hoa & property info

[iuki001]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

A couple posts here make HOAs sound like heaven. It's not that simple really. . . . So you miss the tiny amendment on page 46 that says they can raise your fees by up to 50% a year or assess you thousands without a vote.

. . . They are chock full of rules which are poorly explained and legal detail that would make your attorney see double. Not much you can do, though, as HOAs are the rule here.

I agree with you.

Although there are benefits to having an HOA, the nightmares that can happen overshadow the benefits.

The HOA fees can become so high that they exceed property tax. We lived in an HOA community that the board members only enforced rules to those neighbors they did not like. Our neighbor was a "victim" of the HOA community. Also, where we live, they voted to combine three subdivisions. Our subdivision is on a paved street. They took all of our money and used it to gravel roads in the other two subdivisions. There were three of us in our subdivision that kept our roadside grounds mowed. The others were too lazy to keep their property maintained - guess what - we ALL had to pay a "special assessment" to hire someone to clean up the roadside grass. When the road was impassable due to heavy snow, only four of us paid for the snow plow so our mail and newspapers could be delivered. One homeowner spent an additional $56,000 to have his manufactured home comply with the roof pitch requirements, while three other manufactured homes are in "noncompliance" with the convenants. One landowner is living in his "workshop" in his motorhome rather than build a home. He has lived this way for 2 years, in violation of the covenants.

These are just some of the reasons why we do not want an HOA community. If the landowner refuses to pay the dues for valid reasons, it then becomes a lien on the property and affects your credit.

It appears that HOAs will be around in all future developments. Therefore we have accepted the fact that we need to look into older subdivisions without HOAs.

iuki

[BillyBobJoeBobWilly]

Originally Posted by iuki001

I agree with you.

Although there are benefits to having an HOA, the nightmares that can happen overshadow the benefits.

The HOA fees can become so high that they exceed property tax. We lived in an HOA community that the board members only enforced rules to those neighbors they did not like. Our neighbor was a "victim" of the HOA community. Also, where we live, they voted to combine three subdivisions. Our subdivision is on a paved street. They took all of our money and used it to gravel roads in the other two subdivisions. There were three of us in our subdivision that kept our roadside grounds mowed. The others were too lazy to keep their property maintained - guess what - we ALL had to pay a "special assessment" to hire someone to clean up the roadside grass. When the road was impassable due to heavy snow, only four of us paid for the snow plow so our mail and newspapers could be delivered. One homeowner spent an additional $56,000 to have his manufactured home comply with the roof pitch requirements, while three other manufactured homes are in "noncompliance" with the convenants. One landowner is living in his "workshop" in his motorhome rather than build a home. He has lived this way for 2 years, in violation of the covenants.

These are just some of the reasons why we do not want an HOA community. If the landowner refuses to pay the dues for valid reasons, it then becomes a lien on the property and affects your credit.

It appears that HOAs will be around in all future developments. Therefore we have accepted the fact that we need to look into older subdivisions without HOAs.

iuki

Excellent Post!!

[wng]

If more people opted to refuse ownership of a property with an HOA and restrictive CC&Rs, then the trend in the Valley would have hope to be reversed.
The people who sing their praise and use the old scare of neighbors from hell or the rainbow painted house, are either profiting from the existence of an HOA or fear mongers. Rarely are there such incidents of screwed up, unruly occupants. Or homes that look like amusement parks or haunted houses.
I've visited numerous subdivisions w/o HOAs and they often were nicer looking than most newer ones with an HOA.

Even with HOAs, there is no guarantee against undesirable situations. If owners rent their properties, or property values crash...foreclosed on, ...then whomever purchases said property could be of a lower income group. The neighborhood will change and an HOA has proven to be no line of defense. They have a perceived good, but their harm outweighs that more often than not.
The main purpose of an HOA is to give the developer unchallengeable powers while they are pending completion of lots and sales.

Our HOA is up for renewal in 2015, it's pretty certain it will be removed by us owners. Or it'll remain for another 35 years!

[BillyBobJoeBobWilly]

I totally agree. If I do decide to move to AZ I will definately insist on non-HOA neighborhoods.

wng, can you tell me the neighborhoods you found without HOAs which you said they looked nice?

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by wng

If more people opted to refuse ownership of a property with an HOA and restrictive CC&Rs, then the trend in the Valley would have hope to be reversed.
The people who sing their praise and use the old scare of neighbors from hell or the rainbow painted house, are either profiting from the existence of an HOA or fear mongers. Rarely are there such incidents of screwed up, unruly occupants. Or homes that look like amusement parks or haunted houses.
I've visited numerous subdivisions w/o HOAs and they often were nicer looking than most newer ones with an HOA.

Even with HOAs, there is no guarantee against undesirable situations. If owners rent their properties, or property values crash...foreclosed on, ...then whomever purchases said property could be of a lower income group. The neighborhood will change and an HOA has proven to be no line of defense. They have a perceived good, but their harm outweighs that more often than not.
The main purpose of an HOA is to give the developer unchallengeable powers while they are pending completion of lots and sales.

Our HOA is up for renewal in 2015, it's pretty certain it will be removed by us owners. Or it'll remain for another 35 years!

There is much truth in your post. In addition, the majority of cities here have adopted codes that outlaw the most egregious acts of bad neighborliness like parking on the front lawn, RVs in the driveway, unlicensed vehicles and untended yards. They may not be as dogged in enforcing them as an HOA can be, though.