Interstate Parking within HOA

[Fredjacob]

I am strongly interested in the Interstate Class B, as that would fit my retired life-style. We are living in a new housing development with HOA rules. Those R&R's indicate that RV's are not allowed to be parked for more than 5 days per month.

Give the beautiful finishing with minimal badging and the fact that the Interstate's driver's side heating and refrigerator vents, etc. have really been minimized over the past few model years, I have this question for those with EXPERIENCE in parking an Interstate within a HOA.

I would like to park my Interstate, if I bought one, in front of my house. Can't fit it in the garage, or I would gladly do that. If challenged, I would petition the HOA that the vehicle is a 5-9 passenger daily driver. In fact, I would use the vehicle often to ensure that all systems are ready to go and the fuel never becomes stale.

Has anyone had luck winning over their HOA to make exceptions to their no-RV-Parking rules with their Interstate? I am naturally considering alternate options, such as off-site storage, or even downsizing to a small teardrop trailer that would fit in my garage. But, I am much more enthusiastic about the Class B lifestyle and would like to make that work if I can.

I would love to hear from those who have experience in this topic; but those who simply have opinions about every topic need not muddy up the discussion.

Many thanks in advance

[wachuko]

Nope... rules are rules and you agreed to them when you bought your property.

It is meant to keep the property values from going down. And give people that have nothing better to do, a way to keep busy by complaining to the HOA on what the neighbors are doing.

I got away with it for several months... then the letter came in...

Reason why I am looking for a place to move where this is not an issue (and I can also build a workshop big enough to park it inside!!! )

[OTRA15]

A common problem for trailers and RV's alike, unfortunately.

FYI these "HOA Interstate RV" search results may be helpful:

https://www.google.com/search?q=HOA+...com&gws_rd=ssl

Good luck,

Peter

FYI/FWIW

[Tomzstream]

I'd try a different tack. You might try petitioning under the ADA. A legitimate medical reason for having a rig with a toilet might be if you ask for a certificate from your doctor saying you suffer from IBS, or a similar ailment. Most HOA's don't want to challenge the ADA regs. They may not even challenge you for a Dr's certificate as HIPAA rules apply here. You could even state it is Wheelchair accessible, which is true, as the Sprinter van has the mobility option in its VIN code.

The 19 is pretty stealthy and I agree, any reasonable person would not have an issue with it. Still waiting to see a 2020 3500 chassis interstate, as they have not yet been made public. Maybe they will bring one to Hershey. I would also inquire from AS whether there is an Awning Delete option. It's the most obvious giveaway.

[The Boot]

Register it with DMV as a passenger vehicle and not a RV

[Fredjacob]

Originally Posted by Fredjacob

I am strongly interested in the Interstate Class B, as that would fit my retired life-style. We are living in a new housing development with HOA rules. Those R&R's indicate that RV's are not allowed to be parked for more than 5 days per month.

Give the beautiful finishing with minimal badging and the fact that the Interstate's driver's side heating and refrigerator vents, etc. have really been minimized over the past few model years, I have this question for those with EXPERIENCE in parking an Interstate within a HOA.

I would like to park my Interstate, if I bought one, in front of my house. Can't fit it in the garage, or I would gladly do that. If challenged, I would petition the HOA that the vehicle is a 5-9 passenger daily driver. In fact, I would use the vehicle often to ensure that all systems are ready to go and the fuel never becomes stale.

Has anyone had luck winning over their HOA to make exceptions to their no-RV-Parking rules with their Interstate? I am naturally considering alternate options, such as off-site storage, or even downsizing to a small teardrop trailer that would fit in my garage. But, I am much more enthusiastic about the Class B lifestyle and would like to make that work if I can.

I would love to hear from those who have experience in this topic; but those who simply have opinions about every topic need not muddy up the discussion.

Many thanks in advance

I wanted to add that I have been gathering evidence of precedence in my HOA's laxity in enforcing parking rules such as commercial vans being parked in front view on a regular basis which are also supposed to be banned. As some of you have already suggested, I might pitch it as a passenger or ADA vehicle and counter that all the other violations would need to be brought into compliance as well. But that can backfire by pissing off good neighbors whom I would rather have as an ally to allow both their commercial van and my AS to be parked without harassment.

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by The Boot

Register it with DMV as a passenger vehicle and not a RV

May not solve the problem IMO.

Homeowner associations are full of all kinds of personality quirks and pitfalls. Very little predictability or peace of mind for a long term solution IMO.

Sooner or later, you will have trouble working this out with the HOA . . . IMO. Note that the discussion is already resembling preparations for a trial in court. Lots of horror stories in those search results I posted earlier.



Easier to ride the horse in the direction it is already going!

Peter

PS — Suggest having your attorney review your specific HOA. In general the language is usually tilted way in favor of the corporate owner of the real property.

[Hittenstiehl]

A definite pickle. Good of you to start working on it and addressing it and trying to figure it out in advance.

It's always fun to watch the creative, interesting and devious solutions we will all come up with too skirt, avoid and counter the rules that exist.

