Age 50+, Unemployed, Divorce, Mortgage, I need options in NJ

[CaptainNJ]

Originally Posted by Mightyqueen801

People complain about HOA's, and I've seen some horror stories on the Real Estate forum, but in a condo situation, there is no way to NOT have an HOA as it by definition is a joint ownership situation. (Until City-Data, I had no idea that there were HOA's in sfh communities, and I don't think I'd buy into a such a place myself.)

people exaggerate how bad HOA's are. now, it may actually be that bad in some instances but it isnt across the board. when i lived in a condo community of unattached single family homes, the HOA wasnt perfect but overall it was a great living situation. they took care of a lot of the stuff that i now have to take care of. there was just this one wrinkly old lady that would walk around looking for any violation she could find to bug people about. i got a couple of letters for things that werent even actual violations. i had to look up the rule book and then email the management company that it was bs.

oh and the cost was less than the value of services provided as i see it.

[Mightyqueen801]

Originally Posted by CaptainNJ

people exaggerate how bad HOA's are. now, it may actually be that bad in some instances but it isnt across the board. when i lived in a condo community of unattached single family homes, the HOA wasnt perfect but overall it was a great living situation. they took care of a lot of the stuff that i now have to take care of. there was just this one wrinkly old lady that would walk around looking for any violation she could find to bug people about. i got a couple of letters for things that werent even actual violations. i had to look up the rule book and then email the management company that it was bs.

oh and the cost was less than the value of services provided as i see it.

That's why I specifically looked for a condo, as well as it being better for my budget (though I did look at and consider a few small sfh properties along the way).

When I bought, I was a single woman in my 50s. In the house I'd rented previously while raising my daughter, I had to shovel my own driveway and sidewalk as well as the sidewalk in front of the property. I also had to care for the garden and mow the lawn. Didn't mind gardening, but as I got older, that shoveling wore me down. Fortunately, I made a deal with the guy next door to let him store stuff in the garage in exchange for mowing the lawn.

Now it snows and a bunch of guys with a Bobcat, shovels, and snowblowers are out there removing it all and they cut the grass and landscape in the summer. All this for a reasonable monthly fee that also provides for things like the shared building insurance and the new sidewalks, resealing and repainting the parking lots, pruning the trees, etc. The HOA board President hangs out and drinks wine with me, and I pay her to take care of my cat when I am out of town. No problems.

[Mightyqueen801]

Originally Posted by Retriever

+1 on all counts.
However, I want to add that there are certain people who shouldn't EVER buy a condo unit, and those are the people who don't believe that they have to abide by the rules that are promulgated in the offering statement for the community, and to which they agree to abide when they purchase their unit.

Many years ago, I lived in a small condo development, and eventually became its president. Our biggest problem had to do with the jerks-offs who...
Parked in front of the garbage dumpsters on collection days, thereby preventing the garbage from being collected...
Thought that they could operate a community carwash for their friends and relatives on weekends, thereby running-up the water bill that everyone had to pay...
Thought that, instead of shoveling their own driveway, it was appropriate to park in other residents' driveways that had been shoveled...
Thought that they could install storm & screen doors and elaborate outside lighting fixtures that did not comply with the design specifications of the community...

Sounds like a mess. MOST of the residents are OK. We have a couple of problem children. In one case, water collects in a low-lying area behind one of the buildings. It drains away in a day or two, but they complained, so we looked into it. There is another complex behind us, which is actually in a different municipality, so there is nowhere to drain the water to. Further, we know that area was once part of a local dump, so we don't want to start digging around back there and turn up something that needs remediation.

In the end, we had the landscaper look at it, and he suggested we plant three trees back there of a type that is known to take up a lot of water. It was a great, eco-friendly solution, so we went ahead and purchased these trees and had them planted.

The two complainers in that building showed up at the next meeting furious that we had planted these trees (in a common area!) without consulting them. Their concern? Those trees might eventually get so big that they could potentially fall on the roof of their building.

They shut up when the Board President said, "You are both in your 70s, just like me. We all will be long dead before those trees reach the height of the roof."

Originally Posted by Retriever

I lost count of the number of a-holes who told me... This is America! You can't tell me what to do!

Kind of like being a CD moderator and having idiots tell you "You are taking away my rights! I am going to have my lawyer (or, in one instance, "the Grand Jury"), contact you!"

We did have one guy who asked, "What do I do if I want to stop paying my association fee and do my own snow removal, landscaping, etc.?

We told him, "You buy a single family home."

Originally Posted by Retriever

That experience--over a period of 7 years--was what convinced me to buy a single family house, on my own property, with no uncooperative HOA members to deal with.