A homeowners association can seem like a great idea. Neighborhoods governed by an HOA are often peaceful and pristinely manicured. But buying one of these homes comes at a cost. Before you buy a home governed by an HOA, here are some things to consider.
Read Before You Sign
All too often, hurried homeowners sign on the dotted line before they fully understand what the documents mean. And who can blame them? During the home buying process, you life is an unending series of documents that you need to sign. But an HOA agreement is going to have a pretty big impact on your day-to-day life so it’s important that you understand what’s in it.
There’s a pretty wide spectrum when it comes to what an HOA might cover. Some agreements might be limited to rules for common spaces like a parking garage or community pool. Others agreements, however, can get extremely specific.
For instance, many HOAs have clauses ensuring that all of the houses in the development look the same, which means you can’t choose to repaint or make major changes to the exterior of the home. An HOA might even get as specific as forbidding lawn furniture, bird bath or swing sets in the yard. HOA agreements also enforce community standards, such as quiet hours, which means you might have to cut your weekend get-togethers short. With an HOA you’re not just buying a home, you’re buying into a certain lifestyle, so make sure it fits your life before you sign.
Peace Comes At a Price
In addition to the rules, HOAs also come at a financial cost. The association is tasked with maintaining common areas and structures. In a condo complex, for instance, the HOA might have to set aside money to fix the building’s roof or foundation. In an HOA-governed neighborhood, the money might go to maintaining a park or putting on community events. Usually fees run a few hundred dollars per month, but before you consider buying a property covered by an HOA make sure you know how much you’ll be paying and what the money pays for.
Do Your Research
When it’s running smoothly, a homeowners associations will help keep the peace and ensure that everybody stays happy. But sometimes, an HOA can create a poisonous environment, causing homeowners to constantly bickerer with one another. To avoid buying into a bad neighborhood make sure you do your research. Take a look at the minutes of past meetings to see what the hot button issues are in the neighborhood. You can also speak to the HOA board members to get a sense of whether they’ll be easy to deal with.
Voluntary HOAs
Not all HOAs are put in place to impose requirements and restrictions on homeowners. Some agreements are purely voluntary, which means the association doesn’t have the ability to levy fees or compel homeowners to maintain their homes in a certain way. A voluntary HOA is there to offer a forum for problems in the community, or to plan a community project. If you’re wary of letting an HOA control your life, but still want to live in a place with a strong sense of community, a home in a neighborhood with a voluntary HOA might be for you.
Get Involved
An HOA is a democracy, not a dictatorship. So if you don’t like the rules in your community, the best thing to do is get involved. You can start by attending meetings and bringing your concerns before the board. Petition your neighbors to get them involved. If you’re the type that likes to lead, run for a seat on the board to push for the changes that you want. A homeowners association works best when it has the full and active participation of the community.
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The Principle of Least Interest: He who cares least about a relationship, controls it.
In many areas you have no choice if you want to live in the area. example is the outskirts of DC in VA.; any development built in the past 25 or so years are all HOA managed.
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Sometimes you're the windshield, and sometimes you're the bug.
As with everything - there are good and bad. We inquired about ours before moving in here, and talked to them first to determine our "Nazi" they were. The real problems come when they are turned over to a management company - because those are in it for the money, not because they care about the neighborhood.
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LawyerLady
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
Ours is only $90 year. Like FWM said, they keep everything watered, mowed and looking nice. I don't think it's restrictive, I mean, we can't paint our house neon green, but I'm glad no one else can either.
As with everything - there are good and bad. We inquired about ours before moving in here, and talked to them first to determine our "Nazi" they were. The real problems come when they are turned over to a management company - because those are in it for the money, not because they care about the neighborhood.
I know. Most likely 99% of them are fine. You are only going to hear the horror stories because it makes interesting news.
My parents' condo in Florida has an HOA - like almost all do down there. They like it except for one bylaw. It states that they cannot have visitors for more than 3 total weeks in any 6 month period. They don't want people camping out with relatives and living there 12 to a house. When my parents retire and move there full time, they are going to try and have it amended to "the same person cannot visit any more than 3 weeks total in any 6 month period". As it stands, if I go down one week with DH and DD in NYC goes down another week, then either my other DD can visit or my grandmother. But not both if they visit on different weeks.
