In all my years here, I've not heard one nice thing about a HOA

[kalanamak]

If everyone loathes them, why do they exist?

[newlifemom]

I think it may be about the demographic that frequents this board.

 

We are people that tend to buck the trend and not just go with what everyone else is doing.

 

That's my stance and I'm stickin' with it. :D

[Veritaserum]

If everyone loathes them, why do they exist?

 

Good question. I guess it makes sense if you have a community pool and clubhouse and/or yard maintenance.... We live with an HOA, but it is funded by money allocated when each lot was purchased. So far the only issue has been to talk about hiring a snow plow to come do our streets (private roads). I wouldn't want to be in the "conform to these rules" type. :)

[Aubrey]

I'm guessing it's

 

a) for maintaining land value &

 

b) seems good to people who've lived next to...unkempt neighbors. Someone parks a broken down car in their front lawn for long enough, & an HOA starts to sound like just the solution. Grass is greener & all.

[Lara in Colo]

I have nothing good to say about them, and have only had bad experiences with them. When we bought this house, my main stipulation was NO HOA.

 

People like them because they supposed ly keep the property values up. But I think it also keeps you from having to talk problems out with your neighbor. If you think they are too loud, or don't like to color of their house or the quality of the lawn, just complain and still be unknown.

 

Lara

[delaney]

Here I love and hate them. It is keeping people from leaving trash cans out in sight, strange colors on houses, and excessive lawn "art" but it is also keeping me from my dream of a small chicken coop. Of course the idiot with 5 obnoxious dogs next to me is able to stay b/c they just ignore them:glare:

[Hathersage]

Well, cities allow them because HOA"s pay for things that they would otherwise have to provide. It allows a civil municipality to increase its tax base, but without requiring it to provide equal services to all of its citizens, so its a cost-savings for them. But it may be your only option in some part of country.

 

Around these parts, HOA"s are your only option if you want to live in a new neighborhood. And you are less likely to lose value in your home.

[Shannon in TN]

I can't stand HOAs but my DH loves them. He likes that they provide guidelines for people to maintain their houses to a certain standard (no extra cars/boats/trailers in the yards, etc.) but I don't like the restrictions. If I want to paint my front door red, it's my house, I should be able to. If I want to put up a six foot privacy fence, it's my property, I should be able to.

 

I worked as a property manager at a NC beach for a while and that's when I learned the most about HOAs. I really, really detest them.

[bettyandbob]

Depends on how the HOA is run and what they provide. Before you purchase a home you need to do the research on the HOA--it needs to be financially sound and run well.

 

I've lived with the same HOA for almost 20 years in two different homes. Actually, I have 2 HOA--my townhouse is located within larger community. The larger community provide immense recreational upkeep (I have access to over pools tennis courts, tot lots, playgrounds, bike trails which are plowed long before streets after a snow). My townhouse provides grounds upkeep, a large playground, trash service, plowing on my street, pothole and repaving of street, and yes they do tell people when they need to paint their house.

 

I doubt HOAs keep the majority of people from talking to their neighbors. The maintenance stuff HOAs tell homeowners they have to do, is not stuff most people would talk to their neighbors about. If my neighbor were permitted to junk up his yard and leave a car on blocks in the grass, what good would it do for me to say anything to him. As for noise complaints, my HOA doesn't cover that and I don't know any in my area that does. If it's noisy I tell my neighbor that's it. Maybe it's just where I live. We live close together so it's just important to get along and not act in a way that would bother anyone. The kinds of things that have gotten people to look bad in my neighborhood have had to do with poor care of pets. Not picking up after dogs, not bringing in small pets in the presence of bad weather, large hawks or other wild creature, more. Sometimes someone leaves holiday decor up a bit long, but I've never heard of a complaint. Years ago I did say something to my nextdoor neighbor about her holiday decor a couple months after the holiday because another neighbor was trying to put her house on the market. My nextdoor neighbor and I are good friends, it was no big deal and she took down the decorations.

