Anyone live in a neighboorhood with a home onwers association?

I

imported_RedlineIRL

New member
Right now I am looking at homes, and I found a few that I really like. The only downside is that they are in home onwer association neighborhoods.:down From what I have always heard, home owners associations usually suck. I could maybe deal with it if they don't try to force stupid rules on me and what I can do on or to my property. Do you really have to belong to the association? It's not like they can force you to be apart of it and pay their monthly fee, or can they?



Anways, for you all that live in these kinds of neighborhoods, what kind of rules are there in placed that you cannot do to or on your property that most people find ridiculous?
 
HOA's suck!! If you can, try to by a home in a neighborhood that doesn't have one. As far as I know, if you live in a HOA community you have to pay the fees and abide by the rules. If you don't, they can slap your property with a lien and make make your life miserable.



My suggestion to you is to get your hands on their CC&R's and thouroughly read them before purchasing. IME, they're more bad than good.
 
I'd never live in an area with one myself. When we were looking at new homes we found one we liked but it had a HOA. We didn't buy it. Years latter friends of our moved in and there is no more HOA. I think that was hurting their sales.
 
Like everything in life, HOAs vary and people's opinions of them vary.

Read the rules and ask questions.

Talk to others in the HOA.



FWIW, my daughter lives in a townhouse with a HOA and if she had known what a pain they could be, she would not be there.

Actually, it's less the HOA and more the busybodies that report everything they see.

She has been cited for parking on the street. The vehicle in question was black, hers is gold. Citation was dismissed.

She was billed for repair of melted siding caused by a grille.

She had no grille and had no melted siding. Wrong unit number.

Bill was dismissed after 4 phone calls and a trip to the townhouse and the management office by me.

Some rule with an iron hand and evidently can take money paid for monthly dues and apply it to their assessments. At least they did in those two instances.

This then causes your dues to be shown as delinquent. Her dues are paid by an automatic bill pay from the bank, but they used that money for both the situations listed. Doesn't seem right, but other than getting an attorney, you have very little you can do.



Personal opinion, HOA, I would pass.

Most cities have enough zoning laws and rules without the need for a vigilante group.
 
Yeah, a lot will depend on how the neighbors are and what they piss and moan about.



There is no doubt in my mind that if I lived in a house with a HOA I'd get in a fist fight with one of those nosy neighbors. LOL I hate having neighbors as it is. Plus, the local government restricts enough in a regular neighborhood let alone a HOA telling you what to do.
 
It all depends where you live and what your needs are. Down here it's a necessity. Otherwise it would be a free for all. Read the rules 1st and if you can deal with them then move forward.
 
I could NEVER own a home in an HOA.. I just don’t like being told what to do with property that I OWN…



If I want to wash my car in my driveway at 3am that is exactly what I am going to do (and have)…



I would rather slice my writs with a rusty spoon than live in a HOA
 
I live in a gorgeous townhome in O.C. which has a HOA better know as the Gestapo



If I had to do it all over again, definately NO HOA....its like living in a fishbowl....



Here is one for you....I have a hose bib in my garage which is were I used to fill my water tanks. I have no water bill, it's part of my HOA dues. Well my neigbor the B***h got on the HOA and once she was on she came after me at full force. I was ordered to cease or desist using the water becuase she convinced the board that I was profiting from the community..........



I hired an attorney and got them off my back, all is good now and she quit her position on the board:getdown
 
MotorCity said:
I could NEVER own a home in an HOA.. I just don’t like being told what to do with property that I OWN…



If I want to wash my car in my driveway at 3am that is exactly what I am going to do (and have)…



I would rather slice my writs with a rusty spoon than live in a HOA
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I live in a HOA, there are nice sometimes and not others...



I've been cited for "need to mow lawn" during the summer because I missed a week of mowing while out of town, along the same lines was "grass growing over curb". then I got "paint garage door" but after a quick power washing, it was clean...



I like it because it makes people clean up their houses, and as long as you don't have a neighbor who reports every little thing, its not bad.



I think what bugs me the most about the HOA is how much they want. we pay $500+/year and don't have a clubhouse nor a communal pool (since most people have their own); my mom pays $250/year and her neighborhood has 2 pools/clubhouses...
 
IkeRay said:
I live in a HOA, there are nice sometimes and not others...



I've been cited for "need to mow lawn" during the summer because I missed a week of mowing while out of town, along the same lines was "grass growing over curb". then I got "paint garage door" but after a quick power washing, it was clean...



I like it because it makes people clean up their houses, and as long as you don't have a neighbor who reports every little thing, its not bad.



I think what bugs me the most about the HOA is how much they want. we pay $500+/year and don't have a clubhouse nor a communal pool (since most people have their own); my mom pays $250/year and her neighborhood has 2 pools/clubhouses...
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I hear you but I just do not want to be told what to do with and on property that I own...



Doing research on where you are moving and (not to sound elitist) unless you live in a low income neighborhood people typically have enough sense to keep their houses in a manner that will not disturb me or bring down my home value...
 
Technically, my neighborhood has an HOA, but as we have no common areas, there are no fees. We've lived there for about two years now, and never have heard a peep about HOA meetings, fees, etc. I'm fortunate that we're also surrounded by very cool neighbors . . . no "ZOMG, the trash can was left outside overnight!" or "Oh noes, the grass is 1mm too long!" kind of crap.



Of course, all it will take is one busybody to move in, and that could all change overnight.



Tort
 
MotorCity said:
I could NEVER own a home in an HOA.. I just don’t like being told what to do with property that I OWN…



If I want to wash my car in my driveway at 3am that is exactly what I am going to do (and have)…



I would rather slice my writs with a rusty spoon than live in a HOA
Click to expand...

