For the first time since I moved into this house, my front yard has a serious weed problem. So does my back yard for that matter. Honestly, given the fact that my house is only worth a little more than half of what I paid for it, I really haven't been all that motivated to do something about it. After all, what good is it going to do to plant spring flowers, put out fresh pine straw, and pressure wash my house if the value is just going to go down anyway?Seeing as my homeowner's association has it out for me this year--they have yet to go after all the other "for sale" and "for rent" violators in the neighborhood--I'm going to have to at least tackle the weed problem this week. I wouldn't put it past them to make an example out of me on the weed situation as well, even if there are houses with far worse yards in the subdivision.
That's definitely one thing that I won't miss when I ever manage to leave here--having to live by a set of ridiculous rules. It ought to be up to the homeowner when she cuts the grass, what type of flowers she plants, when she brings in her trash can, what color of drapes she hangs in her windows, and what type of signs she places in her front yard. It shouldn't be the decision of some faceless board whose members can never bother to return an email or phone call.
For instance, our covenants say that all our mailboxes have to be the same. Same right now translates into a rusted black mailbox that has a flag that rarely goes down all the way. If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you know that I've had all kinds of problems with that mailbox. My neighbors' kids like to take things out of it--mainly, my mail--and put things back in it--mainly, dried-up dog feces. As such, I would love to have one of those mailboxes that lock, like the one pictured above from MailboxandBeyond.com. I don't care if it's wall-mounted, by the road, or purple with green polka dots. So long as people can't steal the mail out of it or leave a nice, smelly surprise in it for me to stick my hand in, I want it. However, I can't have it, as it now stands. A new mailbox would disrupt the neighborhood's uniformity and drive down home values, according to the HOA.
Decorative address plaques would probably also be against the covenants. Right now I just have "safe" iron numbers next to my front door, but I would like something with a little bit more style. Mailbox and Beyond carries plaques with both house numbers and welcome messages that are backed by a 110 percent, low-price guarantee. That means if you find the same item for less elsewhere, Mailbox and Beyond will match the price, plus take another 10 percent off. I wouldn't mind having one of those plaques, but once again, I must bow to the homeowner's association. They would probably classify the plaque as a sign that I would have to ask permission to hang, just like my "for sale" and ADT signs.
Mailboxes and Beyond has a lot of other great home accents, from bird feeders and garden hose organizers to doorknockers and personalized door mats. They even carry whitehall products. Maybe one day I'll live somewhere where I haven't signed away all my property rights and can both buy and hang those products at will. Of course, I will have to sell this house first, and that would require my analyst at Chase and my real estate agent to call me back and tell me what's going on with the short sale offer. Do you think either has done that yet? Nope, and I doubt they will any time soon.
