Mingo Creek Subdivision in Knightdale, North Carolina

I don't often get upset about something.  In the past, I've been upset about the State of Utah's liquor laws, and all the new laws they decided to enact these past few years to keep people kids from drinking (which hasn't actually done anything).  I recently got upset when I learned that Utah Highway Patrol was sending officers to watch for Utahns buying fireworks and liquor over the border in Wyoming, then radioing the plates and car description to officers sitting back on the Utah side of the border.  This one goes back home to North Carolina, and really bothers me.

Years ago, when I bought a house in Knightdale, I did everything I could to avoid the restrictive covenants 0f homeowner's associations.  You don't see HOAs in Utah all too much, probably because houses are just plopped down on streets instead of having subdivisions built.  A lot of it might also be due to different notions of what a "neighborhood" means in Utah.  But in North Carolina, Homeowner's Associations, with Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&Rs) are commonplace and difficult to avoid.

Basically, in an ideal homeowner's association group, the organization is intended to maintain stability within the neighborhood.  This stability is a consistent appearance to protect every neighbor's property investment.  Ideally, the HOA keeps someone from neglecting their yard, filling it with junk, or keeping run down cars from accumulating.   The down side is someone living in the neighborhood may not have a choice in the color of their mailbox, the trees in their yard, or the paint on the house.  These are minor issues in most cases.  For me, avoiding CC&Rs was so I could maintain a ham radio antenna.  In the end, I was lucky to buy a house without an association.  My close friend Richard, however, was not as fortunate as I was.

Richard lives in Mingo Creek subdivision in Knightdale, North Carolina, which was a nice neighborhood that I might have purchased a home in, if not for the restrictive covenants.  Richard and Colleen have been living there for about four years.  I always liked that neighborhood.  But now, I feel sorry for them.

Their HOA is a joke.  The management company, Fred Smith Homes, has the majority representation on the HOA board.  There are five seats, two of which are residents of the neighborhood, three of which are appointed employees of the business that manages the HOA dues which are intended to help maintain the neighborhood and the HOA organization.  Normally, the management company holds one seat, not the majority.  Usually, the neighbors are the ones in charge.  It's funny to think of all the people who complain about their neighbors dictating how their property looks.  Trust me it could be worse.  It could be what the neighbors of Mingo Creek are dealing with.

Because the management company holds the majority of the seats in the neighborhood, and not the residents, the company calls all the shots.  In fact, a majority gets to call an HOA meeting.  Or in the case of Mingo Creek, the management company gets to reject and cancel any meeting between them and the residents paying them money.

It gets worse.

On top of improper representation, the residents are being strong armed in the same way a mob "protects" the members of a community by charging them money not to break their legs.  In this case, however, the employees of the management company are citing residents for infractions to their Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions to a severe degree.  One neighbor was cited for having her trash cans within visual site of her own driveway and not concealed in the back yard.  The woman is handicapped and struggles to move her trashcans to the curb each week, and now she's being harassed for having them within site of her garage - not the street, mind you, but at the end of the driveway nearest the house.

Another resident was fined for not powerwashing their house to "their" standards.

Neighbors are cited if grass touches the tires of their cars - even an inch is a violation, in their eyes.

And if you want to challenge a citation, you have to visit their office at a specific time and date - 30 miles away.

The two residents actually on the association board are shut out of any "meetings" about their own neighborhood.

In my opinion, this is the HOA gone wrong.  This is my worst nightmare come true.  While I completely disagree with the "god complex" most HOAs foster, I've never heard of the management and maintenance company taking over the way theirs has.

And on top of all this, if you live in the neighborhood, you pay $33 a month for this kind of treatment.  $48 if you're late on your payment.  And they can take your house through liens if you refuse.

Seriously, these people are just a short step away from the mob.

I feel so bad for the residents of Mingo Creek.

I hope they organize and fight this to the end.  They don't deserve this kind of treatment.  For my part, Mingo Creek residents, you have my complete support.  I wish you the best!