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Out of all the lies I have told, "just kidding" is my favorite !
A coworker moved into a subdivision not knowing there was an hoa. Neighbor came to welcome them. That was when they learned they were not permitted to have pet snakes. They had two. They were also nor allowed to keep their boat or truck at the property. Realtor had intentionally not given them a copy of the bylaws. You better believe he found them another house and moved them at the company's expense.
It's really hard in some areas to get a copy of the bylaws before you make an offer. I wonder if they do that intentionally or what? When my parents went shopping for their condo they asked to see the bylaws at each place they liked before making an offer. A few of the places they liked wouldn't give them a copy until they made an offer. My parents walked away from those no questions asked. Why wouldn't you want to be up front about that ?
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Out of all the lies I have told, "just kidding" is my favorite !
Because some HOAs are so out of control they can't get or keep residents. There is a golf community here that can't even sell home sites for a dollar because residents are required to buy an annual $35,000 golf membership. REQUIRED.
Because some HOAs are so out of control they can't get or keep residents. There is a golf community here that can't even sell home sites for a dollar because residents are required to buy an annual $35,000 golf membership. REQUIRED.
My grandmother lived in one of those condos. They had to buy a golf package, but it wasn't THAT expensive. She couldn't understand why people weren't lining up to buy her condo. She honestly thought everyone golfed in Florida. Lol
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Out of all the lies I have told, "just kidding" is my favorite !
I hated my HOA. They went from one extreme to the other. Either they were sending notices for every little thing like your grass being too high - while I was in the process of mowing it. Or they did nothing, the HOA was responsible for snow removal, but they rarely did it.
My parents' condo in Florida has an HOA - like almost all do down there. They like it except for one bylaw. It states that they cannot have visitors for more than 3 total weeks in any 6 month period. They don't want people camping out with relatives and living there 12 to a house. When my parents retire and move there full time, they are going to try and have it amended to "the same person cannot visit any more than 3 weeks total in any 6 month period". As it stands, if I go down one week with DH and DD in NYC goes down another week, then either my other DD can visit or my grandmother. But not both if they visit on different weeks.
this is one of those rules I'd just ignore until called out on it. Are people really keeping track that closely?
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LawyerLady
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
My parents' condo in Florida has an HOA - like almost all do down there. They like it except for one bylaw. It states that they cannot have visitors for more than 3 total weeks in any 6 month period. They don't want people camping out with relatives and living there 12 to a house. When my parents retire and move there full time, they are going to try and have it amended to "the same person cannot visit any more than 3 weeks total in any 6 month period". As it stands, if I go down one week with DH and DD in NYC goes down another week, then either my other DD can visit or my grandmother. But not both if they visit on different weeks.
this is one of those rules I'd just ignore until called out on it. Are people really keeping track that closely?
Yes. Lol. It's an over 55 community. They don't have a single thing to do other than this! Plus, the board VP lives next door to them.
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Out of all the lies I have told, "just kidding" is my favorite !
A coworker moved into a subdivision not knowing there was an hoa. Neighbor came to welcome them. That was when they learned they were not permitted to have pet snakes. They had two. They were also nor allowed to keep their boat or truck at the property. Realtor had intentionally not given them a copy of the bylaws. You better believe he found them another house and moved them at the company's expense.
These type of restrictions are required to be recorded in the covenants. Bylaws are supposed to be for how the HOA is run - not restrictions on how you can use your property - those have to be public record.
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LawyerLady
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
And just FYI - some HOA's try to get more restrictive than they are allowed. Usually a quick - "where is that in the covenants?" will make them back down if there is no basis for the rule.
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LawyerLady
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
A neighbor of a friend is currently suing their HOA. He built a new fence that turned out to be about 6 inches too tall in a couple of places. They told him to replace the whole fence, he said no way since he had just done that and asked for an exception. They wouldn't give him one and when he didn't change the fence the HOA hired someone to tear down his fence while he was out of town!
That friend actually suggested we buy a house in her neighborhood. No way.
