I wonder if HOAs will be less popular if the price of housing tanks.
The average fee is $250 a month or about $20k over a seven-year time horizon.
I can see the utility for short time-horizons because it is a form of insurance that your resale value will not plummet if the neighbor-from-hell moves in next door.
The value is less clear to me over very long time horizons. I can also see people quailing at spending the money if resale value falls and the selling price will not exceed the original cost plus that cumulative HOA fees.
I wonder if Brexit was Britain deciding the HOA fees to EU were not worth the benefits and the oversight by the Karens.
Submitted paperwork to swap natural grass patches for artificial turf,1:1. Rejected because I did not submit a frickin plat map. Eeeyep! No plat map. Rejected second time because out of scope trees, shrubs, flowers not identified. Fine. Turned off the irrigation system, no more weed control. Three months later HOA asked for suggestions to encourage homeowners to replace lawn with turf.
ReplyDeleteIt was not uncommon, up to a year ago, for HOA fees in Alexandria VA to be as much as a $1000-$1500 per month. I was lucky to be in one where it was $250/quarter because it was not professionally run, but run by election of property owners. So essentially self-managed. And usually reasonable.
ReplyDeleteI sold, and no longer have an HOA to deal with. And would never go back. It was my first and last experience with HOAs.
I have 8 Acres out in the country. If some idiot tried to start up an HOA, we would probably drag them behind a truck until there was nothing left but a bloody skeleton. Good lesson to the other "fart sniffing" yuppies that try to come out here and change things.
DeleteHOA is yet another layer of control for those people who feel that Federsl, State, county, and city government is just not enough.
ReplyDeleteExactly!
DeleteMy only experience with them was where they didn't do much at $25/ year. But I feel that county/ state rules are more than enough, so I won't consciously add to them!
CC&Rs are also bad - deed restrictions from when the land was subdivided that restrict house size, exterior materials, animals, outbuildings, and sometimes MUCH more.
Like a lot of things, "It all depends." Alexandria VA townhouse complex. $130/month. That covered a swimming pool & lifeguard in season, trash twice a week and recycling once, landscaping of grass/trees/shrubs/flowers on common areas as well as the owner's postage stamp yards, snow removal and salting, maintenance of State-required water runoff mitigation ponds/drains/catchments, common area utilities, and life cycle updating of streetlights, street signs, curbs and streets.
ReplyDeleteFor a while we were subjected to the stereotypical "HOA Nazis" but discontent eventually built to the point where they were vote out and a much more reasonable group voted in. We also went through 3 different management companies over a 15 year period. They can be a big help or huge hindrance, depending.
I am building in an area with private roads, so our HOA is more of a road maintenance association. The CC&Rs have one paragraph setting a minimum house size and banning mobile homes, geodesic domes, and A-frames. Nothing about materials, etc.
ReplyDeleteOurs in New Home is pretty benign. Only once in our 10 years of living here have we got a "notice" about the condition of the lawn. On the bright side, it is directly linked to our Municipal Utility District so we cover the water, sewer, trash, and lawn debris pickup in a single bill.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I have heard stories of very activist ones which make it sound very unpleasant.
I hate them with a burning passion! Watched my HOA fees go from $20/mo to $120/mo over 4 years and 'assessments' of $900-1500 a year for 'needed' maintenance.
ReplyDeleteERJ - Perhaps one note: As prices continue to sink for housing, I suspect that HOAs will "tighten up" as the value of homes is perceived as something that needs more control.
ReplyDeleteWell if an HOA is run properly it can work out for one and all. The "dues" cover expenses you would pay otherwise if you had a stand alone property - lawn, trash, irrigation, etc. and if it's run right they are banking a 'reserve' to replace roofing, driveways and the like as they age out just like a prudent home owner needs to do.
ReplyDeleteHowever, when the board is a bunch of Karens and/or fools who just want to save a buck short term they are a disaster.
in tx they can put a lean on your home...what sucks in tx, if a hood decides they want an hoa, they can vote it in...even if you don't want it...i would burn my house down before i let them assholes have it...screw hoa's and the horse they rode in on...
ReplyDeleteOur HOA's treasurer disappeared with the spouse of another board member along with the HOA's money. Oddly, no maintenance has been done for a few years since then and darn little before that.
ReplyDelete