We got a letter from our HOA yesterday saying that we have to paint our house. We have until July 7th to get it done, or else they’ll fine us for non-compliance. Apparently they sent letters to a lot of people, because it seems like half the neighborhood has started painting their houses in the last week. Our paint isn’t really that bad right now, but I know it will look nicer once we repaint it, and I’m sure we’ll find lots of places that need caulk and better weatherproofing. So it will turn out to be a good thing. But right now, it’s a bummer. With a one month old baby, painting our house in the next few weeks wasn’t on our to-do list. But really, I guess there’s never a time when we have nothing planned for the next month, so I suppose now’s just as good a time as any. We’re going to go to Home Depot on Friday evening for caulk, tape, and paint, and get started on Saturday with the scraping, cleaning, and caulking process. Right now I wouldn’t even want to estimate how much it will cost us to buy the paint. We’re going to do all of the work ourselves, so all we have to pay for is the supplies. I’ll let you know what we end up spending… hopefully we’ll be able to pay for it up front without having to dip into the emergency fund. But I guess that’s what an emergency fund is for, since I sure don’t want to have to start paying fines to the HOA (I think they charge $100/month for non-compliance with the covenants).
Shamelle says
Oh.. I can understand your situation. My cousin went through a similar situation. Things like these never come when its convenient :-(
Kathy says
They’re not giving you much time to paint the house, with a one-month deadline. I’d be annoyed about such a short timeframe for a relatively large job. Maybe you can ask for an extension?
Barbara says
That’s a very short deadline for such a big job and potentially a decent size expense. I would definitely see if you could get an extension on the deadline, particularly since you just gave birth to a baby. Is it part of the HOA contract to do things at such short notice?
Ruby says
*blinks* They didn’t give you very much notice, did they? That’s not fair
Lisa says
When I hear stories like this, I’m even more thankful NOT to have a HOA to deal with! Good luck!
Frugal Babe says
Our plan is to start the project this weekend, and work on it each weekend over the next month. It will be a stretch to finish by the 7th, because one of us has to be with the baby. But we figure that as long as we have a good chunk of it done by the 7th, we can get an extension – the baby makes a very good excuse! :) So we’ll see if we can finish it on time, and if not we’ll go beg for mercy.
At first I was annoyed by the letter from the HOA, but I reminded myself that it’s good for the whole neighborhood if everyone’s houses are in good shape, and our HOA does provide a lot of value – especially for us, because our house backs right up to the greenbelt and open space that the HOA maintains. It’s like having a giant yard and park behind your house, maintenance-free. So I’m not going to complain too much…