 

You need to read the HOA documents and do the research before you agree. There is really nothing wrong with HOAs. There is a lot wrong with dysfunctional HOAs.

[1GirlTwinBoys]

I guess different HOA's have different regulations. Here, you can paint your house/door whatever color you want. You can't leave your boats, trailers out. All of our mailboxes have to be uniformed as well as fences. It really does keep the neighborhood property value up. Our old neighborhood doesn't have one and it's a complete mess over there.

[LidiyaDawn]

I'd never even heard of these things until a year or so ago… and I would never EVER buy a house in an area that had one. I don't want people telling me what I can or can not do with my own freaking lawn and/or garden, house colour, or whatever - nor do I care what other people do with theirs. You want to paint your house with zebra stripes? Have at it. Doing some body work on your car out front? I'll bring you some lemonade. Covered your lawn with gnomes & flamingoes? As long as you have some with spinners. :D

[Halftime Hope]

If everyone loathes them, why do they exist?

 

Because they do help keep a development nice looking by setting specific, enforceable rules for upkeep/maintenance of your home, if you choose to buy in a certain neighborhood.

 

Because the HOA pools the dues to provide amenities that a homeowner would have to provide themselves, otherwise. Our HOA has paid for a long stretch of nice concrete fencing/noise barrier along a highway, upkeep (landscaping and maintenance) of greenbelt areas and a pool, etc. (My teens did *not* want a house with a pool, as they would have to do the upkeep, but they were happy for us to move into a neighborhood with a community pool. Our yearly dues cost no more than the pool chemicals would have cost us--it's a bargain.)

 

When we downsize after the kids are gone, I want to move to an older neighborhood in which I have a large yard, no one cares if my grass is just weeds, people in the neighborhood think gardening is cool rather than "tacky looking," and I can have chickens if I want to. Dh wanted a house that was newer, b/c he was sick of dealing with the huge mechanical failures of an older home. I'm glad he's getting the respite.

[CalicoKat]

Here I love and hate them. It is keeping people from leaving trash cans out in sight, strange colors on houses, and excessive lawn "art" but it is also keeping me from my dream of a small chicken coop. Of course the idiot with 5 obnoxious dogs next to me is able to stay b/c they just ignore them:glare:

 

I bet they'd ignore your polite chicken ladies if they moved into your (fenced) backyard.

 

And if they don't, I'd insist on the eviction of the 5 four-footed neighbors first.

[snickelfritz]

We wanted an HOA. Our feeling is that if we ever get a little more land (space between neighbors) we won't need it. We do have a neighborhood pool, park, and splash pad. Some things can be an irritation, but we don't regret buying a house with one.

 

The reason we wanted one was our last neighbors. Their back yard backed up to our driveway, with a chain link fence in between. They rarely mowed their lawn. I think they kept it just better than what the city would require before stepping in. We sold to my SIL. When she tried to sell, the unkempt neighbors property was the frequent bad comment from prospective buyers. I have no doubt that a bad next-door house, even in a decent neighborhood, can have a BAD affect on selling your own house.

 

Our current house is in a neighborhood with small lots and fairly narrow (just wide enough for 2 cars to drive) streets. The HOA rules keep people from long- term parking in the streets, when there just isn't room for it. Our next door neighbor is a policeman and he occasionally moves his police car to the street, which is fine. But there are no cars up on blocks, boats, mobile homes, or permanently parked "for sale" cars in the streets.

[elegantlion]

Dh and I looked a lot of subdivisions in the early 90s. Our area was bursting with new development. We mostly went to look at the houses, but occasionally we'd pick up the HOA book. :lol:Boy, they were fun to read.

 

One of my favorites was the where you couldn't leave your garage door open. It could be opened/closed to set out garbage or remove a vehicle. No leaving it open if you were playing basketball, no leaving it open for kids to play, nothing.

 

It's one thing to have an HOA to do maintenance and upkeep, but when you're telling me what color to paint my house or when I can open my garage door, no thank you.

