Homeowner missed the mark with political sign

Q: I am writing because of a conflict with my yard sign. Let me preface that before I even purchased my yard sign, I looked up as much information as I could so that I would not be in violation of anything once I put it out on the lawn. I was just informed by the (homeowners association) that a sign that is just a political statement and not a candidate does not qualify and needs to be taken down; furthermore, political signs can only be posted during campaign season. When I asked what those specific dates are … crickets.. My sign is a sign associated with the Democratic Party, and it is the right size under law. Am I wrong in this? Are they just spouting stuff to get my yard sign down because someone complained? I would love to have answer before I pull my sign. I hope you can help me.

One piece of information I looked up to give me confidence to place my sign is that I read your article referring to yard signs!

A: Nevada Revised Statutes 116.325 pertains to the rights of owners to exhibit political signs in certain areas and limitations on exercising those rights. Neither the board nor the association’s governing documents shall prohibit a unit from exhibiting one or more political signs on the physical portion that the owner or occupancy has a right to occupancy and use exclusively, subject to the following conditions:

1. The political sign must not be larger than 24 inches by 36 inches.

2. All political signs are subject to applicable laws governing the posting of political signs (such as the city or county ordinances, which do have regulations of when signs can be installed and removed).

3. A unit owner or occupant may exhibit as many political signs as desired but may not exhibit more than one political sign for each candidate, political party or ballot question.

4. If the unit is occupied by a tenant, the owner of the unit must receive in writing permission from the tenant to display the sign(s).

The law defines political sign to mean a sign that expresses support for or opposed to a candidate, political party or ballot question in any federal, state or local election or any election of an association.

The sign that you are displaying, as worthwhile as it may be, does not meet the requirements under this statute. As to when political signs can and cannot be displayed, check with your local governmental entity, be it county or city for their ordinances.

Q: My garage door was damaged by my neighbor’s friend playing baseball on my driveway.

I complained to our HOA manager, but he refused to investigate and inform the owner of the unit about my complaint and what happened to my garage.

I complained to his supervisor but instead of listening to my complaint she turned things around and threatened me with a cease and desist order when I said it was the manager’s job to investigate and inform my neighbor of the damage as per governing documents. She insisted that the damage garage door is between me an my neighbor.

In our governing documents it is stated that damage to property by residents and visiting people of residents are liable to the HOA and the owner of the damaged property.

Now, I am stuck with a damaged dented garage as my home insurance company is waiting for a report from the HOA manager before a claim can be processed. What are my options?

A: The garage is your property; consequently, any expense to repair the damages is your responsibility. The association has no authority to collect personal damages from your neighbor. It is a neighbor-to-neighbor issue.

Send a formal letter to your neighbor with the cost to repair the garage. If the neighbor does not respond and reimburse you, then you can file a small claims action against the neighbor. If you actually collect the funds, you would have to reimburse the insurance assuming that they paid for the repairs less your deductible.