I got an article from a friend about the rising costs of HOA’s around the country. Some HOA in the Carolinas went from $350 a month to $1200…
V-Tail’s post.
And there’s been others here on Sig Forum.

I can’t remember any of them being positive.

I don’t have any exposure to them, and wondering if there are any benefits to living in a community that has an HOA?
Or is it just me paying extra money so some neighborhood twat can fine me because I’m washing my jeep in my driveway?

Historically - to prevent your neighbors from putting up a 16 foot purple fence, or having numerous junk appliances on their front porch, or using their front yard for used auto sales and junk cars parting out lot... There are trade off's for sure.
There was a thread on here a couple years ago about a terrible neighbor who did all kinds of crazy things on their property, which would have probably been mitigated if there was an HOA.

It's supposed to be primarily about keeping up property values, and especially handling the maintaining of common areas (like a community pool, or the hallways and entrances of a condo building, or similar)

But it frequently devolves into bored powerhungry neighbors enforcing their will on and lording their newfound power over their neighbors.

I had such a bad experience with the overzealous and wildly unreasonable HOA at my last house that "No HOA" was damn near #1 on my wish list when I was shopping for the new one.

quote:

Originally posted by Dzozer:
Historically - to prevent your neighbors from putting up a 16 foot purple fence, or having numerous junk appliances on their front porch, or using their front yard for used auto sales and junk cars parting out lot...

If your subdivision is in an unincorporated area, then that might have some merit.

But every city with which I'm familiar already has city ordinances against unsightly/unsanitary conditions, immobile vehicles, junk in the yard, commercial use of a residential area, etc., along with a method to enforce it that doesn't involve handing your Karen of a neighbor who feels powerless in the rest of her life the power to arbitrarily levy fines.

I went from rural living in NY to an HOA in Florida. Our fees are $100 per quarter and they give me a little better than basic cable with Hulu , Paramount Plus and some other stuff I don't watch along with high speed internet. A lot of HOA's are expensive because they have several amenities, we only have a community pool. We haven't had any problem at all in the year we've been here but we do keep our property nice. The HOA makes sure everyone keeps their property presentable. It is a bit of a hassle when I want to make any changes outside, I had to get approval for my security cameras and I'll have to get approval for a mini split for the garage when I talk myself into one. Small inconvenience but I don't really have anything bad to say about ours so far.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
It's supposed to be primarily about keeping up property values, and especially handling the maintaining of common areas (like a community pool, or the hallways and entrances of a condo building, or similar)

But it frequently devolves into bored powerhungry neighbors enforcing their will on and lording their newfound power over their neighbors.

Sadly this.
Having somebody else handle building and grounds maintenance can be desirable particularly if you're in a townhome or condo type of area, this may be desirable if you're a property owner but are handicapped or don't have the wherewithal to deal with those aspects. BUT, as is too often the case, HOA's become personal fiefdoms for those to impose their ideas of taste, class and sense of order.

There are legitimate horror stories of HOAs becoming like a Fourth Reich, but that's not what we wound up with. It's only 19 homes on the street, and we know the neighbors pretty well. The smallest lot is 2 acres - most are 5 and it's hilly and well forested. So nobody sticks their nose into who is washing whose Jeep where.

So no negatives in our situation. But the question was, what is the HOA doing that's positive?

When they built the subdivision I live on long ago, the land the road is on and some margin around the road was put into the HOA. Our HOA dues pay for street lights, road maintenance, landscaping on the HOA property (between our homes and the street), snow removal etc. They do a good job with that.

We are out in the boonies. Far enough out that when we looked at having high speed internet service cabled in, we had bids of $150K to do so. The HOA negotiated to have a cable company come light us up with high speed service at no up front cost -in exchange for us all committing to use a package of cable services for the following 9 years at market rate with an agreed limit on maximum price increases. So that got us lit up, and saved each property owner about $10K up front costs in doing so.

If a property has a HOA, it is not necessarily the worst thing in the world. Look at the bylaws, and talk with the officers. Also, as a side note, you may find that even without a HOA there are rules you have to follow as a property owner. Some land has CCRs (Codes, Covenants and Restrictions) put on the title that apply to the property and those can have conditions, restrictions etc. that are as bad or worse than HOAs.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:

quote:

Originally posted by Dzozer:
Historically - to prevent your neighbors from putting up a 16 foot purple fence, or having numerous junk appliances on their front porch, or using their front yard for used auto sales and junk cars parting out lot...

