Vet Battles Homeowner's Association Over Flagpole

[TxEMTP69]

[url]http://tristatehomepage.com/content/fulltext/?cid=114702[/URL]

Reported by: Web Producer

Friday, Dec 4, 2009 @06:58am CST


World War Two Vet Battles Homeowner's Association
(Richmond, VA) -- A 90-year-old World War Two veteran from Virginia is battling his homeowner's association over the flagpole he has outside his home.
Retired Army Colonel Van Barfoot has been ordered to remove the flagpole from his yard in the Sussex Square community in western Henrico County after he displayed "Old Glory" on Labor Day and Veteran's Day.
The homeowner's group doesn't explicitly prohibit flagpoles, but they must be "asthetically appropriate." Residents can display short flags on porches, but Barfoot says that's not the way he was raised to respect the flag.
Senator Mark Warner is in Barfoot's corner.
He met late Thursday afternoon with association members to try to reach a compromise.
In the end, Barfoot's deadline of 5 p.m. Eastern time was extended until next Friday, December 11th.
Barfoot, nevertheless, has indicated he's willing to go to court over the matter.
Family members say Barfoot is the most decorated U.S. combat veteran alive, having been awarded more than 20 medals, including the Medal of Honor, The Silver Star, three Purple Hearts and the Legion of Merit.
(Copyright 2009 by VERTEXNews/Newsroom Solutions)
RNS-12-04-09 0537CST

 

[Hawghauler]

Seems to me the HOA Nazis need to be dragged out into the street and get a public flogging. Anyone who sees my flag as a problem in my country in my opinion is a worthless piece of socialist crap. Good for the Col. Does anyone know anybody in that town? Like to see what happens to the $hitbird that tries to take it down.

 

[DCortez]

Seems to me the HOA Nazis need to be dragged out into the street and get a public flogging.

+100

Our current group of HOA nazis is a tad better than our last. At least the new ones answer the phone. Neither return calls or sort things out. Both cash the HOA checks.

 

[cuate]

Living in one home with a HOA was enough, didn't ever have to go to battle with them but what a herd of fruitcakes ! I am the total HOA on this old farm and have 100% control of everything that goes on, with the approval of the wife of course .
Read that living happily but get considerable spousal suggestions, ha ha

 

[TrailDust]

Another reason why you need to read your HOA's CC&Rs before signing on the dotted line and moving into your American dream....

 

[MadMo44Mag]

Seems to me the HOA Nazis need to be dragged out into the street and get a public flogging. Anyone who sees my flag as a problem in my country in my opinion is a worthless piece of socialist crap. Good for the Col. Does anyone know anybody in that town? Like to see what happens to the $hitbird that tries to take it down.

+1,000
Had lived in a community with a HOA once. I'll never own a home again where there is a HOA in place. I saw more bad than good come from it. It turned neighbors on neighbors and cause way more grief than necessary.

 

[Big country]

HOAs and there minions are just like hitler and the gestapo.

 

[DCortez]

HOAs and there minions are just like hitler and the gestapo.

We've received letters for letting the grass grow over the curb a tad ... and I do mean a tad. With two boys in the house, I'm not going to let it get out of hand, LOL. Anyway, we were told to edge or they would send out a company to do it and charge us.

Meanwhile, the house next to us, which was for sale, had grass 4' high in the front yard. Several neighbors called the HOA, nothing was done. In the end, a neighbor and I cut the jungle down.

I don't get these people ... The sellers or the HOA.

 

[Big country]

They were going with the "tropical" look. LOL! When I was doing residential landscaping (AKA cuttin grass for folks) we would get some of those HOA assigned jobs and get run off by the home owner in about 2 minutes. These HOA Nazis are favaritist and a half. If they liked the person with the jungle for a yard then they wont say a word to them but if some one they don't like lets a blade of grass hang over the side walk they're driving property values into the dirt and they won't stand for it. Hypocrites!

 

[thorkyl]

On Dec. 17th the yard nazi that signed the order to have my truck and travel trailer towed 9 years ago, gets out.

Ya, I pressed charges and had her arrested for auto theft, 2 counts, truck and trailer.

HOA could not regulate public street

Now I live in the country and don't have a yard nazi other than the future better half

 

[DCortez]

On Dec. 17th the yard nazi that signed the order to have my truck and travel trailer towed 9 years ago, gets out.

