Irvine gardener, neighbors war over plants

locolocal

locolocal

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http://www.ocregister.com/articles/schwartz-358409-hoa-douglas.html

Today's homeowners association horror story takes place in the happy village of Irvine. Style points here for capturing the quintessential master-planned community at its worst and great video of a confrontation in which an irate homeowner by sheer verbal barrage got an HOA crew to back off, at least temporarily, from ripping out his landscaping. (Video: ocregister.com/columns/frank)

Linda Lester moved into the Vista Filare tract of Irvine in 1984. Al Schwartz, a retired chemist, moved in with Lester in 1990. Their front yard is subject to HOA landscaping regulations.
Article Tab: Al Schwartz, left, confronts Vista Filare property manager Bree Douglas on Monday as a security guard records. The home Schwartz and Linda Lester share is on the left. Most of the plants subject to controversy are the tall ones in between the houses. See video on this site.
Al Schwartz, left, confronts Vista Filare property manager Bree Douglas on Monday as a security guard records. The home Schwartz and Linda Lester share is on the left. Most of the plants subject to controversy are the tall ones in between the houses. See video on this site.

The feud between them and the HOA began in 2010 when Schwartz objected to the HOA's desire to trim their front yard tree. Schwartz placed a sign on the tree warning the trimmers not to touch it. The HOA came back and simply cut the tree down ? and removed all of the landscaping Schwartz had planted in the HOA-maintained area.
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This article got me to thinking.  What actually happens if you paint your house the wrong color and refuse to change it or don't bother to do repairs that are required or violate any of the other hundreds of rules of your HOA?
 
locolocal said:
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/schwartz-358409-hoa-douglas.html

Today's homeowners association horror story takes place in the happy village of Irvine. Style points here for capturing the quintessential master-planned community at its worst and great video of a confrontation in which an irate homeowner by sheer verbal barrage got an HOA crew to back off, at least temporarily, from ripping out his landscaping. (Video: ocregister.com/columns/frank)

Linda Lester moved into the Vista Filare tract of Irvine in 1984. Al Schwartz, a retired chemist, moved in with Lester in 1990. Their front yard is subject to HOA landscaping regulations.
Article Tab: Al Schwartz, left, confronts Vista Filare property manager Bree Douglas on Monday as a security guard records. The home Schwartz and Linda Lester share is on the left. Most of the plants subject to controversy are the tall ones in between the houses. See video on this site.
Al Schwartz, left, confronts Vista Filare property manager Bree Douglas on Monday as a security guard records. The home Schwartz and Linda Lester share is on the left. Most of the plants subject to controversy are the tall ones in between the houses. See video on this site.

The feud between them and the HOA began in 2010 when Schwartz objected to the HOA's desire to trim their front yard tree. Schwartz placed a sign on the tree warning the trimmers not to touch it. The HOA came back and simply cut the tree down ? and removed all of the landscaping Schwartz had planted in the HOA-maintained area.
Click to expand...

This article got me to thinking.  What actually happens if you paint your house the wrong color and refuse to change it or don't bother to do repairs that are required or violate any of the other hundreds of rules of your HOA?
Click to expand...
The HOA will become your worst nightmare...sending you letters and will keep fining you.  If you don't pay those fines, they may have the right to file a notice of default.
 
You'll probably be fined until you do what they demand or it goes to litigation.  If you don't pay your fines, the HOA can foreclose on your home to get the cost of the fine.  At least I think that's what can happen.
 
I think you have to reach a certain amount before they foreclose- 10k?
Our HOA always has issues with home owners. Some are really petty. One of my neighbor has painted the doors a wrong color now. Really curious to see what happens next.
 
Been there..HOA can foreclose in CA and you only need to be about $2k behind.  They will be in a junior position (behind the 1st lender, 2nd lender, property taxes, income taxes, etc).  Doesn't make a whole lot of sense to do that unless there is alot of equity behind all senior debtors
 
Hey my Irvine friends.... I have a little situation and was wondering what i should do.

