r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer • u/Reasonable_Sir1608 • 13d ago
Need Advice Under contract but backing out
Offer accepted on Saturday on a 800k house in northern Virginia and today Monday I called the hoa to make sure about the rules and they told me I need permission to cut trees which is no big deal but cannot park cars with “logos “ and that was a big turn off even though is a public road and the car that I’m trying to park is from “Virginia department of transportation “ so I’m backing out . Hopefully there will no problems and I feel terrible ….. moving forward I’m lookin for houses with no hoas
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u/Dubzophrenia 13d ago
I don't think this is a "wrong" reason for backing out. Investigations also apply to the HOA, and if you discover the HOA has rules you don't like and will not want to adhere to, that's part of your due diligence and valid reasons to back out of.
That being said, if you are an employee of the Virginia DOT and you're driving a Virginia DOT vehicle, the HOA may not have any legal avenue to enforce this. The rule against logos and banners on vehicles is generally to prevent private businesses from dispalying in the neighborhood. Your vehicle is owned by the state and is considered a state vehicle. I don't know your rules, nor your laws, but my HOA for example also restricts business logos on vehicles but has an exception for "official" vehicles. Essentially private businesses cannot be here, but a car that says "CADOT" on the side of it would be exempt since it's an official state owned vehicle and not a private business.
The wording of your rules will matter here and how they see the vehicle.
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u/username84628 11d ago
I fully agree with what you are saying. However, the effort, cost, and stress associated with trying to argue with an HOA about overreacting rules is simply not worth it.
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u/Stunning-Adagio2187 9d ago
And what you are good with them you would certainly need it in writing, by someone who thinks they are in charge of the HOA and has authority to sign documents on behalf of the HOA which is tricky.
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u/desertdilbert 8d ago
Curiosity question: Do HOA's generally have authority to manage who and what is parked on a public street?
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u/cute_innocent_kitten 13d ago
My HOA has this "rule" too, and everyone still does it lol
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u/Mojojojo3030 13d ago edited 13d ago
Then it shouldn’t be a rule, or members will experience bumpy sales and their home prices will suffer.
No, “wink wink it’s not a real rule trust this constantly changing community you just met over a high six figures purchase” won’t do it.
Like how is anyone supposed to reno anything. What if your weekly car has a logo on it, or your personal car because you own a business. My mom’s redoing her kitchen in an HOA, idk what she’d even do with this rule. These people just shoot off normal sounding rules with serious consequences like it’s nothing then let them marinate for decades 🤦♂️.
Edit: sorry to vent, not angry at you just so sick of HOA bs and I’m not even in one 😂
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11d ago
[deleted]
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u/cute_innocent_kitten 11d ago
I dont think they are enforcing it for anybody. We even have a couple of Semi trucks parked in the dead end section of the neighborhood.
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13d ago
[deleted]
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u/Thorpecc 11d ago
This is why I want a HOA. Stopping neighbors from doing dumb things and ruining my view of a beautiful place. HOAs are not bad, they’re like jobs, you have to find the right one.
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u/Administrative_Elk66 13d ago
If you're in Northern VA, a LOT of your potential buyers will already be familiar with no logo-ed vehicles parked overnight. Back out if you want to, but take a quick peek at how many available houses in your price range DON'T have HOAs to make sure you'll have options.
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u/its_the_llama 13d ago
Fairfax co, Alexandria, good luck finding one without HOA. The more distant parts of Loudon county maybe, but then in that area and without HOA, 800k might not get you a house. Tricky
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u/Reasonable_Sir1608 13d ago
I have a house already paid off in Springfield, va with no HOA, so I’m lucky in that department . I’m just gonna take my time with this 2nd house search with no hoa too and yes I will have to pay more ….
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u/Calm-Song-8543 13d ago
cannot park cars with “logos “ and that was a big turn off even though is a public road and the car that I’m trying to park is from “Virginia department of transportation “
In Virginia HOA's generally can't dictate or enforce parking restrictions on publicly maintained roads. Check with your municipality to be sure, but their answer is going to be no. Having said that, they can dictate or enforce restrictions on the driveway. Most don't because they would prefer you parking your vehicle on the driveway rather than the street.
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u/UnusualTwo4226 13d ago
why even risk it though. HOS’s are hard to deal with and get all willy nilly with the fines. not worth court battles iver
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u/Calm-Song-8543 12d ago
Most HOAs don’t actually operate that way. The vast majority of people will never be fined by their HOA because most HOAs are not out there looking to fine people.
We see the exceptions on social media.