A VIN number will identify what type of vehicle it is and it might not be an option to register it as a passenger vehicle versus an RV.

I would think you'd only want to use the daily driver solution if indeed is your daily driver.

Using a medical reason or the fact that it's WC accessible doesn't quite seem right either. If you have those needs or reasons you would already know how to apply those to your situation to make it work especially with ADA and HIPAA.

Dropping a dime on your already sliding by neighbors seems a little counterintuitive because as you already mentioned you want them as your allies.

Although there is much more legislation with HOA's than there was in the past HOAs are very creative and I have strong legal teams. Going against them with a shaky case or proving to them that they're not doing a good job on the parking in the first place could be a bad idea.

It will be interesting to see what other ideas pop up and how you decide to proceed.

We moved into a big gorgeous money pit property and still couldn't park next to the house because the city had zoning rules that prohibited it despite the entire city being full of rv's parked next to the residences and us not doing our homework in advance.

[Alex AVI]

FREDJACOB - I echo WACHUKO's comment, rules are rules. You agreed to them. Put yourself in your neighbors & HOA shoes, if the situation was reversed and your neighbor right next door tried to do it with a boat, what would your first reaction be? Also agree with OTRA15, each HOA has a unique 'personslity'.

Full disclosure, I live in a gated community, very strict HOA and really p****s me off many times with their pettiness BUT it keeps the rif-raf off the community.

Suggestion1- before I modified our garage to fit the AI, I was not sure how the HOA would treat such van conversions. So I sent a letter to HOA with detailed pics, model, make, etc, full disclosures with no attempt to hide anything. I was amazingly surprised they actually sent me approval to park on my driveway but not the common areas/private streets. It was moot since we had the garage ready by the time we bought. But I keep that letter in my back-pocket if the worse case scenario happens.

Suggestion2 - consider modifying your property if they will allow garage modification or side acess modification to park your rv. 99.999999% of HOAs with no-rv clauses will have problem with front driveway parking BUT many will allow side yard parking behind walled area if concealed to their liking.

The key is if you get some type of pre-approval letter of parking somewhere in your property, you are golden. Try fighting this without pre-approval and you are almost guaranteed to lose and/or a lien on your property. Not worth it for any rv.

[Fredjacob]

Yeah to all your thoughts and suggestions. I'm not going to broach a legal case with the HOA. Life is too short to opt in for such stress, let alone the legal expense of fighting HOA rules, as you have pointed out, I already signed on to. I can pose the question to the board, but being honest about how I would use and park it. Nothing gets hurt by asking; at least its on record in case future asks like mine. I understand the whole business of why HOA's can be good from the prospective of keeping eyesores from becoming permanent fixtures. However, there are even RV parks that have definitions of allowable RV's such as size and age restrictions and its not totally unreasonable to ask an HOA to consider similar refinement of R&R's. I do plan to join and/or volunteer for the board, so I might have opportunity to gain insight into their thoughts before putting it all on the line and could potentially make a proposal that actually gives the board language that they would like to include in future policy revisions. This can be approached from a positive voice rather than a defensive one and could yield at the least a compromise, such as extending parking allowances to more days per month, etc.

FYI. We looked at many houses with large garages or RV side parking and found that it would cost $150K more for such a property. So, paying $150 K more for the property negated the budget for the RV!

Compromise was a new home with HOA. Honestly, it's getting pretty hard to find a home without a HOA in many parts of the country and where we settled, that's the case. We have no available property there to expand for off street parking or increasing my garage door height. So, that's absolutely not an option.

If I buy, I'll park it in a storage lot that's only a couples miles from my house. Can use my folding bike to get over to it and put the bike inside once I get to the RV. I am allowed 5 days parking per month in front of the house for the RV. I'll use that when I'm prepping for a trip or just want to have the RV close to my tools when working on minor inside projects (nothing on the outside that would concern neighbors).

Thanks to you all.

[OTRA15]

Sensible IMO . . .

Happy Trails!

Peter

[rowiebowie]

I wouldn't sweat the "5" days part each and every time. Yes, I know it's against the HOA rules, but it's not like you're living in it. If you need a few more days, just move it if they tell you to.

[pcskier]

Originally Posted by Tomzstream

I'd try a different tack. You might try petitioning under the ADA. A legitimate medical reason for having a rig with a toilet might be if you ask for a certificate from your doctor saying you suffer from IBS, or a similar ailment. Most HOA's don't want to challenge the ADA regs. They may not even challenge you for a Dr's certificate as HIPAA rules apply here. You could even state it is Wheelchair accessible, which is true, as the Sprinter van has the mobility option in its VIN code.

Completely lacking in ethics. Maybe he should get a fake service dog ID and vest off the internet as well so he can take Fido everywhere he wants to go...hotels, restaurants, airplanes.

If you don't like the HOA guidelines, vote with your feet. EDIT to OP: thumbs up on your most recent post and solution :-)

[vintageracer]

Buy the subdivision you live in then YOU can set your own rules!

