Have HOAs Gone Mad?

There's a storm brewing in my town that has nothing to do with the looming hurricane. In a neighborhood close to mine, the HOA is dictating what type of vehicle you can keep on your driveway and which must be parked in your garage. (Read the full story here.)

Are you kidding me?

Sure, I would agree to a few limitations: cars propped up on blocks, cars that haven't moved since before your grandma was born, and other typical HOA tacky stuff.

But to actually limit the brand that can be parked on your driveway? Are you kidding me?

First off, we're in Texas. I grew up around the city and drove a small car -- but hubby grew up on a dairy farm and has always owned trucks. Not the fancy-dancy kind, the get-the-job-done-last-forever-Ford-Chevy types. He owns a really nice 4-door F150 now. Sure, we're looking to trade in my car and his truck for a smaller classy-yet-rugged SUV that I can handle better than a truck (I once got his truck stuck in a parking garage in downtown Dallas ... you do the math).

BUT, if anyone ever came to my door and said, "I'm sorry, but your ... ahem ... Ford must be parked in the garage because the neighbors are tired of looking at your ... ahem ... Ford and it's bringing down the value of the neighborhood," I would give the neighbors something to really talk about. (Hmmm, pink flamingos come to mind ...)

How can an HOA regulate what car you drive and park on the driveway? They aren't providing my salary, or feeding my family, or paying my mortgage ... what if I couldn't afford to buy one of the cars on the "list"? (By the way, Chevy Avalanches are on the "good list" -- since when is an Avalanche a luxury vehicle?)

I know our F150 right now barely even fits in our garage, and we have a pretty big house. So, if HOAs are going to start forcing us rednecks to park our unsightly *cringe* Fords in the garage, then pressure the builders to make the garages big enough.

We moved from our last house to get out of the "rat race" of Frisco, where every soccer mom drove a $60k SUV, 13-yr-old kids at the mall carried Coach purses and 16-yr-olds cried in Nordstrom when mommy wouldn't buy them a pair of Uggs (at which mommy would give in because everybody has them) ...

Why the hell is it following us?