Association Fee question (homeowners association, condos, attorney)

[HBK]

I have a very important question I would like to ask you guys,I just signed up here in order to hear opinions and information about it.

I bought a brand new home,a Villa...like 30 homes,basically the exact same style,kinda like condos,but its NOT a Condo.

Which means I can do whatever I want in the house, the backyard landscaping and can have as much pets I want.

Just wanna make clear you guys know right of the chart,its not a condo home,but the settings are similar.

The home all look alike...

Now,the seller who owns and sell the homes there,which I by the way is being built brand new for you,so it was a empty lot when I bought it,next to a home that was already there.

Anyways,the guys told us,there is an association fee each month of $85 dollars, u know to take care of your grass and what not,snow removal I guess.
But when I talked to the guy,he made it sound like its opitional,by telling me, "well I would like to have the people who own and buy a home here,to keep it neat etc" so when I told him, so its kinda my choice if i wanna do that,he right away changed his mind.

My contract does not mention anything about the association fee and I was in my head right away against that idea.Thinking in 15 years I will pay 15.000 dollars for the association.Something I can take care myself.

Since this is not a condo,and the association fee is not in my contract that I have to have it or do it.
Am legally allowed not to pay that? I already did not pay the first month and for some reason,the sellers secratery calls me,why I did not pay.Now remember,its not even the lawn firm who calls me,its the seller? I am not sure whats going on,but to me this is a scam

I paid my brand new house is full, Its my House,I can do whatever I want,its not a condo,and I own it.
Am I not legally in the right to refuse to pay that association fee,cause when I first talked to the guy about it,his only explaination was "I would want the people here to keep it neat" but once I own my home,and he got his money.
Dont I have the right to choose if I want that service or not?
I mean I am not a fat lazy dude,I love to cut my own grass and take care of my own lawn etc...

Does anyone know some inside of this????

I will contact my attorney tomorrow and see what I can do,but thought I'd asked you guys.I am kinda new to this and this is my first home I bought.

PS: the whole area where I bought my home from is still by the way not done.
I mean my house was built and finished 3 weeks ago,but there is still no grass and nothing...the house next to me is also done,but the other side,they are still building a home...but no lawn or grass has been set up or made yet.Its all dirt around my drive way....
How could already sent me even my first association fee,when no **** has been done yet,besides the point I do not want it,but why even pay for something thats not done yet.

Thank You

[iamman]

Hi, I'm not familiar with Ohio state law on this, but maybe I can help. I work in Property Management for Homeowners Associations specializing in high value homes.

If it is not an HOA than obviously, things are different. If it IS an HOA they are anything like they are here then things are complicated, to a certain degree.

In an HOA you not only own your home, but a small percentage of the street, street lights, gate and park (if there is a gate and park). Therefore all parts of your community are not maintained by the city as they are private property. If the streets need to be resurfaced, where does the money come from? Not tax money, but from the reserve fund into which all homeowners pay into with their monthly dues. Reserve studies plan for 30 years at a time and budget money for every possible thing you could think of, if properly managed you can have a beautiful neighborhood and a say in how it is run (when you vote for, or run for the Board of Directors, appear at annual meetings, write letters and so forth). This is just a brief description as to where your money goes. The short answer to your question however, is yes. If you do not pay for a reasonable amount of time, say 6-12 months the HOA throught their attorney will most likely take legal action which will cost more. There will be intrest with the late fees, and possibly attorney fees.

Unfortunately, you should of reviewed the CC&Rs (association rules and regulations) before your purchased your home to know of any parking rules, architectural committees, and possible violations you might face in your HOA. I suggest your do your homework, become as informed as possible, abide by all association rules and pay your dues. HOAs are....interesting. Lets just say no one in our office will ever live in one. Good luck.

[garydeanboy]

are hoa legal to start in a subdivision after it is 6 years old

[azishot]

We have lived in a couple of HOA's. The first one was nice in fact they even gave us an award for yard of the month. The second one however turned into a nightmare after a group of people took over the board. They changed rules and started fining us heavily for something that had been approved in writing three years earlier. When we showed them the paper they said the old board didn't matter. We tried working with them from the first day. They came over and told us what they wanted and asked us to turn in some plans which we did. They rejected them and started fining us $200 every other week. What a nightmare! They even made it difficult when we tried to move out by holding our HOA transfer papers for weeks.
I can honestly say we followed every rule that was on the original CC&R's. But it doesn't matter when you get people in who want to make everyone suffer.

I could understand all of this if the rules etc were enforced equally it was obvious they were not. Trying to do anything to fight the inconsistency got us nowhere and we found it is almost impossible. They have complete control over the process and the homeowner becomes powerless.

I'm not saying all HOA's are bad but if you do get in a bad one it is a nightmare. I will never live in another community with an HOA. I think the bad can definitely outweigh the good. If I had a choice I would say NO WAY!

[jess1327]

are hoa legal to start in a subdivision after it is 12 years with out one???????????

[Pjpicard]

Any idea if a Home Owners Association can be disolved?

[jeratboy]

I see complaining about HOAs, but not the specific complaints. I have lived with and without. I will never live without again. The complaints when I lived in HOAs were usually people who thought that they knew better than anyone else(only their opinion matters), had no taste in landscaping, left garbage cans out, kids out without supervision, pets tied to a pole(rather than a leash with a hand on the other end), car repairs/washing on property, and many other things that they agreed to in the beginning or were voted on by a majority of owners. The complainers are usually in the minority but think everyone thinks like them. If that was the case the board would be voted out at the next election.