If your subdivision is in an unincorporated area, then that might have some merit.

Sure, every city has codes - enforcing them is a different story. It does depend on where you live - I can tell you that the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections which is responsible for such things rarely did anything unless there was a clear safety hazard, criteria a 16 foot purple fence didn't meet. They have literally thousands of backlogged cases where they do nothing. The HOA was often your only recourse - although the HOA did not have the power to do much except put a lein on the property.
Seattle may not be the best example either - lol

Lets see, HOA's

1) Manage common grounds
2) Negotiate contracts for lighting
3) Handle bylaw and covenant compliance
4) Manage Street maintanence as well as under drains
5) Mitigate drainage areas for Hurricane season
6) Keep neighborhood clean, safe, and when properly managed that results in high property values and lowers the time it takes to turn a home
7) Keeps VBRO and other short term renters out
8) Works with City, County planners, fire, police for access and compliance
9) For us this last year, voluntarily worked for 6 months in our spare time to fix a Recertification of the HOA with the State.
10) Manages dues and reserves

Here is an example, you live in a development, there is property that isn't private homeowner property, the common areas. Without an HOA, who pays to mow that grass and edge it, pays for fertilizer, water, who negotiates the agreements for those services. No HOA no agreed to payments for services exist, no method to enforce, no ability to collect. This is a real problem when HOA's dissolve, or become unenforceable because nobody paid attention to the HOA, or allowed the recertification timeline to pass and ignored the HOA rules in your state and allowed the covenants to lapse.

So lets say you end up with a 25% participation on monthly dues, now you don't have enough money to keep up the common area, your entrance signs, walls need work, grass is a foot tall and mainly weeds, streets have pot holes and go unrepaired. Ask the City, they will tell you to pound sand, it's private (Common owned) grounds, so they send you demand letters and fines on upkeep.

Realtors and potential buyers drive by, they see a poorly maintained common property area, it doesn't matter that there are nice homes the place looks run down and poorly managed. maybe someone next door to your home isn't mowing their lawns, or cars on blocks in driveways, 12 cars at a rental house where college kids now live together, late night parties with 50 to 100 cars on weekends, you want to sell but nobody wants the problems that come with your home, the list goes on and on....


I've lived in one for over 30+ years, not one time have we had any "Karens" running around to neighbors telling them how things are, complaining, calling police.

I'd going to venture that a huge amount of the SM posting and videos on TT or IG are bs made up interactions just to stir the pot.

Lucky for us we don't have any problem homeowners that don't understand they bought a house in an HOA.

Florida law requires that the buyer gets a copy of the ByLaws and Covenants at closing, they all know it's an HOA development.

But it's simple, you don't like HOA's then don't buy a house in an HOA, even if your spouse insists, and if you give in, then read the rules, bylaws, covenants, meet the board, and then run and volunteer your time like the others.

Not saying there are not problems with some HOA's and board members, clearly there are, the way to fix that is to get the problem board members off the board. There are ways to do that outlined in the covenants and elections for every HOA and laws in every state.

Live in one? Read the rules you agreed to contractually by buying property in the HOA, and find the state laws that apply.

Be informed, participate, vote, does that sound familiar?

When it comes to HOAs, the cure is worse than the disease IMO. I have owned homes in the city of LA, suburbs in Michigan and Wisconsin and in Savannah, GA, and never had a neighbor or seen one within eyesight or close proximity to any of my homes that caused a problem that an HOA would be needed to solve. Any significant issues that would bother me enough to speak up would be under the jurisdiction of town/city ordinances anyway. I pay enough taxes at my two homes; I don't need to spend more on an HOA.

The issue of common areas can be solved by transferring ownership of that property to an adjacent landowner when/if an HOA dissolves. If there is sign or something similar nobody wants, chip in and tear it down. Once and done.

I'm 97% certain that the only reason our neighborhood has a HOA is that that the builder couldn't figure out a way to put houses on or sell the swampy "community lot", so he bundled it into a HOA so he didn't have to deal with it.

