We specifically moved into a neighborhood with a HOA. Having previously lived in one without, we absolutely wanted one. It is SO nice to have houses with maintained yards, design standards, and just an overall set of rules (no commercial vehicles, etc). Our dues are well worth it too-we get a LOT for it.
We will have to deal with ours soon, we have to take down a tree in the front yard. We have to get permission, then replant, which is sort of a pain, but it comes with the territory. I'd MUCH rather do that than deal with the issues we had in our previous neighborhood.
Normally, I'm in favor of them because some people just have no clue about common courtesy (see the neighbors thread) but in our neighborhood people are very good about keeping things looking nice. It's a pretty typical 80s development but I don't think we have any houses that look trashy or run down. The other reason I was okay with not having one is that houses are priced high enough that I'm not worried about someone with no job and a collection of rusty cars moving in. If it was a "starter home" neighborhood I would definitely want an HOA.
Post by MadamePresident on Jun 16, 2013 17:31:47 GMT -5
Our new neighborhood will have one. My goal is to be part of the association. There are some rules that I don't like and want to work to change. No sheds, and where the fence in your backyard can start on you house. Its new construction so right now the board is composed of the builders and the bank.
We have one, but it's basically just a way for the homeowners to stay in touch. We don't have any crazy rules about specific fence heights, colors of paint, etc. No one has to get permission to plant trees or put up a basketball hoop. So far, so good.
But... our original builder filed for bankruptcy and went out of business in the middle of building our neighborhood. A different (better) builder took over the neighborhood and they are a lot pickier. They want us to turn over our HOA to a professional management company. We're having an HOA meeting next week to hear about their expectations. I'm a little annoyed that some other builder has some in and set new rules afer we've already lived here for almost 5 years. We'll see what happens at this meeting. I *may* end up changing my tune!
We specifically moved into a neighborhood with a HOA. Having previously lived in one without, we absolutely wanted one. It is SO nice to have houses with maintained yards, design standards, and just an overall set of rules (no commercial vehicles, etc). Our dues are well worth it too-we get a LOT for it.
We will have to deal with ours soon, we have to take down a tree in the front yard. We have to get permission, then replant, which is sort of a pain, but it comes with the territory. I'd MUCH rather do that than deal with the issues we had in our previous neighborhood.
+1 for us too. I won't live outside the city limits, and I won't live outside of an HOA. My sense of order is too easily offended by campers living on the street year round, overgrown weeds and bad architecture.
There are pros and cons: ours is decent, so it's tolerable, but if you've got a bad one, it can be hellacious. The pros to ours is that having a formal organization seems to work well in our 'hood (we have organized social events, communication about the neighborhood pool, oversight of neighborhood issues, etc.)
However, I'm sure a lot of those issues could be handled similarly w/o an HOA. The cons to ours is a bit weak when push comes to shove and their power is determined solely by an outdated declaration of restrictions document. They also tend to overreact often and they don't always exercise the best judgment when it comes to enforcing covenants.
There was a lot of neighborhood drama last fall when they sued one of the neighbors which was a complete overreaction on their part. Fortunately, it was settled out of court, but it put us on notice that they aren't the most level-headed bunch.
Post by mollybrown on Jun 16, 2013 18:13:03 GMT -5
I have one. It mainly collects dues to maintain the pools and open spaces, so I have no issues with it. It doesn't do much beyond that, but I assume it would be nice to have it if a neighbor parked a camper on the lawn or something.
I am the president of our HOA. I like it, it brings our neighborhood together. As a whole, we are very laid back. I plan an awesome ice cream social every year with every topping you can think of....it's my main responsibility as President lol
Post by sillygoosegirl on Jun 16, 2013 18:47:54 GMT -5
Don't have one. Don't want one. The area where we wanted to live had 2 short streets outside the HOA, so we're pretty happy to have gotten a house we liked and could afford on one of those streets.
I currently live in a condo complex, and we have one. I do feel it's useful in this setting, in order to maintain the common areas, as well as dealing with issues that come up between neighbors in such close proximity.