 

Ironically, dh (he's a carpenter) spent two years in one development, yes two full years, repairing shoddy new construction. The houses were around five years old and required major exterior repair.

[Wheres Toto]

I would hate to live with a restrictive HOA. We have a community pool so we have a Neighborhood Board that collects the dues and maintains the pool, but other than that, there's no restrictions. I don't want to have to worry about being fined if DH is away and my grass gets an inch too long, I want to be able to put up a fence to keep my young kids safe from the river, etc. We also have a boat on a trailer in our drive-way. It's not junk, we haul it with us camping all summer but this way we don't have to pay to store it.

 

The town my dd goes to school in has very strict rules for living in the entire town. No fences around yards, you must get permission to cut down trees, houses must be kept neat, clean and certain colors, no junk cars, boats, etc.

[pbt1294]

We don't mind ours. They are really nice! We didn't have an option here. If you wanted to live in this house, you had to join the HOA. We have a nice little clubhouse and a very nice pool! :D

[QueenCat]

We wanted an HOA. Our feeling is that if we ever get a little more land (space between neighbors) we won't need it. We do have a neighborhood pool, park, and splash pad. Some things can be an irritation, but we don't regret buying a house with one.

 

The reason we wanted one was our last neighbors. Their back yard backed up to our driveway, with a chain link fence in between. They rarely mowed their lawn. I think they kept it just better than what the city would require before stepping in. We sold to my SIL. When she tried to sell, the unkempt neighbors property was the frequent bad comment from prospective buyers. I have no doubt that a bad next-door house, even in a decent neighborhood, can have a BAD affect on selling your own house.

 

Our current house is in a neighborhood with small lots and fairly narrow (just wide enough for 2 cars to drive) streets. The HOA rules keep people from long- term parking in the streets, when there just isn't room for it. Our next door neighbor is a policeman and he occasionally moves his police car to the street, which is fine. But there are no cars up on blocks, boats, mobile homes, or permanently parked "for sale" cars in the streets.

 

:iagree:We only buy in neighborhoods with an HOA. There are good ones, and bad ones. We read the rules before making an offer. We like our neighborhood to look nice. It is more pleasant, and makes home selling easier. In our area, houses of the same size, age, amenities sell faster and for more money if the neighborhood has an HOA.

[QueenCat]

I would hate to live with a restrictive HOA. We have a community pool so we have a Neighborhood Board that collects the dues and maintains the pool, but other than that, there's no restrictions. I don't want to have to worry about being fined if DH is away and my grass gets an inch too long, I want to be able to put up a fence to keep my young kids safe from the river, etc. We also have a boat on a trailer in our drive-way. It's not junk, we haul it with us camping all summer but this way we don't have to pay to store it.

 

The town my dd goes to school in has very strict rules for living in the entire town. No fences around yards, you must get permission to cut down trees, houses must be kept neat, clean and certain colors, no junk cars, boats, etc.

 

Our HOA isn't super restrictive. Wish we had a pool though. We can have a fence, it just can't be a chain link. Wood or ornamental metal. Boats can be in the driveway, not on the street.

[ChristusG]

When we were looking around at houses last year, I couldn't decide whether we wanted an HOA or now. DH didn't, but I sort of did. DH lets the grass grow high. :glare: With an HOA, I knew he'd have to keep it cut. :tongue_smilie:

[linders]

First, while I embrace the idea of neighbors talking out issues, it can be nice to have a common set of minimum standards (don't use your front yard to collect junkers you "might" rebuild someday - we lived next to that once) and sometimes, sadly, talking doesn't work.

 

When we relocated a couple of years ago I refused to move into one nice area because their HOA was so restrictive - garage doors had to be closed except when entering or exiting, for example. The home we did choose has an HOA, much less restrictive, but a useful starting point for neighbor discussions.

