Homeowner's association fees - what are the rates in your area? (Mesquite: HOA, home)

[socketz]

Originally Posted by GoPadge

Wow, we have optional HOA's in Plano too. Freakin' amazing. I'm just waiting for the indoor golf center to open in East Dallas....

Another indoor Golf Center !!!! Wasn't there guy on here a while back spewing about one opening in Mckinney ?

I'm guessing it will be inside a big circus tent......real nice.

[socketz]

There is definitely good and bad when it comes to HOA.

For the most part, they serve the community and provide a little insurance against non conformity which in turn leads to lower home values over time.

I can show you areas of Socal that are 25 years old and HOA driven that are spectacular, and ones that are not that are well, less than desirable.

HOAs also have set guidelines to follow that are pretty black and white, so somewhere in the gray area, there may be some frustration.

What I've noticed (HOAs are a way of life in CA) is that they start out really tight, then over time loosen up the rules to accomodate tasteful changes. These changes then meld together with other changes that have occured and help define some character by maintaining conformity without being uniform. HOAs are driven by people in the community, so if you want to make a change, you can typically draw something up and vote on it.

[momof2dfw]

HOA's have good and bad points. If they are managed well and the board has some common sense and they let it prevail it can be a good thing. I like HOA's for the most part if they are well managed and run. But I've seen one that was not and the board allowed to run free w/ the funds and the management company stuck up for them. In turn the neighborhood became very apathetic and rundown as no one cared any more. It really is sad as those board members have since moved out of that neighborhood and left it in a mess that will take it a long time to climb out of (it has been almost 5 years since the last board member moved out from that fiasco and it still has not recovered). It could have been a very nice community of nice upper middle class families and homes. Instead it is home to houses that have peeling paint, high weeds and grass, fences falling down, junk cars allowed to be parked in driveways, etc. Then I know of one neighborhood of older custom homes w/ an Voluntary Neighborhood Association that is absolutely BEAUTIFUL and well kept. Homes in that area when they go on the market sell fast. I've been president of an HOA and I know that there were some people that I just could not please but I was not there to please everyone I was there to do what was good for the neighborhood as a whole w/ my personal feelings pushed aside. After a few years of us being gone from that neighborhood some friends that lived there were telling me that the ones that back then did not care for me were then wishing I was back along w/ my friends. LOL!!! It just takes common sense and is not that hard. The problems only start when a small group gets control that has never had control of much of anything in their lives and lacks common sense and they try to push an agenda that is not for the good of the whole.

[socketz]

So true. I know there are parts of West Plano over by Midway with Vol HOA and they look really nice. It started out with a started HOA, then over time became vol.

[loves2read]

our subdivision is in Mid=Cities area and more than 20 years old--voluntary and only a couple of hundred a year if that---
think newer HOAs are more involved and "mandatory"---some of them can be almost abusive depending on who is on the board--very cliquish and will sue people who go against covenants even if the covenants don't make sense in today's world----
would seriously consider checking w/neighbors in any subdivision you would buy in...

[DJJayito]

I have started to look to buy a home (my first home). For starters, I have been jogging around the neighboring areas. I found this one community, which I was really interested in. Large homes for GREAT prices in a community that definitely needs some help. There's a bunch of for sale signs and up and coming foreclosures, etc etc. In any event, I pulled a few flyers from info tubes and I ran across the wonderful HOA fee section of the sheet. $485 (quarterly). Having lived in communities with HOA fees before, I assumed that $485 was the annual figure... 485 / 4 = $121.25 per quarter. OOPSIE! I was wrong. It's $1940 annually. OK... Here is why I am writing... This community's HOA is obviously ripping off their home owners (which might explain the empty houses). I kid you not... This neighborhood does NOT have any community trees that need maintaining. There is NO pool / NO community center / NO gym / NO tennis courts.... blah blah blah. The only thing it has is a TINY play ground for little kids and a basketball court without a backboard or rim. LOL! On top of all that, most lawns are NOT well maintained, so they obviously don't mow the lawns for you. I lived in a town house community that had 2 olympic size pools / a gym / tennis courts / community center / the lawns were maintained by a company... HOA fees were 201 per month, and WELL WORTH IT! I was hoping someone might clue me into where this $485 (quarterly) is going. I saw other homes in other similar type neighborhoods with HOA fees as low as $25 / month. What's the deal here? What am I missing? Or is this as obvious as I think... THEIVERY?

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

The norm for an area that does not have a community pool but some common areas but still not a large park or anything is usually about $25 a month. Then there are some that are much higher. Where I am I have to be a member of two, our neighborhood HOA and the larger community swim & rec club. So if you are in a really nice one w/ the community pools and all it can run you to about $600 a year. Just depends on what you want.

[little elmer]

Little Elm - Wynfield Farms, ~$235/yr.

[nsumner]

Originally Posted by DJJayito

I have started to look to buy a home (my first home). For starters, I have been jogging around the neighboring areas. I found this one community, which I was really interested in. Large homes for GREAT prices in a community that definitely needs some help. There's a bunch of for sale signs and up and coming foreclosures, etc etc. In any event, I pulled a few flyers from info tubes and I ran across the wonderful HOA fee section of the sheet. $485 (quarterly). Having lived in communities with HOA fees before, I assumed that $485 was the annual figure... 485 / 4 = $121.25 per quarter. OOPSIE! I was wrong. It's $1940 annually. OK... Here is why I am writing... This community's HOA is obviously ripping off their home owners (which might explain the empty houses). I kid you not... This neighborhood does NOT have any community trees that need maintaining. There is NO pool / NO community center / NO gym / NO tennis courts.... blah blah blah. The only thing it has is a TINY play ground for little kids and a basketball court without a backboard or rim. LOL! On top of all that, most lawns are NOT well maintained, so they obviously don't mow the lawns for you. I lived in a town house community that had 2 olympic size pools / a gym / tennis courts / community center / the lawns were maintained by a company... HOA fees were 201 per month, and WELL WORTH IT! I was hoping someone might clue me into where this $485 (quarterly) is going. I saw other homes in other similar type neighborhoods with HOA fees as low as $25 / month. What's the deal here? What am I missing? Or is this as obvious as I think... THEIVERY?

Which community in the DFW area are you referring to? that is very much outside the norm. I would think that the listing agent made a mistake on the flyer.

Anything like that in a community of single family homes around here would include golf, be gated etc.... 99% of the HOAs don't take care of the lawn either unless it's a townhome.

Naima

[lh_newbie]

Merriman Park North - Dallas. $50/year voluntary.

[Lakewooder]

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