One of our requirements for the new house was no HOA. The ones around here are ridiculous. We don't want to $7000 a year so someone can tell us what brand and color of paint to use on our house and give tickets if we forget to trim the bushes.
In many areas you have no choice if you want to live in the area. example is the outskirts of DC in VA.; any development built in the past 25 or so years are all HOA managed.
So true. I moved out of my last house in big part due to the HOA. They did this ridiculous revised parking thing where the people in the court behind us were assigned the parking spaces in front of our houses & our court had to park on the main road. Our section went from 100% owner occupied down to majority tenant occupied because of it. Four of us moved out within months of this new arrangement & slowly it trickled down. The HOA president was this horribly stupid & offensive woman. She managed somehow to keep two parking spaces directly in front of her house though. Different court. It has been 9 years & I'm still seething while posting this.
The HOA at my new house is fine. They occasionally send around a nasty gram that I need to do something minor but overall they don't harass or make ridiculous decisions. And our landscaping is beautiful & the community is well maintained.
we lived in a development in west Austin with probably the most stringent HOA rules in the city--unbelievable--had a neighbor adjoining our property that wanted to rebuild the back wall of his detached garage to include larger windows and a double door--the net result was the wall would extend FOUR INCHES beyond its original footprint--the HOA ( and was a board member myself at the time ) voted it down--couldn't believe it--his neighbors on both sides ( including myself ), to the rear and across the lane in front of his property were ALL in favor and it still got voted down--he was furious and rightfully so--as a result, to comply with the original footprint, he tore the whole damned structure down and rebuilt the entire garage ( to the tune of about $180k ) in order to have what he wants--one of the many, many reasons we got the hell out of Austin--not only are the HOAs out of control, the city ordinances ( especially Westlake or Rollingwood ) and restrictions are just ridiculous
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" the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. "--edmund burke
I may completely hate what a neighbor does or doesn't do on their land, but it is theirs.
Same with us.
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
I may completely hate what a neighbor does or doesn't do on their land, but it is theirs.
Same with us.
I chose my new house in one b/c we wanted a swim/tennis community. I'll gladly pay the fees to have access to a pool without having to take care of it. Same with the tennis courts. And now I have a clubhouse to use for parties. The neighbors' yards are nice, and all communication I've had with the HOA has been easy going.
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LawyerLady
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
When G and I first got married, we lived in a little historic town that is pretty famous. We rented, but they still had control over what we did. They dictated what Christmas lights we HAD to use on the outside of our house (yes, all houses had to be decorated to their tastes) and had little control over the land we rented. But seriously, it was worth it. I would move back in a heart beat if they ever put it on the market.
The next place we lived had an HOA, but it never affected us. The main thing was when you could put your garbage out and when you have to move the bin back behind the house. That was OK.
Where we live now, we really don't have a organized HOA, but we all kind of have an understanding. It's an older neighborhood and most of the residents are established. We all keep out yards mowed and landscaped. We don't leave our cars on the street. There is an older lady that takes care of the landscaping at the entrance. She sends out a request each year for $50.00 per household for help with the cost of that. We gladly pay it. It always looks amazing. But if we were to let our yard or house get out of hand, someone would come knocking...I have no doubt about that...
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America guarantees equal opportunity, not equal outcome...
When G and I first got married, we lived in a little historic town that is pretty famous. We rented, but they still had control over what we did. They dictated what Christmas lights we HAD to use on the outside of our house (yes, all houses had to be decorated to their tastes) and had little control over the land we rented. But seriously, it was worth it. I would move back in a heart beat if they ever put it on the market.
The next place we lived had an HOA, but it never affected us. The main thing was when you could put your garbage out and when you have to move the bin back behind the house. That was OK.
Where we live now, we really don't have a organized HOA, but we all kind of have an understanding. It's an older neighborhood and most of the residents are established. We all keep out yards mowed and landscaped. We don't leave our cars on the street. There is an older lady that takes care of the landscaping at the entrance. She sends out a request each year for $50.00 per household for help with the cost of that. We gladly pay it. It always looks amazing. But if we were to let our yard or house get out of hand, someone would come knocking...I have no doubt about that...
I know what you mean, Oh4.
But, even cities have code compliance folks who will go around and bust on the people who let their lawns go to hell.