Edited April 11, 2011 by linders

[Stacia]

One of my main stipulations when we bought a house was no HOA. (I have seen enough nightmare stories, incl. some my parents have gone through w/ theirs.) Guess what? We've lived in our house 18 years & our neighborhood & neighbors have been fine. Yes, there have been a couple of issues through all those years, but really nothing much & nothing that was really *my* business anyway, kwim? Our house values have held up well, etc.... So, people can function as a neighborhood w/out a bunch of rules to tell them how to live.

 

The other thing to realize is that HOAs can change their rules at any time. Based on what I've seen, for the first many years, people are active in their HOAs. After many years, interest (and available time) wanes & you get a small core group that is running it in the interest of everyone else. That is often the time the group decides to make changes, make more restrictive rules, etc... (basically when there is less overall oversight from everyone else).

 

I'm definitely anti-HOA.

[Belacqua]

I much prefer no HOA. Surely, I'd like my neighbor to get rid of the tatty blue tarp that's been in front of his barn for six years now, as I don't think it is even covering anything (and the idea of a little midnight vigilante neatness has crossed my mind on occasion...), but I really bristle at the idea of having people judging my house and yard.

 

Then again, there was a pretty reasonable HOA in my previous neighborhood. One of my neighbors let her yard get noticeably unkempt and she got a letter from the HOA. After she explained that her husband was deployed and she was 8 months pregnant with her fourth child, the HOA members showed up the next weekend with gardening tools and took care of the yard for her.

[sassenach]

I didn't mind our HOA, but they had pretty limited jurisdiction. We needed approval for fencing (no chain link, I appreciated that), but not for house color (when we painted, I liked that. When our neighbors painted their house bright pumpkin orange, I didn't). They did a good job of maintaining the community pool and common areas (good). We couldn't park on the street overnight (annoying). It cost us less than $400/year (very good comparatively).

[LidiyaDawn]

I guess I'll just never understand why people actually care what colour their neighbour's paint their house, what kind of flowers they plant, what kind of fence they have, or whether their grass has some pretty yellow dandelions scattered through it. :001_huh:

[kalanamak]

I guess I'll just never understand why people actually care what colour their neighbour's paint their house, what kind of flowers they plant, what kind of fence they have, or whether their grass has some pretty yellow dandelions scattered through it. :001_huh:

 

Dandelions reproduce like mad, and float seeds onto neighbor.

 

We can't have enclosed front yards in the whole town (not even a short chain link to keep toddlers in). I'm wondering why. Anyone have any ideas?

[*lifeoftheparty*]

Well, keep in mind that we live less than 30 miles from DC......

 

I LOVE the fact that we have an HOA! It keeps the riff-raff out. They don't like all the rules, can't abide by the rules, or can't afford to live here with all the extra fees; hey, whatever works.

 

We have 4 pools, half a dozen playgrounds, a community center, gym, ponds, basketball courts, tennis courts, ice skating rink, stores, restaurants, walking/running trails and a nature preserve. I appreciate the fact that there aren't gangs of thugs and thug wanna-be's running all over the place. I like that you are only allowed to bring a limited number of "friends" to the pool AND they charge $5 for each one. We never have crowded pools!

 

I have lived in places without HOA's in this area, and, NEVER AGAIN. They have more crime, more, uh, undesirables, can look rundown, and in the end, affect the value of your property b/c if no one wants to live there, then your property value will fall.

 

Because of the HOA, I live in a beautiful, desirable, sought-after, low crime neighborhood with lots of amenities that are well maintained and not crowded.

 

We pay about $1300 a year for our HOA fees and it's worth every penny.

[DawnM]

We can't stand them and have never lived in anywhere that had one. We won't.

[DawnM]

In that situation I might too. It is nothing like that here without an HOA.

 

Dawn

 

Well, keep in mind that we live less than 30 miles from DC......

 

I LOVE the fact that we have an HOA! It keeps the riff-raff out. They don't like all the rules, can't abide by the rules, or can't afford to live here with all the extra fees; hey, whatever works.

