jiggaman

hey everyone,

i own a condo that has a driveway with trees overhanging and i dont have a garage. as a car fanatic you can imagine i cringe at the thought of junk falling down on my ride. i asked the condo association if i could trim some of these trees and pay for it myself and they denied me.

there reason was that if i was allowed to do it everyone would want to and it would be a mess. i think this is total BS.

do you think i should just remove the branches anyways? what could they do to me if i did?

thanks.

jigga

moeronn

If you could selectively remove a few branches without making it look too obvious, go ahead. However, if they find out you did it and feel like retaliating, they can always fine you.

hornyleprechaun

Yeah you could get fined.. Best bet would be to do it maybe during the holidays if people go out of town OR late at night/very early in morning when people are sleeping. That is if you can just snip the branches or will it take a saw to cut through them?

jiggaman

we're talking saws and an apple picker truck to get to the branches

jiggaman

what kind of fine we talking about here?

GreenMonster

$40 pole saw at sears will get up pretty high from the ground

Best 40 bucks I've spent in awhile...

moeronn

If you need that kind of equipment to do it, you're not going to slip under the radar.

The fines depend on the HOA. Check your CCRs and bylawys. They should give you an idea.

jiggaman

i think its bullshit that they wont let me do it in the first place, if i am paying for it who cares.

hornyleprechaun

If you need that kind of equipment I would say no go, unless you want to pay the fine too. Try to find out what the fine would be, or any other penalty you will get from doing this.

Zippee

I'd bet when you bought the condo you signed an agreement that you would abide by the rules.

With that in hand the condo assn can do a lot, including going to court and getting a restraining order, making you pay to restore things to the way they were before, and generally making you miserable.

Buy a car cover.

jiggaman

if i was going to do it anyway when do you think the best time of the year would be to do it?

Will Y.

What about asking the property manager to have the landscaping company do the trimming, assuming you are not near the annual branch trimming time?

The fine is usually in the Rules & Regs. or the CC&Rs here in California- minimum $100 per violation. If you violate any more Rules & Regs, the HOA can then hire counsel, whom loser would pay, to seek a court injunction, etc.

jupitersolo

You can get some poison (I don't know what kind) and pour it at the base over time the damn thing will just die out and they'll have to remove it.

I'm on the HOA for my T/H community. Are fines are $10 per day, max 90 until the problem is resolved. Plus they could sue you to pay for a new tree, if they consider it damaged.

LSBoogie

Do it around Christmas time, hang some lights up there and "accidentally" knock down a few branches. Then, the trimming of the broken branches would be "tree maintenance" and would probably be actually required to be done (to maintain a healthy and attractive tree) under that HOA agreement.

jiggaman

so we're talking maybe $100.00 fine? what if i do it and if they say something i play stupid and say i thought that condo's landscaping company did it for me?

if i pay for it in cash they wont have no way of proving that i was the one that had it done...plus its not like they can make me put the branches back to where they were

jiggaman

LOL poison the tree, not a bad idea. what kind of poison do i need?

MR1

Why not just get the gardeners or groundspeople to take care of it and pay them? If that doesn't work, buy a cover or park elsewhere. You moved into a community that has rules. One reason you chose this place is because you liked the look. Now you want to F--- it up? I understand your feelings but come on man.

jiggaman

hey man, i modify everything i buy, why would property be any different?

Will Y.

In your case, the property isn't just yours-- the common areas are every owner's property, and each owner has an "undivided share." That's the limitation when you live in deed-restricted developments- play by its rules, change the rules, or get out.

Don't poison trees-- they might fall on your car or place-- and you'll end up paying special assessment costs of bringing in replacement trees. Also, it's illegal in certain places to even trim certain types of trees without permits-- in Ventura County, California, oak trees are protected by ordinance.

Fines are cumulative-- they can be added up. The amount may be MORE than $100 to start- CHECK YOUR RULES & REGS and CC&Rs. And you can be held liable for cost of bringing in a replacement tree, which can be over $10K.

BOTTOM LINE: See if the property manager can get the landscaping/gardening people to do a little trimming.
FYI- self-help in this situation could lead to a world of financial pain.

gatrhumpy

iTrader: (1)

Yeah it sucks, so play by the rules. I would again write to the property manager and ask him/her for a detailed explanation of why they want to say no. Keep doing it. If you explain to them that you just want to remove a few branches, they may let you.

MR1

No different. You just have to restrict your creative talent to inside the walls, common area is just that. Outside they want a uniform look.

If you really want to rise up aganist the man, do it the correct way. Get a whole bunch of your neighbors to agree via petition and change the rules. You are a partial owner of the outside area and do have a vote. The people in the office just enforce the rules that you and your neighbors make. That's what you pay them to do with your dues. Doesn't sound like you have tree trimming skills anyway.

LSBoogie

Take a book of matches and a stack of newspaper and....ahhh...nevermind, probably a bad idea......


The best idea is to probably write the HOA like the other mentioned....

jupitersolo

I'm not sure, but I've seen it down. I just like spraying weed killer.

csmeance

draino might work

doopstr

Is it an extendable pole of fixed length? How far does it reach?

Street Spirit

Don't kill a tree over your desire to remove a few branches.