HOAs - Love'em or Hate'em?

[Aquaboy]

HOA's can be good or a nightmare depending on who runs them.
As Burg said, they are a "shadow government". They can levy fines, liens on your home or even force you out by various means and they are not accountable to the homeowners. Yes you can vote out a geezer that makes too much trouble but all the rules are still intact.
My wife's condo HOA hands out fines like candies. Left your trash bin out for two nights? Its a 100.00 fine. Forget to register your car with the HOA? 100.00 per month fine! And they have a network of informants to turn you in for the most petty things.
We live in a nice area with no HOA. Its so nice not having condo Nazis spy on you. And the County has plenty of rules for the real gross violators.
HOA? No way!!

[lgt]

I’ve lived in seven different neighborhoods and two of them had an HOA. They both took care of front yards and landscaping. I rarely ever hear about any complaints either from or about one HOA, but the other was a different story. The intrusive HOA would not allow cars to be parked in your own driveway unless your garage was already full with vehicles not stuff vehicles. I was also told that there was nightly security. In two years I never spotted them but they were there. How do I know? Because every night like the tooth fairy he or she would show up and issue ticket to everyone that parked on the street then disappear like a fart in the wind. It seemed like their only purpose was to make sure the residents were following the rules. Honestly there were no big differences as far as upkeep or issues in any neighborhood I’ve lived in HOA or no HOA. Just less nagging and more money in my pocket without an HOA.

[Aquaboy]

We have a few new trashy neighbors with trucks and a ginormous boat. That being said I still love not having a bunch of crabby people levy fines and liens on us.

[michcoop99]

I don't love having an HOA, but I don't know that I would live in a neighborhood without one (especially not a newish neighborhood). For one thing, houses in California (in general) are so close together that you have no idea who your neighbor is going to be. In times like this, where there are so many renters who don't care about the house, it is even worse. I don't want boats and motorhomes on the street and I don't want to see my neighbor's underwear drying in the wind on a clothes line. Our HOA doesn't allow swing sets with high platforms and I love it! The last thing I want is to be sunbathing and have the neighborhood kids staring at me from a oversized play set. Also, I know I'm not going to have neighbors with fifteen dogs who bark constantly. The best part is the front yard work. I have driven many nice neighborhoods where every other house has a dying lawn because of a vacancy, and that never happens in an HOA. Additionally, most HOA's force you to upkeep a pool even in a foreclosure or vacancy. I remember living in a house with an abondoned pool next door and that equals weird smells, lots of mosquitos and rats. I hate that HOA's are necessary, but it is a choice and one that I do not regret making.

[Aquaboy]

Originally Posted by michcoop99

I don't love having an HOA, but I don't know that I would live in a neighborhood without one (especially not a newish neighborhood). For one thing, houses in California (in general) are so close together that you have no idea who your neighbor is going to be. In times like this, where there are so many renters who don't care about the house, it is even worse. I don't want boats and motorhomes on the street and I don't want to see my neighbor's underwear drying in the wind on a clothes line. Our HOA doesn't allow swing sets with high platforms and I love it! The last thing I want is to be sunbathing and have the neighborhood kids staring at me from a oversized play set. Also, I know I'm not going to have neighbors with fifteen dogs who bark constantly. The best part is the front yard work. I have driven many nice neighborhoods where every other house has a dying lawn because of a vacancy, and that never happens in an HOA. Additionally, most HOA's force you to upkeep a pool even in a foreclosure or vacancy. I remember living in a house with an abondoned pool next door and that equals weird smells, lots of mosquitos and rats. I hate that HOA's are necessary, but it is a choice and one that I do not regret making.

You have many valid points. We have new rednecky people on our street with that giant boat, kids and pets running loose etc.
Our street looks a lot less attractive now to buyers. I suppose Im in a Catch-22 situation, do we want to live in a HOA place with nosey retired snoops handing out fines like Halloween candies or look at their crappy house? It's a tough choice...