Rules for Thee: The HOA and Your Garage Sale
You move into your new house. You buy some new things that better suit your space. This means some of your old stuff must go. Houses in Florida do not seem to have storage areas or enough closets, so it’s time for a garage sale. But wait! You cannot do that.
Per the Community Standards in my lovely neighborhood:
Community Yard Sale Events
No personal events are permitted. The Community may at its discretion hold two (2) or more events each year. Property Management will coordinate these events with volunteers. Signage will be placed on common areas. No signage will be placed on individual property.
This one was a big shocker for me. I grew up in a place where garage/yards sales abound. People come browsing for goods once the days breaks. And, in order to compete, you must go early because all the good stuff is gone by 11 am—and the stuff is good. If your neighbors coordinated, it turned into a big event with smiling faces, chatter, some lemonade, and your neighbors’ trash turning into your treasures.
My HOA neighborhood holds its community yard sale twice a year. In the earlier days, we did not get many visitors because we did not have any signs indicating as such. And according to the standards, homeowners cannot put out any signs. But they did. And they do. It is a Saturday and Sunday affair starting at 8 am—which is weird to me because that start time is late and I didn’t know people did this on Sundays. Also it seems that in Tampa Bay Area garage sales, people sell things that properly belong in last years’ trash bin—or last decades’ trash bin.
Regardless, homeowners apparently have to hold on to their junk until the HOA says so. And yard sale shoppers have to fight the trash collection trucks, the recycling trucks, and deal with no places to park on these narrow ass streets. This is the freedom that you get when you buy in an HOA-governed community. Bah humbug!