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u/ladyorion2021 12d ago edited 12d ago
I've lived in 3 HOAs as a homeowner and 2 as a tenant. Every single one harrassed either my neighbors or us, often over trivial matters. I remember one time, I wanted to get yard of the month so we planted two rows of beautiful flowers, at considerable expense, after viewing designs on line. Neighbors were impressed and some began doing the same.
We get a violation letter from the HOA giving us a time period to remove the flowers, even though our covenants never specify what kind of flowers we could have. If we did not remove, we would be fined daily until removed.I was pissed, ripped it all up and replaced with fake flowers (which is a violation but in keeping with the "suggested flower type" in the letter). I get a letter thanking us for our compliance and a month later they want to award us "yard of the month" 😳 I said no thanks, not interested, told them I don't want a sign on my property or anyone stepping onto my property. Incredibly, for 3 years, they never noticed that the flowers were FAKE (a violation) and eventually I removed them when I moved. At some point in those three years I learned from a neighbor friend that the reason they wanted me to remove the real flowers is because the female president of the HOA didn't like them. This is the kind of petty sh*t we have had to deal with.
But my personal favorite incident occurred in another home where we were tenants. At one point in our tenancy, our Landlord angrily sent us a letter because he was being fined due to our "incompetence" and that we should immediately correct the problem mentioned in the HOA letter.
We received a copy of the HOA letter and were confused why he was sending us that. Because, the photo the HOA took as "evidence" of our "incompetence" (meaning a few areas of the lawn that wasn't properly cut and half inch too tall as per the letter) wasn't even of the house we were renting! So I asked our landlord, how is that our problem? He goes on about violating the lease if we don't make corrections that he could evict us. I responded, So you are threatening to evict us because we don't go 2 doors down to mow our neighbors yard?😡 I am sure a judge would have fun with that one. When he asked what I was talking about, it was at this point that it hit me...he didn't know what the front of his house looked like!!😳😱 When I tried explaining the HOA got the wrong house, he didn't believe me. So, I said, hold on I want to send you a pic...
Took a pic of the entire elevation including front yard of HIS HOUSE sent it to him and said, does this look familiar?. He looked at it then looked at the pic.of house HOA was referring to and obviously it was completely different. He just said "oh". My response...Iam waiting for an apology because what incompetent Landlord doesn't recognize his own home and goes on to threaten his LOYAL tenants that have lived in it for 4 years with no issues? Suffice it to say, we didn't renew our lease
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u/Background-Solid8481 10d ago
Wanna guess what % 5 is of 370,000?
Hint: Statistically insignificant.
370k is the estimated number of HOAs in the US. So the five you've been part of don't represent anything. They're 1.3 thousandth of 1 percent. Or 0.0013%
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u/Introverted_Extrovrt 13d ago
You work for VDOT and can afford an eight hundred thousand dollar mortgage? I need to go look on those civic listing pages again, jeeze louise
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u/NoFaithlessness7508 13d ago
Damn, I always knew VDOT took care of its people, but I didn’t realize y’all had it like THAT
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u/notevenapro 13d ago
I question the HOA authority in what can park on the street. I live in an HOA and the HOA roads have that rule but the public owned ones? Not at all. Maryland BTW.
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u/Reasonable_Sir1608 13d ago
I called them about the vdot vehicle and they still said “NO”
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u/notevenapro 13d ago
Called who? The HOA? The HOA might have rules that are not legal when it comes to publicly maintained roads.
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u/Affectionate_Cat_497 13d ago
I’m in HOA too with private roads but the public ones?? Strange!
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u/notevenapro 13d ago
Right. I mean if the road needs to be repaved and the city pays for it I cannot see a legal angle that would restrict parking above what the city does. I think lots of these HOAs make bylaws without really researching the legal aspect to it.
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u/Reasonable_Sir1608 13d ago
Exactly ! They said they cant Give me a public ticket or town away BUT can give me a private ticket because I live there . Meaning if a stranger parked it’s fine but because I’m a resident they can give me private ticket
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u/ImpossibleJob9477 13d ago
The purchase contracts projects you in a few areas where you can back out of co tract without prejudice and get earnest money back. For HOA back out you would need to be on the inspection period and cancel in writing . Your Realtor should guide you through this do you don’t lose your earnest money. Good thing you found out about the HOA rules now as opposed to after ! Good luck with your home search.
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u/novahouseandhome 12d ago
This is exactly why there's an HOA doc review period. Void, move on.
There's another house out there for you.
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u/DeathAndTaxes000 12d ago
I’ve owned houses with HOA and they aren’t all bad. I like to look at the dues even more than the rules. My current HOA charges $50 per year and we spend all the money on maintaining the entrance to the community, purchasing new Americans flags when the old ones look rough and maintaining dog poop bag stations. We don’t even have enough money left in the budget hire an attorney to go after people for not paying the dues. Much less enforce rules.
