Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I disagree. What about the freedom to live in a community that shares your community standards? No one is holding a gun against your head to buy into an HOA.
I agree with that...there are plenty of places without HOA..you just need to find them, most are older commuities, but not all...worth checking around and read those bylaws and ccr's really close..
I disagree. What about the freedom to live in a community that shares your community standards? No one is holding a gun against your head to buy into an HOA.
There is no right in this country to impose your beliefs on others, the founders in fact didn't like that sort of thing, hence separation of religion and state, strict limits on powers of government, etc. In some areas there aren't any real choices without HOA's, so in a sense, some people are forced into it.
Generally speaking I don't see the difference between an HOA and the local city codes and laws except in an HOA the people are more focused on your specific area and it's welfare than the city is. Most things (granted not all) that are covered in the CC&R's are not far off from city codes. Things like parking cars,mowing lawns etc are a prime example. Where things get out of hand is when it comes to who enforces the CC&R's and how it's enforced. I've lived in good HOA's and I've lived in some that were insane, it wasn't the rules as much as the people runing it having their own agenda or using their postition to visit payback on people they didn't like.
I'm currently the president of our HOA and we all get along pretty good and have very few problems. As a board we decided that while the CC&R's are in place there has to be some common sense and flexability as to how they are enforced.
The biggest problem I've ever seen in any HOA I've been in was participation of the memebership. Everyone moans and groans about this or that or whines when the board dings them but do you think anyone shows up at meetings? NO! Do you think anyone takes the time to vote for a board member or run themselves when the time comes? Oh heck no, it easier to sit back and complain about what others are doing or not doing!
I'm on my second year as president because no one else wants to do it and I really had to twist my neighbors arm to get him to be VP even though there's really nothing much for him to do.
If you really don't like the way your HOA is runing then do something about it, show up to meetings, get on the board so you can have a bigger say in how its run and bottom line READ THE COVENANTS before you buy and realize that they APPLY to you!
If you buy in a HOA community you know you have to stick to the rules and regulations. If you don't want to do that, that is fine but don't annoy others by not keeping your yards as they should be kept. But either move or don't buy in a HOA community. You knew upfront what the rules were and if not you didn't do your home work.
I am a volunteer on 1 of the HOA proeprties that I have and I hear over and over the same complains. People complaining about getting a letter for either not paying, or do changes without approval. It is so easy not to get a letter.
If you buy in a HOA community you know you have to stick to the rules and regulations. If you don't want to do that, that is fine but don't annoy others by not keeping your yards as they should be kept. But either move or don't buy in a HOA community. You knew upfront what the rules were and if not you didn't do your home work.
I am a volunteer on 1 of the HOA proeprties that I have and I hear over and over the same complains. People complaining about getting a letter for either not paying, or do changes without approval. It is so easy not to get a letter.
Too true! I dont understand those that live in HOAs and cant follow
the rules or standards. Its not that hard to take care of your
yards and areas. Sheesh people, grow up or dont buy in an HOA.
I know HOA's have a lot of good and bad issues, ive finally got out of the real crappy HOA i was in (and had to pay dearly for it, bloodsuckers and their small print!), and moved to a bigger, cheaper and better house only 15mins down the road that is also a HOA, but its been like moving from a militray house in a communist state to eutopia...... people are polite, maintenance is up to date, i dont get notices 3 times a week for trivial crap (eg. the leaves off a tree in my front lawn have blown on to my neighbours lawn .... go rake them up), the tennis courts, pool and gym are state of the art...... this is fantastic, all this for $50 less a month. i no longer hate all HOA's..... just one!
I know HOA's have a lot of good and bad issues, ive finally got out of the real crappy HOA i was in (and had to pay dearly for it, bloodsuckers and their small print!), and moved to a bigger, cheaper and better house only 15mins down the road that is also a HOA, but its been like moving from a militray house in a communist state to eutopia...... people are polite, maintenance is up to date, i dont get notices 3 times a week for trivial crap (eg. the leaves off a tree in my front lawn have blown on to my neighbours lawn .... go rake them up), the tennis courts, pool and gym are state of the art...... this is fantastic, all this for $50 less a month. i no longer hate all HOA's..... just one!
Good for you!!! Now I wonder what would have happened in your old HOA if people would have actually gone to the meetings and either given the board "what for" or voted the suckers out? Boards will do whatever they please as long as no one is there to tell them no in the strongest terms possible and some of these boards get filled with the "Mrs. Kravitz" types that think the world should be run their way period.
Good luck in your new house!
Personally, I hate HOAs but I feel no sympathy for people who move into an HOA knowing full well it was an HOA. There are plenty of ways to have an HOA-style community without an HOA and without it costing you a monthly "fee" to an HOA. HOA is a business and like any business, its looking for "profit"... nobody does "anything" for nothing... that isn't our inherent nature... HOAs are no exceptions... we all like money and so do people who set up HOAs...
Personally, I hate HOAs but I feel no sympathy for people who move into an HOA knowing full well it was an HOA. There are plenty of ways to have an HOA-style community without an HOA and without it costing you a monthly "fee" to an HOA. HOA is a business and like any business, its looking for "profit"... nobody does "anything" for nothing... that isn't our inherent nature... HOAs are no exceptions... we all like money and so do people who set up HOAs...
Not that I've ever seen, in fact most HOA's are set up as non-profit corps. The officers are unpaid in every state and HOA I've ever lived in and in every one the CC&R's prohibited any form of compensation to any board member. In our HOA the dues are $25 a month for road maintenance, plowing and the eventual repaving and that's all the money is used for except we throw a 4th of July party for the subdivision and pay for the meat.
I read many complains about HOA's and some times I have issues myself with the way things are going, not that you have to maintain your yard, etc, since that is just a normal thing to do and I'm very annoyed that the HOA even has to spent money to send letters to people who don't maintain their yard or let their dogs run free and poop every where.
I guess every one knows that the people who complain a lot are never attending a meeting, because they have time to complain in the neighborhood but never seem to have time to attend a meeting. They have time to work on their cars in away that isn't allowed by HOA rules and do many things that aren't allowed either.....
I know some HOA's are run very bad but if nobody wants to help out..., it will never change. We changed from a management company which is a good company but had the worsed person working for our community, to a management company run by a person who was telling us how much would change. Well some things changed. The letters to home owners changed and the wording was very offensive to people who had minor things they needed to change. In the beginning you would see many changes for the better, now it seems it is too expensive to drive through the neighborhood since the management company (owners) live a hour away and it shows by looking at some properties. Still we have some volunteers who are like me and attend every meeting and help on commitees and hope it will change. By doing nothing it will get worse.
I also find out that some things we didn't like seem to be different and can't be done different because of a certain percentage of home owners never pay their dues and have legal fees and the HOA has filed for lis pendens, so there are 2 sides of the story and many people who never attend a meeting don't understand how frustrating it is if a HOA can't do everything because fellow neighbors aren't paying.
The other thing is that since many parents aren't interested in their kids and what they are doing all they, they never notice that their kids are bored and are destroying things in the neighborhood which has to be repaired and that is costing money. If all paretns would watch their kids, it would save a lot of money and we wouldn't have to pay for a person sitting at the pool so these bored kids aren't destroying more and more.
But it is wishful thinking to hope that will change because these parents are too busy doing the things they want to do and many are so young and probable had kids when they were still kids, so they want to enjoy themself and let others watching their kids.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
converted
