Another reason why I will NEVER buy a house that's under a Homeowner Association

[Specop 007]

I handle HOA matters, but this is not legal advice - this is common sense advice based on experience. I can tell you that the single best way to have an enjoyable experience living in an HOA is to immediately become active in your HOA. Go to meetings, join committees, run for offices. Also, don't act like an entitled prick (By joining an HOA, you actually do give up some of your property rights. Be sure you know which ones you gave up and which ones you retained).

While being involved, inject the voice of reason. Instead of making Mr. Jones remove his illegally built wheelchair ramp for his wife, ask him to seek retroactive approval from the architectural committee and Board for the ramp.

Also, make sure that the actions of the Board are as open as possible - only hold private meetings for matters related to residents' financials and the like.

Finally, send threatening letters only 1) after consulting with the HOA's attorney and 2) after trying to resolve the matter informally and as nicely as possible - bend over backwards to try to solve problems without getting nasty. Remember, these people are your neighbors.

MotionMan

HOA's are like government.

Be involved.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

So you want the local police to fill the exact function a HOA does?

Errr, it wasn't the "local police." The town (as most towns do) have ordinances and codes which require that you keep your lawn up. There was no HOA in this area so the town was well within its rights to enforce the code.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Wow. For once, I agree with Dave. What the fuck is happening?

I am so thankful I don't live in a HOA neighborhood. The people around here take care of their homes even without one, go figure.

You guys aren't getting it. What happens if your neighbor sells his place and some white trash moves in and trashes the place?

 

[IndyColtsFan]

1. I like my money to stay with me. 'It's only $100 a year.' $100 is a year of Amazon prime membership and a nice dinner out for my wife and I. Also good luck paying $100. Most I've seen were $200+.

Mine is $75/yr.

2. I live around other grown ups that don't need their asses wiped by a hoa to take care of their houses.

Good luck if one moves away and some trash moves in next to you.

 

[child of wonder]

What if you are forced into one as has happened at times when enough people in the area make and join one?

Would you move instantly?

No, I'd fight it until my last breath.

I am not saving all this money to pursue our dream of owning a lake home to have it fucked up by busy bodies that want to control what people do with their own property.

As others have said, I understand how terrible it must be to have trashy neighbors. However, that is a risk of home ownership. The solution is not to create an institution to control what everyone can and can't do with their homes and to grant it the ability to take away someone's home should they not comply.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

There are pros and cons. I was in an HOA and they were impotent. We had one house that had basically a jungle as a front yard and another full of white trash with a thousand cars at their house, all against rules (not enforced). I currently am in a place without an HOA and few issues, but you never know. Sometimes my neighbor leaves his yard full of crap and I'd like to burn it or have it moved. The best is generally to live in a place without HOA but wealthy enough that you weed out the majority of trashy people who live like barbarians, thereby affecting your property.

That's the point -- you never know.

Case in point -- my first home was in a small subdivision where the developer eventually went bankrupt (there was no HOA). As such, there were 5 or 6 lots left empty, including one next to me. Well, after I had lived there for 6 or 7 years, the lots were eventually sold to Habitat for Humanity. I knew that wasn't good news but whenever I said that, people thought I was mean.

Well, guess who turned out to be right? If you said me, you're right! Those houses and yards were the ones that weren't kept up and many of them had shit all over their yard. The one next to me put up a cheap-ass fence that leaned into my yard and one day I came home and they had braced it up with long 2 x 4s which were anchored IN MY YARD! They didn't even ask if they could do that in my yard -- they just went into my yard when I was at work, hammered in these steel spikes, and braced their crappy fence up. I went out into my back yard, pulled all the shit up, and tossed it over their fence into their back yard.

Fortunately I was able to get out before it got too bad (it has gotten worse according to friends who still live there). You guys who are saying "My neighbors all keep their houses up without an HOA!" or "People should be able to do whatever they want!" obviously haven't been in a situation like the situations above. Good neighbors can move away and trashy ones can move in. Don't think living in an "upscale" area shields you, either -- people can and do inherit money and move into nicer houses. You can claim that people can do whatever they want with their yards and remember that if you're ever stuck trying to sell a house and can't because your neighbor's yards are full of shit, rusted out cars, etc.