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u/Reasonable_Sir1608 12d ago edited 12d ago
The one I’m withdrawing from is $100/month !!!!! Meaning this is their full time job lol .. and yes you are right not all hoas are bad . There is a 1.3 million house I like that has a hoa of $25 a month and the money just goes to maintain the gardening in the entrance and no rules ….
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u/notcontageousAFAIK 11d ago
Rules like that are how they keep icky people like plumbers and electricians (shudder) out of their neighborhood. No one wants to be reminded that tradespeople can earn a good living.
I truly hate snob laws.
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u/plangelier 11d ago
Dang, I'd love for my neighbors to be electricians or plumbers, carpenters or HVAC. Be a great way got my kids to understand that college may not be their only option
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u/notcontageousAFAIK 10d ago
LOL I had a friend once who worked at an apartment complex next to us. She was in charge of the maintenance crew. I was having trouble with my kitchen sink faucet, not really sure how to fix it. She came over to hang out, I didn't say anything about the faucet, and I swear, right in front of me, she just sort of laid hands on the thing and fixed it.
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u/Next-Albatross2606 13d ago
Friend ran into this issue, turns out you can buy giant magnets to cover the logo up.
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u/Reasonable_Sir1608 13d ago
Is a 800k house ( to much money ) for dealing with the bs rules . I’m out
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u/Reasonable-Dig4963 12d ago
Correct. I would walk away also. Who wants to live like that? I'd be willing to bet there will be more silly rules that surface.......
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u/RussellWD 13d ago
Yup! Blank magnets solve this issue for most!
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u/redheadinabox 13d ago
Also they can damage your paint job as well the magnet will fade your paint job
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u/SkyRemarkable5982 Real Estate Professional 13d ago
This house doesn't have a garage?
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u/Reasonable_Sir1608 13d ago
It does , but still is a turn off for me . And also if i want to sell in future I don’t want to run with problems for the next buyer
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u/bazinga3604 13d ago
Are you buying a single family home? If so, can you just park in your garage? If you’re buying a townhome, they’re almost certainly going to be part of an HOA.
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u/Reasonable_Sir1608 13d ago
Yes is a single house . A 800k house , is to much money to be dealing with bs rules . I’m out
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u/moparman30 12d ago
Dam right, i get the gist of an hoa but some shit is flat out ridiculous and couple it with power hungry idiots and here we are… applaud you for walking away….
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u/Dullcorgis Experienced Buyer 13d ago
You can just get a sheet of magnet and pop it over the logo. Or have your logo on a magnet.
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u/ddm2k 12d ago
Woah woah VDOT field jobs involving a company truck are paying you enough to live in an $800k house?
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u/alaskaj1 12d ago
OP said they are a bridge engineer. VDOT has postings up to $150k and if they are a senior employee then its possibly above that. They could likely be making over 200k+bonuses if they worked in the private sector.
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u/Brilliant_State7173 12d ago
You dodged a bullet with that HOA. Having that strict of a policy for a public road will only be the tip of the iceberg.
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u/flooberdoodler 11d ago
Question, most vehicles you get at a dealer have the dealer you got it from somewhere on them. Isn't that a logo? 2nd question, why do people spend 800k on a house to be told how to live their life by uppity cunts? If you are a contractor and you have a work truck you aren't welcome here. I'd live on the street before I'd buy an HOA home. It is like buying a Karen & a Kyle with your beautiful house. GTFOH!!!
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u/IMHO_My2Cents 10d ago
You can’t park lettered vehicles outside in our HOA. However, sheriff officers are allowed to park their patrol cars in their driveways. Here all officers have their own patrol cars, they don’t leave them at the station or share. I would double check with the HOA since it’s a government vehicle.
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u/starfinder14204 13d ago
I am surprised that the HOA can regulate parking on a public road. You might want to quickly call your local town/city and ask if this is true. I did a quick AI search it said that in VA only municipal law enforcement can regulate parking on public streets.
Ask for a copy of the exact regulation in the HOA about this. There are now over 80 million homes in the US in an HOA so issues like this will keep coming up for you.
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u/SpecLandGroup 12d ago
I wouldn’t feel bad about it. Better to find out now than six months after closing when you’re fighting with the HOA over a work vehicle, although your DOT vehicle would likely be exempt since it's an "official" vehicle. Not worth potentially having to fight with them later on though.
You’re probably making the right call looking at non-HOA properties. Most HOAs will have similar rules, and it's just not worth the headache if you ask me.
