HOA's Don't ya just love 'em?

David S. Wallens wrote: We have an HOA, and it's our second house in the neighborhood. They raised our dues a year or so ago, but it was the first time in a while--like 10 years or so. Our HOA also maintains a community pool. I have never used it, but it does seem to be a popular attraction. They also handle the bike paths, medians, common areas, etc. I figure no one forced us to live here. What I like and I stay: Seems like every single morning I see a crew cleaning up, trimming plants, doing maintenance, planting stuff, mowing medians, etc. The HOA regularly repaves the bicycling/walking paths that crisscross through our neighborhood.

That sounds like how they're supposed to work, not regulate the architectural qualities of your backyard shed in a cookie-cutter neighborhood while contributing nothing else - as Janel's old HOA used to do. We didn't even bother looking at HOA houses when we bought our current one, they're not compatible with my lifestyle. I have a race trailer. I have multiple cars. I work on my cars with my garage door open.

I suspect the nature of the neighborhood (custom-built homes, etc) has a lot to do with the stability of the resale.

The real estate agent that just handled our home purchase said that the most common request she hears these days from potential buyers for pre-existing properties these days is for a place where there is no HOA.

Reason the subject came up is because I was requesting the same.

I can promise you we wouldn't be in the new house if it had a HOA. That being said, the wife ended up going to the neighborhood homeowners club meeting Monday and ended up being elected president. Makes me wonder about her sanity.

In reply to Dr. Hess:

Well, then, I won TWICE.

Huzzah!

Your experience about sums it up.

With all the hatin' over HOAs, and I'm their biggest hater, they do serve a purpose outside the city limits.

All the "little" laws that you take for granted in the city don't exist in the country so as long as that is their only purpose and you don't get overzealous HOA Nazis in charge, they help maintain the integrity of the area and therefore values.

BUT as you can see desirability of a neighborhood with an HOA is way down on the list so in most cases they cause sales times to be longer and values slightly lower than a neighborhood next door of similar houses without an HOA.

Quick sidenote about HOA life, maybe proving that they're not all bad. And what the heck, it's fun to discuss things.

When I first moved into my neighborhood, I had a "villa" that was technically governed by two HOAs--the main one for the neighborhood and then another for our group of homes. Since the villas were zero lot line properties, the local HOA took care of the lawns, some walkways, outside painting, tree removal, etc.

I didn't really know how they worked or what they did, so I got involved and started going to the meetings. I also wanted them to know that the kid with the BMW race car cared. Anyway, I think at some point I may have even been on the board--it was a while ago. We mainly just made sure dues were paid, kept the lawn guy happy (15+ years later they're still using the same guy) and made sure the broken sprinkler heads were fixed.

Why'd I move there in the first place? It was a quiet, super-stable neighborhood, and I got a great deal on a two-bedroom place with a two-car garage. And when the time came to sell, we sold it in one day and made a nice profit. Maybe we could have held out for more, but it let us buy the house that we now have.

mine is pretty low-key. $50 per year, they negotiate the snow plowing contract and that's about it.

My mom's neighborhood has an HOA.

If you know anything about transplanting trees, you know it's not a good idea unless they are dormant. She planted a small maple near the mailbox, of course it didn't have a lick of leaf on it anywhere. She got a letter the NEXT DAY telling her to have the 'dead stick' removed or fines would accrue.

Then there was the HOA problem at my dad's place which involved the private satellite/cable system carrying 'adult' channels. It turned into a lawsuit, the private system was shut down and replaced by commercial cable. That meant tearing up people's yards to run the cable (the local cable company didn't trust the existing cables) and replacing all the custom satellite receivers.

Then there was one of my customers at the Chrysler place who was fined by her HOA because her car allegedly had a 'rust leak'.

Don't even get me started on the 'full view storm door' controversy that involved my ex- MIL.

Just like unions, sometimes HOAs are a good thing. Also just like unions they can be warped and turned into a bludgeon to suit someone's personal vendettas or can be a reflection of their ignorance/stupidity and I'd just as soon not have that type of aggravation in my life. I am house hunting now and my specific instructions to the agent were 'no HOA's'.

Toyman01 wrote: I can promise you we wouldn't be in the new house if it had a HOA. That being said, the wife ended up going to the neighborhood homeowners club meeting Monday and ended up being elected president. Makes me wonder about her sanity.

You mean she replaced our Solstice driving friend?

Well, serves him right for living in a neighborhood with one. I know I never will. You're going to give me a $400K house for $50,000? But there's a homeowner's association? Thanks, have a nice day.

Jay wrote:

Strizzo wrote: for those of you that have HOAs, do you feel like you get value for your money, or does it feel like you're lining the pockets of some maintenance company that just keeps jacking up their fees, which get passed directly to you? my HOA has voted itself a raise two years running to the tune of a ~15% increase. when i moved in almost three years ago dues were 298/month, they've just gone up to 357, 8.5% increase after last years 7.3% increase. i'm beginnning to feel like the rate of these increases are going to further depress the already down values in our complex (townhome community).

I rent out a whole house with yard in a nice area for a little more than twice that.

in houston, texas 700 bucks for a house it's either falling down or not anywhere you'd want to live. even where i'm at right now its right on the edge of a sketchy area.

my biggest gripe is that i don't feel like they're doing anything to improve overall property. the only thing they do is plant/replant the flowerbeds, which is done by the lawn crew, other than picking up a little trash in the morning, i couldn't tell you what the maintenance guys do all day. they're supposed to replace the fences when they get old, but recently they just replaced half of my neighbor's fence, so he's got one side all new and the other old and falling down looking. on top of all that, all i've had the management company do is screw stuff up, they sent me a letter for an issue with the neighbors property, then called me a liar when i told them they had the wrong house. they screwed up and tried to double charge me fees a few times, or the fees went up and they didn't draw the updated amount, so then tried to charge late fees for not paying the full amount.

