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View Full Version : OT: I got towed in front of my house by the HOA today



DanDombrowski
05-04-2007, 11:59 AM
Came out this morning to find my 01 330Ci missing from where I parked it last night.

I opted not to park in the normal parking spaces of our condo parking lot due to the fact that there were large pieces of construction equipment parked in many of the spaces (bulldozers, trailers, miscellaneous equipment). There were spots open next to the equipement, however, the last time they did this (when they re-roofed the building), they asked us NOT to park near the equipment.

So, I double parked my girlfriends car because I knew I would leave before her in the morning. Came out to find that the car had been towed for improper parking.

Searched all around in the morning to find one small brand new sign that said "do not park on the grass" and another sign for "Kings Towing" underneath it at the entrance of the complex.

I'm good friends with most of my neighbors, they would never call to complain for anything (I fix all their computers and will answer my door at any time if they ever have a problem, and they know this). My neighbor informed me that the head of the HOA was walking around last night giving everyone crap about all sorts of stuff (un picked up newspapers, grilling in the yard, etc). Apparently he's a real a-hole, and that it was probably him.

Legally, I think they may have a stronger case than me, because there was a sign up, and there were open parking places. But for F***S sakes, knock on my door or something! Don't just immediately tow a car because its parked behind another! I parked there SO THAT I WOULDN'T INCONVENIENCE THE CONSTRUCTION CREW!

There was no letters or signs that said "Park near the clubhouse/next apt complex during repairs", and its not like I do it every day because I'm lazy. An appropriate response would have been "Hi, Im XXX from the HOA. I know that there is construction equipment in the spots, but you can park here or here for the time being. We'd appreciate if you didn't park near the curb". No, they just immediately call the towing company.

So I'm out $130, wasted my morning, and scuffed up a good pair of shoes picking the car up in the F'N boondocks on dirt roads. Yes, I'm trying to get the HOA to pay for it, but as usual, no one returns my phone calls (I've called like 3 times today). The fact that the a-hole that called it in is the pres of the HOA probably is gonna stop me dead in the water anyway.

On a lighter note, I'm happy that it wasn't worse. The towing company didn't steal the oakley's or the $20 in cash I had in the center console, and they didn't damage the car, which is what I was worried the most about. Some poor lady was at the towing place with 2 toddlers and they wouldn't give her her car back that they had towed because they damaged it while towing it. Now THAT is a shi**y situation.

All right, thanks for listening guys. I have to get back to work. F'in HOAs.

steve0suprem0
05-04-2007, 01:26 PM
dude. bad news. you definitely should have a talk with this guy. and you certainly deserve the option of moving it before it's towed, but hell, that never happens... anyway, i'm real sorry to hear about it. freakin' uber-douche hoa.

(i don't think i even know what hoa stands for... that's one of those grown-up things that doesn't affect me until i'm thirty or something right? i've still got four years to screw around 'til then, so i don't wanna know. god, it sucks being an adult. i hate it i hate it i hate it.)

DanDombrowski
05-04-2007, 01:40 PM
I'm 24 :), but I was introduced to this stuff FAR too early.

HOA stands for "Home owners association".

I live in South Florida, where the entire world comes to die. Everyone here is old and ornery. Everything has to have an exclusive membership that they can brag to others that they belong to and the others dont.

Every housing division is gated and has a ridiculous home owners association. They're the ones that send nasty-grams when your lawn exceeds 4", your newspapers are on the curb for 3 hours after dropoff, and you have more than 2.3 children in your home, and 2 cars in your garage. Motorcycles, boats, trucks, ATVs, outside BBQs, parties, you name it- they don't like it. Sometimes they even want you in bed by 10.

Ever see the cartoon movie called "Over the Hedge" that just came out on DVD? The woman in that is the president of her HOA. It pretty much describes the character perfectly.

I will have a talk with this guy, but I doubt it will do any good based on what the neighbors say. I have some juvenile ideas for retaliation, but I'm getting old for that.

Macv
05-04-2007, 01:43 PM
spray paint the sign and say it was like that.

boom you win. ...... sometimes. :D

DanDombrowski
05-04-2007, 02:04 PM
It has crossed my mind....

