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Old 02-15-2014, 02:31 PM
 
Location: Aloverton
6,560 posts, read 14,394,270 times
Reputation: 10164

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This won't happen for another year, but if all goes well, around this time next year we expect to go house-hunting in Tualatin or the nearby area--to buy, not to rent.

HOAs are a dealbreaker for me, and that narrows down the options, but I'm interested in knowing how far it narrows them down. (Can live with most covenants.) If it narrows them down so much that Tualatin is impractical, I'm interesting in knowing where nearby we could begin a more fruitful search. The goal is to live within as reasonable a distance as possible of my wife's work, which is just north of Lake Oswego.

I always get the question, so I'll just answer it in advance: why no HOAs? It's not because of the fees, but because I won't pay people (beyond the expected property taxes and municipal codes) to tell me what I can and can't do with my property. I am not the personality type to tolerate that, and I know it, and it makes zero sense to spend that much to live in likely conflict. The peaceful solution is to live elsewhere, where relationships with neighbors can be based upon friendly consideration and good faith, not the kind of hall monitor mentality that too often pervades HOAs. Some aren't that way, but times change, and those that were once not so bad could shift over time. (If you like HOAs and their benefits and consider them very worthwhile, then I'm glad for you and I respect your choice.)
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Old 02-15-2014, 02:48 PM
 
Location: the Beaver State
6,464 posts, read 13,380,869 times
Reputation: 3581
Don't worry, HOAs are actually rare in Oregon in general. You'll have lots of luck finding neighborhoods without them.
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Old 02-15-2014, 03:16 PM
 
Location: Aloverton
6,560 posts, read 14,394,270 times
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That's very good to know, thanks. In Boise it cut down the field by something like half. My real estate agent here, who at first didn't listen carefully to me, kept pulling up places that had low HOA dues and asking if I'd reconsider. A part of me couldn't fault her--she was, after all, trying to find us a house we'd like, and my attitude was alien to her thinking (and, being objective, made her work a little harder).

Offhand, I'd expect that brand new 'communities' (developments) probably all have HOAs, even in Oregon. I guess we'll discover that situation when the time comes.
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Old 02-15-2014, 07:27 PM
 
1,624 posts, read 4,031,297 times
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I totally agree on the HOA stance. The fees are not the problem. It is the busy body neighbors that take over the board and turn into a bunch of Napoleons. And the only way to effectively combat it is to stage a a coup and take over yourself.
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Old 02-15-2014, 08:49 PM
 
Location: Portland, Oregon
10,987 posts, read 20,454,482 times
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Absolutely. HOA Board membership is a volunteer activity, often filled with a lot of work and no appreciation. The best way to have a quality board is to become active in your HOA. Remember the Pogo axiom: "I have met the enemy and it is us."

Been there, done that, in elective office.
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Old 02-16-2014, 09:20 PM
 
Location: Tualatin, Oregon
682 posts, read 1,570,866 times
Reputation: 426
Quote:
Originally Posted by j_k_k View Post
TI always get the question, so I'll just answer it in advance: why no HOAs? It's not because of the fees, but because I won't pay people (beyond the expected property taxes and municipal codes) to tell me what I can and can't do with my property.
The fees pay for common area maintenance and to fund reserves for items requiring future replacement (anything from asphalt to playground equipment). It's the CC&R's (aka covenants) that create restrictions on what you can do with the property. If you are buying, check the CC&R's and talk to others in the HOA before you buy (or just don't... you are correct in seeing the potential risk with future board members).

I don't know the statistics but many newer developments have HOA's (our street doesn't.. most of the areas in our immediate vicinity do, but they are pretty harmless - we live near Tualatin High School). Personally I like HOA's but it's not high on my list of priorities one way or the other.
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Old 02-18-2014, 09:43 AM
 
3,423 posts, read 4,411,742 times
Reputation: 3632
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Cactus Leaguer View Post
The fees pay for common area maintenance and to fund reserves for items requiring future replacement (anything from asphalt to playground equipment). It's the CC&R's (aka covenants) that create restrictions on what you can do with the property. If you are buying, check the CC&R's and talk to others in the HOA before you buy (or just don't... you are correct in seeing the potential risk with future board members).

I don't know the statistics but many newer developments have HOA's (our street doesn't.. most of the areas in our immediate vicinity do, but they are pretty harmless - we live near Tualatin High School). Personally I like HOA's but it's not high on my list of priorities one way or the other.
The fees fund the HOA corporation, director and officer liability insurance for the board members, and the litigation vortex associated with HOAs. Homeowners rarely sue each other. However, when you hand someone immunity, an unlimited budget, and control along with vendors and others egging the board member to "sue" or "do something" about "someone", you inevitably end up with litigation and turmoil, and a few people (or management company) using the HOA corporation as an anonymous mask to impose their whims on homeowners.

You solve that problem by ensuring that there is no platform for these folks to wreak havoc on you or anyone else the neighborhood. In other words "NO HOA". It's the very existence of the fee that signals that the property should be avoided. Kudos to the OP.
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Old 03-02-2014, 09:44 PM
 
Location: Tualatin, Oregon
682 posts, read 1,570,866 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by IC_deLight View Post
The fees fund the HOA corporation, director and officer liability insurance for the board members, and the litigation vortex associated with HOAs.
In most cases those areas make up a tiny percentage of the overall fees. The "litigation vortex" you mentioned, when it does arise, is typically a result of construction defect lawsuits, not pink flamingo lawsuits... (and those lawsuits would occur regardless of the existence of an HOA).

That being said, yes you are correctly highlighting the risks that can arise with a poorly managed HOA, and they are vulnerable to being poorly managed.
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Old 03-06-2014, 06:05 AM
 
3,423 posts, read 4,411,742 times
Reputation: 3632
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Cactus Leaguer View Post
In most cases those areas make up a tiny percentage of the overall fees. The "litigation vortex" you mentioned, when it does arise, is typically a result of construction defect lawsuits, not pink flamingo lawsuits... (and those lawsuits would occur regardless of the existence of an HOA).
Disagree regarding the litigation vortex.
Construction defect litigation rarely involves the involuntary membership corporations unless you are talking about condominiums. There are plenty of construction defect lawsuits regarding condos. If you are talking about condominiums - those are condominium corporations, not HOAs. HOAs do not typically get involved in construction defect litigation relating to detached housing.

HOAs get involved in a lot more than just "pink flamingo" lawsuits. There are lawsuits over voting, access to records, embezzlement, political signs, you name it. Just a few years go, Mountain Park made national news because of the attempts by HOA board members to prevent any political signs from being posted/displayed by homeowners.

Quote:
That being said, yes you are correctly highlighting the risks that can arise with a poorly managed HOA, and they are vulnerable to being poorly managed.
They are an open channel to the homeowners' bank accounts and the vendors know it. The "rules" and "restrictions" were not written for the benefit of the homeowners from the outset and there is no such thing as having the "right people" in charge. There really isn't any such thing as a "properly managed HOA" because there is no such thing as a "good HOA" to begin with. I'm with the OP on this one.
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