8.27.2007

It's My House, Not Yours

I hate homeowners' associations, which may be odd, considering I don't even own a house, much less one within such an association. I resent the idea that a bunch of do-gooders should be able to tell me what I can and cannot do with my property. The purported draw of increased property values is not worth it to me. It's bad enough that the government does this; I don't need a homeowners' association (HA) on my case as well. I'm also not going to pay association fees on top of property taxes. And if I want to paint my house pink, well then I will.

You often hear about HA's when a veteran is forbidden from flying a flag in his yard because of HA rules, or a resident is not allowed to post political signs. An article this week looks at another HA rule: the banning of clotheslines.

You see, a lot of yuppies want to use clotheslines to reduce their carbon footprint or whatever*, and their HA doesn't let them. So residents are going to their state legislatures to try to get them to overrule the HA.

To these owners, I first say, get over the carbon footprint nonsense. Second, that's what you get for living in an HA. You should have thought of this before signing up. Let this be a warning for the rest of you.

*As an aside, while I mock environmentalists, I endorse several of their schemes, but only in the name of saving money. I like clotheslines because they save money on energy. I care about gas mileage for the same reason. I also am stingy with the thermostat. Environmentalism will succeed if it appeals to the pocket book, rather than morality.

2 comments :

  1. 1. Why can't you call them "busybodies" instead of "do-gooders"? "Do-gooders" is an odd way to insult people, is all.

    2. It's sad that people will go farther out of their way to save a buck or two than stop tremendous environmental havoc (you know, what with global warming being real and all). But also irrefutably true. People are weird.

    3. You're right, homeowners' associations are dumb.

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  2. I will accept your word substitution. The term 'do-gooder' implies naivete, and thus has its place in my insult repertoire, but your term is indeed more appropriate here. Thank you.

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