My FBC neighbor started to plant 6 Cryptermeria trees in a dirt bed on my side of the lot very close to each other. He is underestimating how huge these trees get. At first, I didn't want to cause any unnecessary tension with my Chinese neighor, but my wife insisted it was a big deal after doing some research on the internet on encroachment.

I called him last week and decided to meet in our backyard last Saturday. The pins are very clear where the division of the line is between my neighbor's backyard and mine. I even showed him the diagrams of the lot lines what you receive in closing, but this was not enought proof for Him. His trees are encroaching my property by atleast 5 feet. He told me that he wanted confirmation from the builder and seems to be putting it off.

One of guys who worked for the builder came out today and drew a line with rope which clearly shows the division of the lots. I stopped by at the HOA to let them know of the situation. Meg, the head HOA lady told me that my neighbor needed to get approval for any trees that were being planted and told me that she would come out meet with us tomorrow morning.

I am going to meet with him tomorrow and I hope that we will resolve everything. Do guys think I have made a mistake in some of the actions i have already taken? What should I do if he is still uncooperative?

 
 
Baby Irvine said:
Hey my Irvine friends.... I have a little situation and was wondering what i should do.

My FBC neighbor started to plant 6 Cryptermeria trees in a dirt bed on my side of the lot very close to each other. He is underestimating how huge these trees get. At first, I didn't want to cause any unnecessary tension with my Chinese neighor, but my wife insisted it was a big deal after doing some research on the internet on encroachment.

I called him last week and decided to meet in our backyard last Saturday. The pins are very clear where the division of the line is between my neighbor's backyard and mine. I even showed him the diagrams of the lot lines what you receive in closing, but this was not enought proof for Him. His trees are encroaching my property by atleast 5 feet. He told me that he wanted confirmation from the builder and seems to be putting it off.

One of guys who worked for the builder came out today and drew a line with rope which clearly shows the division of the lots. I stopped by at the HOA to let them know of the situation. Meg, the head HOA lady told me that my neighbor needed to get approval for any trees that were being planted and told me that she would come out meet with us tomorrow morning.

I am going to meet with him tomorrow and I hope that we will resolve everything. Do guys think I have made a mistake in some of the actions i have already taken? What should I do if he is still uncooperative?

 
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Move Those Trees!
 
Baby Panda, I agree with your steps so far. If you don't want the trees and/or they are not permitted by the HOA, the choice then becomes: "Move or Remove". Perhaps a notice to him saying, "You have X # of days to remove the trees else they will be removed and the bill will be forwarded to you."

Question is: If they are permitted by the HOA... setting aside your feelings of being imposed on... how do you really feel about the trees? For me... I love trees and look at it as you just got a free gift, especially if he intends to pick up the future tree trimming bill, if there is one. Your lot is probably so generous that 5 feet doesn't make much difference. Do you like the privacy screen the trees will give you?

You've done a good job maintaining good relations with your neighbor thus far so I say job well done.

- SoCal
 
I wouldn't have minded if he had asked me if he can plant the trees there, but i felt like he trying to expand his boundaries. I don't mind the trees at all for more privacy but one of our neighbors had warned me that the trees are too close to each other thinking they were mine.

My neighbor is not a typical family with kids. He is in his mid 40s and lives with three Chinese girls which I find it to be very odd. He tells me one of them is his wife, sister, and cousin. He also told me that he does not like kids. I remember the builder's seller agent telling me that his dad from Hong Kong bought the home for him with cash.

I guess i am going to pray before sleeping tonight to ask God that my neighbor will cooperate with me tomorrow morning. I hope i don't have to go to war fighting for my land between China and Korea. 

SoCal78 said:
Baby Panda, I agree with your steps so far. If you don't want the trees and/or they are not permitted by the HOA, the choice then becomes: "Move or Remove". Perhaps a notice to him saying, "You have X # of days to remove the trees else they will be removed and the bill will be forwarded to you."