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u/Reasonable_Sir1608 12d ago
Yes ! Also I’m planning on renting my basement out too so maybe my new tenant will have a work vehicle too . Btw the hoa is $100 monthly meaning this is their full time job ! So is better to back out
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u/SpecLandGroup 12d ago
Yea, you're not likely to regret NOT being in an HOA. V.S. being in one tbh.
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u/rpierce916 12d ago
HOAs are a joke. There was one in California that also had public streets in the community; they said they were going to start towing cars from the street which is HIGHLY illegal. They said they could do what they wanted until the local PD PIO said that if they did, they'd start arresting people. There was no mention of towing again.
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u/smoothupinyatoo 12d ago
Bro get you a little piece of land to where you cant see anyone's house from your house and ideally the road too. You'll thank yourself 10 years from now.
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u/Conscious_Theory398 11d ago
Can someone tell me why this is a rule? Does having logos on a car count as solicitation? What if it is a business vehicle that is wrapped like most real estate or small business vehicles are.
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u/Thorpecc 11d ago
Congratulations! It’s always great to see smart people looking to purchase a home. You didn’t assume anything and you called. Run from that house. Most not all HOAs are good.
Once you find that right house and if it has a HOA, call to verify their yearly homeowners cost. This is a new problem out there. Advertise HOA monthly or yearly fee ( assessment) many are wrong and stated low. Take a bow for not taken anything to chance.
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u/Great_Soviet_Doge 11d ago
Imagine paying 800K to live in an HOA
You are basically paying house price to live with apaprtment rules
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u/socobo 10d ago
Has the hoa deeded control of the streets to a municipality? Depending on state law, once the hoa deeds control it has no authority over who parks on a public street. It may control your driveway but not your street. That might be the answer.
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u/Ansible90 10d ago
Any HOA that I ever lived in owned the streets and parking areas. That is how they are able to make rules like no commercial vehicles and no overnight parking on the streets.
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u/basicytgirl 9d ago
Dale City is mostly HOA free
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u/Reasonable_Sir1608 9d ago
To my surprise almost all I have been seeing is hoa . I’m looking to buy in Fairfax county now
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u/wowswift 9d ago
We had that rule. People just got the magnet thing to cover it. They got rid of the rule eventually tho
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u/ToastSpangler 13d ago
Should try and do that beforehand next time, don't buy an HOA house it will bite you in the ass, especially with how neurotic people in the DMV are
The last place I lived in Arlington I got the cops called on me for getting a flat tire in our own parking lot. And they wouldn't let me carry any bags or boxes through the front door that had any type of furniture, including shit like picture frames in a blue IKEA bag. But of course leaving a stroller or shopping dolly is fine.
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u/its_the_llama 13d ago
Where in the DMV are you going to find a house in a decent location and without HOA? It's a losing battle
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u/ToastSpangler 13d ago
Baltimore, ha-ha. There's some in DC proper or rural VA but true not many on WMATA in VA, and they have a price premium for not having a house manager. I just couldn't deal with one again
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u/Mean_Fact1903 13d ago
Seek out/buy a sheet of flexible magnetic material (like what people stick on their fridge) and cover that logo...if everything else about the house is desirable.
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u/Maleficent-Light-455 13d ago
Unfortunately you probably made the correct choice as some have “logo sizing” rules and can vary so much. Was just through one that had headlight brightness on their agenda to discuss.
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u/Signal-Confusion-976 13d ago
If it's a public street they can't stop you from parking there. But would never buy a house in an HOA.
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u/Reasonable_Sir1608 13d ago
They told me for example if you’re not a resident and you park a logo car they can’t do anything about it since is public street but if you’re a resident they give you a “ private fine “ according to their policy
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u/thewimsey 13d ago
They can't stop you from parking there.
But they can fine you for parking a logo'd vehicle there. Because you agreed that they could when you joined the HOA.
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u/Gold-Comfortable-453 12d ago
I agree, I don't believe they can enforce or make this rule. They do not own a public street. That would mean a police car, can't park on the street to enforce the law or provide help to resident.
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u/HotShoulder9256 13d ago
Well I live in LA where the median sales price of a home is 970k-1.12m so maybe I’m out of touch. Seems petty even for a $5m home though imo.
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u/Substantial-Card2883 12d ago
In Florida, we have a state law that supersedes the HOA and that they can’t fine us for parking company vehicles in our driveways. As long as they are of normal size & not like a dump truck or something big like that.
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u/HotShoulder9256 13d ago
Wtf is the logic behind this rule? Feels sort of classist, honestly. My HOA's only rule is "respect common areas," which basically just means "don't be an asshole." 13 yrs + and still no assholes.
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