...because he could afford to.
...if you can afford to buy one, transport it, hook it up, etc.
I have no argument with the practicality of using a trailer as temporary housing. My only issue, right from the start, is with those that make it sound like it's so cheap (and practical) that every displaced person in the Houston area should just do it.
There's theory, then there's real life. $4K for you may not be a hardship, but $4K for a impoverished person might as well be $4MM.
OTOH, an "impoverished person" wouldn't be parking an RV in his back yard while his home was being rebuilt. There are thousands of not-impoverished persons in Greater Houston who are without homes, too. BTW, that's exactly what FEMA does - move trailers in for those who have no other place to live, while the cleanup is in progress. They made a mess of it after Katrina but my bet is that they've learned a thing or three, since. Let's hope so.
That area had to deal with Hurricane Beulah in 1967, IIRC. I lived in Corpus Christi and we were on the dirty side of that storm, we had street flooding for two straight days.
BUT I wish the best for all of your relatives that got caught up in this disaster.
There is still severe flooding a few miles from our home.
No, I said nothing like that.
In the Houston area the HOA takes over where the local governments leave off. Our HOA pays for landscape crews to keep up with the common areas and the entrances. The HOA pays for maintenance around the neighborhood and pays for street lighting, mosquito control, etc.
I actually prefer to be in a strict HOA, you can not buy in a neighborhood with knowing and agreeing to the rules and regulations. Our HOA is not terrible to deal with....I'm the president. ;~) But we do want residents to pay their dues and to not be the eye sore on the street.
That is how I understood that it worked in the past. Most trailers were provided by Fema so no one really owned them.
Friend volunteered his skills in Katrina, he and the others were housed in Fema trailers. One leaked as if the caulking was missing and lo and behold it was.
But the other five trailers they used did not leak.
ote:
My point exactly. They wouldn't be parking an RV in their yard becasue they can't afford it. Some folks around here make it sound like it's the solutio n for all.
What do you mean a mess? Everything seems perfectly normal to me. ;-)
"Part of the problem was that FEMA was projected to spend $239,000 for each
280-square-foot trailer at one site through March 2009 ? as much as a buying a five-bedroom, 2,000-square-foot home in Jackson, Miss., according to GAO. "
I didn't say anything about FEMA doing everything right after Katrina. FEMA is (federal) government. When they do something right, it's time to be amazed.
Let's all hope that FEMA learned something.
They have no back yard to park one in if they had the $4000. I don't believe the last sentence is true at all. I guess I have a higher regard for the folks here.
Good point, though normal = mess when the federal government gets involved.
It's government. Even bottomless pockets will be picked.
The only common areas we have are the two entrances to the subdivision (~70 homes). The HOA plants annuals around the signs and mows around them (big deal). I'd prefer they plant perennials and ditch the signs. They serve no purpose, now that the subdivision is completely build. They also bought an unbuildable lot off the last developer (the first went bust in '08) for some unknown reason. It would make a lousy park or whatever. It's at the edge of the development and would only serve as a place for kids to drink (and whatever). That's what the cul-de-sacs were before the subdivision was built out.
The problem is that everyone has a different definition of "eyesore" and the definition charges dramatically over time. It's not just "eyesore" that changes, either.
Kinna diverting from this school of thought, FEMA did learn something after Katrina. The trailers they supplied had issues with the China-made plywo od interiors, namely, the gassing off of formaldehyde. Lots of those trai lers were simply parked, unused. Later, some outfits tried to sell some o f them, after buying them thinking they could turn a quick profit off unkno wing buyers. If I'm not mistaken, there were still some parked at the old racetrack, here, just 2 yrs ago.
Another diversion from thought: Prospective subdivisions, here, have (had? ) been havens for drug dealers (cul-de-sacs or otherwise), in that, the mai l boxes, of the empty homes, was where the transactions took place.... no o ne paid attention to them as exchange (money-drugs) venues. The subdivisi on, behind me, was one of those places where exchanges were made, via the m ailboxes. Several guys (brothers), living behind me, got caught.
Sonny
Down here and I suspect there too, the developers are board members on the HOA. Until the subdivision is actually built out the developer's remains on the board. Purchasing the unbuildable lot from the developer "down here" would mean that the HOA would be able to elect it's own home owner board members and do what is best for the HOA vs what is best for the developer. Our neighborhood is about 12 years old but the HOA was not controlled by the home oners until about 6 years ago.
Well that is true but when you buy into a subdivision with a HOA "here" you agree to the terms or you cannot close on the house. So by initialing that you agree to the terms, you agree. If you have problems with that you have no one to blame but yourself.
Not pointing the finger at you, just speaking figuratively.
In my opinion, Texas should have a "universal code" or some kind of promulg ated, recognized rule set for HOAs. Some here are tyrannical, and some are like toothless old dogs that can only bark.