Question is: If they are permitted by the HOA... setting aside your feelings of being imposed on... how do you really feel about the trees? For me... I love trees and look at it as you just got a free gift, especially if he intends to pick up the future tree trimming bill, if there is one. Your lot is probably so generous that 5 feet doesn't make much difference. Do you like the privacy screen the trees will give you?

You've done a good job maintaining good relations with your neighbor thus far so I say job well done.

- SoCal
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Baby Irvine - you are doing the right thing.  If he give you any resistance let me know. I will fly out there with my dogs and have my dogs take a shit on his property. Then i will ask him to remove the trees within the next hour, if he doesnt, ill cut them down myself and just hop back on the plane before the cops show up. While the chinese may be passive aggressive i would just be aggressive on your behalf.
 
Baby Irvine said:
He is in his mid 40s and lives with three Chinese girls which I find it to be very odd. He tells me one of them is his wife, sister, and cousin.
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Not to be off topic here, I find this as interesting as SoCal's hooker co-worker. it is better than watching day time TV soap.

Back on topic, you just need to contact his dad if you are able. Just tell his dad he is bringing shame to his Chinese family by being an disrespectful neighbor in the America
 
I just had a meeting with my Chinese neighbor and feel really awful judging him like i did on Talk Irvine. Suprisingly it went very smooth and he told me that his wife would take the trees out. There was a red string that the builder put to make sure the is no question where the dividing line is between Korea and China  :), and we both took the string out as we both agreed to boundaries of our lot lines. I told him we will be living here for atleast 10 years and my wife and I would like to be friends and he agreed. At the end our meeting, I told him to let's grab breakfast over the weekend and get to know each other better and he also happily agreed.

Anyways thanks a lot for helping out the Panda from the south. :) I am sure the war between lot lines are worse in Irvine as an inch of land encroachment is worth $10,000. :)

Lesson learned: Always seek peace when a conflict occurs, and only go to war when you absolutely have no other choice. :)

 
Baby Irvine said:
Suprisingly it went very smooth and he told me that his wife would take the trees out.
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He could be B.S.'ing you. Time will tell. Don't feel bad. If it's a boundary dispute he shouldn't have put you to as much trouble as he did.

Were the types of trees approved by the HOA?
 
The HOA did not approve. It will also become the HOA's problem if he did not remove them as promised. I get the the sense that he will his word otherwise it gives me right for me to pull them out. The important thing is that we both agreed where the boundary of our lots are.
 
irvinehomeshopper said:
Luckily it is me who is responding because most posters on this board don't have a clue why a string is pulled to delineate the boundary. Your property is so big that there is no fence in between you and your neighbors. The distance from each other is so far that you can't even see your neighbors window from afar. The builder would have spend so much money on fencing just to go around the perimeter of your property so the builder opted to leave out the fence and give you more land instead. Another concept that puzzles the reader here leaving them in disbelief.
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But at least we don't have to worry about a neighbor planting trees on our property. :)
 
You did the right and diplomat thing, Baby Irvine.  Having the builder put the string for the boundary and having the HOA come out to look at it was right.  Hopefully you took a picture of where the string was before you removed it and documented everything that's happened so you can refer to it in the future if you have to.  You do have the HOA on record (as in written letter or at least email) saying those were not approved trees also, right?

How are the twins?
 
irvinehomeshopper said:
Luckily it is me who is responding because most posters on this board don't have a clue why a string is pulled to delineate the boundary. Your property is so big that there is no fence in between you and your neighbors. The distance from each other is so far that you can't even see your neighbors window from afar. The builder would have spend so much money on fencing just to go around the perimeter of your property so the builder opted to leave out the fence and give you more land instead. Another concept that puzzles the reader here leaving them in disbelief.
Click to expand...

I think most posters here are intelligent enough to realize that in many other [cheaper] parts of the country, properties are much further apart and often do not have fences to separate them. Even if you've never been anywhere, you can learn this from watching "House Hunters."

 
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