Blitzkrieg Bob
05-04-2007, 02:26 PM
to the HOA, and if the use a porperty manager co them too.
point out that work was being done near your stall. would they rather pay for the damage to a car?

next HOA meeting attend a with your complaint and rip some ass.

I was a resident manager for years in a small condo, and would reserve towing for only the problem residents. If some was parked wrong, I'd try to find them and if they were cool I'd give them a vacant stall to park for a while.

JD525IA
05-04-2007, 02:42 PM
Here in Arizona, they are starting to pass laws that help deal with overly-pushy HOA members. They are a bunch of insecure, weak, spineless pukes unless they are given of title of "Lord of the Neighborhood".

Kick their asses!

ryan roopnarine
05-04-2007, 04:55 PM
life begins at 24, don't buckle under to the forces of age fascism

give it a month, and if you can't get your money back in a non-extra-judicial way, pop homeboy's license plate off the next time he parks somewhere "public" like the street (i'm assuming he's running a florida plate with only one on the rear), call the towing company from a payphone, and report an abandoned vehicle. one month's time is usually enough for these types of fascists to have towed a bunch of vehicles, so he wouldn't have any reason to suspect you, per se.....

Dave M
05-04-2007, 05:18 PM
life begins at 24, don't buckle under to the forces of age fascism

give it a month, and if you can't get your money back in a non-extra-judicial way, pop homeboy's license plate off the next time he parks somewhere "public" like the street (i'm assuming he's running a florida plate with only one on the rear), call the towing company from a payphone, and report an abandoned vehicle. one month's time is usually enough for these types of fascists to have towed a bunch of vehicles, so he wouldn't have any reason to suspect you, per se.....

Not a bad idea Ryan.....

Dan, sorry to say it, but reading this thing makes me laugh. Nothing personal of course, but I guess that stuff I done seen on the picture box really does come true?! If I parked my work truck in your neighbourhood for 10 minutes, I'm pretty sure a team of 'ghost busters' specializing in toxic spill cleanup would 'remove it'.

If I got no love from your "HOE" I wouldn't be opposed to something akin to Ryan's scheme. Good luck wid it.

Dave

DanDombrowski
05-04-2007, 07:30 PM
Ha! I know what you mean.

The oil slick in my driveway is the worst one by far. Its a combination of the Camry leaking oil for months, my sister getting me the wrong filter for her car when she changed the oil (and all the oil poured pas the seal), and me once forgetting the drain plug when changing the oil in the camry. So....I tried to pressure clean it.

Let me tell you this- pressure cleaning concrete that has oil stains works.

Pressure cleaning oil stains on ASPHALT digs a hole. A big one. So now I have a huge hole in my driveway thats black. It looks like ****. I thought for sure they were going to give me a fine, but didn't. Now they're repaving, which is the cause for this fiasco in the first place.

I'm renting, so I don't get to go to the HOA meetings. My neighbor does. My neighbor that I've replaced the battery on her car, inspected a car she was going to buy, and built a computer for out of spare parts. My neighbor loves me. She has offered to give him hell for me. In fact, all the neighbors in my cluster were outraged over it.

Im definitely going to file a complaint, write letters, yada yada. Assuming they go nowhere, I like the idea of the abandoned car, but he never parks anywhere but his one spot. I think I might just make a few "complaints" of my own about him that may or may not be substantiated- loud parties at night, doesn't pick up after his dog, swears at children, speeds through the neighbor hood, those type of things. If anyone else on the HOA board sees them, well, I'm hoping that will take his little power trip away. Mabye, mabye not.

My other idea was to get one of those BIG orange decals that they put on abandoned cars as a warning (huh, a warning, what an idea) right before one of the HOA meetings, so he doesn't have time to take it off, and everyone sees that he's parked somewhere he doesn't belong.

I dunno, the whole thing just sucks. At this point, I feel rather lucky I got out with only a bill for $130 and not a damaged tranny or a busted qtr panel from the trucking company. I'll let you know how it goes.

attack eagle
05-04-2007, 08:05 PM
Hell man, if his plate is missing he has to pay to replace it... dunno what the fees are out there but the cost here is the same whether it was stolen or lost or time for renewal. about 60 bucks...


After a few months swap the plates back again... he'll have to buy yet another one, but probably won't notice until he gets pulled over for having the wrong plate.


yes, I'm an arse like that.