We have literally zero benefits, we pay the taxes on the (unimprovable) community lot, and pay for a company to keep the grass on it knocked down.

quote:

What are the benefits for HOA’s?

A sure cure for a lack of aggravation in your life.

I loved living in a neighborhood with no HOA, until I didn't.

My neighborhood has undergone a significant demographic change. It's now approaching 80% Hispanic, unfortunately they do not have the same standards for lawn care and trash collection as the previous demographics had.

I have three active zoning complaints for people on my street parking cars in their front yard. The county asks them to move them but it takes two years of violations to get fined. An HOA would tell them to move their cars and they would immediately.

I used to say I'd never live in a community with an HOA, with me now wishing I had one, I'm 100% open to considering moving somewhere with one. I almost bought a place in West Virginia this week with three acres, that would have provided me the necessary buffer if I ended up with a messy neighbor.

Don't have one where I live.

I can park on my own grass, pick out my own paint, and nobody is there to say my truck is 0.3dB too loud.

Not sure HOA is the solution you want but rather just better demographics and neighbors. HOA may be just trading one problem for a different problem. And around here, HOA ain't cheap (usually several hundred dollars per month) - I don't live in one. Even if I wanted one (and I hear nightmares about them locally), I couldn't afford it. Cosmetically the neighborhoods may look nice but it sounds like the hearts are black. Many people who didn't know what HOA's were quickly moved out w/in a couple of years.

Been living in my house (in an HOA) for 26 years.

The benefits are:

Nice, properly maintained houses in our development.

No broken down cars sitting in a yard or yards that are overgrown by grass/weeds. No Christmas decorations still out in April....

Parks maintained by the HOA for families/children that are for HOA residents and not open to the public.

Use of a cheap to rent community building for events.

Downsides:

Depending on the current leadership in office, they can be overbearing. In my 26 years this only happened once for a period of about 2 years.

Having to pay money to the HOA.

I pay $27 a month. I'm in a single family home and maintain my own yard, do my own snow removal. There is a portion of the development with condo's and those people pay around $150 a month but lawncare and snow removal is provided to them.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
Not sure HOA is the solution you want but rather just better demographics and neighbors.

There-in lies the paradox. If you live in desirable, upwardly mobile neighborhood, then the kind of people who can afford to live there will inherently keep their shit together w/o threat of an HOA to keep them in line.

If you live in a less desirable neighborhood that attracts a lot of riff-raff and renters who don't care about the property they're renting, those are places that stand to benefit from HOAs to keep out said riff-raff, but the people who live there long-term seldom can afford HOA fees or manage to organize one.

BTW, what's so bad about a 16' purple fence, besides you think it's an eyesore?

The problem is that neighborhoods change. You might pick out a great neighborhood with great neighbors, only to have them move on and be replaced with “less optimal” neighbors.

When we first moved to this area we rented a condo where the HOA was a bit of a pain. Can’t park in your driveway or guest parking, can’t leave your garage door open, etc. The house we bought after that was in an HOA neighborhood, but the board didn’t seem to have the energy to be a pain in the keister over petty stuff. Since we bought and moved out to the ranch, I really love the HOA. We don’t always agree on everything, but there is very little nonsense, and Mrs. slosig and I don’t have to have too many meetings.

Depends on what they're set up to do. Anywhere from almost nothing to a lot.
Some are there to be a sort of community organizer, create and manage basic rules, and some keep up roads,common areas and facilities. They can also create and enforce association rules.

Live in a fairly large HOA neighborhood of homes in the $500K range and pay $200 a year. Golf course, pool, and tennis/pickle ball courts separate membership. Rentals limited to 10%, can only have boats, RVs, trailers at home for three days. You can’t paint your house Pepto Bismol pink, but you have to maintain your yard.
Of course the board can change and become dicks, but they’d be booted pretty quick.
No complaints, but we elect board members we know and trust.

I've lived in HOAs for 40 years, it's never been an issue for me. We were told when we moved to Utah "don't worry, we're pretty redneck". That's true to a point and we have a couple of neighbors that are always a problem. Our fees have increased to $225/yr. We finally got a management company and that has helped, I was on the board during a rough time, 2008/10, foreclosures, problem families.