Author Topic: Had my car towed - recourse?  (Read 18945 times)

ohsnap

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Re: Had my car towed - recourse?
« Reply #50 on: May 27, 2017, 07:14:42 AM »
This conversation has me wondering if you think what my son is doing is a jerk move or not:  We don't live in an HOA, but live on a culdesac which has no street parking because of the way the lots are shaped.  We have enough driveway and garage parking for our vehicles, but it's more convenient for my son to park on the street so none of us get blocked in to the driveway and have to move cars around.  The house at the start of the culdesac is on sort of a corner-shaped lot, so TONS of street parking in front and on the side.  It's enough for 5-6 cars, and at night there are always at least 5 cars lined up in front of/beside their house.  (no more than one of those belong to the resident of that house). I just looked out the window, and even during the day when most neighbors are at work, there's a neighbor's car in front.

So, is it a jerk move for all of us in the culdesac to park there, even though theoretically most of us could fit the extra cars in our driveway or garage?  I've thought we should make the effort to keep my son's car on our property, but it just means 4-5 cars would be parked across the street every night instead of 5-6.  (or maybe someone from further up the street would fill in the gap, who knows?).  What do you think?  Can we continue to park on the street guilt-free, or do we need to make a change?

I'd say a lot of it has to deal with how well you know your neighbors - if you have existing relationships that are in good standing then it's probably fine. If you don't know them and of course if you are on bad terms with any of them, then you may not want to, even if there are no rules explicitly stating you can't park on the street for more than X hours/days/etc

We don't know them, which is what got me started thinking about this recently.  They just purchased the home a month or so ago.  I imagined them discovering that their curb is the parking area for the whole culdesac only after closing on the house!  (because most of the cars are there only after 5pm)

sequoia

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Re: Had my car towed - recourse?
« Reply #51 on: May 27, 2017, 04:57:18 PM »
If someone park their car(s) in front of my house for long period of time, that car(s) will get towed. I will be nice and tell them/give a warning in person first, but I will call the tow company if it happen again in the future, especially if the owner has empty space in the driveway or in the garage.

I hope I do not come across like a jerk here. In fact my neighbor's BMW is currently parked in my driveway, because he has families coming in from out of town, and our driveway is empty. I just think that people that park in front of other people's house without saying anything is not being a good neighbor.
« Last Edit: May 27, 2017, 05:00:51 PM by sequoia »

jeromedawg

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Re: Had my car towed - recourse?
« Reply #52 on: May 27, 2017, 07:21:27 PM »
If someone park their car(s) in front of my house for long period of time, that car(s) will get towed. I will be nice and tell them/give a warning in person first, but I will call the tow company if it happen again in the future, especially if the owner has empty space in the driveway or in the garage.

I hope I do not come across like a jerk here. In fact my neighbor's BMW is currently parked in my driveway, because he has families coming in from out of town, and our driveway is empty. I just think that people that park in front of other people's house without saying anything is not being a good neighbor.

Yea, if you know your neighbors it helps right? You're talking about parking in front of your house but on the street right? It's nice that you let your neighbor borrow your driveway at least. In the context of this neighborhood, ppl are *always* parking in front of other people's homes and they don't know each other. It's just that some leave their cars longer than others. Some people don't care because they know all the spots are up for grabs and finding a parking spot elsewhere is not a problem because it just means walking a little bit more, but others (especially board members and those who care a lot about rules and live in front of a space) get agitated and feel the need to take action. I think anyone whose doorstep is right in front of a parking space here in my neighborhood, and there are not that many units like this, likely tend to get upset because that's "prime parking" for them and they seem to have the tendency to think that it's "their" spot/territory.

Anyway, I just noticed there has been a car parked in the same spot I got towed from and it's been about 3 days now. Should be interesting to see what happens to it within the next 2-3 days if the owner doesn't move it hahaha.
« Last Edit: May 27, 2017, 07:30:51 PM by jeromedawg »

sequoia

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Re: Had my car towed - recourse?
« Reply #53 on: May 27, 2017, 07:32:41 PM »
In the context of this neighborhood, ppl are *always* parking in front of other people's homes 

Sorry for dumb question, but why? You can't park in front of your house?

I think anyone whose doorstep is right in front of a parking space here in my neighborhood, and there are not that many units like this, likely tend to get upset because that's "prime parking" for them and they seem to have the tendency to think that it's "their" spot/territory.

I have to agree with them but maybe I am missing something here. If I own a house, I do not want people to be parking in front of my house. Why they are not parking in front of their house?

