Homeowners Associations

[JustinL]

I am looking to buy my first home later this year and want to solicit opinions about homeowner's associations. I have no firsthand experiences with them and have only known two people subject to them and neither thought highly of their HoA.

What opinions and experiences can you all share?

I appreciate your input.

 

[bluegrassarms]

All depends on the HoA and what you are looking for in a home owning experience.

if you want to be able to put up any darn thing in your yard that you want, do any additions you want, etc. then you may have issues with one. If you want your neighbors to have to keep their yard mowed and otherwise lower the externalities that a neighbor may inflict on you they can work well.

Also depends on the level of HoA. Some are all inclusive and their association maintains the yards, mows them, paints the houses, does roofs, carries group home insurance, etc. They have budgets, full time employees, maybe a clubhouse and other group amenities. Some are just a set of deed restrictions and some folks that meet at a house.

My neighborhood association is non-binding, a 501(c)3 that represents our little neighborhood with the city and acts as a mechanism to coordinate and hold events, but there are no restrictions filed on our deeds. I've also lived in one that has a Master Deed and governing document 200 pages thick in a gated community with 24 hour security, a clubhouse and pool, all the yards mowed, etc.

Look for things particular to your taste and desires in the restrictions, and if you can live with them. Some are picky about putting up satellite dishes, or paint colors, or yard maintenance. Some have mandatory dues to cover costs, or group insurance in which you'd have to participate.

That's about all I can help with without knowing more specifics about the kind of structure. I will say they can be very useful in maintaining property values by making sure the neighborhood is properly maintained and properties are not left to run down, but it's not a guarantee.

Your county clerk would have a copy of any required deed restrictions on file for the property. I would absolutely get them direct from the courthouse to be sure what is really filed and read them completely. You'd be amazed how many realtors have no idea how to explain the various kinds of HoAs and just rely on what the seller says you can and can't do.

 

[Engineer1911]

If the HOA cost you money on a monthly or annual basis it might be a strong group or organization. When I bought a house in Augusta, GA, I saw something about a HOA. I pushed the issue with both realtors until I got a copy of the "rules". I was buying the house from the builder.

I received 27 pages of Do and Don't. There were no monthly or annual dues, some one else 'could file suit on behalf of owners'. If found guilty of violation of the rules, I could be forced to 'make repairs' at my expense.

I did just what I wanted with my property, including the removal of 9 pine trees (a real no-no!!!), without any problems or asking any one's permission. YMMV

 

[Bill_inBouse]

Be very careful with any HOA, search their CC&Rs on how they can be updated. As an example we lived in a development with a HOA and CC&Rs, that prohibited satellite dishes for TV reception. Well back in those days sat dishes were 8' across LOL. I had to file a complaint with the FCC to get them off my backs and change the CC&Rs to allow small dishes as for Direct TV and Dish network. A lot of the elected people in HOAs (sorry my opinion) are egotistical wanna be dictators only interested in controlling other peoples lives, I will NEVER buy another home with a HOA. Again that's my .02 cents worth.

 

[dougb1946]

HOAs seem to be a breeding ground for people assuming powers that they really don't have. Read the agreement before you sign anything.

 

[BaldEagle1313]

A lot of the elected people in HOAs (sorry my opinion) are egotistical wanna be dictators only interested in controlling other peoples lives, I will NEVER buy another home with a HOA. Again that's my .02 cents worth.

Not just your two cents. In my teenage years we lived in a place with a HOA and will never, never, ever again live where there is one. It's one thing to know what's going on in your neighborhood, but far too many treat a seat on the HOA board as a power trip, wanting to have their own little fiefdom. If I wanted to work on the car I needed to do it with the garage door closed or someone would complain. We got a complaint about the lawn being too high the day after I mowed it - I liked it a little longer so the mower didn't scalp the tree roots, but that meant it was longer than any other lawn on the block.

There have been numerous instances in my area about HOA's having the deciding vote on what color you can paint your house, or the trim color. Or taking a member homeowner to court because they installed a flagpole. Can't fly the flag? They can kiss my big fat behind.

