Saturday, December 12, 2009

IS YOUR HOA DOA?

PUPPET BARBUDA, this blog's favorite landscape critic, sniffed delightedly reading a review of the film "The Lovely Bones." A.O. Scott is one of her favorite film critics. "The novel is conceived with enough audacity to make this gimmick intriguing, and executed with enough art to make it effective." A.O.Scott
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PUPPET BARBUDA reads, "The landscape is conceived with enough audacity to make this gimmick intriguing, and executed with enough art to make it effective."
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A.O.Scott is a garden designer! PUPPET BARBUDA loves his trinity of questions a good landscape answers.
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Is the landscape audacious?
Is the landscape intriguing?
Is the landscape art?
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PUPPET BARBUDA is disgusted with typical homeowner association rules pertaining to landscapes.
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Older HOA's, especially, devalue property. How? Keeping landscapes in a timewarp of SHAG CARPET, AVOCADO GREEN APPLIANCES, POPCORN CEILINGS & ETC.
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Interior decorating is allowed to move forward why aren't landscapes?
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Outdated trim colors, foundation plantings pruned, for decades, into malicious, cruel shapes, and turf guzzling labor, water, toxic chemicals. Too many homeowners are bound by law to the uglies listed above. And losing money.
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PUPPET BARBUDA kicking dollars at words.
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Neighborhood of 350 homes, with outdated Home Owner Association rules.
Average home price, $425,000.00
Landscaping worth 5% of sales price.
$21,250.00 loss for each home.
Total neighborhood loss: $7,437,500.00
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Is your HOA DOA? Please, forward this humble post to your HOA president. Start a dialogue. Money is on the table. Don't you want more?
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Garden & Be Well, XO Tara aka PUPPET BARBUDA
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Pic of lunch this week in my office

3 comments:

Rob (ourfrenchgarden) said...

A point well made.

How many times has a beautiful garden been a deal clicher when it comes to selling property? Lots!

Rob

Brenda Pruitt said...

I think we live in the only little garden home neighborhood (one block with a cul-de-sac) in town that doesn't have HOA's. And I'm so glad! As you probably have guessed, we have been spending a ton of money on my beloved outdoors. Robert the Master Carpenter has been working on my yard for months now. Their loss.
Brenda

Anonymous said...

Such a wonderful post! YIKES!! I am on the DRB (aka the "taste police" in the HOA here in Montecito!

May I send you the landscape rules.....? I think you can skim them and tell me if anything is wrong.......

Yikes! I will send you a payment! How "worth it"!

How lucky am I to have such a source!!

Penelope