Anyway, I just noticed there has been a car parked in the same spot I got towed from and it's been about 3 days now. Should be interesting to see what happens to it within the next 2-3 days if the owner doesn't move it hahaha.

LOL

jeromedawg

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Re: Had my car towed - recourse?
« Reply #54 on: May 27, 2017, 07:52:15 PM »
In the context of this neighborhood, ppl are *always* parking in front of other people's homes 

Sorry for dumb question, but why? You can't park in front of your house?

I think anyone whose doorstep is right in front of a parking space here in my neighborhood, and there are not that many units like this, likely tend to get upset because that's "prime parking" for them and they seem to have the tendency to think that it's "their" spot/territory.

I have to agree with them but maybe I am missing something here. If I own a house, I do not want people to be parking in front of my house. Why they are not parking in front of their house?

Anyway, I just noticed there has been a car parked in the same spot I got towed from and it's been about 3 days now. Should be interesting to see what happens to it within the next 2-3 days if the owner doesn't move it hahaha.

LOL

So we're in a condo community that has two entrances. There are open parking spots available for residents but they are scattered throughout the community - this isn't like a 'normal' neighborhood where homes w/ driveways are lined up on a street and where cars are allowed to park off the street. Some of the "streets" in our community have marked spaces, otherwise open spaces are found between detached garage units. And finally, there are some spaces that happen to be situated conveniently in front of the front doorsteps of certain condo units. The fact is that it's not all cookie-cutter in terms of the open parking spaces. Everything else is marked a fire zone otherwise. Each resident has two garage units but *most* people use their second unit (especially the detached garage units) for self-storage (which also isn't technically allowed, but everyone does it anyway). This leads to a majority of residents, as well as those who own 3 or more cars of course, using the parking spaces throughout the community. It's just unavoidable and a pretty normal thing - in fact, if everyone parked in both their garage spaces, it would probably look pretty weird driving around our community, like a ghost town haha.
« Last Edit: May 27, 2017, 07:57:50 PM by jeromedawg »

Goldielocks

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Re: Had my car towed - recourse?
« Reply #55 on: May 28, 2017, 09:16:31 AM »
This conversation has me wondering if you think what my son is doing is a jerk move or not:  We don't live in an HOA, but live on a culdesac which has no street parking because of the way the lots are shaped.  We have enough driveway and garage parking for our vehicles, but it's more convenient for my son to park on the street so none of us get blocked in to the driveway and have to move cars around.  The house at the start of the culdesac is on sort of a corner-shaped lot, so TONS of street parking in front and on the side.  It's enough for 5-6 cars, and at night there are always at least 5 cars lined up in front of/beside their house.  (no more than one of those belong to the resident of that house). I just looked out the window, and even during the day when most neighbors are at work, there's a neighbor's car in front.

So, is it a jerk move for all of us in the culdesac to park there, even though theoretically most of us could fit the extra cars in our driveway or garage?  I've thought we should make the effort to keep my son's car on our property, but it just means 4-5 cars would be parked across the street every night instead of 5-6.  (or maybe someone from further up the street would fill in the gap, who knows?).  What do you think?  Can we continue to park on the street guilt-free, or do we need to make a change?

I can answer this one.  I live in that corner cul de sac home.  We bought it after I realized what happens when teenagers get cars, they need parking, so we deliberately chose a place with enough on-site parking for ourselves.   

Visitors
First, there are a lot of visitors, across the 6 homes, so usually there is at least 1 visitor car there.   I have zero problem with overnight visitors, unless they drive across my grass, which is easy to do due to the shape of our front lawn.

Residents

For neighbors that park there, I don't really like it, but the ones that park around the side, not infront of my window are no big deal.  better than trying to park at 90 degrees to ones' home in the center.

The ones that park within 6 feet of my driveway, especially when they could just pull forward really tick me off.  That is technically against the bylaws and given the shape of the cul de sac, means I have to be very careful backing out.   I put friendly notes on those cars asking them to pull forward a few more feet when they park.

My belief is that people should park their own cars on their own property, in this single family area.   

If the property does not fit another car, don't buy the car (or the house).  Pay a neighbor to park in their driveway, etc.

Goldielocks

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Re: Had my car towed - recourse?
« Reply #56 on: May 28, 2017, 09:27:47 AM »
Condo / HOA Parking.

There is a large problem in the street - oriented neighborhoods here about on street parking in the HOA zones.