 

[DominionSeraph]

I maintain my yard and house just fine on my own and definitely don't need to pay someone to babysit me. If it is needed in a particular neighborhood then chances are it is a neighborhood that I wouldn't want to be in anyways.

That's the thing, in a non-HOA neighborhood you have no control over anyone who moves into it, so no control over whether it becomes a neighborhood that you wouldn't want to be in.
We live in the "me" generation, and lazy fucks just feel no obligation towards their neighbors anymore. The government insulates them from any direct threat by angry neighbors, they do all their commerce with faceless businesses who only care about money, and with TV as entertainment there's no need to socialize, so there's no way to apply any real leverage against them. If one of these people move in you're screwed unless your town has tons of ordinances and enforces them -- i.e., unless your town is a HOA.

 

[Newbian]

How does an HOA stop you from doing ANY of those things? You are completely free to buy land wherever you want. Don't want an HOA? Don't buy property with one. I've never seen an HOA force someone to buy a house from them, ever. Some people want a level of order to their neighborhood, and are willing to pay more to guarantee that. Why should they not be allowed to do that? You do realize that at one time, the land was owned by a single person, that adopted the rules and put them in place, right? So they don't have the right to do what they want with their own land?

The only time I would feel bad for someone with an HOA, would be if it were formed AFTER they bought the property - but I don't know if that's even possible.

The problem is you can be forced into one at times.

I know texas has something like that:

http://www.ehow.com/list_6857804_home-owner-association-laws-texas.html

Formation*

Texas law states a home owner's association can only be formed with a 60 percent majority vote to charter an HOA. Therefore, if a subdivision has 50 houses or a condominium has 500 units, 30 homeowner's must vote to approve formation or 300 condo owner's must vote to approve the HOA charter. After passage, membership of all qualifying property owner's are legal compelled to join the HOA.

 

[Raduque]

You guys aren't getting it. What happens if your neighbor sells his place and some white trash moves in and trashes the place?

I
WONT
GIVE
A
FUCK.

I work on my own cars in my driveway, I'm lazy when it comes to mowing, I like the freedom to be able to modify my house as I see fit. I put up a portable awning-type thing in my back yard (large metal framework, canvas cover), I bet a HOA would've yelled at me for that, and yelled even more when the wind broke it and ripped up the canvas. They would've yelled every day that I didn't immediately replace it too, I bet.

 

[NL5]

The problem is you can be forced into one at times.

I know texas has something like that:

http://www.ehow.com/list_6857804_home-owner-association-laws-texas.html

That, I do NOT agree with. They shouldn't be able to force you into one. I don't think they can in my area. When I was younger, I lived in a Condo complex that had some units that were part of an Assoc., and others that were not. Not sure how that came to be though.

 

[MotionMan]

I
WONT
GIVE
A
FUCK.

I work on my own cars in my driveway, I'm lazy when it comes to mowing, I like the freedom to be able to modify my house as I see fit. I put up a portable awning-type thing in my back yard (large metal framework, canvas cover), I bet a HOA would've yelled at me for that, and yelled even more when the wind broke it and ripped up the canvas. They would've yelled every day that I didn't immediately replace it too, I bet.

You are the kind of neighbor that HOAs are designed to control.

Thanks for proving the point.

MotionMan

 

[Newbian]

You are the kind of neighbor that HOAs are designed to control.

Thanks for proving the point.

MotionMan

He is the kind of neighbor a town would pass a ordnance just to get rid of.

 

[Specop 007]

I
WONT
GIVE
A
FUCK.

I work on my own cars in my driveway, I'm lazy when it comes to mowing, I like the freedom to be able to modify my house as I see fit. I put up a portable awning-type thing in my back yard (large metal framework, canvas cover), I bet a HOA would've yelled at me for that, and yelled even more when the wind broke it and ripped up the canvas. They would've yelled every day that I didn't immediately replace it too, I bet.

And this is why I went with a HOA!

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I
WONT
GIVE
A
FUCK.

You will if you try to sell a house and no one will buy it due to the trashy neighbors. And your neighbors will care if they're trying to sell their house and you don't take care of your house and yard.

 

[Zenmervolt]

What if you are forced into one as has happened at times when enough people in the area make and join one?

Would you move instantly?

