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Voluntary ones are fine and I could swallow $125 a year for basic upkeep, common areas, etc. I wouldn't choose it but it wouldn't be a deal breaker. NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS would I buy a home where there are fines, etc. involved.
We just bought a beautiful home in a beautiful, established neighborhood here in Knoxville and there's zero HOA....and my boat is going right on the side of my house. It won't be the prettiest sight (at least until a fence goes up), but if anyone has a problem with it, they can pay the $150/mo or so for me to dock my boat, or.....move where there's no HOA! I hate neighbors in general though; I'd rather never interact with a neighbor at all, not once, over having the best neighbor on earth in my face and business all the time.
And truly no offense to you, and I'm glad you're happy, but people choose to live in our neighborhood BECAUSE (in part) no boats or RVs are stored outside of homes. See, that's one of those things that are not against the law in the city, but the HOA does govern.
We have a boat and we have a privacy fence. If we wanted, we could store the boat behind the privacy fence, or we could even build a storage building to park it under, but we don't want out back yard cluttered up with a boat or another storage building. So yes, we pay for boat storage, but it's included in a marina membership that also includes a type of country club membership and we use the heck out of that. So it's money well spent and the club membership (boat storage included) is actually less expensive than simply storing the boat, believe it or not.
I don't think there are any significant fines or liens with our HOA. All that happens if you don't pay the $125 is that it accrues so when your house sells the HOA gets that accrued fines plus interest. I know the President of the HOA and she told me that out of about 150 homes in our neighborhood, 4 are behind on their dues. That's not so terrible.
I've literally never seen a single overgrown yard here - I mean, I've seen a yard go maybe two weeks without mowing but nothing significant. This is just a really well maintained neighborhood. I think it has less to do with the HOA and more to do with simply the shared values of the home owners. Apparently everyone really appreciates the beauty and neatness of the neighborhood.
When we were considering this house, we drove through the neighborhood many times. Lots of walkers and bikers around here. It was very easy to stop and talk with people and get their feedback, which we did. People are super friendly.
We bought a "house of interest" in the neighborhood. I call it that because though it had been custom built and was originally a beautiful home, the original owners had planted a LOT of trees in the yard - and planted them very close together. You literally couldn't see the sky in the back yard and the yard was full of ivy as a groundcover because it was too dark out there for grass to grow. And in the front yard, there were such tall bushes that it was hard to see the front of the house as well. We cut down SEVENTEEN trees and big bushes - and we still have, let me count...12 good sized trees in the front and back and then of course some ornamental bushes around the house - and crepe myrtles along the fence line. So yeah - we had WAY too many trees in the yard. The house has been well maintained but had not been updated.
So as soon as we bought it we started doing a lot of work inside and out and one thing I really enjoyed was that various neighbors would stop by and talk. I like friendly neighbors myself.
We have a very active community library and it hosts a "library hut" across the street from my house, and one thing I really love about that is that I get to watch families, single people, kids on bikes, you name it, stopping by and exchanging books there. It sort of restores my faith in humanity if that makes sense, to see that library hut get so much usage. People stop there numerous times a day.
And finally, our neighborhood has a good mix of folks - not so much young couples because these aren't starter homes, but we do have families with school aged kids, retirees, older couples, folks of different races and ethnicities, at least two gay couples that I know of, different professions, retirees, etc. Personally I like that mixture.
I've got a suggestion. Pretty wild, but here goes:
If you feel that the restrictions imposed by an HOA would be too restrictive for you, buy a house that is not covered by an HOA.
If you feel that you are willing to put up with the restrictions imposed by an HOA, in order to get the benefits that an HOA provides, then buy a house that is covered by an HOA.
Pretty wild, huh?
Constantly insisting that someone who has lived in HOAs more than once, has not had bad experiences, and has been satisfied with the value for money results, is somehow some kind of idiot or untruthful, is just plain disrespectful.
One can talk about the pros and cons of HOA without stooping to personal attacks.
