as long as they can do this to you, i will not buy realestate (Jacksonville: loan, buying a home)

[Coconut1]

Originally Posted by cixcell

essentially all housing complexes built during the boom have HOA's and management companies. you basically have to buy an older house in a rural area or bad area to stay out of one and that still doesnt keep the code nazis from coming after you.

i do not like the development/urbanizing of homestead because i moved to south florida for tropical rural. i want a grove of tropical fruit trees / a farm.

Fair enough that you want a tropical farm, but again, it's not fair to characterize that any 'good house' has a HOA attached to it.

There are plenty of good homes in Coconut Grove, South Miami, Dadeland area, Coral Way, The Roads and many other places that are HOA free. Surfside, much of Miami Beach, Aventura, etc, etc, etc.

[cixcell]

Originally Posted by Coconut1

Fair enough that you want a tropical farm, but again, it's not fair to characterize that any 'good house' has a HOA attached to it.

There are plenty of good homes in Coconut Grove, South Miami, Dadeland area, Coral Way, The Roads and many other places that are HOA free. Surfside, much of Miami Beach, Aventura, etc, etc, etc.

thanks. was not aware of that. sometimes it seems like these days everything is controlled =/

[flyers29]

Originally Posted by hurricaneMan1992

You could get a place without an HOA...but wait a minute, that probably means a yard to maintain, a larger house that you have to cool with the a/c, and a far drive to appointments and stuff. Geez, guy's 96, remember? Not 36 with three kids and two dogs.

Only thing I can think of is sell the condo and buy something else with an HOA that's not (yet...?) as overbearing. But wait a minute...considering the fixed income, it may be hard to find a place more affordable than what he is already in Take into account realtor fees, closing costs, and the fact that property tax will no longer be under homestead exemption, and it would have to be more affordable, a downgrade.

OR some of the neighbors could pitch in and help come up with the money, so that everybody benefits from the lower insurance premiums and not to mention the logal costs of doing the lein and foreclosure. Nope. Not likely. This is South Florida.

You agree to the HOA rules when you move in. I certainly feel for this old lady, and it'd be really great if others in the community took it upon themselves to help her out with her payments. However, making an exception for her just leads to a slippery slope--next you'll have the 35 year old who can't afford to pay because he goes to Gulfstream every weekend and blows his paycheck away on horses. Obviously no one will feel sorry for him (nor should they).

[perry335654]

You have to go by the rules that are written down by the HOA, I feel sorry for the lady and maybe her case should be different considering her age and being on a fixed income. I think she is being used as an example to other residences that they mean business.

[perry335654]

10 Things a Homeowners Association Won't Tell You: Mortgage Center - Yahoo! Finance

[cixcell]

Originally Posted by flyers29

You agree to the HOA rules when you move in. I certainly feel for this old lady, and it'd be really great if others in the community took it upon themselves to help her out with her payments. However, making an exception for her just leads to a slippery slope--next you'll have the 35 year old who can't afford to pay because he goes to Gulfstream every weekend and blows his paycheck away on horses. Obviously no one will feel sorry for him (nor should they).

HOA rules dont remain fixed though. they change over the years. if shes in the minority vote she's screwed.

[santiago33]

Originally Posted by doggiebus

Just don't buy a home with a HOA or in Coral Gables and you will not have this issue.

Coral Gables will enforce that your property is keep in good order, but they have never required you to make any changes to a legally built structure.

[valicky]

Originally Posted by Coconut1

Fair enough that you want a tropical farm, but again, it's not fair to characterize that any 'good house' has a HOA attached to it.

There are plenty of good homes in Coconut Grove, South Miami, Dadeland area, Coral Way, The Roads and many other places that are HOA free. Surfside, much of Miami Beach, Aventura, etc, etc, etc.

West Kendall does too. I'm in Garden Hills and we don't have HOA. House built in 2002 so it's not an old neighborhood. We were in the Hammocks before and we knew our next house would be in a HOA-free neighborhood.

[valicky]

Just wanted to add that wow - something should be done to help that person! What an awful story.

[rnc2mbfl]

The condo association could have contracted the work for themselves and financed it over a long period of time. This would have allowed the costs to be affordably paid by the residents over years through their association dues.