HOA.....$76/month? (Country Walk, Live Oak: for sale, rent, HOA fees)

[Pragmaticus]

Folks what do you think?

I am shopping for a house and, of course, I don't mind some deed restrictions and nice look for, say, 25 to 35/month, but 76/month? It's like for me a 0.5% interest or some 15K more for the house price. Those of you who decided to have HOA what amount are you willing to pay? Or at what point are you going to say that is enough? If you have to do it again, would you still go for HOA, at what price?

I know I am asking too many questions but want to make sure that I don't make a mistake given that I am a first time home buyer and also wonder if some future buyers take that into consideration just like I do.

As always, thanks for your comment.

[bentlebee]

I wish we didn't need HOA's but they have to be there to take care off the common area, pool, play yard, tennis court, etc..
No HO wants to make arrangements or deal with it so some one has to do it. It seems that if there wouldn't be HOA's half the people wouldn't take care of their lawns and would park big trucks where ever the can. It seems that it comes with peoples backgrounds and they way they were raised and probable liced on huge acres of land and never even thought about what they did. Which could be very nice, don't get me wrong I don't have anything against it.
When these communities were build they were build with the understanding that people would maintain their yards and park in their driveway and colors of the houses and models were designed by architects who did their best to make it look nice. Since people decided to move to these communities and coming from huge acres they still had the feeling that they can do whatever they want to do. Mow their lawn or never mow and do whatever they want. The HOA makes sure that the rules that were set up are followed and some people don't like it and they should stay away from HOA communities. I'm from Europe and never ever heard of HOA's but every one maintained their yard and parked where they suppose to park or they would get a parking ticket of at least 60 Euro which makes you park in the right spot! No fines for yard maintenance and we could do with our yard what we want and at least 95% of the time there aren't any issues over there, also if you want a different color for your home you have to apply to the government and they will say "no"......here it is different and HOA's needs to be in place to have a little control. If you don't like it don't live there.

The HOA fees are very different and it comes down to what the community has to offer and what is included. Some incl. water and cable and a pool, others have just cable and a very nice clubhouse, etc... and some are just over asking and that is why some communities are doing so bad. Country Walk has a high CDD and HOA just as Live Oak ....some have more reasonable HOA fees and Seven Oaks has a very low one but they have a CDD which is very reasonable...so it is very hard to compare unless you know what exactly is included.

Before you buy ask to read the rules and regulations, some HOA's are very difficult to provide them before you buy but either the builder or the seller should be able to provide them and I always read them just to make sure there isn't a bad surprise...Some communities don't allow for sale signs which make sit harder to sell later on and I avoid buying in these communities, but that is JMO!

[Kaiminani]

Excellent answer, I don't think I could have said it better myself.

[skicheryl]

Not sure how it works in Fl but in Reno the fees continue to increase yearly. The condo we live in now charges almost $600/mo fees. Started out cheap in the 70s but has increased over the years. It's crazy. Does not include cable but water and heat/air are covered. Boiler system hot in winter and cold in summer, works ok but not great. Can't have both at one time so during the time of year it's hot (80s) during the day but cool (40s) at night you will have either heat or air cond, depending on which one it's set on at the time! We also have a small pool and crappy fitness center. We also have security till 11pm and cameras monitored during the night. Our rent is $1200/mo and half of that goes to the HOA.....

Curious to find out if these fees increase yearly in FL or if they stay the same.

Cheryl

[bentlebee]

Some have increased a little...mostly because of all the people who stop paying their HOA fees and never could afford their mortgage..the first things they stop paying is HOA fees and mortgage...the cars and internet are most important just as upgraded cable...they don't want to miss the fun, just not pay for what they are responsible for and signed for!

The fun part is that they have to pay interest and lawyers fee and many have started to pay after they received many letters and didn't do anything but the final letter of their house being auctioned off, scared them so much that they started to pay the HOA...

[kerplunk]

$76/month adds up, but it's definitely not outrageous for HOA fees. The only part I don't like is that these HOA fees can go up without your approval at any time. I have always wondered what is stopping them from raising it to $1000/month? I guess the fact that it's supposed to be ran by you neighbors... but still. I, personally, don't like getting into something where "the sky is the limit."

[BucFan]

What do you get for the $76? Might be a bargain - if there are amenities that you'd pay for anyway (cable, insurance, h20, lawn maintenance?).

I think some HOA have a rule that they can only increase HOA a certain percentage yearly. Would be in the by-laws.

Some condos that I'm looking at have $360/mo HOA but include cable, h20, lawn, garbage, has a pool, security, and most importantly exterior insurance.

[Pragmaticus]

Thanks for everyone's reply. I should clarify. This is for a single family home and not condo. They only have a tennis court as far as I can tell and maintain the neighborhood really nice (this is through drive-by and I may be wrong and didn't talk to my realtor since I am trying to screen out some myself before talking to my realtor). So, my question is at what price people want to have just a nice looking place, if that it too much, and also if I will have hard time in resaling because of that.

[bentlebee]

$76.- is pretty reasonable for maintenance of a tennis court, common area's etc...but I would suggest you call the HOA your self and ask if the fee is indeed $ 76.- or different and what is incl.
In the past I had realtors saying a certain amount and at closing the amount was different. The realtor will always say "that was what was disclosed on the MLS"...but the seller might have given an old amount and "forget" to emntion there is also a CDD amount on top of that or as in Live Oak an extra sub community HOA fee, which can make the numbers completely different. Out of experience I never trust a realtor on this or the seller, because later they will get back to you (if the numbers are different( and will say that it is your due diligence (nice word that I learned from talking to realtors.....) to know the facts...I still wonder why they still want the 100% commission if they don't do the work for you as the buyer or seller!

[BucFan]

Wow, you mean that information (HOA amount) isn't readily available and up-to-date during closing? That's ridiculous.