the high concentration of New Yorkers in the area. Mind your own business we always say. It also helps that south beach puts the "iniquity" in "den of iniquity." I guess. Keeps the spotlight off the homeowners.

Also, ALWAYS be polite to the cops. Those are the same guys that are going to save your bacon when your uptight neighbor snaps and goes on that shooting spree. Can't hurt to offer them a six pack of homebrew to take at home.

I always make sure that whenever I see a local cop in front of my house, I throw em a bottle of water or soda or whatever and if my alarm goes off and I find them in front of the house, I always offer coffee or a beverage. I GAROANTEE (like that Cajun cook used to say) that the other ********* in your neighborhood treat cops like servants there to do their bidding. My neighborhood is full of *********s just like yours. Entitled country club ******* types that never even wave hello at the guys who put themselves on the line to keep us safe.

Who do you think is going to get the benefit of the doubt? Me or Mr. and Mrs. ******* Lawyer next door? Cops remember who treats them like humans and who doesn't. Remember, you're part of your community and the less involved you are, the less right you have to complain and vice versa.

Now as far as living in a planned community with a HOA... eeew. I say start looking for a better place to live and sell that house to the next Stepford family.

 

[Weezy]

They also say the will enforce HOA codes.

That's not within their power. They'd have to cite you on some trumped up charge like Contempt of Cop. After they did so, I'd send a letter to your state reps and the state attorney generals office.

 

[unionrdr]

That's the way the cops around here have always been. One in particular that has always had it in for me & mine since I bought that older house around the block some 25 years ago. He was harassing people who came to look at it by pulling them (& me) over to get them to look elsewhere. He finally told me once he was trying to get it for pennies on the dollar so he could get his kids back. So I've been lied on & bad mouthed all over town for all that time & it started with that. Now the HOA is using them & being used by others jumping on the bandwagon for fear they'll wind up the same.
For the love of GOD,get me the F out of here!...

 

[jbaysurfer]

I think you don't know what "dictatorship" or "communism" is. But besides that, I bet you'll be just fine brewing out in the driveway, the message is pretty clear, don't have an open flame in your garage. It's not rocket science.

I also don't live in an association for just this reason. So I do feel you pain. But Irvine, (for those who don't know CA very well) happens to be a conservative stronghold in this state..makes the communism comment amusing to say the least.

 

[Mb2658]

I am sure that the cops are as annoyed by your neighbors as you are. They are just looking to clear the call and move on to the next one. Are some cops dicks? Of course, do they really care about you brewing beer on your property, most likely not. Do they have to respond to the call, deal with your obnoxious neighbors complaining and try to resolve the perceived issue in a reasonable manner? Yes. Keep in mind, most cops know who the obnoxious complainers are as they have to deal with them more than you do as they probably complain about your other neighbors too.

 

[Cpt_Kirks]

I despise H.O.A communities. There feeling of "self entitlment" pisses me off. If they spent as much time complaining, on other things. World would be a bit better. Aaahhhh.

I would not live in an HOA Stalag if you paid me. Yet, people PAY to live in one.

OP, you need some security cameras. With audio. Next time Officer Friendly shows up claiming he is gonna "shut you down", let him know he is being recorded, and ask for his badge number, his Sergeant's name, and his Captain's name. Then, let you know you are filing a formal complaint against him.

Then, file a formal complaint against him.

Inform the HOA you are about to lawyer up and go after them, if they do not reign in the BS.

Fight fire with fire. All these idiots understand is a figurative 2x4 to the head.

Good luck.

:rockin:

 

[mannye]

I would not live in an HOA Stalag if you paid me. Yet, people PAY to live in one.

OP, you need some security cameras. With audio. Next time Officer Friendly shows up claiming he is gonna "shut you down", let him know he is being recorded, and ask for his badge number, his Sergeant's name, and his Captain's name. Then, let you know you are filing a formal complaint against him.

Then, file a formal complaint against him.

Inform the HOA you are about to lawyer up and go after them, if they do not reign in the BS.

Fight fire with fire. All these idiots understand is a figurative 2x4 to the head.

Good luck.

:rockin:

I'm just sayin' put all your energy into harassing the HOA and leave the cop alone.

My mother lives in a condo here on the beach and at the first HINT of assholery I sic 'em with an angry lawyer letter. The lead pipe of litigation cures 99% of bullying by HOAs. If they keep at it after getting hit with a lead pipe, there's your 1% of "I should probably see wtf I'm doing wrong here."