This sort of thing can only happen if there are existing CC&Rs on the property when you buy it. If the deed is completely free and clear of any covenants, conditions, or restrictions, you can't be forced into an HOA. The stories of people being "forced" into an HOA usually involve either cases where there has not been a good inquiry into the deed and existing CC&Rs have stipulated that an HOA can be created when X% of houses agree, or cases where the first few buyers into a planned community don't realize that an HOA will be formed when the builder completes the community.

ZV

 

[Gothgar]

Yeah, I bought in an HOA and I wish that I hadn't.

 

[Zenmervolt]

The problem is you can be forced into one at times.

I know texas has something like that:

http://www.ehow.com/list_6857804_home-owner-association-laws-texas.html

That just means that future owners will be subject to the HOA. That is, whoever you sell your house to will be part of the HOA. As long as your CC&Rs were clear, you would be grandfathered in and the HOA would have zero authority over your house until you sold it to new owners.

ZV

 

[Darwin333]

I would build virtually the same structure (same childish look, same colors, etc, maybe even brighter colors) that was attached to the house.

 

[blackangst1]

Like others have said, there are good and bad HOA's. Mine's been great so far. There are just as many, if not more, bad stories of neighbors from hell without them than with. No one thinks they would get neighbors that bad. Until you do.

A few reasons I prefer an HOA:

 

[Raduque]

You are the kind of neighbor that HOAs are designed to control.

Thanks for proving the point.

MotionMan

Why, because I like to save money by fixing cars myself? Because I don't mow my lawn every 3 days? Because it took me two weeks to find a suitable replacement canvas top for my awning?

I don't store car parts in the yard, I don't let the grass grow above 4 inches, I don't want to paint the house neon chartruse with yellow trim, and any mess I make fixing the cars is cleaned up as soon as I'm done with the job.

The problem with a HOA is the mind-set that people need to be "controlled".

 

[Jumpem]

I would build virtually the same structure (same childish look, same colors, etc, maybe even brighter colors) that was attached to the house.

Not without approval of an architectural commitee.

 

[waggy]

Like others have said, there are good and bad HOA's. Mine's been great so far. There are just as many, if not more, bad stories of neighbors from hell without them than with. No one thinks they would get neighbors that bad. Until you do.

A few reasons I prefer an HOA:

I love to travel and look at houses and buildings. i will go out of my way to look at a different area if i have time. I have been doing it since i started driving over 20 years ago.

during that time i have NEVER seen anything remotely near the top 4 in these pictures.

the last one? seen that a few times now even in HOA areas. why? usually someone who has been foreclosed on and the company they hire to clean the house throws everything out. OR a person renting is evicted.

now how often do you see shit like that? oh never. but you do hear of bad HOA's every year.

 

[mnewsham]

Why, because I like to save money by fixing cars myself? Because I don't mow my lawn every 3 days? Because it took me two weeks to find a suitable replacement canvas top for my awning?

I don't store car parts in the yard, I don't let the grass grow above 4 inches, I don't want to paint the house neon chartruse with yellow trim, and any mess I make fixing the cars is cleaned up as soon as I'm done with the job.

The problem with a HOA is the mind-set that people need to be "controlled".

Living in an HOA for 5 years, never had a problem. They mow the lawn, pick up leaves in the fall, etc. Only problem we have had with them was it took them 2 months to approve the new paint colour for the front door. But big fucking deal, two months with an old colour? Fine. We get notices on our door for when trash pick up will be unavailable if it is a holiday or something. The occasional reminder about stocking water and canned goods for emergencies and such. Nothing has been "forced" upon us. I wouldn't mind living in another HOA if i move. But i wouldnt mind living outside of one either. To each there own i guess.

 

[Wreckem]

The problem is you can be forced into one at times.

I know texas has something like that:

http://www.ehow.com/list_6857804_home-owner-association-laws-texas.html

Most HOA's are formed by the developers of the land and through deed covenants. Its pre-planned. Its not like they sell the houses then start the HOA. The HOA typically exists before anyone lives in the houses or condos.

Its not all that common for a non HOA community to convert to a HOA these days.

 

[Newbian]

Most HOA's are formed by the developers of the land and through deed covenants. Its pre-planned. Its not like they sell the houses then start the HOA. The HOA typically exists before anyone lives in the houses or condos.

Its not all that common for a non HOA community to convert to a HOA these days.

I know that but just pointing out it has happened even if you bought the house when there wasn't one.