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I've seen that rule before. It's understandable if you've ever been to a neighborhood where people use American flags, sheets, or aluminum foil as window coverings. Or beat-up, bent mini-blinds. Makes a neighborhood look really trashy.
Vetted by whom? In my experience, it's incredibly hard to find people willing to serve on HOA boards. It's not like there are dozens of eager candidates to choose from.
Precisely my point. Thank you for substantiating it.
Btw, it's hard to find people to serve food in restaurants, too.
My favorite HOA story was the time the new resident walked up to me after her first meeting. She actually started to complain to me, the janitor, that she didn’t think that the residents had to pay for things. And I said like what things as I continue to clean and mop.
“Well, things like garbage pick up, and all the extra trash. The HOA should pay for that, not the residence.”
I stopped and looked at her like she was crazy and she continued on about all the things that the residents had to pay for when she thought the HOA should pay for them.
And then I asked her “what do you think an HOA is?“ And she responded that it’s an entity that overseas the building. And they send a lot of money to them and they should pay for things. I looked at her once more and said do you know what HOA stands for?
She shook her head, and I said “HOA stands for home owners association. You and the other 163 owners of this building are the HOA. You are dues and everybody else’s pays those communal bills of garbage and recycling pick up. You pay me to clean your building. You pay my husband to break down the rest of the trash that he can break down like the couches that have been left on the TV stands that are left and we need to take the TV somewhere to have them recycled and that’s an extra charge.“
Her mind was blown. She actually thought there was some magical entity out there that just paid stuff for them. A miracle mommy and daddy with unlimited pockets so the owners could do whatever they wanted.
And local governments just love HOA‘s. Think about it, if they don’t have to fix those roads where that development is, they don’t have to do the snow plowing of those roads where that development is and there’s a ton of developments that’s a lot of money they get to save and spend somewhere else. It’s not like you get a break on your taxes because you moved into an HOA. In some ways it’s almost like you’re double taxed because you’re taxed for road maintenance in your property taxes, but your dues goes to road maintenance, and you don’t get to take your dues off your taxes either. And I keep hearing that there are plenty of places that are getting very built up and you can’t find a place anymore that isn’t part of an HOA.
That's a crazy story, but somehow I am not surprised!
I've seen that rule before. It's understandable if you've ever been to a neighborhood where people use American flags, sheets, or aluminum foil as window coverings. Or beat-up, bent mini-blinds. Makes a neighborhood look really trashy.
Hmm, I guess so. Still, I'd think some other wording would be sufficient rather than a specific color.
I would never go condo. You have to get too many people to agree on what needs to be done, how much to spend, and who's going to do the work.
A SFH home gives me the power to make all those choices.
Depends on the community, depends on the HOA committee.
IMO, in a condo community particularly, you have to have a committed and realistic population. The HOA members must be governed by people who aren't in the position because of power, but because they have a vested interest in preserving the value of the community.
I'm in a small (16 unit) community; have been for several years. We are, for the most part, a sensible group of people. Our HOA committee governs with transparency, but is willing to bend some of the bylaws a bit if there is good reason. We are probably not typical, but communities like ours do exist.
A friend suggested that might be good for me (it's so hard to keep up with the yardwork, etc.) - but these places in my area have a monthly fee of $200 to $400!!))
Ever ask for or check documentation to see how that fee is broken down?
Before we went condo, I began to research the cost of having other people do some of the things we no longer felt capable to do - mainly yardwork. In our area, a quarter acre lawn starts at $100 each time it's cut. Then there is gutter cleaning and clearing out leaves. Trash was 25/month, water around 40/month. Our homeowner's insurance was almost $800/year.
We pay $255/month in condo fees and get to sit and watch other people do all that. Plus, we only pay for interior insurance - about $200/year. Our monthly fee includes insurance that covers the structure. Part of the fee goes to the reserve because the roof on each unit needs to be replaced. We are going metal instead of shingle.
It's all in research, believe me. If you are looking at a community and want to know about it from the inside, hang out at the mailbox facility (most have a single site with all the boxes bunched together). Catch an older person and ask them what they think of the community and HOA. Be sure to query several because everyone has their own opinion, but people tend to be pretty free about their thoughts.
A friend suggested that might be good for me (it's so hard to keep up with the yardwork, etc.) - but these places in my area have a monthly fee of $200 to $400!!))
That is pretty typical. You are also paying for exterior insurance, upkeep of the exterior, etc. that is not to say that they can’t be a ripoff. In my area, there were some places that had a fee of $400 with almost no amenities. When I was in a FL beach community, I paid about $300 for a place with a clubhouse and pool. Obviously exterior insurance is $$$ and they have to do landscaping year round. Here in IL, it is about 6 months and occasional snow clearing. Some will include other amenities- trash pickup, water/sewer, even heat in older buildings.
I've seen that rule before. It's understandable if you've ever been to a neighborhood where people use American flags, sheets, or aluminum foil as window coverings. Or beat-up, bent mini-blinds. Makes a neighborhood look really trashy.
The "neighborhood" where we lived consisted of $500K townhouses. The Rules were determined by the Management Company.
I rented a condo for four years and would never do it again. I would consider a townhome, especially and end unit as you're not having to listen to people overhead. The people above me had wood floors and wore cement shoes.
Seems like many of the condos in my area are 3 stories which means they don't have to put in an elevator. May not seem like a big deal until you're walking up stairs with a week's worth of groceries.
HOA's can be as low as $100 a month to over $600 a month depending on the amenities and after the Surfside building collapse I would never buy an older unit, especially a high rise on the beach.
In theory, condo living would suit my needs pretty well. I’m looking at one right now that was really appealing until reviewing a prior inspection report and the HOA’s financials.
For the third time now, I found the HOA to be severely underfunded and a special assessment looming. In this case, the buildings will need to be resided. This is going to be a big job and the cost, right now, is unknown. The HOA is aware of the problem and will eventually get a contractor for estimates and repairs.
I feel if I move forward with this, I’ll be doing so missing some critical information. Such as…how much are these repairs going to cost? If this was a single-family house, I could go get my own estimate from a contractor of my choosing and make a smart decision.
Besides the possibility of shared walls, would you say the HOA component is the bigger reason why people prefer single-family homes?
Condos need money, they may have features you personally use but they still need to be maintained for the other residents. The board wants to keep the monthly fees low, the residents want to avoid special assessments but one (low fees) usually triggers special assessments (no reserves).
I think a board with a fat bank account can go overboard (sure a new marble lobby will look fantastic for $150,000). The insurance is a killer for most condos especially if they are along the shoreline.
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