 

[dubprocess]

I am sure that the cops are as annoyed by your neighbors as you are. They are just looking to clear the call and move on to the next one. Are some cops dicks? Of course, do they really care about you brewing beer on your property, most likely not. Do they have to respond to the call, deal with your obnoxious neighbors complaining and try to resolve the perceived issue in a reasonable manner? Yes. Keep in mind, most cops know who the obnoxious complainers are as they have to deal with them more than you do as they probably complain about your other neighbors too.

I agree.. We dont plan on being rude to the police anytime soon. We want to be calm and polite and be open to friendly discussion. Like someone else has already mentioned, if you piss them off they will find something to mess with you about. We respect the fact that they are "just doing their job".. We are brewing this late afternoon and I will let you guys know how it goes..

Just a side note..speaking of HOA.. We recently received a local garden plot with our Association after being on the waiting list for over a year! You guys would be simply blown away at all the regulations and rules involved in maintaining and building your plot... the garden plot is owned by the HOA but is run by a sub group who enforces their own policies...As the guy was walking us around and showing us our plot he kept pointing to other people's plots saying "oh yeah you see this, you dont want to do this, they are in complete violation"

He said this like 10-15 times and we were like what did we get ourselves into..ahhaha We plan on growing hops and I cant wait to start a thread with our experiences with this!!

 

[jhoneycutt]

Things like this are why I'll never live in California or a HOA community. MY PROPERTY IS MINE AND ILL DO AS I PLEASE. And I don't care what a neighbor thinks of it lol.

 

[its_manbearpig]

I only read the first four pages, but here is something I didn't see mentioned...

How about knocking on your neighbor's doors and being nice and explain that when you have that "thing" in your driveway that you're just brewing your own beer? Tell them if you're out in your driveway to feel free to come over and try some. Maybe throw a couple of hot dogs on the grill?

HOA's are a pain in the rear end, but you might be able to diffuse the situation with some nice-ness. What's it going to cost? Five bucks in hot dogs and a few dollars in beer?

That's what I'd try first anyway. If that didn't work, then I'd take a few other suggestions in this thread.

 

[dubprocess]

I only read the first four pages, but here is something I didn't see mentioned...

How about knocking on your neighbor's doors and being nice and explain that when you have that "thing" in your driveway that you're just brewing your own beer? Tell them if you're out in your driveway to feel free to come over and try some. Maybe throw a couple of hot dogs on the grill?

HOA's are a pain in the rear end, but you might be able to diffuse the situation with some nice-ness. What's it going to cost? Five bucks in hot dogs and a few dollars in beer?

That's what I'd try first anyway. If that didn't work, then I'd take a few other suggestions in this thread.

I know pretty much most of my neighbors..There are a few lurking in the shadows that I am unsure about..haha

 

[unionrdr]

Somebody stop this HOA merrygoround. I wanna get off. Interesting though that even my wife says We've had neighbors like that no matter where I moved us. The song Desperado comes to mind full force here. Oh,you're a hard one...but I know that you got your reasons. These things that are pleasin you...can hurt you ssomehow. Don't yer feet get cold in the wintertime? The sky won't snow & the sun won't shine. It's hard to tell the nighttime from the day. But through all your highs & lows...ain't it funny how the feeling goes...away...?...Call me a wanderer,cowboy....if you don't understand him,& he don't die young...he'll probably just ride away....time to ride off into the sunset & look for new places to just be.

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

Im super thankful that i have nobody like that in my HOA. I brew outside no issues, garage, etc whatever.

Then again my HOA seems to be one of the sane ones for the most part, only having certain exterior requirements for your front yard and back yard, most of them are cosmetic like get your house pressure washed once in awhile so it doesnt look like a hobo lives there, etc.

Keeps the property values and desirability for the whole area up when everyones house looks cookie cutter and tidy..so im all for it in this crappy housing economy

I'd be super pissed if i was the OP, but it does sound like a bunch of bored wealthy/old people looking to cause drama. Everyone knows people even outside of their HOA, who like to do nothing but cause drama.

 

[Rivenin]

Like you mentioned earlier... Move to oregon!

You can come over to my house and use my setup

 

[Weezy]

That's the way the cops around here have always been. One in particular that has always had it in for me & mine since I bought that older house around the block some 25 years ago. He was harassing people who came to look at it by pulling them (& me) over to get them to look elsewhere. He finally told me once he was trying to get it for pennies on the dollar so he could get his kids back. So I've been lied on & bad mouthed all over town for all that time & it started with that. Now the HOA is using them & being used by others jumping on the bandwagon for fear they'll wind up the same.
For the love of GOD,get me the F out of here!...

That's called Official Oppression, and its something that cops do get in trouble for.