 

We have 4 pools, half a dozen playgrounds, a community center, gym, ponds, basketball courts, tennis courts, ice skating rink, stores, restaurants, walking/running trails and a nature preserve. I appreciate the fact that there aren't gangs of thugs and thug wanna-be's running all over the place. I like that you are only allowed to bring a limited number of "friends" to the pool AND they charge $5 for each one. We never have crowded pools!

 

I have lived in places without HOA's in this area, and, NEVER AGAIN. They have more crime, more, uh, undesirables, can look rundown, and in the end, affect the value of your property b/c if no one wants to live there, then your property value will fall.

 

Because of the HOA, I live in a beautiful, desirable, sought-after, low crime neighborhood with lots of amenities that are well maintained and not crowded.

 

We pay about $1300 a year for our HOA fees and it's worth every penny.

[DesertDweller]

If everyone loathes them, why do they exist?

 

I'm not really sure. My dh and I lived in a leased home many years ago that was in a new neighborhood with an HOA. It was a new concept to us at the time having moved from another state where I don't think they were quite so prevalent.

 

There seems to be so many in our area, maybe people sometimes feel they have no choice.

 

I know we will never live in a neighborhood with one again.

[grace'smom]

We like a good, strong HOA at our house. Unfortunately, our neighborhood HOA is not as strong as it appeared when we moved into our house. The developers were floating the grounds maintainance and now that they've moved out the extensive common ground area looks awful. There's erosion due to lack of mulch funding, weeds, and a large majority of people who somehow think throwing trash out your car window is a reasonable action. We paid above average prices for our home thinking that the neighborhood would be run as it was when we moved in (beautiful, nonweedy common areas full of grass, bushes and flowers that are now dead). The lack of a strong HOA meant that once the developers were gone the neighborhood had a completely different feel. We feel ripped off. DH has joined the HOA and is trying to help get measures passed to at least stop the erosion due to lack of mulch, but it's just really sad. The dues were not set nearly high enough to sustain the amount of common ground in the neighborhood- so we have this great walking trail, pool and nature area but now it's run down and eroding (hilly area) just a couple years after the developer left.

 

So that's our HOA story. I'd keep my garage door closed any day if I didn't have to pick up broken beer bottles along what used to be a gorgeous walking trail through beautifully landscaped common grounds. I think in an area without common grounds you'd have more leeway, but if you want a pool, clubhouse, and nature trails you better check out the strength of your HOA.

[ChandlerMom]

I guess I'll just never understand why people actually care what colour their neighbour's paint their house, what kind of flowers they plant, what kind of fence they have, or whether their grass has some pretty yellow dandelions scattered through it. :001_huh:

 

In my area you just have to google map it to understand the value of HOAs. The folks drawn to the "county islands" and other non-HOA neighborhoods inevitably have 12 cars to park in their yard and a pile of scrap metal. This is across the street form 300K+ neighborhoods (with HOAs). If you aren't next to a junkyard neighbor, count yourself lucky. The 2 times we've lived without HOAs (one rural, one city, diff states) BOTH times we had a neighbor within 2 houses with a junkyard and at least 3 dogs who were outside 100% (barking like loones anytime we took the kids outside). Try to get a city ordinance enforced. BTW, untrained aggressive dogs and piles of tires and leaky cars piled against your fence are not just eyesores -- they are safety hazards.

 

It's a common misconception that "property rights" means you can do anything on your property ( you can't, esp if what you do affects others). If people had more sense, HOAs wouldn't be necessary. I wouldn't live on anything under 5 ac without an HOA.

[*lifeoftheparty*]

In my area you just have to google map it to understand the value of HOAs. The folks drawn to the "county islands" and other non-HOA neighborhoods inevitably have 12 cars to park in their yard and a pile of scrap metal. This is across the street form 300K+ neighborhoods (with HOAs). If you aren't next to a junkyard neighbor, count yourself lucky. The 2 times we've lived without HOAs (one rural, one city, diff states) BOTH times we had a neighbor within 2 houses with a junkyard and at least 3 dogs who were outside 100% (barking like loones anytime we took the kids outside). Try to get a city ordinance enforced. BTW, untrained aggressive dogs and piles of tires and leaky cars piled against your fence are not just eyesores -- they are safety hazards.