Ya, I pressed charges and had her arrested for auto theft, 2 counts, truck and trailer.

HOA could not regulate public street

Now I live in the country and don't have a yard nazi other than the future better half

I love happy endings!

 

[Big country]

I love happy endings!

+1

 

[android]

On Dec. 17th the yard nazi that signed the order to have my truck and travel trailer towed 9 years ago, gets out.

Ya, I pressed charges and had her arrested for auto theft, 2 counts, truck and trailer.

Are you serious? That's too cool!

 

[TxEMTP69]

I love happy endings!

+10

 

[thorkyl]

Are you serious? That's too cool!

Yep,
I came home from the Carolina's and arrived home at about 2am with the Truck and the 32ft travel trailer. Since I could not get into the storage facility, nor did I want to since I still had to demobe, I busted the truck from the trailer, blocked my driveway with the trailer, and parked the truck in front of my neighbors house so I would not block him in.

Went outside at about 7 to start unloading the trailer and there was a wrecker hooked to the truck and another hooking to the trailer.

Needless to say, they stopped when I confronted them (12ga and all).
They said they had a signed impound order from the HOA. I called the sheriff and told them I had two wrecker drivers at gun point trying to steal my truck and trailer. Sheriff was there within 2 minutes. Told them I want to press charges, he told the wreckers to drop the truck and trailer or he would arrest them also.

They where acting in "good faith" so any charges against them would not have stuck.

The HOA bimbo got 9 years for auto theft, and the HOA had to file bankruptcy over the costs since it was a criminal charge and the insurance did not cover it.

 

[TrailDust]

We've received letters for letting the grass grow over the curb a tad ... and I do mean a tad. With two boys in the house, I'm not going to let it get out of hand, LOL. Anyway, we were told to edge or they would send out a company to do it and charge us.

My brother moved into a neighborhood a few years ago and the house he bought had been on the market for some months, so the day he moved in the yard was a jungle two feet high. Mind you, this neighborhood doesn't even have a HOA. He got up the next morning and a snippity letter was sitting on his car's windshield that said, "WE take pride in our homes in this neighborhood. Cut your grass!"



If that had been me I'd have walked into the middle of the street and screamed, "Which one of you chickens*** m*****f*****rs wrote this letter? Which one of you has the balls to say this to my face! F*** you!!!" Then I'd have gone door-to-door that evening, as politely as possible, showing the letter to each neighbor and asking if they'd written it, and as each spineless turd denied responsibility I'd tell them off. Imagine that, the first day in a new home and everything is still in boxes and someone does that???!!! And, again, that was not in a HOA neighborhood.

 

[MadMo44Mag]

My brother moved into a neighborhood a few years ago and the house he bought had been on the market for some months, so the day he moved in the yard was a jungle two feet high. Mind you, this neighborhood doesn't even have a HOA. He got up the next morning and a snippity letter was sitting on his car's windshield that said, "WE take pride in our homes in this neighborhood. Cut your grass!"



If that had been me I'd have walked into the middle of the street and screamed, "Which one of you chickens*** m*****f*****rs wrote this letter? Which one of you has the balls to say this to my face! F*** you!!!" Then I'd have gone door-to-door that evening, as politely as possible, showing the letter to each neighbor and asking if they'd written it, and as each spineless turd denied responsibility I'd tell them off. Imagine that, the first day in a new home and everything is still in boxes and someone does that???!!! And, again, that was not in a HOA neighborhood.

I would have borrowed a NEW neighbor lawn mower and mowed F**K You in the middle of the yard and let it grow another month.

 

[Big country]

I would have let it grow and stuck a sign in the yard that said "I will mow this grass when whoever wrote that nasty snippity letter <copy nailed to said sign> and left it on my car gets the their string trimmer and takes it down to a manageable level or gets the nuts to say something to my face."

 

[Texas42]

HOA contracts are real. You need to read them before moving. If you don't agree with them, then don't live there.

This particular case seems a bit different because it involves the interpretation of the rules, but a HOA is obligated to enforce the rules in the contract that you signed before you moved.

Common sense goes a long ways, as usual.

 

[30+GSXR]

Seems to me the HOA Nazis need to be dragged out into the street and get a public flogging. Anyone who sees my flag as a problem in my country in my opinion is a worthless piece of socialist crap. Good for the Col. Does anyone know anybody in that town? Like to see what happens to the $hitbird that tries to take it down.

+1