Certified mail and fines?

My Home Owners Association is trying to serve me with letters to inform me they want to proceed with foreclosure on my house due to lack of payment. I battle them constantly as they never seem to do anything for the community what so ever so I refuse to pay them. Somehow I manage to keep my property well maintained and very nice although I am hardly home however those few that dont are never force mowed or anything else and it disgust me so I refuse to pay. None the less I have had this battle with them more than once however this time they have already filed with the courts leaving me 38 days to respond.

Question, I am not sure if I have this correct but as a merchant mariner under the Jones Act we are not able to be fined due to mail notifications as we are not home to receive them correct? If its not under the Jones Act could someone please tell me where to find this information, even if it is in the Jones Act where do I find it? I want to have my ducks in a row when I call them later to resolve this issue and thought this would be the place to seek information.

Thanks!

Were you home to receive the notifications? Please don’t use the “Merchant Mariner” excuse when you have explained to us that you are not paying because of how your HOA operates. Cut your damn grass, get the clunker on cinder blocks off of the front lawn, pay your damn bill and move on.

Sounds like you have a contractual oblation to pay them money. You have chosen not pay and they want you out. It’s like not paying your credit card bill because you can’t understand their customer service representatives.

Grow up. Pay up or sell your house. Quit giving us all a bad name.

If there is, wouldn’t that mean you would have to be at sea when you got served? You already admitted that you got the notice and you dont pay becasue you are not happy with the HOA. So either pay it or move. I never understand why people move into HOA neighborhoods. You have to pay someone every month to tell you to mow your lawn or what color you can paint your house? No thank you. My house I’ll do with it as I please.

If I read your original post correctly, You DO maintain your property but others do not, so you are with holding your HOA fees. The only way that I know of doing this is to put your fees in a escrow account and then tell them that you will not make payments until they uphold their end on the contract.

Now, I am not a Lawyer but I have had friends go through this when I lived in Naples, Florida which has more HOA’s then anywhere else that I have lived. The idea behind the escrow account is to so that you prove that you have the funds but will not make them available to them until they do what is needed.

[QUOTE=Bloodyshitcakes;110892]Were you home to receive the notifications? Please don’t use the “Merchant Mariner” excuse when you have explained to us that you are not paying because of how your HOA operates. Cut your damn grass, get the clunker on cinder blocks off of the front lawn, pay your damn bill and move on.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=DeckApe;110894]Sounds like you have a contractual oblation to pay them money. You have chosen not pay and they want you out. It’s like not paying your credit card bill because you can’t understand their customer service representatives.

Grow up. Pay up or sell your house. Quit giving us all a bad name.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=brjones;110895]If there is, wouldn’t that mean you would have to be at sea when you got served? You already admitted that you got the notice and you dont pay becasue you are not happy with the HOA. So either pay it or move. I never understand why people move into HOA neighborhoods. You have to pay someone every month to tell you to mow your lawn or what color you can paint your house? No thank you. My house I’ll do with it as I please.[/QUOTE]

Getting the notice they have been trying to serve me however I was not home to receive it. So no during the time I was not home but as proceedings went farther and the court date has been set I get regular mail reviewing the entire process. This mail was not certified so it was in my box and required no signature.

I find it hard to restrain myself from responding to these comments, however I will say that reading comprehension is something apparently many here are lacking. When you read a post read the entire post, then re-read it and make sure you have read it and understand all of it before opening your mouth and responding with ignorance.

[QUOTE=Tugs;111060]If I read your original post correctly, [B][I][U]You DO maintain your property but others do not[/U][/I][/B], so you are with holding your HOA fees. The only way that I know of doing this is to put your fees in a escrow account and then tell them that you will not make payments until they uphold their end on the contract.

Now, I am not a Lawyer but I have had friends go through this when I lived in Naples, Florida which has more HOA’s then anywhere else that I have lived. The idea behind the escrow account is to so that you prove that you have the funds but will not make them available to them until they do what is needed.[/QUOTE]

Yes I keep my property maintained and in pristine condition although I am rarely home, last year I was on the payroll 306 days and still managed to care for my home and yard. My issue is the few others that are a constant problem and the HOA never force mows their yard or replaces fence pickets or anything else. I know you have seen the idiots that park on both sides of the road directly across from one another but yet have no cars in their driveway or garage? I pay for services and if the services are not provided than there is no reason to pay, however I am willing to pro-rate the services which are available such as the pool, tennis courts, park ect…ect…

This really pisses me off to no end, when the neighborhood was built it was 200k-400k homes and in Houston, Tx that is a nice place. Fast forward to the housing crunch and market crash the developer panicked and decided to start adding in some 80k houses towards the other sections of the neighborhood which in-turn brought in the trash and rift raft like above that can not read and comprehend simple statements and sentences.

