What's your view on HOA's? (Fairfax: real estate, crimes, coop)

[lovetoboat]

Hi everyone,
This Board has been so helpful in information as we make our decision where to move. We are from Upstate NY and went down in April to look at the area. My husband will be working in DC and I'm a RN and have no clue where I'll be. When we were there our Real Estate Agent was describing HOAs. We have some neighborhoods like that here, but not to the extent you do in NoVa.
Can you fill me in on this? Does this include the local pools or tennis courts? Trash, snow removal?
How does one find this out?
And do they come knocking on our door when we move in or how do we know who/how to pay?
Last but not least, do you think it is better to live in a neighborhood with an HOA because it may be kept up nicer? (our real estate agent leaned towards this)?
Thanks to all who can help me out!

[Fern435]

Here's an earlier thread that has some pros and cons from posters:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/north...t-up-hoas.html

Do your research very carefully before buying a home in an HOA. Find out if they have financial troubles (some do).

The man who owned the company that managed HOAs in Loudoun and Fairfax Counties embezzled money from them. He was sentenced a few days ago. Google Jeff Koger.

[VRE332]

all that information should be given to you when you close on the house.

[Fern435]

Originally Posted by VRE332

all that information should be given to you when you close on the house.

Riiiight...............

It's always good to get that valuable information AFTER you close on a home purchase.

[normie]

Originally Posted by Fern435

Here's an earlier thread that has some pros and cons from posters:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/north...t-up-hoas.html

Do your research very carefully before buying a home in an HOA. Find out if they have financial troubles (some do).

The man who owned the company that managed HOAs in Loudoun and Fairfax Counties embezzled money from them. He was sentenced a few days ago. Google Jeff Koger.

Good post!

Here's more info on Koger: Homeowner Groups' Funds Missing in N.Va. - washingtonpost.com Some of the HOAs have recovered their money, especially Ashburn Farms who reported more than $60,000 in accounting discrepancies. Ashburn Farms is a very large HOA, by the way--HOAs here are the size of small towns. I suppose the silver lining for them is that they'll be keeping their eye on things now.

Despite stories like this, in my opinion HOAs are a good deal. My HOA charges less than $60/month and for this you get snow removal trash pick up, recycling, pools, tennis courts, gyms, social events, gardening and lawn care of the common areas, planting beds, etc. Since we're on a pipestem, we even get our driveway resurfaced every two years. And many people believe, as you pointed out, that HOAs keep home values high because they keep neighborhoods nice. But you'll see all these points and more in the link Fern gave you.

Regarding your question: "And do they come knocking on our door when we move in or how do we know who/how to pay?" This might be a good question to ask your future neighbors, but FWIW I've owned a number of homes in HOAs over the years. The only time I ever had one knock on my door was when a tree near my house started to fall over after a rainstorm. The HOA cut it down, but knocked on my door first to tell me that they were doing it. BTW, I'm very grateful to live in a place that sent an arborist around after the storm to take care of things like that.

Most of the larger HOAs let you pay your dues online. Ours are paid automatically--I'm retired and do a lot of travelling, so that makes life much easier. But you can always mail a check monthly if you wish. The management company that handles my community is Legum & Norman. We've been with them for years, never had any accounting problems with them, and so far we've been very happy with the service they've provided.

As Fern pointed out, the smart move is to find out about an HOA before you decide to buy the house. Especially right now, when it's a buyer's market and time's on your side. Google is helpful, and even better, stop to talk to a few of your future neighbors.

And remember, even though HOAs are prevalent and many people like me are enthusiastic about them, that does not mean you have to live in one. Lots of great homes are not in HOAs. If you decide you don't want to be part of one your realtor will be able to show you plenty of places.

[bangorme]

Originally Posted by normie

Despite stories like this, in my opinion HOAs are a good deal.

HOA's are good (in principle) and I wouldn't buy a house here without a strong and effective one. Do you want to see your 400K townhouse turn into a 200k townhouse, then just let you next door neighbor put a chicken coop in his back yard. Or maybe open a flop house. Or keep 5 barking dogs in it. Or put a 50 foot screeching wind turbine in his back yard or...

[normie]

Originally Posted by bangorme

HOA's are good (in principle) and I wouldn't buy a house here without a strong and effective one. Do you want to see your 400K townhouse turn into a 200k townhouse, then just let you next door neighbor put a chicken coop in his back yard. Or maybe open a flop house. Or keep 5 barking dogs in it. Or put a 50 foot screeching wind turbine in his back yard or...

Not only that, but when crimes happen, HOAs can be very helpful in getting neighborhood watch groups formed, spreading important information, and generally helping the police. A few months ago there was a horrible murder in Lansdowne. (Very rare around here, BTW, but these things happen.) Anyway, it was all over the news and people were very freaked out about it. The HOA did a wonderful job bringing the police in to hold community conferences, and did a bunch of other things like helping to spread information and signing up people for jogging buddies.

[Not2Picky]

Many HOAs have websites. If you're considering a house in a HOA development, Google the development to locate for the development's history, HOA rules, events, even monthly newsletters.

[MMichelle]

HOAs are as good as the people in them.

Read the governing documents - and understand them. The rules & regs usally govern the day to day stuff (what you can & can't do stuff) but read everything. Most conflicts arrise when a homeowner does something and THEN finds out it's against the rules.

An HOA is a type of non-profift corp. As an owner, you will be a member. The HOA has a function and so do you - know what that is.

Never assume that since one HOA allows something ... they all "should". Each one is different.

To google the name of the HOA is a great idea. Many HOAs have websites - all kinds of info can be found. Check out the management company - they mgt. really sets the tone of the HOA.

Feel free to direct message me with questions.

Hope this helps!
Michelle

[tgbwc]

I think HOA's can be very good, especially in newer communities where the houses are close together. We have lived in two of them and both have been very reasonable in their expectations. Both were in PW County and the neighborhoods were well maintained and sought after. From what I have seen, the problems arise when people move into an HOA, they have supposedly read and agreed to the covenants, and then don't want to abide by them when living there. There are always problems with people who don't think the rules they signed off on pertain to them.