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NeastBound, thanks,...if I understand well, these associations monopolise a subdivision, under the flag that they will take care of it.
Who chose the people, how are they chosen?
I think theat those with golf, pool, tennis courts should be private and leave the choice to the neighborhood to become members or not.
Also, why do we pay council/city taxes if it is not for the city to fix what needs to be fixed in the roads?
I am suspicious of the intentions of the birth of these associations; it is basically more about policing than anything else. There are already taxes that we pay, we should not pay more for some repairs in our environment, and what belongs to the associations should only be relevant to members of this associations who should be volunteer members.
So, if I find the house of my dream, attached to an association, I am buying first the association as I have no choice in whether I want to belong to it or not!?
And you speak about freedom when you buy a house? they are having a laugh.
So, if I find the house of my dream, attached to an association, I am buying first the association as I have no choice in whether I want to belong to it or not!?
Yup- if there's an HOA, you're going to be a part of it- no way around it.
I think theat those with golf, pool, tennis courts should be private and leave the choice to the neighborhood to become members or not.
Also, why do we pay council/city taxes if it is not for the city to fix what needs to be fixed in the roads?
I am suspicious of the intentions of the birth of these associations; it is basically more about policing than anything else. There are already taxes that we pay, we should not pay more for some repairs in our environment, and what belongs to the associations should only be relevant to members of this associations who should be volunteer members.
Sorry, but I personally don't understand your complaint. The associations are made up of homeowners, elected by homeowners. If you disagree with what the association is doing, and you can convince others to agree, then you can run for President of the HOA and make changes. This isn't some nebulous big brother making decisions....it's you and your neighbors.
As to making membership and making amenities voluntary, that's not workable. What if no one decides they want to pay? Does the pool rot? Do the common grounds grow weeds and never get mowed? What if one homeowner doesn't want to join? Do they get to paint their house purple and grow their weeds as high as the second story, while everyone else takes care of their property?
County/City taxes do pay for public property like roads and sewer. Your HOA doesn't pay for that infrastructure.
You buy into a subdivision and share the responsibility and the cost, or else buy a home outside of a subdivision and do what you want.
NeastBound, thanks,...if I understand well, these associations monopolise a subdivision, under the flag that they will take care of it.
Who chose the people, how are they chosen?
The neighborhood. People interested in doing the job, Pres, VP, Tres., etc. will run for "office". The neighborhood will cast their vote whether by mail in or in person vote (at a HOA meeting) in my old neighborhood they would hold these every few years unless someone were to move or step down then someone would volunteer to fill in or more than 1 would and that's when the voting would take place.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Valerie-Lydie
I think theat those with golf, pool, tennis courts should be private and leave the choice to the neighborhood to become members or not.
Golf is always optional (can run $10k+), pool and/tennis, not so much. Your HOA is set. The pool costs roughly $500+ a month to have cleaned and maintained by a pool company, est. not sure how much they run. The tennis court needs new bulbs in the lights. needs to be resurfaced and the netting on the fence is ripped in pieces. Now it would not be fair to the other neighbors to have to fork out the difference of these repairs since you refuse to pay $$ that you are to required pay annually, quarterly, or monthly for these services.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Valerie-Lydie
Also, why do we pay council/city taxes if it is not for the city to fix what needs to be fixed in the roads?
City/County repairs the roads within a subdivision. It's not like the Bahamas-"you dig it you fix it". You pay taxes for the public schools. Look at your tax bill, or one online. Most of your taxes are going to the county school system. Also - HOA's do not provide fire and police protection, as well as the 911 service. If they did...I'd hate to see that bill!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Valerie-Lydie
I am suspicious of the intentions of the birth of these associations; it is basically more about policing than anything else. There are already taxes that we pay, we should not pay more for some repairs in our environment, and what belongs to the associations should only be relevant to members of this associations who should be volunteer members.
The HOA's are not meant for policing, they don't care what you do-inside of your home, they just do not want your home to make their's look like apart of an ill-developed community that allows the homeowner's to put those AWESOME plastic arbors, pink flamingos, and other spinning flower yard adornments that people tend to don in their front yards.
As to telling you what you can and cannot plant, I have not seen an HOA that governs to that extent, but I could be wrong.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Valerie-Lydie
So, if I find the house of my dream, attached to an association, I am buying first the association as I have no choice in whether I want to belong to it or not!?
And you speak about freedom when you buy a house? they are having a laugh.
Valerie
Well- looking at the settlement statement that comes after your mortgage...so techinically no. But you are right...you do not have a choice. But keep in mind, that if you do buy in one and do not pay, you will have a hoa lien placed on your home and those do have to paid, and it will include court costs.
