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I don't know the history, but a lot of HOAs on Oahu are responsible for providing water. I don't mean that water is included in the bill, I mean that they have to maintain the pipes under the roads etc, and when they were originally constructed they were done cheaply, and replacing them now have a very high expense. In my daughter's case, she has to pay an HOA to her condo association, and also to her neighborhood association the condo is in, which includes the cost of bringing water into the neighborhood and the associated expense of maintaining and replacing underground water mains. Her dues cover maintenance to the condo properties, which includes a pool, and the water infrastructure, and basically nothing else.
Any time you live under an HOA, you have given them a blank check, and if the HOA comes under the control of someone hostile to you, things can go badly for you.
Any time you live under an HOA, you have given them a blank check, and if the HOA comes under the control of someone hostile to you, things can go badly for you.
Not any time... but certainly sometimes would be accurate.
This a big test for me living with an HOA, coming from acreage where my neighbors were cattle/horses and having a mountain retreat/home. However the wife is happy. I still have the 'homestead' on just under 10 acres, so I can still get away if needed.
I'd pay off our house and buy the rest of the wooded acreage behind our house. I'd buy a getaway in the mountains 30 minutes away with a log cabin plus another getaway on the ocean in Florida or one of the SC islands, somewhere away from the crowds.
I have no interest in living in an apartment and be dependent on someone else.
When the housing bubble last collapsed I was interested in moving to Hawaii and although Oahu wasn't on my radar I did look at the listings regularly. People were almost giving away their HNL condos to get out of paying the HOA fees. I saw some condos listed for $5k, and they weren't leaseholds near the end of their terms. Its was crazy. My daughter lives in a shoebox condo in HNL and her HOA fees are more than my mortgage for a 3/3 on 3 acres on the big island.
I believe it! Some of those HOA fees are more than the rent/mortgage payments themselves. I've seen some in the $2-$3k range, which is completely insane to me. My HOA fees at my building are $775. Still a lot, but not the worst and they cover a lot.
A youtuber I watch is in his 40s, has no wife/kids/family in which he has to stay in a certain place, & can go anywhere for his job. He's travelled throughout the US at leaste several times. Throughout the yrs, he's lived in a few places in southern CA & then FL (because he loves Disneyland & DisneyWorld). He's rented 2 places in each state for a time, but now lives in Celebration, FL, which looks like a great area to live from what I've seen. It's a fairly new city that started in the mid-1990s.
So far, he's said that much later when he plans to live in one place, it will be Gatlinburg, TN. I believe he's worth at least $2 million by now if not more.
One in a Northern climate for summer (by a non-motorized lake) or a wild river in a forest but near a town with a wonderful library!).
For winter, I'd like to be near a quiet, unpolluted beach (ocean or large lake) that's not a vacation destination. And, you guessed it, near a town with a wonderful library.
One in a Northern climate for summer (by a non-motorized lake) or a wild river in a forest but near a town with a wonderful library!).
For winter, I'd like to be near a quiet, unpolluted beach (ocean or large lake) that's not a vacation destination. And, you guessed it, near a town with a wonderful library.
Bike trails in both locations if you please!
Sure, pick 2 places! & yes, since 2021 when I started biking again, I want a lot of good biks trails too! In my area where I am now, I have to drive to regional parks. There's 1 trail, but too many streets to cross & things are too crazy out there for that. I never bike on the streets (where cars drive).
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