By the way, I have lived in several houses without HOA, one with a weak HOA, and one with a "moderately strong" HOA. Each situation had pluses and minuses. In the future, I will consider the individual situation and buy - or not buy - a house based on that, not on a knee-jerk opinion. Every choice in life is a risk, and I may be dissatisfied with my decision later, in which case I'll have to figure out what to do. That's the way of things.
I've got a suggestion. Pretty wild, but here goes:
If you feel that the restrictions imposed by an HOA would be too restrictive for you, buy a house that is not covered by an HOA.
If you feel that you are willing to put up with the restrictions imposed by an HOA, in order to get the benefits that an HOA provides, then buy a house that is covered by an HOA.
Pretty wild, huh?
Constantly insisting that someone who has lived in HOAs more than once, has not had bad experiences, and has been satisfied with the value for money results, is somehow some kind of idiot or untruthful, is just plain disrespectful.
One can talk about the pros and cons of HOA without stooping to personal attacks.
By the way, I have lived in several houses without HOA, one with a weak HOA, and one with a "moderately strong" HOA. Each situation had pluses and minuses. In the future, I will consider the individual situation and buy - or not buy - a house based on that, not on a knee-jerk opinion. Every choice in life is a risk, and I may be dissatisfied with my decision later, in which case I'll have to figure out what to do. That's the way of things.
Exactly! All of it but especially the bolded part. Sheeze.
I have lived in HOA's a few times. I prefer them over non HOA. I dont want to see my neighbors car up on blocks. I do want to see mow their yards keep them neat within reason. I dont want a falling down fence next to my house. We live in an HOA a neighborhood near us doesnt have one. People leave garbage cans out front of their garages, lawns are unkept for most of the summer until the city gets involved when the grass gets too high. I honestly don't understand spending 200-300 or more and not taking care of your property. Just my 2 cents
Location: Finally the house is done and we are in Port St. Lucie!
3,488 posts, read 3,334,553 times
Reputation: 9913
Quote:
Originally Posted by cp102
I have lived in HOA's a few times. I prefer them over non HOA. I dont want to see my neighbors car up on blocks. I do want to see mow their yards keep them neat within reason. I dont want a falling down fence next to my house. We live in an HOA a neighborhood near us doesnt have one. People leave garbage cans out front of their garages, lawns are unkept for most of the summer until the city gets involved when the grass gets too high. I honestly don't understand spending 200-300 or more and not taking care of your property. Just my 2 cents
That's just not respecting the neighborhood. There are non-HOA neighborhoods that do respect their places. We live in one. Yes, there is a boat beside one family's garage. There is a privacy fence also.
When we were looking for lots to build on, we drove through many non-HOA neighborhoods. This one is established and well kept. There are houses that have an RV or boat on their property. I don't consider them an eyesore. Their houses and yards are landscaped beautifully. The boats and RVs are pretty spectacular. Damn! Makes me want one. Not enough to shell out the dough though.
It's all about due diligence and figuring out what you can or cannot live with. I have lived in both an uptight HOA and a relaxed HOA. I still prefer a non-HOA.
My neighborhood is the friendliest one out of all the places I have lived in the last 20 years. I'm glad we found this one as it is our final stop.
We've had more people welcoming us to the neighborhood than we've ever seen in all the other places we've lived, combined. It might be a coincidence that the other places were in HOAs. I can't say for sure.
Personal choice. Thank goodness we still have those options.
I have lived in HOA's a few times. I prefer them over non HOA. I dont want to see my neighbors car up on blocks. I do want to see mow their yards keep them neat within reason. I dont want a falling down fence next to my house. We live in an HOA a neighborhood near us doesnt have one. People leave garbage cans out front of their garages, lawns are unkept for most of the summer until the city gets involved when the grass gets too high. I honestly don't understand spending 200-300 or more and not taking care of your property. Just my 2 cents
And truly no offense to you, and I'm glad you're happy, but people choose to live in our neighborhood BECAUSE (in part) no boats or RVs are stored outside of homes. See, that's one of those things that are not against the law in the city, but the HOA does govern.