Fort Worth would be on us, like a hen on a June bug.
I really don't like anyone telling me what I can and can't do.
I'm a bit of a rebel. Shhh... don't tell anyone.
My neighborhood does not have an HOA. Hasn't for over 2 decades. No slum.
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
Oh and the government needs to stick to keeping the roads up and the schools. Not measuring grass.
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
When it harbors snakes and rats that get into other peoples yards, then they have a duty to protect their citizens. We had a mosquito outbreak here because of unkempt yards. Now they make sure to control it. Its as I important as roads and arrests...
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America guarantees equal opportunity, not equal outcome...
The city goes around nightly spraying bug spray. I HATED that.
And snakes and rats are part of living around here. I worry more about the bears and coyotes.
Or the bull.
Of course I don't live in a big city. So that is the difference.
Our suburbia is broken up with corn and hay fields, chicken houses, cow pastures, large wooded areas and mountians.
Now if someone wants to fly a crop duster over dumping febreeze anytime a chicken house is cleared, I'm all good with that.
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
When it harbors snakes and rats that get into other peoples yards, then they have a duty to protect their citizens. We had a mosquito outbreak here because of unkempt yards. Now they make sure to control it. Its as I important as roads and arrests...
Very true, Oh4!
My Mom has an empty house, right across the street from her.
No one has lived there, in over 30 years.
The family, couldn't come to an agreement, to sell it.
So, there it sits.
And, when the grass gets high, Mom calls the city, and they come and mow it.
I was talking about city ordnances regulating things like grass and where to put your garden.
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
When it harbors snakes and rats that get into other peoples yards, then they have a duty to protect their citizens. We had a mosquito outbreak here because of unkempt yards. Now they make sure to control it. Its as I important as roads and arrests...
If you call our city to report a green swimming pool they will send someone by to huck a few chlorine tablets in it from the other side of the fence. Mosquitos are a big problem here and they keep coming up will West Nile virus.
I disagree with oppressive, over regulated, HOA's, but I have no problem with ones that have reasonable requirements, like the one Ohfour mentioned where it was basically limited to when you could put your trash vcans out and when they had to be brought back in.
I do agree quite heavily with the article on a few points. "Read before you sign" and "Do your research".
When we buy a house, we will be looking for one without an HOA. I don't give a rat's behind what my neighbors do with their property as long as it's legal. I'm more worried about meth labs here than grass being too tall.
As to property values - Frankly, I'm not the sort to judge a house based on what the neighbors are doing with their property. If I like the house, I like the house. As long as the neighbors aren't housing a meth lab, they're fine by me.
I live in a condo. NIGHTMARE. And I just got voted on the board again. Have this one nut job that thinks I'm the building supervisor or landlord. I fricking scream at her once a month. No she has invoked lawyers. Really? Ugh.
When it harbors snakes and rats that get into other peoples yards, then they have a duty to protect their citizens. We had a mosquito outbreak here because of unkempt yards. Now they make sure to control it. Its as I important as roads and arrests...
Very true, Oh4!
My Mom has an empty house, right across the street from her.
No one has lived there, in over 30 years.
The family, couldn't come to an agreement, to sell it.
So, there it sits.
And, when the grass gets high, Mom calls the city, and they come and mow it.
And send the hardheaded family, the bill.
No one should have to put up with that.
So your family doesn't have a clever black sheep in the closet somewhere who is handy with matches? LOL
When it harbors snakes and rats that get into other peoples yards, then they have a duty to protect their citizens. We had a mosquito outbreak here because of unkempt yards. Now they make sure to control it. Its as I important as roads and arrests...
Very true, Oh4!
My Mom has an empty house, right across the street from her.
No one has lived there, in over 30 years.
The family, couldn't come to an agreement, to sell it.
So, there it sits.
And, when the grass gets high, Mom calls the city, and they come and mow it.
And send the hardheaded family, the bill.
No one should have to put up with that.
So your family doesn't have a clever black sheep in the closet somewhere who is handy with matches? LOL
LOL...........it's a brick house, Honeys.
It wouldn't burn very well. Sadly.
And no, we don't have any arsonists in the family.