 

[Hodgin]

I've never lived in community with an HOA but one of my best friends (now deceased) did and my daughter does now. They can be a pain with respect to specifying what you can and can't do. Of course, it works both ways. It all depends on what type of community you want to live in.

You need to really research the HOA contract before getting into it. For example, my daughter has a tree in the front yard of her condo that is real close to the building. It needs to be trimmed back a bit to get it off the roof. The condo is 2-story. She can't have it trimmed since it's in the front. She has a court yard that she has control over, but the front and back are subject to HOA rules.

I also had to paint her mail box recently even though it only showed minor fading. Everyone had to paint theirs too. And, fees have gone up every year she's lived there except one. She's lived there for 5 years.

There is a small group of HOA leaders who take their job very seriously and feel it their duty to make sure everyone is obeying the rules strictly. The HOA is doesn't allow deviation from the contract.

 

[Airpark]

Bluegrass arms said it about the best.

Some HOA's have rules for painting, trees, lawns, roofs, parking, etc. As another poster said some HOA members seem to want the power they never had in life and now have it.

Lived in one on the second green of the country club golf course. We could not put up any sort of fence in the back as that faced the course and was considered unsightly. NO barbecue out there...had to be brought in and put in the garage...unsightly also.

They had an architectural committe that was supposed to control and sign off on your building plans.....they goofed and one guy built what we called the neighborhood 7-11 store....complete with drive through carport.

Personally I have had good experience and bad experience with them. The bad outweighing the good.

Figuratively speaking, I like to be able to step out back and pee off my porch if I desire and that is an ABSOLUTE no no with a HOA.

HOA's are not a classic example of "You get what you pay for."

 

[radar1972]

My oldest daughter and her family live in a community with a pretty strict HOA. Daughter had to supply plans/drawings of a 42" picket fence they wanted to put up around their back yard. They have received nasty-grams about the length of their grass, mailbox needing repainting, yada, yada, yada.

I choose to not live where there's a HOA. When shopping for our house 11 years ago, I just looked for well-kept neighborhoods that did not have a HOA. Still a very nice looking area and I have removed trees, burned limbs and other debris, added 2 decks, had the upper deck roofed and screened, etc without having a HOA breathing down my neck.

 

[gdnagle]

HOA can be like the German gestapo and some of them think they are, you know the power trip type of people. They can and do tell you what you can and can't do. You want a fence you have to get permission and build to their specs plus building codes for the area. Same with sheds, decks, pools, paint color. Want to change you shutter color or color of your front door, may not be able to, paint getting dull or not to their liking you will paint it or they will for you. Of course you pay their rate to have it done. They will take you to court and win most of the time, put a lean on your property which you will need to take care of before you sell. They will tell you where you can park and how many cars you can have in front of your house if any, if you have a garage you may be required to park in it and not leave a vehicle outside over night. No work trucks parked in front of your house, same with boats or RV's they sometimes have a lot where you will be required to park them at your own risk. Don't think about letting your grass, or trees and shrubs overgrown. Most states require a real estate company to give a copy of the bylaws to buyers, I don't know if this includes perspective buyers but I wouldn't complete a deal unless I read them and have a contingency to back out if I didn't like them. These rules are to protect the community so you don't have a run down house or 30 junk cars in the yard.

If you don't like to be told what to do you won't like them. They also have perks like the community pool, tennis, maybe gym etc..

I lived in a community that had one for 3 years with a brand new house. I personally didn't like being told what to do. It's my property if one weekend I didn't feel like cutting the grass they would send a reminder that their people would be in the neighborhood the next week and they will cut it if I didn't for $75.00 for less then 2000sf property with a 2400 sf house on it plus 125 ft drive so not much grass.

Your mileage may vary and not all HOA's have the same strict rules, just make sure you check the bylaws before you sign on the dotted line. OBTW they can change the rules anytime they feel like it when they get enough support to vote in favor of the change and you will be surprised at some of the stupid ideas they come up with. I've seen them make a person take flowers out of their yard because they didn't conform.

Like I said not all are the gestapo type but I don't trust them. My experience was with a large community where everyone was stuck up. Heck I had them come to my door one day and wanted me to sign a petition to have a guy take his garage down because it wasn't attached to his house. I would tell you what I told them but my demerits come off next month and don't want to get banned.