That's the thing that gets me also, I don't really like the idea of having to pay a monthly fee just because of where I live. The neighborhood is away from the city limits, more in a rural area, and maybe has 30 to 40 homes in it, so maybe they are more relaxed about stuff. I guess I'll have to ask for a copy of the rules and regulations first to see what if it could be beneficial or a pain in the rear. I guess it could be a good thing to keep others in the neighborhood from letting their houses look like crap, but when looking in nicer neighborhoods with newer homes that's usually something that I don't think will have to deal with.



Same here when it comes to the washing.:lol I figured that maybe a lot of HOAs will restrict people from washing their vehicles at their homes, that's mainly what I was looking to find out by asking others. I'll be damned if if I am going to live somewhere where some association is going to tell me that I can't work on, wash, detail, or do anything to my vehicles on my property.



That's for the heads up everyone, looks like I'll be searching for other homes that do not have a HOA just in case.



TortoiseAWD said:
Technically, my neighborhood has an HOA, but as we have no common areas, there are no fees. We've lived there for about two years now, and never have heard a peep about HOA meetings, fees, etc. I'm fortunate that we're also surrounded by very cool neighbors . . . no "ZOMG, the trash can was left outside overnight!" or "Oh noes, the grass is 1mm too long!" kind of crap.



Of course, all it will take is one busybody to move in, and that could all change overnight.



Tort
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That will be the nice if that is the case in this area. I will have to ask a few of the surrounding neighbors of these homes to see how active the HOA how much it is really enforced onto others
 
I'm not aware of any HOAs that don't allow you to wash your car. Many condos have designated washing areas. You might have a problem (legal) if you are making noise at all hours of the night, but that's case anywhere you live. "Disturbing the Peace"



Nobody forces anyone to live somewhere. If you read the rules and don't wish to follow them, then it's a no brainer to not waste your time living there. HOAs are created by the people that live there. It's not like it's some 3rd party that's making crazy rules just to be a PITA.
 
As noted, you just can't generalize; some HOAs are good, some are just OK, some are awful. Just like people.



I've lived in neighborhoods with HOAs, and it was no problem at all. It was usually possible to, uhm...enlighten the other members when stupid ideas came up.



Before you make an offer, check out the HOA and what rules it has in place. See if it matters to you and if so, whether it's a plus or minus.
 
Agree with others. Read the bilaws, and see what the costs are and what limitations you have (if any). It could be that there is just some common property that needs to be maintained, and everyone chips in a bit to maintain it. Also, sometimes associations are a good thing, they keep things uniform which helps curb appeal and property values. It all depends on your comfort factor..........and everything is speculative until you know exactly what the deal is.
 
David Fermani said:
I'm not aware of any HOAs that don't allow you to wash your car. Many condos have designated washing areas. You might have a problem (legal) if you are making noise at all hours of the night, but that's case anywhere you live. "Disturbing the Peace"
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I have a couple of clients in Marietta, Georgia and this HOAs rules state that any car maintenance cannot be seen from the curb. The garage door has to be down.



Talking with one client’s bride she informed me that to plant any flowers or bushes she must have a landscape designer present a plan to their board for approval. The board uses email video to disperse fines on a monthly basis. Wow this is over the top for me.



Very nice gated with security subdivision and a sort of hootie tootie attitude so you can be sure there is no chance we will ever live here.



I enjoy having choices. :usa:woohoo::usa
 
RedlineIRL said:
Right now I am looking at homes, and I found a few that I really like. The only downside is that they are in home onwer association neighborhoods.:down From what I have always heard, home owners associations usually suck. I could maybe deal with it if they don't try to force stupid rules on me and what I can do on or to my property. Do you really have to belong to the association? It's not like they can force you to be apart of it and pay their monthly fee, or can they?



Anways, for you all that live in these kinds of neighborhoods, what kind of rules are there in placed that you cannot do to or on your property that most people find ridiculous?
Click to expand...



I own a home that is regulated by restrictive zoning regulations (or 'home owners association' as they call it to make it sound less intimidating to buyers)



Some of the restrictions may include:

- You may not paint the exterior and the interior of your house certain colors

- Your garden must contain a minimum percentage of grass, flowers, and plants

- Your lawn must not grow to a certain height

- You may not jack your vehicle on your driveway

- You may not perform repair or maintenance work on your driveway, that includes checking the oil or replacing a lightbulb

- You may not wash your car on the driveway

- You may not have certain types of pets, or any pets at all

- You may not have kids under a certain age

- Your kids may not play on the driveway

- You must donate a minimum value towards the community for environmental protection purposes

- etcetra, etcetra...



These are the more common ones I hear about. Outrageous? Not at all. I've seen worse.



Restrictive Zoning are suppose to artifically increasing the value of properties in the area, by means of regulating the quality of the neighbourhood. Restrictive zoning also claim to increase the life expectancy of its residents, but with so many things to worry about just for owning a home in certain area, I hardly see how the life expectancies of its residents could increase.
 
CharlesW said:
Like everything in life, HOAs vary and people's opinions of them vary.

Read the rules and ask questions.

Talk to others in the HOA.
Click to expand...



Charles said it best.



HOA rules vary widely. I live in a subdivision with a HOA with various rules. There are restrictions on appearance changes, etc. but not too intrusive. It is more important when you live in a densely populated area and where maintaining the property value is important.



In most cases, if you spend a lot of money on a house, you do not want your neighbor running a business, growing corn in the front yard, etc.



It just takes one neighbor to change your view about HOA's or building restrictions unless you are the neighbor.
 
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