Truly, a guest permit system should be in place.  The best places make it clear that on-street parking is for visitors only, and everyone is given X number of visitor day passes to use per year.   That way OP would never have the problem of no parking for his guests, which started this whole mess.   Residents could buy visitor passes off of each other if they want more parking.

After all, apartment buildings have assigned parking only, and maybe have a few visitor spots and it works very well.   People know in advance that there is only a little parking.

jeromedawg

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Re: Had my car towed - recourse?
« Reply #57 on: May 28, 2017, 11:38:53 AM »
Condo / HOA Parking.

There is a large problem in the street - oriented neighborhoods here about on street parking in the HOA zones.

Truly, a guest permit system should be in place.  The best places make it clear that on-street parking is for visitors only, and everyone is given X number of visitor day passes to use per year.   That way OP would never have the problem of no parking for his guests, which started this whole mess.   Residents could buy visitor passes off of each other if they want more parking.

After all, apartment buildings have assigned parking only, and maybe have a few visitor spots and it works very well.   People know in advance that there is only a little parking.

I think this is what's going to happen in July - the community mgr from the property mgmt company said they're implementing a permit system w/ a patrol. Our "streets" are within the confines of the community so they aren't traditional "streets" - they're more like a bunch of alleyways with some marked parallel parking spots and others that are regular parking spaces. In other words, there really isn't a problem with unknown entities and outside people parking in the complex - the only ones really parking in all the spaces are all residents. But yea, even with permits I don't know if the 96hour rule would change or if they would extend it. I'm not sure what other associations who have permits do in terms of whether or not they make people move their cars after a certain period of time.

JLee

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Re: Had my car towed - recourse?
« Reply #58 on: May 30, 2017, 12:35:14 AM »
If someone park their car(s) in front of my house for long period of time, that car(s) will get towed. I will be nice and tell them/give a warning in person first, but I will call the tow company if it happen again in the future, especially if the owner has empty space in the driveway or in the garage.

I hope I do not come across like a jerk here. In fact my neighbor's BMW is currently parked in my driveway, because he has families coming in from out of town, and our driveway is empty. I just think that people that park in front of other people's house without saying anything is not being a good neighbor.

Where do you live where you can authorize a tow of a vehicle from a public street without involving law enforcement?

NoStacheOhio

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Re: A-hole had my car towed - recourse?
« Reply #59 on: May 30, 2017, 10:46:41 AM »
This is America.  We don't like arbitrary rules by power hungry tyrants.  And HOA's can change the rules after you move in by the way - how is that fair and a good use of your time to argue that?

If the HOA says you must only wear pink pants, would you bow down to the dictator and comply?

It's not so much the arbitrary rules that bother me as it is the arbitrary enforcement of said rules, which is, I think, what a lot of people are really responding to.

If he only enforces parking rules in front of his house, for his own benefit, that makes him a hypocrite. A correct hypocrite with the rules on his side, but no less a hypocrite.

Goldielocks

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Re: A-hole had my car towed - recourse?
« Reply #60 on: May 30, 2017, 10:55:14 AM »
This is America.  We don't like arbitrary rules by power hungry tyrants.  And HOA's can change the rules after you move in by the way - how is that fair and a good use of your time to argue that?

If the HOA says you must only wear pink pants, would you bow down to the dictator and comply?

It's not so much the arbitrary rules that bother me as it is the arbitrary enforcement of said rules, which is, I think, what a lot of people are really responding to.

If he only enforces parking rules in front of his house, for his own benefit, that makes him a hypocrite. A correct hypocrite with the rules on his side, but no less a hypocrite.

Maybe he only enforces rules when he receives a complaint.   And he is the only one complaining.

jeromedawg

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Re: A-hole had my car towed - recourse?
« Reply #61 on: May 30, 2017, 10:57:02 AM »
This is America.  We don't like arbitrary rules by power hungry tyrants.  And HOA's can change the rules after you move in by the way - how is that fair and a good use of your time to argue that?

If the HOA says you must only wear pink pants, would you bow down to the dictator and comply?

It's not so much the arbitrary rules that bother me as it is the arbitrary enforcement of said rules, which is, I think, what a lot of people are really responding to.

If he only enforces parking rules in front of his house, for his own benefit, that makes him a hypocrite. A correct hypocrite with the rules on his side, but no less a hypocrite.

Maybe he only enforces rules when he receives a complaint.   And he is the only one complaining.