If you're having problems with local cops, you should protect yourself. Put some signs out saying "By entering this property, you voluntarily submit to audio & video surveillance". Get similar stickers made for your car and put it in the window. Then get a surveillance system and carry an audio recording device. As soon as you get a whiff of Official Oppression, contact the state attorney generals office.

 

[cluckk]

I like Texas. With the exception of a few places people are friendly, yet mind their own business. "Mind not what someone else is doing on their own property," is the 11th Commandment. Occasionally someone moves in who hasn't learned it, but it isn't long before someone teaches them. Often it is the police who do the teaching.

 

[Cpt_Kirks]

I like Texas. With the exception of a few places people are friendly, yet mind their own business. "Mind not what someone else is doing on their own property," is the 11th Commandment. Occasionally someone moves in who hasn't learned it, but it isn't long before someone teaches them. Often it is the police who do the teaching.

I have heard tales of Austin, though.

 

[unionrdr]

That's called Official Oppression, and its something that cops do get in trouble for.

If you're having problems with local cops, you should protect yourself. Put some signs out saying "By entering this property, you voluntarily submit to audio & video surveillance". Get similar stickers made for your car and put it in the window. Then get a surveillance system and carry an audio recording device. As soon as you get a whiff of Official Oppression, contact the state attorney generals office.

I wish I could affors it. this guy has been a thorn in my side for 25 years. He started it,& it spread from him by his own admission. gotta love mayberry...

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

When I lived in Georgia, one of the houses in our subdivision was for sale. It wasn't well kept up at the time, and clearly needed some TLC. The folks that bought it were very nice, and we used to hang out in the evenings over a few adult beverages. They took excellent care of the place, did beautiful landscape work, etc.

The wife, after a couple of glasses [bottles?] of wine told us "You know, we only bought that place because we saw how bad the yard looked. We figured that if the HOA let them keep a yard like that, they wouldn't be Nazis about approving all the improvements we wanted to make."

I took a lesson from that. Now I live in Laguna Hills, CA, and again where I live has an HOA. But when driving through the neighborhood before buying the place, I noticed a couple of things:

1) A lot of open garage doors at random times during the day.
2) No uniformity of landscaping/etc.
3) A lot of pickup trucks.

I said to myself, "I can live here." I brew in the garage, facing the street. No hassles so far in 2 1/2 years. In fact, it's been the route by which I've met most of my neighbors!

Long story short: F*** Irvine.

 

[Monster Mash]

I live in CA in the LA area but it's pretty laid back here. I had the cops show up but they were just driving by and wanted to see what was going on on my driveway, when they found out I was brewing they asked a lot of questions about the process and how much was legal to brew (I have a 1bbl system). I asked if they wanted to try some and they said "not while on duty". I poured a tiny bit in a cup and they passed that around, then tried another, and another.....

I made sure I bought into a non HOA neighborhood, my neighbors all know each other on our street and if there is an issue they say something. They don't call the cops because most of them are cops......

 

[SlowDrains]

I was under the impression you didn't have to sign the hoa papers when you bought a house my buddy bought one in a hoa area and refused to sign the paper

 

[Monster Mash]

I was under the impression you didn't have to sign the hoa papers when you bought a house my buddy bought one in a hoa area and refused to sign the paper

You have to pay the fees or they will put a lien on your house, when you make the payment you are agreeing to the terms.

 

[cluckk]

I have heard tales of Austin, though.

Austin isn't Texas. I refer to it as Berkeley East.

 

[Cpt_Kirks]

I was under the impression you didn't have to sign the hoa papers when you bought a house my buddy bought one in a hoa area and refused to sign the paper

It probably varies by state, but I doubt that. Refusing to sign the papers would kind of defeat the purpose of a HOA.

 

[SlowDrains]

It probably varies by state, but I doubt that. Refusing to sign the papers would kind of defeat the purpose of a HOA.

Yeah it would i moved into a development that tried to have one 10 years ago all the neighbors got together and refused to pay and it went away lol

 

[jbaysurfer]

I know the PRK from names like Leland Yee, and Dianne Feinstein, and Barbara Boxer, and Jerry Brown. I know the PRK from issues like Sanctuary Cities, and lawsuits over the smell of bacon.

I know the state realistically should be cut into two or more states.

I know that even though it is a beautiful place, I would never live there.

Wow, you know it all I guess.

Did you know that your state BURDENS federal resources to the tune of $603 per capita while my state PADS federal resources to the tune of $1466 per resident?

So tired. It's rampant and it's ignorant. The vast majority of those who are uber quick with the "Kaliforniastan" quips, are living in states that ironically are on the dole from the federal government..where the coffers are lined with California dollars.

PS, glad you're not planning a move here. The line for Pliny the Younger is already too long.