Quail Valley HOA Threatens Fines for Children's Toys in the Front Yard

“One cannot in the nature of things expect a little tree that has been turned into a club to put forth leaves.” ― Martin Buber, Jewish philosopher

Here are some citations from the Spring 2024 Violation Report in Quail Valley:

• Remove the children's toys from the front yard.” (Cited at two addresses)
• Toys and unused recreational equipment should be stored where they cannot be seen from the street when not in use." (Cited at two addresses)
• Please remove children's bicycles from the front yard.
• Please remove children's toys from the common area outside your fence.
• Please remove the stored bicycles and shoes from the front yard.

These are not merely courteous reminders from the HOA. These are citations that could lead to thousands of dollars in fines and fees and a lien being placed on the family home ... if you don't act promptly and put away your toys. Unfortunately, they seem to be perfectly legal.

Financial attacks on homeowners in Maryland are leading to housing insecurity and manufactured homeowner debt. HOAs seek creative ways to squeeze money from their residents. Our HOA conducts spring inspections, and the inspector also conducts weekly "drive-throughs" of our community. We are under constant surveillance.

“Toys in the yard” is not listed as a problem in the Quail Valley HOA's Home Maintenance Checklist. But it is in the QV HOA Architectural Guidelines, p. 27: "Non-permanent [recreational] equipment must be stored in the house, garage or shed when not being used. Equipment can remain in the backyard (not in a garage or shed) if yard is fenced. Such equipment can be used anywhere within the homeowner's lot and/or the common community recreational areas as long as the common area is not damaged."

At first glance, that might sound reasonable. But on a random June evening, we see lots of toys and fun tchotchkes in lots of front yards in Quail Valley. These are signs of human beings enjoying their lives. (See photos.) (One detail is weird: You can have a bicycle in the backyard only if the yard is fenced.) Is this "guideline" really what our community members want? Is it being enforced consistently? Do we want it to be enforced at all?

Who Cares if a Bicycle is in the Grass
These abusive HOA policies and practices have a real cost, damaging community spirit. When a family receives an alleged "property violation in the mail," parents have to scramble to prevent an attack on their finances, the threat of the HOA placing a lien on their home for their “failure” to “solve” the alleged “problem.” They have to defend their rights quickly, aggressively, or they won't get pool passes this summer, despite paying $104 each month to belong to this HOA community. The HOA might fine them, and eventually place a lien on their home. For toys on the grass.

Informal Advice: How to Protect Your Property (We are Not Kidding)
If you have committed the HOA "crime" of having children's toys on your yard, then quickly! Take a photo of your front yard, with no toys on it, and send that image in an email to the property management! Write that you solved "the problem," and state that you & the kids put all the toys away! Be sure to use email (don't make a phone call; avoid the Portal*), so that you have your own written record showing that you did indeed take action to defend yourself on such-and-such a date! You might need to present that evidence as you argue your case at 9 pm some evening in a "closed session" with HOA board members, or in a Maryland District Court when the HOA takes legal action against you! I wish we were kidding.

"Your Debt Is Our Profit."–The HOA Industry
The Quail Valley HOA board of directors has hired a property management company that is also a debt collector, which is legal according to Maryland's twisted HOA laws. The laws create a financial incentive for HOAs and their vendors to be abusive by, for example, citing vague, alleged "property violations" against homeowners. When families don't respond, or can't respond, the result is called "making a profit." "Micro-charging" is one name for this business model. Even if just a few homeowners don't defend their homes effectively from these fake violations, that's enough to fire up the profit-making machine.

Read and sign this petition calling for the reform of state laws. Stay tuned to the "Living on Cuckoo Court" blogs. More examples may be forthcoming.

Don't Be Afraid of Some Change
Early in 2024, the Quail Valley HOA board members agreed that the inspections in the spring of 2024 should be limited to the items listed on the maintenance checklist. This was a discussion at a community meeting; there was no official vote on the matter. "Toys on the grass" is not on the maintenance checklist. This alleged "violation" will be perceived by many people to be an anti-family policy of the Quail Valley HOA. It's bad PR for this community. Families decide to flee this community. It's sad.

Of course, some people might like to see all front yards cleansed of evidence of children, as if this were a retirement community or a set for a TV show. But does that represent the sentiment of the majority of homeowners living here? The world is evolving, and so is Quail Valley. We need to decide, and then show up for board meetings, fill in our ballots at election time, and vote for board members who reflect our values and our vision of what this community will become. Imaginemos el futuro juntos.

School is out and summer is here. After the silence of the COVID epidemic, I thank G-d that there are some children around to laugh, yell, play, and leave a few toys on the grass. Kids who are not on cell phones every minute. We were kids once, playing with actual toys. It wasn't a crime then to leave a bicycle out on the grass. Remember?

** *** **

Notes
1) The new-ish "online portal" solves some problems (of homeowner-property management communications) while creating new ones. Renters, for example, do not have access to the portal. As a homeowner, you may inform the property management, via a portal entry, that you have corrected the alleged "property violation," but FOLLOW THAT UP with an email. You may not have access to the portal at the moment you need that record. Keep your own record of printable evidence with email messages.

2) Homeowners can pay $72.67 to property management for a printout of the 2024 Violation Report (of property inspections as of 6/25/2024). I can lend my copy, in a 3-ring binder, to other members of the Quail Valley HOA community for you to look over. I believe the report should be available on paper, for free viewing, down at the Community Center. It's called transparency in government. These are our homes. This is our community. Let's look at the data together and discuss what it means.

Steven Sellers Lapham is a 24-year resident of Quail Valley.
Read background, the blogs at tinyurl.com/CuckooCourt