[Wconley]

Originally Posted by Fredjacob

I wanted to add that I have been gathering evidence of precedence in my HOA's laxity in enforcing parking rules such as commercial vans being parked in front view on a regular basis which are also supposed to be banned. As some of you have already suggested, I might pitch it as a passenger or ADA vehicle and counter that all the other violations would need to be brought into compliance as well. But that can backfire by pissing off good neighbors whom I would rather have as an ally to allow both their commercial van and my AS to be parked without harassment.

Exactly why HOA Boards write rules that seem to go out of their way to plug all the loopholes...and have to act like little Napoleons in enforcing rules. Having been on an HOA board, every time I wrote a common sense rule or tried to “help” someone trying to do the right thing that temporarily violated a rule, there were twenty people waiting to hit me over the head with that lax inconsistency. To point out previous inconsistencies in enforcing the parking restrictions is a sure way to make sure that 5 day rule is followed to the letter.

[InterBlog]

You're lucky you have a 5-day clause. We don't.

Our HOA attempts to regulate our streets, which aren't their jurisdiction (it's not a gated community with private roads). Technically I could park our rig on the street in front of our house, and as long as it is operable, registered, insured, and moved once every 24 hours, then it's legal. Or even if it's not legal, the local police have told me that street-legal parked vehicles are not enforcement priorities for them.

That being the case, I know my neighbors and I would not go that route with them. In our subdivision, nobody cares about what's parked in yards, but if you park something large and obstructive in the streets, people get upset.

I've parked in our driveway (which is 3-car-wide) for up to a week at a time, and nobody has complained. The HOA hasn't cited me (yet). A lot of people know that my husband LB_3 and I do extensive work on our van, and that's why it's parked here, and it's not going to be here permanently. So for 5 years now, they've just let it go.

That being the case, in our subtropical environment, I wouldn't want to park it outside anyway - the heat and UV damage becomes too severe. We rent an off-site garage for $150/month (with electricity, security, cameras, water, and dump station).

[Lily&Me]

Rent a storage space and save the energy you’d use fighting the HOA for planning great vacations in your new rig.

I agree with those who caution against trying to get around the rules with less than completely honest means...it’s just not worth the cost to your soul of deviousness and dishonesty.

I don’t have an HOA, but city ordinances require my rig to be stored away from my property 11/1-4/1, tho they are not rigid about it and pre and post trips it is in the driveway without a problem.

I rent a storage space year round, so that I don’t find myself on a wait list every fall and hoping I get a spot before the deadline.

Just makes it easier, less stress, more enjoyment.

Maggie

[Tomzstream]

Originally Posted by pcskier

Completely lacking in ethics. Maybe he should get a fake service dog ID and vest off the internet as well so he can take Fido everywhere he wants to go...hotels, restaurants, airplanes.

If you don't like the HOA guidelines, vote with your feet. EDIT to OP: thumbs up on your most recent post and solution :-)

Take it easy fella. IBS and Incontinence are common ailments for folks as they age. Not that it's any of your business (and that's what HIPAA is for), I have suffered from IBS my whole life. I can't tell you how many times I have gotten halfway through my work commute and gone searching for a clean McDonalds and rushing into the mens room only to find the stall occupied. It's a real problem for many people. And with many states closing down rest areas in a cost cutting scheme, anyone who travels the interstate in their daily commute knows the inconvenience of relying on fast food establishments.

I simply suggested it is a LEGITIMATE grounds for an exemption. And a LEGAL one as well. I did suggest getting a Drs certificate. No doctor I know would falsify a certificate. I've seen these same criticisms made about medical marijuana among those who would deny access to those who would benefit from it.

As a dog owner, I resent your implication that I would use the online acquisition of a service vest for fraud. Let's try to keep this discussion on track.

[Ken G]

Protect your investment in a secure, covered storage facility.

[Boxster1971]

FREDJACOB - a lot depends on your specific location and the details of the HOA rules. I live in an HOA that restricts RVs, but has exception in rules for passenger vans. I live in a four-unit townhouse with a large driveway in alley behind my townhouse. I park my Interstate in my driveway and have not had issues with HOA or neighbors. Almost everyone near me keeps a vehicle in their driveways. My van is only visible to my near neighbors.

There are two other Sprinter based B-vans parked on the streets in neighborhood. One is a Winnebago ERA, the other a Pleasure-Way Plateau, both silver like my Interstate. Some residents complained about the other Sprinters on the street to HOA management. But they were told the streets in our development are owned and controlled by the County. Since the County allows these type of vehicles to park on their streets there was nothing the HOA could do about the Sprinter RVs parked on the County streets.

In answer to your question - it's complicated. My recommendation - buy the Interstate, park it on street by your home and if you get a complaint then deal with issue by appealing to board. If that fails you will have to store the van off site or move.

I have lived in two HOA managed developments. I have served on HOA boards and on design committees. I understand and support the general need of the HOA rules, but many go overboard and become unreasonable to individual owner needs. Unfortunately a lot of folks get very emotional about enforcing their interpretation of the rules.

Good luck,