HOA's. Hate them or love them?

[aquariuscsm]

I want to hear everyone's experience about living in HOA's,the good and the bad/pros and cons.

We're looking at three HOA houses tomorrow. I've always hated the idea of them,but I've never lived in one. One of the houses,the one she really likes,is in the country club. Back yard is the golf course (which I'm not overly crazy about). It's 3000+ sq ft on a one acre lot. Lots of mature trees. Built in the 80s. $175,000 tax appraised at $250,000. Taxes are $3000-$4000 a year. What I REALLY want is a mid century art deco house,but it seems no one wants to sell these and the ones we find for sale are uber expensive. Anyway,we saw the HOA rules,which honestly,are just common sense. The ones that stood out I just had to share with y'all :^)

The HOA dues put you as a county club member. They have once a month HOA parties (totally not my bag at all).

*You may change your car's oil as long as it's done on your property and oil is drained into a catch can (heck,I thought everyone just let it drain on the ground haha)

*You may wash your car as long as it's done on your property.

The one rule that I don't care for,you have to mow your yard once a week. If you miss a week,they mow it for you charging you $50.

Ok everyone,tell me your experiences with these things.

 

[Ramblejam]

 

[Kuato]

You must mow 1 time per week.

What if you prefer your grass at 8" tall and mow it at that point, once a week? I am sure there would soon be a rule that it could be no longer than ... someone else's idea of how long it should be.

Hate.

This should be a good topic.

 

[SatinSilver]

Big difference between a condo/townhouse hoa and a single family home hoa. Many rules with the former which I would avoid. Too many people living close together. Where the single family home one just tries to keep the area nice. Usually if they cut your grass for you it can be micro managed, have lots of rules and a hefty monthly fee. Where if you have to cut your own grass it's much more casual. The casual type situation I would be ok with.

Is the hoa a monthly, quarterly or annual fee?

 

[Mr Nice]

I would try and change your wife's mind about buying that home...

 

[Lapham3]

I wouldn't take the word of a realtor. Good that you've checked the bylaws, but I'd want to talk to somebody that lives there, too-good luck.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
I would try and change your wife's mind about buying that home...


Haha trust me,I am!!

 

[expat]

HOA boards can attract the wrong sort of people.

What seem reasonable rules can morph into a dictatorship, policed by the HOA Nazis.

 

[Andrew1972]

Ask about the extra fees related cc member and hoa etc. House prices are quite low where you are.

Fees go no where but up!

 

[OneEyeJack]

There might be some HOA problems in California very soon. Governor Moonbeam has a bill on his desk (AB 1448) that if signed will allow anyone to setup clothes lines in their front or back yards to dry clothes. This law will void all HOA restrictions against clotheslines.

It appears that Governor Moonbeam recently saw this marvelous invention, a clothesline with clothespins, that uses solar energy to dry laundry. It's really a blessing to have a Governor that sees what others don't see, recognizes its value and is willing to share his wisdom with his subjects in California.

The bill signing ceremony should be a great show. For these HOA people being told what to do does not compute. As far as they know they are always in charge and their word is law. This could escalate into a Pay-per-view extravaganza.

 

[simple_gifts]

Avoid.

My friend bought a condo in a renovated factory; seems the condo association refused to address structural issues with the property. He is a lawyer, so he got himself elected as the association president.

Short story is, it was like having a disfunctional family with 40 members. Infighting, childish behavior, unreasonable demands.

My parents had a condo in S. Carolina; the association hired a professional mgmt company who promptly starting billing their cell phones to the condo association; it became a full time task to make sure the association wasn't being fleeced.

Owning a home... hard enough without all the additional nonsense.

JMO.

 

[dishdude]

I've owned 4 houses, 3 of which were in an HOA, never a problem. It's nice not having to look at junk cars, property in disrepair or above ground pools.

If you don't like the way the HOA is being run, get on the board. I wish the current one I live in would enforce the rules a little stronger, I am not too thrilled with some of my neighbor's landscaping but it isn't bad enough for me to do anything about, yet.

 

[spasm3]

I would walk around on a saturday morning and speak to people living there about the HOA. See if there is an opinion, pick homes with perfect manicured lawns and the average home. Also for kicks, as the opinion of the hoa from the worst cared for home in that neighborhood.

Don't care for hoa government myself , but best to check it out in the neighborhood before you spend money.

 

[mrsilv04]

I live in a HOA that wants to collect the yearly dues... but not do anything else. They did not respond to *any* correspondence from me for two years. I sent first class mail, faxes, emails, registered mail... you name it. And no response.

They finally had a half-retired lawyer elected to the board, so he started off his first letter to me all tough, and with legal threats. When I showed him proof that I'd been blown off by the board for two years, he softened up quickly.

My position is that they need to enforce ALL of the rules, just not the one that deals with the dues.

As a result, they haven't seen a penny from me in two years, and I've made it clear to them that they're not going to see a check from me anytime soon.

 

[spk2000]

I have lived in 2 and they have been fine. There are restrictions but for us it just means everyone keeps their homes in good shape and doesn't stack cars in yard or build barns in neighbor's view of the pond. Common sense and they are not too strict. Some can be but mine have not been.

 

[hattaresguy]

If you want to have a nice house and your in a so so area for value they are nice. People hate them until trailer trash moves in next door and you get 6 cars in the front yard and the grass is tall enough to harvest for wheat.

Of course its a free country, remember that when you take a 10%-20% property value haircut because your neighbor Bill likes to collect junk.

 

[buck91]

Grew up in a HOA neighborhood. Currently live in a HOA neighborhood. Neither are particuarly upper crust, just good middle class living. There are some rules here and there to be aware of, but really haven't had issues. One time we "broke the rules" by keeping somebody else's boat in the driveway for a week... But didn't have any trouble.

Both HOA maintained a very nice park in the neighborhood.

 

[Chris142]

No way.i would never consider living in a place with a hoa

 

[czbrian]

No issues with my HOA. I received a letter once about needing to edge the yard. I don't edge every time I mow and sure enough I was overdue. Took care of that real quick and haven't had an issue since. I prefer a strong HOA that keeps the neighborhood looking nice.

 

[Merkava_4]

In my neighborhood, the Home Owners Association is the Clovis PD.