Stupid Guest Tricks

This house is about 1/2 mile from my house. They are super nice people that bought it. I know the builder really well too. He wanted to do something fun so he got permission from Disney to do this. We love having it close by. When it was first built, we toured it and took a bunch of pics. They did it right.

I LOVE It, but did they have to get permission from Disney? As long as it is on your property,and you are not getting cash running tours. I would imagine you could build your home to look like any other home?

Getting permission from the HOA might be harder...

DisneyMom wrote:I LOVE It, but did they have to get permission from Disney? As long as it is on your property,and you are not getting cash running tours. I would imagine you could build your home to look like any other home?

Getting permission from the HOA might be harder...

HOAs suck. Just sayin'...

I local covenants were waived for and the builder didn't want any trouble once he got it built, so he submitted the plans to Disney. They gave the house their blessing and even came out and went through the whole thing when it was finished. The builder had appliances built and furniture built to match the movie and look of the period. He was like a kid in a candy store talking about it. There isn't an HOA, but there are covenants in that neighborhood, and after a year or 2, they wanted them to paint it neutral colors and look like the rest of the neighborhood. There was a pretty big fight, but in the end they decided to let them leave the house the way it is. They recently had a Tangled playhouse built. It is really cool. They sell some Disney inspired art (I have some in my house) and love to talk about all things Disney. Fun people.

hobie16 wrote:HOAs suck. Just sayin'...

If you think it's hard living in one, imagine having to serve on the board of one. I did that for seven years, trying to make it better (and largely failing). Board members are caught between state law, the covenants, and previous acts (and failures to act) of the board. There's usually no way to change any of these, so it often leaves you very little room to wiggle. Worse, if you deliberately decide to not enforce some silly rule, you could be sued by any other resident for your failure.



And who ever writes an agreement that requires the unanimous consent of 1000 people to make any change (other than stupid developers, of course)?

Zazu wrote:

hobie16 wrote:HOAs suck. Just sayin'...

And who ever writes an agreement that requires the unanimous consent of 1000 people to make any change (other than stupid developers, of course)?

People who don't live there, that's who.

Zazu wrote:

hobie16 wrote:HOAs suck. Just sayin'...

If you think it's hard living in one, imagine having to serve on the board of one. I did that for seven years, trying to make it better (and largely failing). Board members are caught between state law, the covenants, and previous acts (and failures to act) of the board. There's usually no way to change any of these, so it often leaves you very little room to wiggle. Worse, if you deliberately decide to not enforce some silly rule, you could be sued by any other resident for your failure.



And who ever writes an agreement that requires the unanimous consent of 1000 people to make any change (other than stupid developers, of course)?

I've been on our board for eleven years and served as president for almost six. This is my last year as prez. If nominated again, I will not run. If elected, I will not serve.

I got on the board when the association was about half way through a legal action that eventually cost us over $1,000,000. To pay off the final legal bills I had to get a loan for $147,000. Fun stuff but not the worst part of the job.

I get to deal with whiners, scam artists, asshole tenants, cat killing dogs (three sets of them), certifiably insane owners, billable hours lawyers and an owner/lawyer who lost a huge amount of money in legal fees when we sued him. Let's call him Little Gary.

Little Gary takes particular delight in pointing out every little C&R violation he can find. I believe he types his emails with one hand while the other one is involved in something not suitable for print here. Some complaints are valid but many result from rules he's made up on his own. I have to grin and bear it.

Little Gary has also crossed the line a few times and made personal attacks. The last time he did the police had a nice talk with him. Apparently it worked until last week when he provided me his thoughts on a letter I sent to the local newspaper. Little Gary should be facing the County prosecutor by the end of next week.

I will never buy a home/condo/town house in anything controlled by either an HOA or an AOAO again. HOAs suck. Just saying...

I'm guessing the owner doesn't live there though, nor does he live in an HOA. Easy to boss people around without having to live up to those same standards. I'm glad there are people like you Hobie that are willing to be on the board or serve as president. Our secretary here at work is the president of hers, and half of her day is spent working on HOA stuff.

Did you guys see where they were tearing down an old house there in Florida, which was owned by a former WDW employee, and they found pickle jars full of old coins in the walls? The guy had racked up $115,000 in fines for letting the property go to pot, and since the house was in such poor shape due to neglect they had to tear it down, and in so doing found the jars of coins. There were half dollars, quarters, dimes and a few nickels, adding up to $686.85 in face value. The oldest coins dated back to 1917; the house was a couple years older. They believe a former owner hid the coins during the Great Depression. They're checking to see if they're more valuable by weight or as old coins.