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Usually, an HOA is a headache for neighbors who don’t belong to it. In fact, 45% of Americans believe that HOAs have a negative effect on the communities they govern. Sometimes, HOA boards think they can tell their neighbors what to do, and that’s when drama usually starts.
An HOA told this farmer that his tractor was damaging the value of their property and threatened to take him to court. But he wasn’t some country bumpkin as they might’ve thought, and the war they wanted to start soon turned against them.
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A newly established HOA wanted to start a war with a farmer family next door
Image credits:Â gkmediaa (not the actual photo)
But they soon found out that it was not going to be easy, since they didn’t plan to sell the farm anytime soon
Image credits: freepik (not the actual photo)
Image credits: freepik (not the actual photo)
Image credits: VladVlad666
People have bad attitudes towards HOAs, and only those living in them can see the more positive side
Nightmare stories like these about dealing with HOAs you don’t belong to are plenty. That’s why it’s easy to understand why many would think that being a member of an HOA is the worst decision you can make as a homeowner. However, that’s the opinion of those who don’t belong to HOAs.
Homeowners who are part of an HOA usually have a more positive experience. In fact, 58% say that they approve of the way their HOA governs the neighborhood. Negativity bias comes into play here; we remember and pay attention more to the horror stories of HOAs abusing their power.
One commenter pointedly observed that people often move into houses that are next to farms, airports, and similar places where undesirable noises, sights, and smells might occur. And while it’s true that most of them knew they were moving in next to a farm, the developer probably told them the OP’s family was going to sell it pretty soon.
In some cases, properties next to farms can have less value. In North Carolina, those living next to poultry farms report their home value going down by 30%. So, perhaps the people in the “mini-mansions,” as the OP refers to them, bought the houses for cheap and were expecting the value of their homes to go up once the farmers sold their property. Alas, it seems they will have to remain disappointed.
Fewer generational farms exist across the USA, so, this family is one of the lucky few
Farmers are the essential workers in our society; they literally provide food for us to buy and consume. So, instead of harassing them, shouldn’t we champion their work? Interestingly, the HOA’s hopes that the OP would sell their farm aren’t so far-fetched, as more and more farmers actually do go out of business.
As agricultural lender AgAmerica reports, family farms are disappearing at an alarming rate. According to their 2022 agricultural census, there are fewer than two million farms across the whole of the U.S. And the number of total farmland acres has dropped to its lowest since 1850.
“Increased regulations, rising supply costs, lack of available labor and weather disasters have all squeezed farmers to the point that many of them find it impossible to remain economically sustainable,” the president of the American Farm Bureau Federation Zippy Duvall said.
AgAmerica writes that one of the reasons why farms are disappearing is that very few young people decide to continue the family legacy. Most of the farms in the U.S. are family farms, yet the average age of a farm owner was 57.5 years in 2017.
Some young people just choose different careers over continuing to work the family farm. However, there are also financial burdens, such as inheritance taxes and the costs of modernizing operations that might put off young people from taking over the family business.
It’s actually nice to see a farmer family that is training the next generation of farmers. “Family farms not only help drive the economy, they allow the rest of the nation the freedom to pursue their dreams without worrying about whether there will be enough food in their pantries,” AFBF President Zippy Duvall explained.
“I hate it when people move in and complain about people using the land the way it was being used before they moved,” someone said as people called out the hypocrisy
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What do you think ?
ValdaDeDieu 4 weeks ago
Agreed. Something is wrong with a system that allows a group of the most idle, laziest people the power to make unreasonable demands of a hard-working homeowner simply because the property is part of an "HOA"...And now they're making demands of homeowners not even part of it? This is a severe overreach by that HOA and OP can make a case for harassment, encroachment, criminal trespass - as well as trespassing.
Load More Replies... Damned_Cat 1 month ago
Something similar happened in my area when a developer built homes in an area that has been farmland for a least a couple of hundred years. There's grazing land on one side that is typically occupied by sheep and goats. On the other side of the development is a huge egg ranch that's been there since the 1930's. The new residents were constantly calling their local county reps to complain about the smell and animal noises. I still don't know how you could shop for a house in the boonies and not smell and hear the animals before you bought.
Traveling Lady Railfan 4 weeks ago
There's so much building going on in our area (hundreds of thousands of residences in the last few years) so some spots to build are close to train tracks. We get very little rail traffic in this area but, two or three freight trains in a 24-hour period. Then people complain it's too noisy...that the trains are too noisy. That the mayor should find a way to reroute rail traffic to somewhere else. What, you didn't look outside and see railroad tracks outside your apartment building when you moved in?
Damned_Cat 4 weeks ago
When I was house shopping, my realtor made me look at a house next to the railroad tracks even though I already said that I wasn't interested. The homeowner explained that the noise wasn't really that bad. At least I think that's what he said. I really couldn't hear him as the train was going by.
Load More Replies...
ValdaDeDieu 4 weeks ago
Agreed. Something is wrong with a system that allows a group of the most idle, laziest people the power to make unreasonable demands of a hard-working homeowner simply because the property is part of an "HOA"...And now they're making demands of homeowners not even part of it? This is a severe overreach by that HOA and OP can make a case for harassment, encroachment, criminal trespass - as well as trespassing.
Load More Replies... Damned_Cat 1 month ago
Something similar happened in my area when a developer built homes in an area that has been farmland for a least a couple of hundred years. There's grazing land on one side that is typically occupied by sheep and goats. On the other side of the development is a huge egg ranch that's been there since the 1930's. The new residents were constantly calling their local county reps to complain about the smell and animal noises. I still don't know how you could shop for a house in the boonies and not smell and hear the animals before you bought.
Traveling Lady Railfan 4 weeks ago
There's so much building going on in our area (hundreds of thousands of residences in the last few years) so some spots to build are close to train tracks. We get very little rail traffic in this area but, two or three freight trains in a 24-hour period. Then people complain it's too noisy...that the trains are too noisy. That the mayor should find a way to reroute rail traffic to somewhere else. What, you didn't look outside and see railroad tracks outside your apartment building when you moved in?
Damned_Cat 4 weeks ago
When I was house shopping, my realtor made me look at a house next to the railroad tracks even though I already said that I wasn't interested. The homeowner explained that the noise wasn't really that bad. At least I think that's what he said. I really couldn't hear him as the train was going by.
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