To All,
Many years ago I was watching one of those really trashy talk shows. It was about a woman in a neighborhood who got ticked at her neighbors. So to get back at them she painted her house black and white like a cow!
People came from all over town to drive by and see "the cow house." She was on the program just smiling and grinning the whole time. She was a royal jerk.
Her yard was neat and well kept. She mowed, planted flowers. All fine.
However, according to the neighbors her "cow house" brought down the average property value on her street by about $10k! This was reflected by the professional opinion of a real estate broker.
I think people should suffer the just consequences of their decisions. Did she have a right to paint her house anything she wanted to? My answer is - "yes." ALSO, do her neighbors have a right to sue her for damages when they want to sell their house - "ALSO YES!"
This puts the burden of responsibility where it should be - NOT with an oppressive set of codes turning neighborhoods into cookie cutter copies of each other, but with the opportunity to review each case on its merits in front of a jury of your peers. It takes longer and is a little messier but sometimes this is required to protect the essential liberties enjoyed by all.
Now for me to flipflop: There was the story of one neighborhood where everyone who lived there had a private pilots license. The neighborhood was designed from its inception to put a runway in the middle of the neighborhood. That way these folks could fly wherever they wanted, land, and walk home! Sounds cool to some.
Later on someone moved in and did NOT like the noise at night from "all those darned airplanes." So a lawsuit ensued and the runway had to be shut down because it harmed the new guy.
To me this second scenario is equally ridiculous. If I move into a neighborhood with full knowledge of some preexisting situation then I should have to deal with it.
What really ticks me off here in Allen County is that there is a County Ordinance that MANDATES every new housing edition MUST have a neighborhood code! This means that if I want to buy a new home with neighbors I MUST accept some code of some type.
It is truly sad that almost everyone is willing to sign away freedom for property value without even thinking about it. And we wonder why it is so difficult to convince some Americans that their liberties are being taken from them...?
Regards,
Doug
PS - IF you can't tell I do NOT like the idea of neighborhood codes!
Many years ago I was watching one of those really trashy talk shows. It was about a woman in a neighborhood who got ticked at her neighbors. So to get back at them she painted her house black and white like a cow!
People came from all over town to drive by and see "the cow house." She was on the program just smiling and grinning the whole time. She was a royal jerk.
Her yard was neat and well kept. She mowed, planted flowers. All fine.
However, according to the neighbors her "cow house" brought down the average property value on her street by about $10k! This was reflected by the professional opinion of a real estate broker.
I think people should suffer the just consequences of their decisions. Did she have a right to paint her house anything she wanted to? My answer is - "yes." ALSO, do her neighbors have a right to sue her for damages when they want to sell their house - "ALSO YES!"
This puts the burden of responsibility where it should be - NOT with an oppressive set of codes turning neighborhoods into cookie cutter copies of each other, but with the opportunity to review each case on its merits in front of a jury of your peers. It takes longer and is a little messier but sometimes this is required to protect the essential liberties enjoyed by all.
Now for me to flipflop: There was the story of one neighborhood where everyone who lived there had a private pilots license. The neighborhood was designed from its inception to put a runway in the middle of the neighborhood. That way these folks could fly wherever they wanted, land, and walk home! Sounds cool to some.
Later on someone moved in and did NOT like the noise at night from "all those darned airplanes." So a lawsuit ensued and the runway had to be shut down because it harmed the new guy.
To me this second scenario is equally ridiculous. If I move into a neighborhood with full knowledge of some preexisting situation then I should have to deal with it.
What really ticks me off here in Allen County is that there is a County Ordinance that MANDATES every new housing edition MUST have a neighborhood code! This means that if I want to buy a new home with neighbors I MUST accept some code of some type.
It is truly sad that almost everyone is willing to sign away freedom for property value without even thinking about it. And we wonder why it is so difficult to convince some Americans that their liberties are being taken from them...?
Regards,
Doug
PS - IF you can't tell I do NOT like the idea of neighborhood codes!