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I only know of one. I was scouting out potential areas to live in Tucson. I came across a street, with townhouse/pation homes (attached to one another) on both sides of this long street. Curiously, I stopped and talked to a homeowner, to ask about HOA fees, and he claimed they threw the HOA out, dissolved it. This community has no community property, like a swimming pool, and the property is on city streets.
Now, if we're talking a gated community, with community owned streets/sidewalks, I would think it would be all but impossible to dissolved an HOA in a community like that.
How about you? Know of any communities where the HOA was dissolved? And how easy is it to accomplish that?
Many years ago I lived in a volunteer HOA (the mere thought is absolutely ridiculous of course). Then a neighborhood that had an "inactive HOA"- an no interest in "reserrecting" it (because I asked).
Now, after building in several master planned communities and having to adhere to all covenents, rules, and regulations- and read every damn one of those packages- I can assure you that these are written in such was that there is no way to "officially" dissolve the "association".
But that's not to say there are ways to do it- legally! The major problem is- again- the way convenants are written; and a lot of money (which most HOA's don't have). That's probably why there are a lot of "inactive" HOA's- No Board, No Dues, No Problems!
Many moons ago my dad lived in a subdivision that the HOA was run by the guy that developed the it. He pretty much was pocketing the money as the streets were falling into disrepair and one bridge needed to be replaced. The home owners got together and formed their own HOA and all of the monies when into that account. There was no legal action taken by either party. In Texas, an HOA must have a Charter and it must be renewed. I think the renewal is every 10 years. If there is no renewal, there is no HOA. I owned lots in a subdivision where the houses were 3500+ sq ft and up on acreage lots. The HOA was by the developer but the covenants also stated that the land owners were to be the HOA should the developer default. Next thing I get is a bill from some morons in Georgia saying the HOA fees were going to triple and send money- now. Real simple, I just ran for office and was elected the head of the HOA and the Georgia bunch was fired. Then we changed how the HOA was setup and today all land owners have a say in what the HOA fees will be and what the money will be spent on. This particular place has a 5 acre stocked lake, a 4000 sq ft covered patio with Bar-B Q pits and a playground with equipment for the kids along with a couple of miles of walking trails. The HOA fees are $300 a year now and we have plenty of money left over at the end of the year for a decent New Years party. So an HOA can be the worst thing to happen and it can be a fun thing too. If the HOA in your state requires a charter, I'd check on it and if it's expired, see what the laws are and go forward accordingly.
The covenants will say what the process is for dissolving the HOA (it may not be specifically identified, but at the very least it will say how many votes are needed for a major amendment), or your state might have specific laws (I'm in NC, which is VERY, VERY pro-HOA by statute). In my experience, it's very hard to get the necessary votes. Our old HOA tried several times to dissolve the HOA. There are lots of reasons why people would vote against it... they think the HOA is affective, they're afraid that without it their neighbors will suddenly start a junk yard on the front lawn, misery loves company, etc. There could also be issues if you have common areas or neighborhood liabilities, like upkeep of the signage or electricity for the streetlights. You definitely need to start by reading through your covenants and talking to your neighbors to see if you have any support, then you'll need to get it on the agenda of the next board meeting.
As far as OP is concerned it is virtually impossible. There may be some rare exceptions but basically the municipalities in areas OP cares abkout are required by the municipalities and are not going away.
The existence of an external wall guarantees the continuance. And everything built in the last 15t years has external landscaping...a vast improvement but requiring the existence of an HOA.
Only homes built facing dedicated streets can exist outside an HOA. They are vanishingly rare.
I lived in a neighborhood that had an HOA years ago. Eventually, all the board members bailed, and there was no interest by anyone in keeping the HOA. Since the fees didn't get collected anymore, the grass stopped getting cut outside the entrance. Turned ghetto real fast and we moved.
I was told it would take a 100% vote of all stake holders and that even one holdout would put the kibosh on doing that.
More recently there was property in the association that was undeveloped... the owner went BK in 2009.
The city was interested acquiring it for open space but only if it was free from CCR...
A presentation was made and a ballot sent out... 100% of all stake holders approved the de-annexation upon purchase by the city and went further to reaffirm that the property would no longer be accessible through the association.
One difference here compared with many HOAs is that you have no community property.
Dissolving the HOA is dissolving a corporation, which can be done with parameters mentioned here as being in those docs.
But about that no community property. I'm curious how the townhouses and patio homes are owned. Are they condos or fee simple? Condos would mean there is a great relationship with the group in that regard. They all vote and pay for things like siding, roof, storm damage, etc.
In a larger HOA it is simply impossible to get 100% on anything. In one I know of there is a house that appears to have no owner. The guy died leaving no heirs. It appears it will eventually end up foreclosed by the association or for taxes but that may take years. Or the owner who has vanished and never responds to anything.
One difference here compared with many HOAs is that you have no community property.
Dissolving the HOA is dissolving a corporation, which can be done with parameters mentioned here as being in those docs.
But about that no community property. I'm curious how the townhouses and patio homes are owned. Are they condos or fee simple? Condos would mean there is a great relationship with the group in that regard. They all vote and pay for things like siding, roof, storm damage, etc.
According to the Long Realty site, it states Fee Simple, for the many patio-townhouse complexes in the Carson's Corner district in Tucson. They're attached, in rows of 4 or 6 units, shared walls, back walled patio areas, but they front city sidewalks and streets. Think brownstones in NYC, shared walls, but they stand alone without an HOA.
I've been studying this area, in preparation for my retirement move, and in some of these complexes you may find a very minimal HOA fee of $15 or $20 or $40 a month. Having lived in a 433 unit townhouse complex for 20 years here in Las Vegas, I desire no HOA fees in my retirement years, and damn the consquences! I'm tired of paying for things I never use, like the 2 tennis courts and the 2 swimming pools. I have my own jacuzzi, that's enough for me!
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