Just give me my acres out in the country with no neighbors that's why I'm happy now. Fresh tomato's and corn in the summer are great if the wildlife would leave them alone.

OBTW did I mention I don't like HOA's. But it seems the yuppie's like them.

 

[H Richard]

If you consider one, get and read all the restrictions AND speak to several persons that have lived in that HOA for several years. They are all different. I have one and it is literally no bother, but is gently strict enough to keep the area in good repair. We do pay a fee, that covers the grass cutting and snow clearing. We feel it does a good job of keeping the neighborhood up and the property values up.

 

[Badger Matt]

We live in an HOA neighborhood and are happy with the restrictions...thus far. It keeps the neighborhood neat and clean and keep the place from getting trashy. That said, all it would take it a couple busy-body do-gooders to make life rough.

Figuratively speaking, I like to be able to step out back and pee off my porch if I desire and that is an ABSOLUTE no no with a HOA.

...and that's why the back porch light stays off and our yard backs up to the woods.

 

[Comrad]

Run away, do you really want to own a place that you have to ask permission to do anything with?

 

[the ringo kid]

Mr. Nagle stole my thunder a bit. I lived in a neighborhood in Houston that had one. Delete the entire first word and every letter in between the esses in the 2nd word, and what do you get?

The ones running my neighborhood were Nazis. To borrow a signature line from a great gent here: "I told one irritable ""lady"" to: "GET OFF MY LAWN."

They were complaining about the American flag we were flying--which was right next to the front door and inside the entrance-way by several feet) and said it was obtrusive, a hazzard, and an eyesore. So I told them to leave MY property, and they decided to take a short cut to the car by walking across MY lawn. When we moved into the house-the yard was nothing but weeds, I did the work to get the carpet grass to grow.

 

[smokindog]

Avoid them like the plague, especially if there's no truly common amenities like a pool, ... They are private governments bound to your deed with NO oversight. YOUR only remedy is the courts and in most cases, YOU are liable for their costs should you lose.

Most are under the thumbs of a handful of large management companies. In our neighborhood of roughly 150 homes, $10K each year is sent to the management company, $5K is spent on insurance for the board and legal fees, and the rest goes to mow a few strips of grass. When the property was dedicated, the Town and the original developer buried VERY deep in the paper work the responsibility for the 7 bridges into the association so we also have about $500K in unfunded liabilities for repair when they need them. You'll get the "special" expense notice for those!!!!

UNFORTUNATELY, in many larger areas, it's getting next to impossible to avoid them for the very reason that the local officials can take a lot of costs off their books and bury them in these jack boot associations. It's a win for them!

I am looking to buy my first home later this year and want to solicit opinions about homeowner's associations. I have no firsthand experiences with them and have only known two people subject to them and neither thought highly of their HoA.

What opinions and experiences can you all share?

I appreciate your input.

 

[Rastoff]

If the HOA has rules that fit your desires in home ownership, then you're basically paying money to keep the neighborhood at that level.

The problem I have with HOAs is that the rules are not applied evenly. If you've got a friend on the board then you can get away with stuff that others cannot. Plus, they just seem to breed snobs.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

When they are goose stepping down to your house, then you will understand what the guys are talking about.
Another term is 'pooling ignorance.'

 

[NeoBuckeye]

I do not have first hand experience with HOA, but have a friend that is dealing with one.
I would think some are more strict then others.
He can not have any "external structures" in his back yard, such as a tool / storage shed or gazebo.
No campers, RV's or boats visiable on propery. So you will either need to keep those at off site storage, or keep them in your garage.
On the plus side, all the houses and yards in the area look nice.

 

[Hillbilly77]

I have a fire pit in my back yard.
I will keep a fire pit in my back yard.
Some days I want a small fire, some days I want a big fire.

I like to shoot in my yard (guns and bow).

Some weekends, I just don't feel like mowing the lawn. I'll do it next week and pick up the extra clippings with the lawn-sweeper.

Live someplace where a group of people presume to make these decisions for me? Hell, no!

 

[JustinL]

Thank you for the input so far, I really appreciate it.