Curmudgeon wrote:

Toyman01 wrote: I can promise you we wouldn't be in the new house if it had a HOA. That being said, the wife ended up going to the neighborhood homeowners club meeting Monday and ended up being elected president. Makes me wonder about her sanity.

You mean she replaced our Solstice driving friend?

Solstice driver is secretary.

AngryCorvair wrote: mine is pretty low-key. $50 per year, they negotiate the snow plowing contract and that's about it.

That is very close to whe way ours works. I think our fees are like $80 a year and they get the streets plowed and the grass cut in the common areas. One thing that supprised me was that I had a car sitting out in front of my house in my driveway for like 4 years and never got a letter in the mail.

i'm a fl lawyer who repesents 6 hoa's. so here is my insight; 1. in florisa yes they can foreclose on homestead 2. the hoa's are non profits so while the management companies are looking for a profit the hoa isn't. 3. most of a hoa's costs are fairly constant,i.e. lawn service. insurance etc, but the biggest variable these days is the % of owners paying the dues. simply put if there is a $250000 budget and half the people are not paying the other half are going to pay 2x the amount. that is the biggest reason dues are going up so quickly. not that budgets are going up much its the number of owners who aren't paying is dramatic 20-60% in subdivision more for condos, then add lawyer costs to collect money, the numbers get crazy real quick. 4. every day i file a lien or a foleclosure action and get a call from the owner who is suprised and has a dog ate my homework story about how supprised they are that after 2 years of not paying a bill someone is going to do something about it. try not paying your car payment, etc. what would happen. 5. so my take and experience is that no body wants his house they just want him to pay his bills. 6. there are good associons, bad associations and advantages and disadvantages to living in a hoa area and in not. but those are choices too make before you buy not after.

I understand the concept of why an HOA could be good. Community pool, keeping the area nice and clean. I get it. But having lived in two communities with HOAs, I'm in the crowd that says never again. When they start saying what I can and can't park on my property, or what color curtains we can't have, or what Christmas displays I can and can't put up, I'm done. They can kiss my a$$. My house, I'm paying the mortgage and carrying my own insurance.

Strizzo wrote:

Jay wrote:

Strizzo wrote: my HOA has voted itself a raise two years running to the tune of a ~15% increase. when i moved in almost three years ago dues were 298/month, they've just gone up to 357, 8.5% increase after last years 7.3% increase. i'm beginnning to feel like the rate of these increases are going to further depress the already down values in our complex (townhome community).

I rent out a whole house with yard in a nice area for a little more than twice that.

in houston, texas 700 bucks for a house it's either falling down or not anywhere you'd want to live. even where i'm at right now its right on the edge of a sketchy area.

Well my house rents for more like $900, but still, your HOA fees would be a multi-double-digit percentage of that. I find that absurd.

Rusted_Busted_Spit wrote: . One thing that supprised me was that I had a car sitting out in front of my house in my driveway for like 4 years and never got a letter in the mail.

Amazing. I don't have an HOA, and county code enforcement still was called. I got cited for an "abandoned vehicle" in the car port of the back yard.

JoeyM wrote:

Rusted_Busted_Spit wrote: . One thing that supprised me was that I had a car sitting out in front of my house in my driveway for like 4 years and never got a letter in the mail.

Amazing. I don't have an HOA, and county code enforcement still was called. I got cited for an "abandoned vehicle" in the car port of the back yard.

I think a lot of the way things like that work boil down to who lives around you. If you have someone with a burr up their butt things start to go down hill.

Yeah, true. But if that person is on (or in worst case, president) of the HOA that makes them exponentially worse than just being a butthead neighbor. The experiences I listed along with the fact that most HOA n'hoods tend to not have large enough lots to do what I want are why I do not even want to consider the damn things.

Twin_Cam wrote: You're going to give me a $400K house for $50,000? But there's a homeowner's association? Thanks, have a nice day.

This is insane posturing.

My HOA costs $75 a year, and other than keeping the entry way pretty, they're transparent. You're telling me you'd pass up a house at 80% off for that? That's crazy. You could give me that deal, with a 5 year must-reside in stipulation, AND tell me I had to be able to park all my cars in the garage and I'd take that.

I'm sure it's posturing. I also know that HOA's can suck hard. I grew up in an HOA snobdivision. As a 16 year old, I was introduced to the HOA concept by a neighborhood tyrant who sent us a nastygram regarding my performance of car maintenance in the driveway. The maintenance in question? Washing my car.

GrantMLS wrote: I know they can put a lien agaist your property and than demand the property to go into foreclosure so that they can be paid..

Absolutely! He has to pay his bills like everyone else.

Fear not - he paid the dues and it has been settled...

DILYSI Dave wrote: I'm sure it's posturing. I also know that HOA's can suck hard. I grew up in an HOA snobdivision. As a 16 year old, I was introduced to the HOA concept by a neighborhood tyrant who sent us a nastygram regarding my performance of car maintenance in the driveway. The maintenance in question? Washing my car.

Response to that: replace car with this or similar. See how long they stay quiet for.

Another one involves a bud with a Silverado pickup, he was cited by the HOA for parking a truck in his driveway (a strict no no). He immediately traded it for an El Camino. Never did find out the final disposition of that argument.

My dad's old patio home dev. also banned motorcycles, you couldn't even store one in the garage. Didn't matter whether it was a $30,000.00 Gold Wing dresser or a $250.00 ratty old dirt bike.