So long story short its principle on my part and morally I just do not typically pay for services not rendered. Now if you few people above that responded telling me to “grow up” make a habit of paying for things you do not receive that is your business I do not wish to take part in that contract of no contract. When you “grow up” and realize there are 2 sides to every contract then maybe you can understand my points and retain some of the money you have been wasting paying for services which are not being provided.

I have to say I enjoy the highly intelligent folks who get on here and vomit ignorance from their mouth, then once its pointed out their complete lack of comprehension and or ability to read they are quite as a church mouse.

I have to say I enjoy tards like you who put their business all up on the Internet then get their asses out when others call them out for being a tard. Did mommy not give you enough attention growing up?

[QUOTE=Truth_be_told;111415]Getting the notice they have been trying to serve me however I was not home to receive it. So no during the time I was not home but as proceedings went farther and the court date has been set I get regular mail reviewing the entire process. This mail was not certified so it was in my box and required no signature…[/QUOTE]

In many states, it’s sufficient service if a coopy is left at the “last and usual place of residence.” Also, there is a legal presumption in many areas that a letter mailed is a letter received, so ity may only be necessary to prove the letter was mailed.

I was away from home 363 days last year so you’re not the only one away a lot. Does this mean I don’t have to honor my commitments because I’m hard to reach? Common sense dictates the answer.

You are using your sea time as an excuse. Nothing more.

P.S. I didn’t reply sooner because I was underway.

[QUOTE=Truth_be_told;112418]I have to say I enjoy the highly intelligent folks who get on here and vomit ignorance from their mouth, then once its pointed out their complete lack of comprehension and or ability to read they are quite as a church mouse.[/QUOTE]
If you dont like the answers you get then stop putting your questions out on a public forum dumbass.

[QUOTE=Flyer69;112420]I have to say I enjoy tards like you who put their business all up on the Internet then get their asses out when others call them out for being a tard. Did mommy not give you enough attention growing up?[/QUOTE]

Your response was nothing more than blabber upping your post count, and make it obvious your reading comprehension skills are lacking.

[QUOTE=DeckApe;112438]I was away from home 363 days last year so you’re not the only one away a lot. Does this mean I don’t have to honor my commitments because I’m hard to reach? Common sense dictates the answer.

You are using your sea time as an excuse. Nothing more.

P.S. I didn’t reply sooner because I was underway.[/QUOTE]

What you missed in my original post as several others is I refuse to pay because they (the HOA) is not holding up their end of the contract. Now, maybe you are ok with entering a contract with someone, fulfilling your end and paying for the services which where never provided. I however do not willingly pay someone for nothing nor should you or anyone else.

[QUOTE=brjones;112441]If you dont like the answers you get then stop putting your questions out on a public forum dumbass.[/QUOTE]

See above maybe its easy enough for you to understand. Like I said before if the answers where complete regarding my entire post rather than some half wit keyboard jockey who runs off at the mouth behind a computer I would have taken it differently.

[QUOTE=Truth_be_told;112585]See above maybe its easy enough for you to understand. Like I said before if the answers where complete regarding my entire post rather than some half wit keyboard jockey who runs off at the mouth behind a computer I would have taken it differently.[/QUOTE]
I understand plenty. You came on here, asked a question, didn’t like the answers so you insulted us. Fine I get that no problem, let it go right? Wrong. You then post up after 10 days to insult some more (upping YOUR post count) and sounding like an idiot. Maybe if you let it go you wouldn’t get flamed. Again post on a public forum means you have to take the bad with the good. You also need to get thicker skin, sack up, and stop being a puss

Alright Fucko,

I’ll play your game. It’s too hot to fish, and too hot to golf, so I may as well hang out in the a/c and banter with you.

Please tell us all in your audience, the true root reason for this thread? Really now … do you think anyone here gives a fuck that your homeowners association are a bunch of nitwits? Does it massage your ego to let slip that you have a$400k house in a neighborhood of $80k houses?

You bought a home in a neighborhood with a homeowners association. Deal with it. Crying about it here in the hopes that some in this community will rally 'round your flag is a pipe dream.

This is teh interwebz, what did you really expect???

P.S.

In the rest of the civilized, semi-intelligent world, the “riff-raff” would prefer that you not refer to them as “rift raft”.

Only a true mental midget would commit such a faux pas.

I’m posting from a ship right now, do you not have any internet or at least email capability? I can do all my banking from here. Here’s the thing; it’s a tricky business to decide to withhold fees and/or mortgage payments due to some dissatisfaction and you have to follow a legal protocol based on the laws in your area. You can’t just arbitrarily decide not to pay. You may want to contact a real estate atty in your area or make some attempt to make good on the payments and discuss your issues with the HOA through their dispute process. You can lose your home and credit rating if you screw around.