 

It's a common misconception that "property rights" means you can do anything on your property ( you can't, esp if what you do affects others). If people had more sense, HOAs wouldn't be necessary. I wouldn't live on anything under 5 ac without an HOA.

 

:iagree:

 

Right now, I'm grappling with a tough situation. Our HOA has a list of dog breeds that are NOT allowed in the neighborhood... pit bulls and rottweilers being two of them. Well, a semi-friend of ours (our kids play together) just got a new dog and it is OBVIOUSLY all or part pit-bull :( I mean, it "looks" nice enough, but I noticed that it's collar has a HUGE box on it, presumably it's an electric shock-type device, and I've seen it pulling on the leash, it's a STRONG dog.... SO, I'm scared b/c my child frequently plays over there and I have seen them take the dog off the leash to play catch. I KNOW that if I call to report it, something WILL be done and they will have to get rid of the dog or move (she rents), plus be fined. I REALLY don't want to do that b/c I don't want to be a tattle-tale... on the other hand, I don't want my child, or another child, mauled by someone's seemingly "innocent" dog. However, I'm glad that we have an HOA with that rule, b/c then the problem is easily solved with a phone call. If I lived in a non-HOA neighborhood, I would just have to deal with it....

 

I still don't know what to do about the situation though...........

[happypamama]

:iagree:

 

Right now, I'm grappling with a tough situation. Our HOA has a list of dog breeds that are NOT allowed in the neighborhood... pit bulls and rottweilers being two of them. Well, a semi-friend of ours (our kids play together) just got a new dog and it is OBVIOUSLY all or part pit-bull :( I mean, it "looks" nice enough, but I noticed that it's collar has a HUGE box on it, presumably it's an electric shock-type device, and I've seen it pulling on the leash, it's a STRONG dog.... SO, I'm scared b/c my child frequently plays over there and I have seen them take the dog off the leash to play catch. I KNOW that if I call to report it, something WILL be done and they will have to get rid of the dog or move (she rents), plus be fined. I REALLY don't want to do that b/c I don't want to be a tattle-tale... on the other hand, I don't want my child, or another child, mauled by someone's seemingly "innocent" dog. However, I'm glad that we have an HOA with that rule, b/c then the problem is easily solved with a phone call. If I lived in a non-HOA neighborhood, I would just have to deal with it....

 

I still don't know what to do about the situation though...........

 

Our old neighborhood was the type where the local authorities would send you a letter if you had grass that was too long, and they'd tow a vehicle that they thought sat there too long, but it didn't have an HOA. I did call the county about a pit bull that was next door and barking aggressively at my DD, and they took care of it, because that breed was illegal in that area, not because of HOA rules, but because of state/county laws. That was handy. So it just depends on the area, but having the HOA with that rule should make it easier for you.

 

I can't imagine my DH ever wanting to live in a neighborhood with an HOA. We were very happy to move to the country in PA, where everyone has a garden and a clothesline, and nobody blinks at chickens or project vehicles. :)

[mamakimberly]

We moved here with less than a week's notice and are renting. It is our first time renting... we owned a house in Texas and renting is just a different ballgame. The house we're renting is fantastic, has a great screened-in pool and a huge yard with great trees and plenty of room to roam.

 

The neighbor's yard looks like a thrift store blew up in it. Seriously, it looks like a tornado just ripped through. A beat up kiddie pool upside down. A broken large adult-size porch swing. 5 bikes (they have one kid) of various sizes. Old nasty pots everywhere with nothing in them but dirt and/or weeds.

 

Trash bags full of trash. Rolls of tin foil. Sheets of tin foil. Tupperware. I am not kidding.

