What are your thoughts on HOAs? (motorhome, neighborhood, square footage)

[Vision67]

When people live close together on postage stamp sized lots, they benefit from HOA rules. Most new suburban developments have the houses as close as 10 feet apart. That makes it very easy to become annoyed by a neighbor.

Now imagine an area with 5 acre lots. If you park a few old cars on your driveway, nobody can see them. I think that's why lots of those areas attract people who don't like rules.

I live in an area that originally had an HOA while the houses were being built 24 years ago. However, after the developer was done nobody took over enforcing covenants. What happened is that most of the neighbors self-enforced reasonable behaviors. They do park cars on the street but our wide streets pose no problem. Some do park RVs or boats in their driveways but the houses are more like 30 feet apart so it's not annoying. People maintain the properties and there are no pink or purple houses; the neighbors have a self interest in maintaining resale values.

The other thing is that there are few rental houses. Most of the neighbors are the original owners.

If we tried now to enforce those original rules I don't think it would get much support. I actually think that a neighborhood that makes it possible for somebody to park a boat or RV attractive to some buyers.

As for parking on the driveways or streets, everybody has as many cars as they have drivers. They won't suddenly agree to put all cars in their garages. Heck, many of them have garages full of worthless junk.

[Indigo Cardinal]

Originally Posted by Vision67

When people live close together on postage stamp sized lots, they benefit from HOA rules. Most new suburban developments have the houses as close as 10 feet apart. That makes it very easy to become annoyed by a neighbor.

Now imagine an area with 5 acre lots. If you park a few old cars on your driveway, nobody can see them. I think that's why lots of those areas attract people who don't like rules.

I live in an area that originally had an HOA while the houses were being built 24 years ago. However, after the developer was done nobody took over enforcing covenants. What happened is that most of the neighbors self-enforced reasonable behaviors. They do park cars on the street but our wide streets pose no problem. Some do park RVs or boats in their driveways but the houses are more like 30 feet apart so it's not annoying. People maintain the properties and there are no pink or purple houses; the neighbors have a self interest in maintaining resale values.

The other thing is that there are few rental houses. Most of the neighbors are the original owners.

If we tried now to enforce those original rules I don't think it would get much support. I actually think that a neighborhood that makes it possible for somebody to park a boat or RV attractive to some buyers.

As for parking on the driveways or streets, everybody has as many cars as they have drivers. They won't suddenly agree to put all cars in their garages. Heck, many of them have garages full of worthless junk.

I think there's a lot of truth in all this. Where I live, people park in their driveways and on the streets, which isn't a problem, since there's space enough to do so.

The only problem (and this actually came up a few days ago) was one of my neighbors bought a boat. This wasn't the problem, it was where he was trying to park it that was. While there is some decent space between building structures, it's not *huge*--and he was parking the boat on the street space between houses. Problem was, the boat was long enough/wide enough/tall enough that it was causing visual blocking problems for the people on either side of him trying to pull out of their driveways. So he was told to move it. He moved it to the other side of the street (which has no houses), but he's been told that come mid-August, he'll have to move it again, because that area is designated for the school bus stop. So he's irritated, and the HOA pointed out that his garage is plenty big enough for the boat, or his driveway, and he could park his cars on the street no problem, but that isn't what he wants to do. He's come to the conclusion the HOA is saying he can't have a boat, the HOA is saying he can have a boat, he just can't create a potential traffic hazard in parking it, nor can he take the spot designated for the school bus, and it's not their fault he doesn't want to put the boat in his garage or in his driveway.

I think most people would be reasonable, or self-policing, but occasionally you do have the one who just isn't thinking, like this guy.

[Mach50]

I would never own in a HOA neighborhood. It's my property I can do what I want.

Most HOA neighborhoods just seem sterile... I can deal with the occasional bad yard for my own personal freedom.

[cowboyxjon]

I can't seem to find a source for this, but I remember hearing that some counties/cities/etc require covenants (which could authorize the ability to form an HOA) when there is new development. Not sure if this is true, but it may explain why most newer developments with single-family homes have HOAs. I'm not sure that most people WANT HOAs, but seems like it's just reality when buying newer construction in a subdivision.

[Good Red Road]

Originally Posted by sammy87

I dont like HOA's. I live in a sub division and the houses are packed together. The HOA has guidelines so my neighbor can't park a broken down car in his front lawn....I like that. I think I dont like living on a postage stamp size lot 10' away from my neighbor with a split rail fence so I know what all my neighbors are doing on the weekend. So I think they are a necessary evil and its fine for now.

Eventually I want property with no HOA and neighbors I can't really see.

Many that claim to hate HOA's have never lived in an area without some kind of restrictions. Just a drive through some of the rural mountain communities, even just west of Boulder, and suddenly HOA's don't seem quite as bad. Of course that's probably an extreme example.

[smihaila]

H.O.A-s are an abomination which should disappear from the face of this Earth.
I HATE them with passion - run away from them...FAST.

[SusanG_O]

For $250 a month I think they should mow and edge the yards. But on the other hand it seems cheap for a secure gate guard. At least two new homes being built here and I think it's due to the gate guard. He wears a badge (to intimidate? lol ) and will chase you down if you don't have a member sticker on your windshield. They "keep up" the gym if you want to call it that. First, it's super small, secondly it's too hot. They also keep up the swimming pool perfectly--but it's so hot here that few even use it. And it's closed half of the year. And you're paying for a clubhouse, what they call the Country Club, that's overpriced. For the wait staff, they ADD IN a tip on your bill then have the nerve to leave a space for "extra tip." Give me a break.

[BBurn]

Becoming more anti-HOA as I get older; not that I've had bad experiences with mine, and it's only $70/month, but it would be nice if people in my neighborhood had a little more freedom as to how they landscape, etc.

[sammy87]

Originally Posted by BBurn

Becoming more anti-HOA as I get older; not that I've had bad experiences with mine, and it's only $70/month, but it would be nice if people in my neighborhood had a little more freedom as to how they landscape, etc.

We have a covenant and our landscaping guidelines are dictated through it. They had a list of all the allowable trees and plants...Not even the Longmont tree farm had most of the species. Many landscapers just threw in whatever. its fine.

[Pincho-toot]

Originally Posted by Good Red Road

Many that claim to hate HOA's have never lived in an area without some kind of restrictions. Just a drive through some of the rural mountain communities, even just west of Boulder, and suddenly HOA's don't seem quite as bad. Of course that's probably an extreme example.

In the house I grew up in, where my mom, brother and sister still live, we have upgraded and renovated the hell out of it, we have grown all kinds of gardens, from sunflowers to vegetable gardens, we for the longest time had a little wooden well decoration at the front, a nice little bird bath..

If you're gonna own a house, goddamn it, OWN it. Make it your own, do what you want as long as it's not breaking the law. I would hate to live in an HOA because it restricts the freedom to what you like, to a property you own. It makes all the neighbourhood look sterile with all the same houses and no variety, nothing interesting. All the same fences, same shades of beige or whatnot.

I've lived in rural Texas and yea like anywhere rural there's places that are trashy but that's the freedom in this country. You want to make your home yours, and truly yours, you should be able to. You want weeds, dead grass, beer bottles on your lawn that's your prerogative, but I wouldn't wanna sacrifice individualism for conformity EVER.