We are moving to an area that does not have a HOA per se, but we do have CC&Rs imposed by the city regarding general aesthetics (e.g. exterior paint colors should complement the neighborhood) and landscape maintenance. The landscaping rules focus on trying to minimize fuel for a wildfire since we are in a high risk area; no frivolous rules in my observation.
I think they are important for townhouses and condos, not so much for SFHs. And both townhouses we've lived in had one, the SFH did not. I have really mixed feelings about them. I'm OK with the one we have now, mostly because they work to keep the common area nice but are flexible on other things.
I may change my tune after the HOA meeting on Tuesday where they will be discussing parking. They were talking about going to a sticker system with a town truck that patrols the neighborhood. I'm fine with towing, but I think it should be at the owner's request - not just the tow truck's whim. IME, that ends up being a racket for the tow trucks who just own willy nilly. Tow when there is a problem, not just b/c. My attitude might be b/c I'm on a street without parking problems and I have 2 cars. Give me two spots, fine. But don't give me two cars to park in those 2 spots. What if I need to change up the two cars I want in my two spots?!
Yes. Ours is pretty reasonable. We pay $500 a year, get lake and pool access, tennis courts, discounts on golf. Mostly we pay for the privilege of not having a neighbor with a junked out house next door.
We do, but it's mainly for road maintenance. That, ditch cleaning, signage and legal stuff and insurance is the only things our dues cover. We are in the country though so not your typical subdivision. It's mostly vacation homes, retires and is, the youngest couple by at least 2 decades. One of our "rules" is no wild animals such as goats, pigs and mules as pets.
It doesn't bother me bc there aren't any rules to speak of. When we first moved in though our road wasnt paved and would get washed out at EVERY heavy storm. They didn't care bc there are only 6 houses on our little road and its the smallest one to maintain. After I went ape shit we got it paved and I've been happy ever since haha
Post by matildasun on Jun 16, 2013 20:52:17 GMT -5
No we don't have one, and I am glad. We do have a neighborhood association though, which we join for $5 a year, it is much more informal than an HOA. They are crazy, but I try to stay in the loop, so I know what they are up to.
Post by jerseyjaybird on Jun 16, 2013 22:10:20 GMT -5
No HOA, but we have a very active community association, which I love. Several social events throughout the year, and the officers do a great job of organizing petitions to elected officials, organizing neighbors to help care for the yards of empty homes, a crime watch list . . .
Post by stephm0188 on Jun 16, 2013 22:14:58 GMT -5
Yes, we have one. It's NBD. There's a list of restrictions the original builder put in place... no above ground pools, chain link fences, and farm animals... but nothing really crazy. If I need to take down a tree or want to paint my house or have a garden, I can. Mostly, it's in place to take care of the streets, sidewalks, landscapingin community areas, and insurance stuff. It's handled by a property management company.
Don't have one, don't want one, and we automatically excluded any neighborhoods that had them from our search.
Yes, your neighbors can sometimes be annoying or pains in the ass, but I'd rather that than having to get approval from some random board of busybodies to do work on our own property.
Post by RoxMonster on Jun 16, 2013 22:36:38 GMT -5
We have one and I like it. Dues are optional (we always pay) and are only $20 a year. This goes to upkeep of common areas in regards to landscaping, etc., as well as prizes for best Christmas decorations and best summer landscaping, as well as gift cards for new homeowners when they move into our subdivision (we got a $50 Lowe's card when we moved in!) They put on two community garage sales a year, as well as host some fun get-togethers during the summer with cooking out and what not. They do have meetings every other month or so but I have never attended one. We're on their e-mail list and it's nice to get e-mails about any burglaries or safety concerns that might be going on.
ETA: It is called an HOA here, but I think it's more of a community organization. Ours does not restrict what we can or have to do on our property or anything like that at all. They only do the things I listed above. I would not like having an HOA that restricted what types of trees I could have, etc (and I do know some people who have HOA's like that).