I don't object with the fact that if I don't agree with these rules and rulers that take the power over a subdivision and don't leave people live freely (we MUST conform allelluya), then I should look where I feel at home instead; I don't like the idea that the external is only there to value the other properties and is one I don't value after putting thousand of dollars in buying it. Ridiculous in my opinion.
And yes I am the type to like Disney and pink flamingo and lovely bird nests, I also like squirrels and everything that makes me alive and feel different and happy. I also like pink houses.
Frankly, who said that they were uggly? in fact I want mine painted back in lemon (pale)...
This system is in my opinion as if I were putting a shop at the bottom of your street and force you to buy from my shop and on top of this you would have to pay for my rents and taxes because I decided it would be as such and if you want to live in that street you would not have any choice. This is it. Same thing with their choice of putting an association there with a swimming pool or a tennis court, it's their choice. not mine. especially if I already have a swimming pool in my home. I don't need them or to pay for their choice of having an association right next to the home I want to buy.
I know that what I think won't change anything but I am shoked by these measures forced on new byers.
This is nothing new in metro atlanta. They have been around forever. Now, not sure of where you are moving from, but I do a lot of real estate work in TN and out of the 500+ homes that I have dealt with, I have had 2-3 that have been located within a HOA, so I can see where this would shock others, but not here...
Welcome to Atlanta - The land of subdivisions
btw - I OWN an pink flamingo, plastic. But she, yes, she, is inside of my home. She's kind of cool.
LOL Neastbound,... I am just a rebel by nature and feel I might become unsociable if I am told to conform that much.
This is a bit bet for me to buy an expensive house within a subd. with a HOA. It makes me think. I must decide or vist a few more houses where there are none.
And yes I am the type to like Disney and pink flamingo and lovely bird nests, I also like squirrels and everything that makes me alive and feel different and happy. I also like pink houses.
Frankly, who said that they were uggly? in fact I want mine painted back in lemon (pale)...
By doing so, you may affect the value of homes around yours. Your tastes are not the same as most other homeowners, and HOA's are definitely designed to enforce a certain conformity when it comes to exterior appearance.
If you prefer to be more of a "free spirit" then you're certainly free to buy a home with no deed restrictions and do what you want with it, althought you may get reactions from neighbors that aren't what you expect. The price you pay for that "freedom" is that you have fewer choices of homes and locations.
You say: "If you prefer to be more of a "free spirit" then you're certainly free to buy a home with no deed restrictions and do what you want with it, althought you may get reactions from neighbors that aren't what you expect. The price you pay for that "freedom" is that you have fewer choices of homes and locations."
It is not that I am a free spirit, as the one that is strange and odd. No. I am a free spirit as anyone else. I am just free first, not second. With this I mean that I have exactly the same tastes, or similar tastes as anyone else in that area, however, I don't want to be less than free, I want to be free first, ie: no one tells me how I should decorate my inside and outside door. The associations for me are second, my freedom first.
you can call that free spirit, I just call that my sense of freedom. it does not mean I am "weird" or whatever, I just don't need anyone at my age to tell me how to dress or to say hello. I can do it on my own; and I must say, I think they abuse, there are limits in the power put over me. Again, this is the degree of my being a free agent.
I will not have any reactions from neighbours, because the only things that I am extreme about is just respecting freedom, the freedom to be, and I know, we know our limits in many ways. But a pink flamingo in a garden would certainly not offense me.
let's say that I consider the problem in the opposite way as you do. In fact, they might believe that in time of recession they can impose their rules on every one and that it is better than...no deed...and I say, and I am surely not the only one as my partner's chiropractor thinks the same (and he is wealthy) that the put off in one area to buy, even in time of recession when they all hope to sale their house, can also be the associations rather than the pink house next door.
overall, I thank you all for having allowed me to understand all this.
I was speaking in general as well as specific terms...."you" in the more plural sense. My point is just that HOAs sprang out of a need for a way to fund common amenities, but also as a way to curb potential excess and lack of care by homeowners. Although they can carry things to an extreme at times, they are designed to preserve property values for all in the association. The key is that you know up front what the rules are and you have an opportunity to change them through the association.
I lived up north in an older town where most of the houses were built more than 50 years ago and most more than 100 years ago (mine was 120 years old). HOAs really didn't exist there for single family homes. Many of the towns also have ordinances and bylaws that prevent painting houses certain colors and doing certain things like parking cars on lawns and parking non-registered vehicles in driveways. Most people kept their property up and were responsible, although you always had the one house where the grass was 3 feet tall with trash in the yard and paint peeling off the clapboards, in a general state of disrepair. That drags down values for all on the street. That's what HOAs are designed to prevent.
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