An open letter to our favorite anonymous posters:
Post (1 of 4)
I only just recently noticed this Discussion Forum section, my bad. I really haven?’t looked around on the site since last December and even then I was only there to look up what, if any, Deed Restrictions there were for building a deck or patio.
I must say that what I have seen here has been enough to, quite frankly, turn my stomach. I don?’t think I?’ve ever seen such pathetically rabid hate mail directed to the HOA at any of the other developments I?’ve lived in over the years. My God, get a grip! Your various postings make it sound like these people are a bunch of monstrous power mad mini-me Hitler wanabies! Obviously I have a somewhat different opinion, and while that opinion isn?’t all good, but it isn?’t all bad either.
Since I moved into the neighborhood, I?’ve had occasion to actually speak at length to several of the current and past HOA board members, about various issues such as common areas and deed restrictions. The discussions were forthright and honest. I told them what I liked and didn?’t like and they told me what already had been done, what the current status was, and what they planned to do. They also told me what the actual ?“legal?” role of the HOA was and what limitations the HOA had to observe in what it could do, what it couldn?’t do, and most importantly what it is required to do, whether they want to or not.
Now don?’t get me wrong, I?’ll be to the first to stand up and say that this current HOA has some significant problems, because they do. The predominate one, in my mind, being ineffectual public two-way communication with the community. They typically do pretty good with the one-on-one, but obviously need to do lot of work on improving their methods for communicating information like meeting times/locations, and statuses of the various issues they are working on to the community as a whole. In my opinion, to accomplish that, they at very least need to have a better organized web-site with regularly updated (at least once a week) information. Another step, which they have apparently already undertaken, would be to set up an official HOA email account and a voicemail hotline. I liked the hotline idea; it?’s a good one that I probably wouldn?’t have thought of myself.
But I digress; this letter really isn?’t about the HOA?… it?’s about a disturbing number of seemingly legitimate complaints that really aren?’t because they are blatantly based on convenient half-truths, incomplete information, and not to mention some liberal spin-doctoring. Here comes my favorite part?… These posts also tend to be worded in creative ways designed to elicit a specific emotional response from whoever reads them, and to then direct that emotion at the members of the HOA. Hmmm?… sounds like somebody has an agenda and isn?’t afraid to play dirty to achieve their ends. You know the old saying ?“the ends justify the means?”. The real question that everyone reading these posts should be asking is ?“What are the ends??”
Post (1 of 4)
I only just recently noticed this Discussion Forum section, my bad. I really haven?’t looked around on the site since last December and even then I was only there to look up what, if any, Deed Restrictions there were for building a deck or patio.
I must say that what I have seen here has been enough to, quite frankly, turn my stomach. I don?’t think I?’ve ever seen such pathetically rabid hate mail directed to the HOA at any of the other developments I?’ve lived in over the years. My God, get a grip! Your various postings make it sound like these people are a bunch of monstrous power mad mini-me Hitler wanabies! Obviously I have a somewhat different opinion, and while that opinion isn?’t all good, but it isn?’t all bad either.
Since I moved into the neighborhood, I?’ve had occasion to actually speak at length to several of the current and past HOA board members, about various issues such as common areas and deed restrictions. The discussions were forthright and honest. I told them what I liked and didn?’t like and they told me what already had been done, what the current status was, and what they planned to do. They also told me what the actual ?“legal?” role of the HOA was and what limitations the HOA had to observe in what it could do, what it couldn?’t do, and most importantly what it is required to do, whether they want to or not.
Now don?’t get me wrong, I?’ll be to the first to stand up and say that this current HOA has some significant problems, because they do. The predominate one, in my mind, being ineffectual public two-way communication with the community. They typically do pretty good with the one-on-one, but obviously need to do lot of work on improving their methods for communicating information like meeting times/locations, and statuses of the various issues they are working on to the community as a whole. In my opinion, to accomplish that, they at very least need to have a better organized web-site with regularly updated (at least once a week) information. Another step, which they have apparently already undertaken, would be to set up an official HOA email account and a voicemail hotline. I liked the hotline idea; it?’s a good one that I probably wouldn?’t have thought of myself.
But I digress; this letter really isn?’t about the HOA?… it?’s about a disturbing number of seemingly legitimate complaints that really aren?’t because they are blatantly based on convenient half-truths, incomplete information, and not to mention some liberal spin-doctoring. Here comes my favorite part?… These posts also tend to be worded in creative ways designed to elicit a specific emotional response from whoever reads them, and to then direct that emotion at the members of the HOA. Hmmm?… sounds like somebody has an agenda and isn?’t afraid to play dirty to achieve their ends. You know the old saying ?“the ends justify the means?”. The real question that everyone reading these posts should be asking is ?“What are the ends??”
