Surprise!!!

[Bill Huson]

Last week I went house shopping in Wilmington, NC. Tis the south, easy living, land of the free - right?

WRONG! Me'n Milady are aboard a golf cart piloted by a verbose real estate chick who has showed us a few very nice house. I began to ask questions: Carport? NO! Workshop or storage shed out back? NO! Then the deal breaker, I can't even park my boat at MY HOUSE! And for the privalage of being confined to the original house floor plan and not being able to do squat in MY YARD I must pay $2,100 per year in HOA fees!!! I look at jabbering real estate chick and say, "I'M done. Take me back to my truck." I'm not sure what *look* I looked I at her but she shut her busy yap and drove us back to my truck.

Two freaking days of house shopping and the ugly, evil HOAs kept us at bay. Dissapointed, we headed north to New Bern. I contact a realtor there and give him my specs. He has a working brain and shows us numerous houses, all nice, and in `hoods where the HOA fees are minimal and all they really do is keep the subdivision signage looking pretty. Boats and RVs welcome. And the best part - houses were like 40K less expensive than Wilmington which is apparently trying to become the picture postcard town for HOAs. Deal done, We bought a brand new still under construction house.

To the Runne Family: Don't panic, I'll be on the other side of the river

[dcrummett]

Way to go Bill!

And, as long as there are people willing to pay for living in a picture postcard the HOA crap will continue.

There are problems with living in the middle of the country in a state that has always had identity problems...but m'lady and I live on 10 beautiful acres with a new cost-shared pond dam, in new home with the only rule being we can't subdivide and we can't put in confinement animal facilities. We can shoot coyotes from the back porch, fire off the boat motors in the shop, and the neighbors feel the same way...all for considerably less than that Wilmington postcard house!!

Dan
O-49
(An Okie by birth and remained so by choice)

[Bill Huson]

To be fair . . .

Not all of Wilmington real estate has HOAs. Me'n Milady wanted a house like the one we have, open floor plan with a large - great room - complete with cathedral/vaulted ceiling. This design is the latest great thing in SE North Carolina so all the houses that fit our specs were in *new* subdivisions that had bustbutt covenants. If we ditched the open floor plan design and went with your basic rambler we would have been confused by all the choices.

But it worked out well for us. Milady loved New Bern. Even if New Bern houses were more expensive it would be worth it seeing her smile.

[Bill Huson]

I am so mad . . .

I could cheerfully pound the realtor into a bruised heap. After assuring my numerous times that parking a boat at my new home was no problem, he sends me a copy of the covenants. 20 pages. Cripes, lotta paperwork for an HOA he claimed merely took care of signage and common property. Par #7 under restrictions: "Only automobiles, pickup trucks or vans 3/4 ton or smaller and motorcycles are allowed to remain overnight on the lot."

My email to this lying sack of poop is smoking across the internet. Yes, you moron, this is a deal breaker.

[kws]

That just is not right. I feel for you i truely do.

[CSR4C]

I am sure glad I live where I do. My closest neighbors are at least a ¼ mile away. One races flat track motorcycles and has a practice track in back of his house. Another races hobby stock (or at least tries to) at to local dirt track. I have boats in my yard all the time.

[Bill Huson]

at the moment . . .

I live in yuppity-uppity Northern VA where the average family income is six figures and the only restraint on outbuildings is the county building codes and where at one time I had my race trailer, pleasure boat, and the CVRA rescue boat parked in my yard and nobody said squat. Our HOA keeps the subdivision sign neat and throws about four parties a year at the park at the end of our `hood.

HOA = ARD (Anal Retentive Dorks)

[22W]

As long as you are all on the subject of where to live, who lives near me? I moved down here to Virginia Beach back in November, and I don't really know which of you true "easties" I live closest to. All my stuff is still back in Wisconsin, but if I can't make the flights back home some weekend, maybe I can at least get somewhere close to my new home to spectate. I think that Gary Pond is somewhere halfway close as is the Harrell (sp?) clan. Let me know where you all are and we can all have a great time. I would love to be going to Wilson as it is now "my" divisionals, but unfortunately I have to work. Good luck for all that are attending!

[Bill Huson]

The Harrell clan is closest...

Rt 17 south to E-City, under an hour, and a scenic drive alongside the Dismal Swamp Canal, surveyed by Geo Washington hisself. Not sure if 460 or I-64 is the best way to get to Gary Pond, but 460 isn't as traffic crazy.