We have a boat and we have a privacy fence. If we wanted, we could store the boat behind the privacy fence, or we could even build a storage building to park it under, but we don't want out back yard cluttered up with a boat or another storage building. So yes, we pay for boat storage, but it's included in a marina membership that also includes a type of country club membership and we use the heck out of that. So it's money well spent and the club membership (boat storage included) is actually less expensive than simply storing the boat, believe it or not.
I don't think there are any significant fines or liens with our HOA. All that happens if you don't pay the $125 is that it accrues so when your house sells the HOA gets that accrued fines plus interest. I know the President of the HOA and she told me that out of about 150 homes in our neighborhood, 4 are behind on their dues. That's not so terrible.
I've literally never seen a single overgrown yard here - I mean, I've seen a yard go maybe two weeks without mowing but nothing significant. This is just a really well maintained neighborhood. I think it has less to do with the HOA and more to do with simply the shared values of the home owners. Apparently everyone really appreciates the beauty and neatness of the neighborhood.
When we were considering this house, we drove through the neighborhood many times. Lots of walkers and bikers around here. It was very easy to stop and talk with people and get their feedback, which we did. People are super friendly.
We bought a "house of interest" in the neighborhood. I call it that because though it had been custom built and was originally a beautiful home, the original owners had planted a LOT of trees in the yard - and planted them very close together. You literally couldn't see the sky in the back yard and the yard was full of ivy as a groundcover because it was too dark out there for grass to grow. And in the front yard, there were such tall bushes that it was hard to see the front of the house as well. We cut down SEVENTEEN trees and big bushes - and we still have, let me count...12 good sized trees in the front and back and then of course some ornamental bushes around the house - and crepe myrtles along the fence line. So yeah - we had WAY too many trees in the yard. The house has been well maintained but had not been updated.
So as soon as we bought it we started doing a lot of work inside and out and one thing I really enjoyed was that various neighbors would stop by and talk. I like friendly neighbors myself.
We have a very active community library and it hosts a "library hut" across the street from my house, and one thing I really love about that is that I get to watch families, single people, kids on bikes, you name it, stopping by and exchanging books there. It sort of restores my faith in humanity if that makes sense, to see that library hut get so much usage. People stop there numerous times a day.
And finally, our neighborhood has a good mix of folks - not so much young couples because these aren't starter homes, but we do have families with school aged kids, retirees, older couples, folks of different races and ethnicities, at least two gay couples that I know of, different professions, retirees, etc. Personally I like that mixture.
None taken! I guess I could have elaborated more--as I do see both sides to it. However, I could never, in a million years, buy a home where I'm told what to do by some bosshog housewife. Alot of the times you get stuck with the world's worst type of people running these things, such as wannabe politicians/police, people bullied when younger pissed at the world, or just bored rich bitchy women who probably never get laid with nothing else to do. I know precisely no one who lives in an HOA and likes it. I parked my car in front of my dad's house once for less than 5 minutes (I just had to run in and out) and he got a warning in the mail the next day. Or my other friend who has a house in a neighborhood right down the street from our new house, $75 a month for his lawn and other bull$hit--he tells me once they didn't cut his yard for a month so he didn't pay--and then received a threat on a lien on his house. It's these awful HOAs where the people walk around just looking to hand out violations, is another thing I just can't tolerate. I'd shoot somebody, probably. But then again I know HOA is not for me and would never buy a home with one.
Yours, however, doesn't sound too bad. My mom lives in a neighborhood with a similar one, I think it's $75/year, but there's nothing really anyone can do bosshog wise. It pays for the entrance, etc. Once we parked our boat in our driveway for a month or so and the Nazi-neighbors (that's what we called them--we lived right next to the head of the HOA) bitched and moaned at my parents after day one and they basically told them to FO. I guess apples don't fall far from the trees!
I wouldn't choose a neighborhood with even a cheap, voluntary, non-enforceable HOA, but it wouldn't stop me from buying my dream house. OTOH, I seriously wouldn't want a mansion given to me with a strict HOA.
I guess the bottom line here as said a million times, if you don't like HOA, don't buy a house with one! And we didn't! We move into our first house Thursday!
Apparently tires cost millions of dollars in non HOA areas.
I had my tires painted with trompe l'oeil blocks just to freak people out.
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