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Expect dysfunction and drama. There is often a small clique of owners who control the board and run the association to their personal benefit and everyone else's dismay. Expect meetings to be like never-ending root canals. Expect every proposal to be questioned and debated. If you run for the Board expect to make immediate enemies. If you happen to find yourself with a functional Board know that it is an anomaly and will soon change. Nature abhors a harmonious HOA.
The point I was making is that rarely has concrete restoration been included in reserves and the cost is often astronomical. Spalling balconies and walkways need attention long before they become a safety issue and associations who put off addressing them until they become a safety issue are going to be shocked at the cost to remediate. Anyone buying in a beachside building with obvious cracking and spalling should be prepared to break out the checkbook when the association decides to address the issue.
I made the mistake of moving into a senior HOA. Once living here the truth of the HOA was very disappointing. The first thing was that there are homes with varying lot sizes, not little, a big differences in some cases. However every home pays the same HOA fee. The community center had exercise equipment that was being used by some residents. The HOA board decided that when they rent the community center to outside concerns children might get injured on that equipment and so they trashed all the exercise equipment. Then there is the residents themselves. One character they named "the sheriff" spends his day driving around looking for violations. He even takes it a step further by admonishing residents on the street. i.e., he stopped me one day while walking me dog and said, "...make sure you pick up the dog sh**." (Dog owners here do pick up). One man who was sunbathing wearing cargo shorts and no shirt was reported as sunbathing in the nude. I could go on and on but this will give you a glimpse of what living in a HOA is like.
When I first moved in a neighbor, a woman in her late 80's, came to me and said, "...welcome to, Acc*** Place, it's where things come to die." I think most people here die from depression.
Our friends are retired renters. They live in a luxury condo in Sarasota and don’t care in the slightest about the goings on of the HOA.
Part of the reason they are renters forever is their last 2 experiences as homeowners in HOA communities...one being Sun City HH and one being in Florida.
The husband became active in the HOAs, but soon realized the futility. One thing he mentioned was citing homeowners for feeding the alligators. This would seem to be common sense, but alas, they wouldn’t stop feeding the alligators.
I made the mistake of moving into a senior HOA. Once living here the truth of the HOA was very disappointing. The first thing was that there are homes with varying lot sizes, not little, a big differences in some cases. However every home pays the same HOA fee. The community center had exercise equipment that was being used by some residents. The HOA board decided that when they rent the community center to outside concerns children might get injured on that equipment and so they trashed all the exercise equipment. Then there is the residents themselves. One character they named "the sheriff" spends his day driving around looking for violations. He even takes it a step further by admonishing residents on the street. i.e., he stopped me one day while walking me dog and said, "...make sure you pick up the dog sh**." (Dog owners here do pick up). One man who was sunbathing wearing cargo shorts and no shirt was reported as sunbathing in the nude. I could go on and on but this will give you a glimpse of what living in a HOA is like.
When I first moved in a neighbor, a woman in her late 80's, came to me and said, "...welcome to, Acc*** Place, it's where things come to die." I think most people here die from depression.
I have been renting apartments a long time, and I am really at my wit's end with the property management companies I have always dealt with. All the intrusions, coming in for this and that with only 24 hour notice, and I get plumbing issues due to the other tenants above me and on either side of me. (I need a top floor somewhere, I know this now). Have had 3 different floods in the last 6 months due to other tenants negligence.
My question is - what is it like with an HOA when owning a condo? Will they be coming in my unit at all, will they tell you what to do....Just how intrusive is it really?
Is it better than an apartment property management company? (Yes, I understand I will have to pay for everything, including repairs, but I would rather pay and schedule my own repairs.)
I really need peace of mind and less stress.
All information is greatly appreciated. Give it to me straight. Pros and cons?
With an apartment, someone else has the property to take care of. With a condo, you take care of everything in the 4 walls. People get that confused with great aggravation to everyone else.
The management company is hired by the Board. The management company is like the execution arm of the Board. Residents run for the Board to tell the management company what to do....albeit, that has not been my experience as management companies tend to overpower volunteer boards and do whatever they want.
Alright, I have been a single family homeowner, I've been a renter in both basic and luxury places, and I was on the HOA board for a small complex with less than 10 units.
Generally, I am against the cost, the intrusion and any additional regulation/survellience/busybody situation. Who would want that? My next real estate purchase will be a free-standing, HOA-free, SFH in a less populated county.
My HOA from a few years ago, definitely had some busybodies who would run around and "issue citations" for trivial things like they didn't like my non-decorative flower+vegetable POTS on my patio. I am apparently required by the by-laws to have a certain kind of color-matching ceramic pots, and my use of the plain black plastic pots from the nursery/home depot lowered their property values or something. The landlord is a kind man, and I think/perceive that those former busybodys were chastized/fired/sucuumed to Coronavirus because I haven't heard a peep out of them this year.
In regards to someone "entering your place", dont know the laws of your state, but I'm used to "once per year" they can INFORM YOU IN ADVANCE IN WRITING that they will come by to test the fire/CO2 detectors, and for liability reasons they want you to be present. Nobody wants to be accused of stealing your flat screen TV or iMac or your panties + high heels because now they are missing. And lets be honest - they are half-checking to make sure you're not running a meth lab or you're a hoarder (fire hazard) or you got kidnapped children chained up in the back room or 10 illegal aliens living in the garage.
Issues specific to your region (snow, salt air damage, wind damage, earthquake, flooding) those create their own problems. Big HOAs always want big money, and smaller HOAs offer the opportunity to have more impact/influence on the situation (but a few strong personalites can dominate the rest). So my mature opinion is they are a Neccessary Evil, but personally I am looking to avoid by going SFH. Not a affordable option for many/most, but these are the compromises we make - but it "should be better than apartment life" with shared hallways and non-reserved parking.
Mainly your HOA will hoard money for that eventual $500,000 roof replacement or asphalt re-surfacing. And they'll close the pool on the hottest weekend in August, and claim there's no money to repair the BBQ/firepit/poolchairs+umbrellas.
I guess you've had some bad luck. Every HOA I've lived under was mostly made up of people who never participated or showed up to the annual meetings only. They'd go along with most decisions. The only decisions that ever came up for discussion was something that involved an assessment; nobody cared what color someone painted their walls or whether they had a welcome mat with paws or not.
It's not bad luck. Bad HOA's are fairly common. Just read about them on here. You'll see how often there are poorly run HOA's. Plenty of lawsuits with then and state laws changed because of them.
it's ok to live at a condo/towhhouse community but when you go to sell it may be a nightmare to close if your buyer doesn't have the right type of loan that doesn't have HOA requirements. my realtor I used when i bought told me that. if your HOA isn't in good standing for FHA then it will be the case for fannie mae or any other gov backed type of loans.
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