Local news for retired folks

[MichaelB]

Local news is so entertaining. This is from the newspaper of The Villages, a senior community in Florida. Even with more than 100k residents, this front page headline and news shows what really matters to the locals.

The front page headline on 9/10

Snowbird stuck in Canada due to COVID-19 reported for wrong trim color

From the article https://www.villages-news.com/2020/...ue-to-covid-19-reported-for-wrong-trim-color/

A snowbird stuck in Canada due to the COVID-19 pandemic has been reported for having the wrong trim color on the home in The Villages she has owned for more than a decade.

 

[Amethyst]

Doesn't need to be an old people's place. When we repainted our rental townhouse in MD to sell, we were cited for using the "wrong" shade of 'white on the front trim. The inspector who cited it, gave the exact maker and shade that were to be used; the color was no longer being manufactured. She would not back down. I had to get Sherwin-Williams corporate to track down the "successor" to the mandated color, then provide proof that I had done so.

Local news is so entertaining. This is from the newspaper of The Villages, a senior community in Florida. Even with more than 100k residents, this front page headline and news shows what really matters to the locals.

The front page headline on 9/10


From the article https://www.villages-news.com/2020/...ue-to-covid-19-reported-for-wrong-trim-color/

 

[Amethyst]

Shows that just moving to an old people's community is no guarantee against rambunctious kids:

https://www.villages-news.com/2020/...fter-allegedly-pointing-shotgun-at-neighbors/

 

[OldShooter]

... The inspector who cited it, gave the exact maker and shade that were to be used; the color was no longer being manufactured. She would not back down. I had to get Sherwin-Williams corporate to track down the "successor" to the mandated color, then provide proof that I had done so.

Funny. Years ago my mother and father were renting in Sun City West AZ and dad dinged some wood trim on the garage door. It was NLA, of course, so they made him have the trim profile custom milled --- maybe a 3 foot piece.

That cemented my resolve to never, ever, live in a place like that.

 

[Sunset]

OP - That was interesting reading the various stories in the "paper".

As for HOA type places, My DF had the snowplow punch a tiny hole in the garage door panel. The HOA, said complain to the snowplow company, who denied it and said it was already there.
HOA said it had to be fixed.
Finally DF just hired and paid to have it done at a cost of $1K (when you are over 90, it takes too much energy argue sometimes).

Some neighbor a few years earlier, refused to pay to fix hers.
Eventually the HOA fined her.
She fought them in court over it a few times, as the HOA kept fines coming every few months.
The HOA refused to accept her HOA fees while there were unpaid fines. She put the money into a separate account to show the money was there.
She lost the court fights and the HOA took the house for failure to pay the fines and HOA monthly fees.

Knowing this, when I had a rental with a HOA, I made sure the board president approved the paint and railing I installed before I did the work, as fighting the HOA is a risky move.

 

[Lewis Clark]

OP - That was interesting reading the various stories in the "paper".

As for HOA type places, My DF had the snowplow punch a tiny hole in the garage door panel. The HOA, said complain to the snowplow company, who denied it and said it was already there.
HOA said it had to be fixed.
Finally DF just hired and paid to have it done at a cost of $1K (when you are over 90, it takes too much energy argue sometimes).

Some neighbor a few years earlier, refused to pay to fix hers.
Eventually the HOA fined her.
She fought them in court over it a few times, as the HOA kept fines coming every few months.
The HOA refused to accept her HOA fees while there were unpaid fines. She put the money into a separate account to show the money was there.
She lost the court fights and the HOA took the house for failure to pay the fines and HOA monthly fees.

Knowing this, when I had a rental with a HOA, I made sure the board president approved the paint and railing I installed before I did the work, as fighting the HOA is a risky move.

In Florida, at least, an HOA can foreclose on a property for filing to pay regular assessments, but not for failing to pay fines.