 

Even if we planned to stay in this area, we would NOT buy the house we are in- because of this neighbor. We just couldn't do it. She lowers the property value THAT much. The rest of the street is pretty well-taken-care-of.

 

ETA: The irony is that they have a BIG fenced-in backyard- EMPTY!! Go put it all in the backyard please!!!

 

And when we buy next fall/winter? Yes, HOA. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Edited April 11, 2011 by mamakimberly

[mcconnellboys]

Well, we had one weekend to choose a home when we were looking to move here. The only house we found that we liked came along with a neighborhood that charges yearly dues, so we didn't have much choice. Thus far, our association has not been unreasonable regarding requirements, but the dues do keep getting higher and higher....

[kalanamak]

ETA: The irony is that they have a BIG fenced-in backyard- EMPTY!! Go put it all in the backyard please!!!

.

 

That is no accident. It is the human version of the cat peeing on your pillow.

 

I lived in the county for 6 months, and there were some junkyard houses. Since then I've lived in towns with ordinances. I could see the point if an HOA was an oasis in trashville. Here, you just have to live in an incorporated area, and things are fairly good.

[Serenade]

 

Around these parts, HOA"s are your only option if you want to live in a new neighborhood. And you are less likely to lose value in your home.

 

Same here. There are no new neighborhoods going up without HOA's. We could have moved out into the country, but I wanted a neighborhood for my kids to grow up in, so we picked a neighborhood which seemed to have an HOA that was bearable. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. We haven't even moved in yet, and the HOA biddy has given us issues from day one. The neighbors are all nice, though, and we have fun sharing stories about the HOA lady. I guess only time will tell how it will all work out. We've mostly had problems during the building phase -- with things like landscaping and house color. She also likes to e-mail us on Friday at 4 and tell us we have to have some construction issue or another taken care of by Monday, like dirt on the road or a full dumpster. We haven't heard from her since we got the CO, though, so perhaps all is good now.

 

ETA: Oooh, ooh, now I'm larvae. I'm so excited! So much nicer than "just visiting."

[QueenCat]

The other thing to realize is that HOAs can change their rules at any time. Based on what I've seen, for the first many years, people are active in their HOAs. After many years, interest (and available time) wanes & you get a small core group that is running it in the interest of everyone else. That is often the time the group decides to make changes, make more restrictive rules, etc... (basically when there is less overall oversight from everyone else).

 

 

It'd be pretty hard to change anything in our rules. You have to have 75% of all homeowners (not just the ones who show up at meetings) agree to any change.

[QueenCat]

Dandelions reproduce like mad, and float seeds onto neighbor.

 

We can't have enclosed front yards in the whole town (not even a short chain link to keep toddlers in). I'm wondering why. Anyone have any ideas?

 

Because chain links don't look as nice as wood. Can you fence in the backyard for playtime?

[abacus2]

We don't have an HOA, but we do have deed restrictions so if a neighbor is being ridiculous, any other neighbor can take them to court to get them to fix things.

[Carrie12345]

I live in a Civic Association (which is basically like Coke vs. Pepsi) and hate it. We chose to live here b/c of the amenities and gated access. At the time, we didn't actually realize that these things are run by completely ordinary people who don't necessarily have any experience managing anything!

 

They started in our area because developers bought up enormous tracks of land and knew they could lure "city folk" into purchasing vacation and retirement homes in the "country" for a reasonable price. So they did. And then huge droves of us were squeezed out of the price of NJ/Philly living, turning them all into year-round residences.

 

Honestly, our dues are extremely reasonable for what we get. And the majority of the rules are sensible, necessary, and wanted. It's when we get board members with giant egos and agendas, and neighbors who refuse to comply once they realize what they bought into that we have problems. Right now, we have a lot of that.

And rules are useless when violators simply refuse to pay their fines or remedy the issue.

 

I sit on the arbitration committee, and it's... interesting!

[vonfirmath]

If everyone loathes them, why do they exist?