Haha, I think this about sums it up. I just find it curiously interesting that the community mgr for our association (from the property mgmt company) stated that they're changing the parking enforcement rules, etc "so that no one feels singled out." To me this reads that others who have parked their cars near or in front of other board members' homes for too long have also been 'targeted'
« Last Edit: May 30, 2017, 11:01:29 AM by jeromedawg »

sequoia

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Re: Had my car towed - recourse?
« Reply #62 on: May 31, 2017, 11:58:06 AM »
If someone park their car(s) in front of my house for long period of time, that car(s) will get towed. I will be nice and tell them/give a warning in person first, but I will call the tow company if it happen again in the future, especially if the owner has empty space in the driveway or in the garage.

I hope I do not come across like a jerk here. In fact my neighbor's BMW is currently parked in my driveway, because he has families coming in from out of town, and our driveway is empty. I just think that people that park in front of other people's house without saying anything is not being a good neighbor.

Where do you live where you can authorize a tow of a vehicle from a public street without involving law enforcement?

Because our HOA actually put out a sign to not park and the tow company number to call - not sure how many of our neighbors have done this. Personally I have not.  From my understanding the street is not considered a public street.

Car Jack

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Re: Had my car towed - recourse?
« Reply #63 on: May 31, 2017, 02:00:17 PM »
I'm so happy I don't live in a Nazi infested HOA neighborhood.  I'd spend far too much money if I did.  You know.....buying fish.....throwing it on the roof of people who deserve it.....buying more fish.....accidentally leaving fish in their tail pipe....

jeromedawg

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Re: Had my car towed - recourse?
« Reply #64 on: May 31, 2017, 09:27:33 PM »
I'm so happy I don't live in a Nazi infested HOA neighborhood.  I'd spend far too much money if I did.  You know.....buying fish.....throwing it on the roof of people who deserve it.....buying more fish.....accidentally leaving fish in their tail pipe....

Why buy fish when you can catch it for free? :P

jeromedawg

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Re: Had my car towed - recourse?
« Reply #65 on: July 25, 2017, 10:20:59 AM »
Update, if anyone cares lol: I've made an interesting observation ever since the towing incident regarding that space - apparently, I see it either empty most of the time or the board member/resident who lives in front of the space parks his or his wife's car there a majority of the time otherwise. I'll see other cars parked there from time to time (but I assume they don't know any better and of what happened). My guess is that the immediate neighbors around me either saw what happened or spread word amongst themselves and are afraid to park in the spot. This is a win-situation for the board member of course. Being a "good board member" he knows how to 'skirt' the 96 hour rule by either encroaching on that general timeframe or going over it but then moving his car OR swapping with his wife's Benz. Either way, they've monopolized the spot either by parking in it or making sure it's empty most of the time. One of their single garage units happens to be right next to the space. And the second single garage unit is I think on the other side and I'm betting they use that for storage (which is officially prohibited by the HOA). Feels pretty helpless watching all this and a pretty obvious (IMHO) abuse of power... makes me want to get out of this HOA from hell. I messaged the HOA community manager at the property mgmt company with these concerns but he probably won't do anything - in a previous correspondence he told me they were making changes to the parking enforcement by adding permitting and patrols but I'm pretty sure that isn't going to happen (probably because the board members like retaining the power to tow anonymously on demand and at the owner's expense).

It's interesting too because there was a recent ballot sent out to elect new board members, one of which (not a current board member) pointed out "oppressive parking rules" - I'm wondering if he also saw what happened, experienced something similar, or regularly sees other people getting towed in the community.
« Last Edit: July 25, 2017, 10:24:47 AM by jeromedawg »

Mgmny

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Re: Had my car towed - recourse?
« Reply #66 on: July 26, 2017, 05:27:19 AM »
Dude, you're too bitter. You broke the rules and are trying to justify it for yourself. Let it go - you'll feel much better once you do.

jeromedawg

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Re: Had my car towed - recourse?
« Reply #67 on: July 26, 2017, 05:29:56 AM »
Dude, you're too bitter. You broke the rules and are trying to justify it for yourself. Let it go - you'll feel much better once you do.

I know... it just sucks when you know who it was who reported you and then see him clearly taking advantage of the situation - it obviously worked out in his favor, at my expense.

SnackDog

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Re: Had my car towed - recourse?
« Reply #68 on: July 26, 2017, 06:20:17 AM »
So what is stopping you from parking there up to the specified limit?  Don't let him bully you!

Another Reader

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Re: Had my car towed - recourse?
« Reply #69 on: July 26, 2017, 07:06:17 AM »
So what is stopping you from parking there up to the specified limit?  Don't let him bully you!