I work in small developments that I charge the daylights out of for everyth ing because of the HOAs. If I repair a roof, I have to certify in writing that I searched to find the closest match shingle to the existing. So if O .C.'s Estate Gray is off by a shade or two, they can require the homeowner try another factory run. ALL paint colors for everything must be approved by an architectural committee. Same with landscaping, same with types of pl ants and grasses, sprinkler systems, types of trees (no nut trees), and on a on. No animal feeding;, no birds, squirrels, hummingbirds, or deer.
My dumpsters have to be graffiti free, and if graffiti appears over a weeke nd, I must replace the dumpster. As a rule, I don't use rusted or damaged dumpsters, but these guys require that I net the top of it every night and lock the door as well. I have to charge to haul siding to a place where it isn't viewable from the street from any angle. So even when siding is del ivered, we haul it to the back of the house and stack it, then haul it to t he front as needed. Even I am starting a siding job the moment the siding is delivered, I have it all hauled to the rear.
I cannot start work earlier than 9am, nor work later than 5pm. You don't ma ke money in construction working those hours, and if it is 4pm, and the nex t step could take two hours, you pack up and go home. Add the extra time t o the client's bill and start up the next day where you left off. The HOA vigilantes call the police if your truck is parked going against traffic. They call the police to alert them if your employees have a truck that has a ground clearance (14", I think).
They write HOA "citations" for excessive noise. No equipment can be left vi sible at the end of the day, period. A small loader or lift, nope. Scaffo lding must have a "permit" from the HOA that is approved by the architectur al committee for a certain amount of time.
Remodeling is almost impossible as they control every aspect of design, fin ish materials and even finish out materials. For their very lives, the HOAs can't figure out why contractors hate them. It isn't just the funny littl e man with the big paunch in his baggy shorts with his spindly white legs, his black socks in white dress shoes walking a chihuahua with his coolray b ifocals that snoops around on the job, interrupts your workers, reminds the m of rules they don't care about, and asks stupid questions.
It is because they can stop your job anytime, even if they don't know what you are doing. If you don't stop at any time when they want you to, they c an fine the homeowner (my client). They can take a homeowner to court anyt ime and force them to pay both sides of the legal teams.
That represents almost all of the HOAs that were started about 20 years ago to now. Older HOAs, they got nothing. They can make suggestions, but tha t's it. If there is a rule about one thing or another, they don't have the money to take anyone to court. Besides, the language of the HOA articles is so loose it simply says that "this or that isn't allowed". No indicatio n of penalty should that situation occur.
Can't say about Houston. They are screwy to begin with due to their lack o f zoning and bizarre building codes. It will, no doubt, be a challenge for my brother in law since he is the long standing president of their HOA.
Truthfully, I think there is so much devastation in Texas now that just get ting folks dry, safe and accounted for is the priority. One of the FEMA gu ys said on TV "this wasn't going to be another New Orleans". I think they mean it. Don't forget that the former mayor or New Orleans, the guy that O prah cried and hugged on TV many times, the guy that was lauded a such a gr eat humanitarian, a sensitive guy that put his people first... is still in prison for stealing just about every thing he could. In fact, he has just been called out of prison to be deposed on more corruption charges. His re lease date is at this point up for speculation.
Once again, we will see.
Robert
Yes, and has veto power over the board. That's why I said that HOAs are designed to protect the builder during build-out. He couldn't care what happens after.
It's just one lot (and the last one). The builder has ultimate control until he sells the last house.
About half the subdivision was built in 2006 and 2007. Wen the fit hit the shan in 2008, the builder went bust (with some foundations started) and the other half of the lots reverted back to the bank. A new builder bought the property from the bank in 2014 and finished the subdivision in 2015 and 2016 (finishing the houses on those 8YO foundations). The HOA bought the unbuildable lot in 2016, IIRC, just as the last of the homes were selling. Note that the builder(s), nor the bank paid any HOA fees.
The fact is that the rules *can* change after the game begins.
Understand. I don't know if being appointed to an HOA board makes people crazy or if it's only the crazy people who sit on HOA boards.
Not pointing a finger at you, just speaking figuratively. ;-)
It was just a comment about an experience, but I doubt Fema learned anything.
Harvey last week, now Irma in "Beast Mode" w/185mph winds and the spaghetti models leaning towards a Florida hit, FEMA will be tested as never before. Let's hope they can handle back-to-back disasters.
LOL. I always went to the meetings and one day the HOA VP visited me and indicated that the secretary resigned. He asked if I would be willing to fill that spot, I accepted. FF about a year and the board made me president. I keep getting reelected with no opposition and reassigned to hold the president position.
Leon wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:
Leadership is sometimes a position they give you to keep you from causing trouble. You weren't causing trouble for them, were you Leon? ;-)
Puckdropper
LOL, I may have been a trouble maker way back. I was awarded management position of an automotive tire center for Ameron Automotive Centers in
1975, I was 21.HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.