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From what I've heard of HOAs they're the closest thing to communism on American soil When my fiancee and I went to visit her family in Florida the whole development was surrounded by a fence and we had to show ID to get in. The "security" guards (and I use that term loosely) had to call her relatives to make sure they were expecting us! It took forever!
It is so funny when I go visit my aunt. The security guards change often, and for some reason they can never find my name on the list (they call my aunt, she doesn't always answer, we wait 5 minutes, they say "OH! THERE you are!" and finally let me in), but when my husband is driving we usually get waved on in with a smile and no list checking, even if we've never seen the guard before! I don't really know why this makes anybody feel safer.
Our HOA at our prior address in Goodyear,Az, did absolutely nothing about trash in yards, barking dogs, neighborhood parties out of control or any other issues.
In three years the only thing they every did was send a few letters to homeowners asking them to pull weeds in their front yards.
A real rip off.
Our HOA at our prior address in Goodyear,Az, did absolutely nothing about trash in yards, barking dogs, neighborhood parties out of control or any other issues.
In three years the only thing they every did was send a few letters to homeowners asking them to pull weeds in their front yards.
A real rip off.
I've read more cons than pros in this thread for HOAs....and I for one, have decided to stay away from any property that requires HOA dues!
I wouldn't even consider living in one. When you really get down to it, the concept of someone telling you what to do with the piece of land and the home that you paid for with blood sweat and tears is absurd and frankly, un-American. Some of the zoning laws passed by towns here in New Jersey are restrictive enough, let alone the rules these facist HOAs come up with.
I wouldn't even consider living in one. When you really get down to it, the concept of someone telling you what to do with the piece of land and the home that you paid for with blood sweat and tears is absurd and frankly, un-American. Some of the zoning laws passed by towns here in New Jersey are restrictive enough, let alone the rules these facist HOAs come up with.
I see what your saying,but I look at it as an "agreement" to live in an HOA
means you agree to keep your place looking nice. We are looking to buy
a new home in a development here that has HOA. I figure why pay alot
for a house and try and keep it neat,tidy,etc,then Joe Slob next
door doesnt give a crap and lets his yard etc.go. Kinda hurts the
neighborhood doesnt it? Ive lived next door to a "collector" and
it wasnt pretty. We are just looking for a nice clean decent place to
live along with other like minded folks.
Greenchili
Last edited by Greenchili; 12-17-2007 at 09:21 AM..
Reason: wording
I see what your saying,but I look at it as an "agreement" to live in an HOA means you agree to keep your place looking nice. We are looking to buy a new home in a development here that has HOA. I figure why pay alot for a house and try and keep it neat,tidy,etc,then Joe Slob next door doesnt give a crap and lets his yard etc.go. Kinda hurts the
neighborhood doesnt it? Ive lived next door to a "collector" and it wasnt pretty. We are just looking for a nice clean decent place to live along with other like minded folks.
I would just find out how restrictive they are. If you're patriotic and/or a veteran, do they allow American/POW/MIA flags? Would they allow you to fly a flag that represents your heritage (Irish, for example)? Do they restrict your right to display a sign for the political candidate of your choice at election time? If you have a pickup, is it allowed to be in the driveway? It's that kind of crap that torques my bolts...
We live in a HOA development. It is out in the country and each home sits on at least 1 acre (we have over 4 acres ourselves). We pay a small amount for it here compared to what I have seen. But we have a marina and several community ponds and parks here. And we are a lakefront community.
We have flags hanging on several homes (Texas flags, American flags, is pretty much what I see here).
The HOA serves a much needed purpose in our development. They are not too intrusive either. I have no problems with them.
We are planning on moving and all the homes we are looking at have HOA fees, some are extremely high in my opinion and I don't like that. Some as high as $460 a month!!! That is high to me! That is almost $6,000 a year in just HOA fees!!!! We are retired so that is a good chunk of money to us.
I wanted to add that I prefer to live in HOA community. I don't want to pay extremely high fees for it but if the community offers a bunch of stuff for your money then I can justify it.
Last edited by Roma; 12-17-2007 at 12:14 PM..
Reason: add
Don't faint. HOA dues = $342 per month (3 bedrooms). Oh, I also forgot, 1 full-time employee and 3 part-time employees.
I live in Reston, VA (DC area), and when I was looking at condos in Alexandria, VA (in "Condo Canyon"), back in 1992, many of the condo fees were already $400-500 per month at that time.
Nighty, night.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ProLogic
Jesus! The place I'm talking about it costs $48 to cover for community pool maintenance and garbage pick up. Most houses have 4 bd and 2.5 baths. I really think the HOA there is ripping you off. $342? Thats over 4k a year, probably equivalent to your property taxes!
[quote=katie45;2064371]
Quote:
Originally Posted by virgo
Don't faint. HOA dues = $342 per month (3 bedrooms). Oh, I also forgot, 1 full-time employee and 3 part-time employees.
I'm not fainting because you're the one being ripped off. $342 a month? That's a major profit in someone's wallet. How many units in your complex?
Let's just assume there are say 50 units...that is $17,100/month! Wow, talk about you being reamed!
I live in a very large condo/townhome complex in Houston, TX. We have a 3 bedroom 1600 sq ft condo and we pay $312 per month in HOA dues. It seems like a lot, but when you break it down, it is actually less than if we owned a home in this neighborhood, and we don't have to do a thing. In our maintenance fee, we get:
Water/Sewer
Hot Water (on a boiler system here)
Gas
A 2-4 cent/kWh discount on electric per month
All lawn care
Security
Building exterior maintained, roof, brick, siding, etc.
Cable up to 72 channels
Trash pick up twice a week
Access to 3 large pools
Bonuses:
Close proximity to downtown and Galleria area (in a house, we'd have to live further out).
In the best school district in the city
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When my fiancee and I went to visit her family in Florida the whole development was surrounded by a fence and we had to show ID to get in. The "security" guards (and I use that term loosely) had to call her relatives to make sure they were expecting us! It took forever! 
I don't really know why this makes anybody feel safer.
HOA dues = $342 per month (3 bedrooms). Oh, I also forgot, 1 full-time employee and 3 part-time employees.