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it has it's advantages. your neighbors can't decide to raise farm animals, or paint pink polka dots on their home... or have 13 cars on cinder blocks in their front yard.
You forgot poorly maintained yards, peeling paint noisy AC units, letting their damned dogs run all about and do their business in your yard letting their garbage blow around, loud music and parties at 2 am and letting their used oil run down the street! I once had a neighbor who liked to do target practice and put a few holes into my house!
I live in a Condo with a Association and apart from the usual restrictions, we also ban over night parking of trucks, campers, boats and any commercial vehicle so if you drive a cab you better find another place to park it after a busy work day. Our towing company charges a minimum fee of 80 dollars plus 80 dollars a day until you recover the vehicle. Plus you better have MD plates proper inspection and up to date registration stickers or Mr Hook will take that car too. Another is a prohibition on cooking or barbequing on a balcony or patio is your unit has one! I don't want my HVAC sucking in the smoke and having stink up my unit. Lastly you have to have proper clean curtins or drapes in every window , - no bed sheets, blankets, beer cans, rebel flags or having a bare window.
Because for about the last 25 years many cities have required HOA's to be created on new construction.
It's a way of additional taxes and shifting the responsibility of maintenance away from the cities. If you want a newer home, odds are it will have an HOA.
Plus, like in a condo, it's great to have snow removal and yard care taken care of, so all you ever have to do is lock the door as you leave if you want to leave town for vacation. Also, many have pools and/or great work out equipment, rec areas, that an individual could not afford or maintain.
I lived in one for about three years[after my husband died], made the mistake of selling and moving into an apt. would go back to the condo in a heartbeat, most landlords are cheapskate-slumlords!
so this family is facing jail time for a playground set that none of their neighbors that can actually SEE the thing are bothered by...
seriously people HOA are evil. If you live in one, you should get elected to the board then disband them.
I live in one. If I knew then what I knew now, I would have NEVER bought a home in an HOA. A lot of my neighbors are cool, but the ones that are on the board and run the show are basically a bunch of commie pricks! Not to mention the kick backs they most likely get when contracting out jobs!
I live in one and they do good. Buildings are regularly painted, communal grounds well policed, landscape, lake, security, etc. No issues. One does hear of horror stories. BTW, some of the smaller municipalities are like had nosed HOAs here. For example, Coral Gables has to pre-approve what color you paint your house and in some areas what type of vehicles you have visible in your drive way etc.
Well, we are fortunate in havingg good folks in the HOA. Yearly elections as well. All numbers are transparent.
hoa can work great if you have the right leadership. the problem is the people who want to donate their time to run an hoa are exactly the type of people you don't want to have power.
hoa leaders are usually busy body control freaks that enjoy power and rule with an iron fist. They care more about the letter of the law instead of the spirit of the law.
what first started as "making sure people don't paint ugly colors or junk in the yard" became requiring formal approval to plant annuals, not allowing various plant types, requiring grass watering during a draught so you either get fined by the hoa or fined by water district, etc.
"Why would anyone ever want to live in a homeowners association area???"
Beats me.
I CHOSE to live in four different HOAs over the past 30 years and all have been quite successful. Maybe that's because I value nice neighborhoods and don't trash my property.
I live in one and they do good. Buildings are regularly painted, communal grounds well policed, landscape, lake, security, etc. No issues. One does hear of horror stories. BTW, some of the smaller municipalities are like had nosed HOAs here. For example, Coral Gables has to pre-approve what color you paint your house and in some areas what type of vehicles you have visible in your drive way etc.
Well, we are fortunate in havingg good folks in the HOA. Yearly elections as well. All numbers are transparent.
That's what mine was like, too!
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