If you want to start a war with your neighbor, that would be the thing to do.  Rest assured if you do that, there will be retaliation.  A conflict with an HOA board is not something I would advise starting.  It can get very expensive quickly.

Frankly, OP is coming across as petty and whiny.  Life is not fair.  Some people will always play the system.  It's a waste of time and energy to complain about it and takes your focus off more important things.  In your shoes, I would just get over it.  If this is the sort of thing that really bothers you, move.  Your stress level will be a lot lower if you do.

jeromedawg

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Re: Had my car towed - recourse?
« Reply #70 on: July 26, 2017, 07:11:08 AM »
So what is stopping you from parking there up to the specified limit?  Don't let him bully you!

If you want to start a war with your neighbor, that would be the thing to do.  Rest assured if you do that, there will be retaliation.  A conflict with an HOA board is not something I would advise starting.  It can get very expensive quickly.

Frankly, OP is coming across as petty and whiny.  Life is not fair.  Some people will always play the system.  It's a waste of time and energy to complain about it and takes your focus off more important things.  In your shoes, I would just get over it.  If this is the sort of thing that really bothers you, move.  Your stress level will be a lot lower if you do.

You're right... time to move on, both figuratively and literally. I'm done with HOAs - next place we move to the priority will be no HOA as well as taking into consideration the types of neighbors as a second. I guess these are the kinds of things you live and learn about - the things that you were either naive or weren't privy to. For the time being, I'll be avoiding that spot like the plague.

yachi

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Re: Had my car towed - recourse?
« Reply #71 on: July 26, 2017, 07:15:11 AM »
1. buy a very large, very crappy car.
2. spray paint it with the Mercedes Benz logo and drive it in a demo derby.
3. park it in his precious spot so he can tow it away for you.


OR

rent a paint sprayer, buy some yellow paint, and turn his space into a fire lane

yachi

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Re: Had my car towed - recourse?
« Reply #72 on: July 26, 2017, 07:18:46 AM »
Start a reoccurring neighborhood block party in his space, with a grill, lemonade stand and bounce house.

jeromedawg

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Re: Had my car towed - recourse?
« Reply #73 on: July 26, 2017, 07:21:36 AM »
Start a reoccurring neighborhood block party in his space, with a grill, lemonade stand and bounce house.

On garbage day, I should pay some random teenagers to empty his garbage and recycling bins out in his spot.

SimpleCycle

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Re: Had my car towed - recourse?
« Reply #74 on: July 26, 2017, 07:39:10 AM »
Let it go, let it gooooooooo.

jeromedawg

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Re: Had my car towed - recourse?
« Reply #75 on: July 26, 2017, 07:58:49 AM »
Let it go, let it gooooooooo.

This is my ongoing therapy session/thread :P

Dicey

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Re: Had my car towed - recourse?
« Reply #76 on: July 26, 2017, 08:06:52 AM »
Maybe someday, with the benefit of time, the OP will look back and understand how indefensible his position has been through all of this. Here's hoping.

Another Reader

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Re: Had my car towed - recourse?
« Reply #77 on: July 26, 2017, 09:34:26 AM »
Let it go, let it gooooooooo.

This is my ongoing therapy session/thread :P

No, it's your ongoing whining thread.  And I'd be embarrassed if I were in your shoes.

Goldielocks

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Re: Had my car towed - recourse?
« Reply #78 on: July 26, 2017, 11:49:35 AM »
Start a reoccurring neighborhood block party in his space, with a grill, lemonade stand and bounce house.

On garbage day, I should pay some random teenagers to empty his garbage and recycling bins out in his spot.

ARGH!  issues over one parking spot is not an HOA from hell.   I have parking spot issues at my last 2 homes, and we aren't in an HOA.   You have neighbor issues, not HOA issues.

PoutineLover

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Re: Had my car towed - recourse?
« Reply #79 on: July 26, 2017, 12:01:41 PM »
On the topic of shitty neighbors who care too much about parking.. My sister drove a beater one summer while she managed a painting business. She happened to live in a basement apartment in a very rich neighborhood. She came out one day to a note on her car, telling her that only residents were allowed to park there and she would be towed if she did it again. She was convinced that it was because her car was rusty and old in an area where the homes cost millions and the cars were all luxury brands, but she was a resident so technically they couldn't do anything about it. I just feel sorry for the people who have so little going on in their lives that they get worked up about stuff like this and write passive aggressive notes and get their neighbor's cars towed for no good reason.. Must be shitty to be them.