 

I LOVED the HOA we had in the neighborhood i grew up in. And in the one at the condo. In fact, I have not had a bad experience with a HOA yet.

 

But the neighborhood we grew up in -- the HOA was responsible for the pool and for the park, as well as for keeping the neighborhood looking great. When the HOA disbanded, the neighborhood went seriously downhill. (We moved soon thereafter). Several families living in a house, cars parked everywhere (including on yards), etc.

 

ETA: and my dad FIXED cars. We had 3 or 4 cars growing up to keep 2 running -- and were never in trouble with the HOA because broken down cars/cars in the midst of repair were always BEHIND the fence.

Edited April 11, 2011 by vonfirmath

[kitten18]

We like living in a neighborhood with an HOA.

 

Our first two houses were in older neighborhoods without and HOA. A few houses down from our first house, a neighbor painted their house purple (like Barney the dinosaur, purple). I can not describe how hideous it was. When we sold that house, every prospective buyer made a comment to the Realtor about the purple house.

Our second house was in a nice neighborhood but we happened to live next door to the only deadbeat in the neighborhood. There was often a non-functioning car in the driveway, a hole in the garage door, the grass would get 24-36 inches high and a couple beagles that barked all the time. When we put our house on the market, DH went over and mowed their lawn while they were gone.

 

We like having a park, tennis courts, rec. center, and swimming pools.

[kalanamak]

Because chain links don't look as nice as wood. Can you fence in the backyard for playtime?

 

Out here, wood gets green with moss and gets old and tired looking quickly. And it blocks what little sun we get. Only moss grows in the shade.

That back is fenced in, with wood, and it is very dark and mossy.

[QueenCat]

It's when we get board members with giant egos and agendas, and neighbors who refuse to comply once they realize what they bought into that we have problems. Right now, we have a lot of that.

And rules are useless when violators simply refuse to pay their fines or remedy the issue.

 

I sit on the arbitration committee, and it's... interesting!

 

In our neighborhood, if you don't pay your dues, you get 30 days notice. Then a lien on your house. If you don't pay, you can't sell your house. Works quite well in keeping dues paid on time.

[Wendi]

This is our first HOA neighborhood. We've lived here for about 7 years, and not heard of any complaints about the HOA. In the current economy, it's helpful that we don't have to worry about untended vacant houses, etc.

 

In our previous neighborhood, houses were painted weird colors, there were some yards that were not tended, etc. So we do appreciate that everyone keeps their house and yard looking nice. We have even gotten a note when our palm trees needed trimming!

 

Wendi

[Carrie12345]

In our neighborhood, if you don't pay your dues, you get 30 days notice. Then a lien on your house. If you don't pay, you can't sell your house. Works quite well in keeping dues paid on time.

 

Except when people don't care b/c they can't sell their house even if they wanted to. (The vast majority of homes here are under water in this market.)

We have started to get sheriff sales going. That's woken a couple of people up so far! They also posted a delinquent list online. There are people who owe more than $40,000 on it!

[RoundAbout]

We were very adamant that we would not buy in a HOA and our realtor was amazed because HOAs are the norm around here. Our solution is that we live on a lovely secluded cul-de-sac with only 4 other houses and we know all of our neighbors. If something comes up we just talk about it.

[felicity]

We bought our house about three years ago, right before everything imploded here. It's in a new neighborhood, which is something of a misnomer as all building stopped after our section. So of the thousand or so houses that were planned for, about 100 were actually built. That means that the builder still owns the majority and we can't get any homeowners on the HOA board.

 

Right now we pay for the HOA to take care of our small common area and the two parks. Unfortunately the two parks are closed because they are going to build the houses around the parks. Or so they've been saying for three years. We pay a huge amount of money for what we are getting. So I have no problems with a crazy HOA, just one that pays $1200/year for landscaping small areas but takes in more than that each month. The majority of our money goes to paying for the HOA rather than for upkeep. That's my problem with the HOA.