HOA question

[NL5]

It seems like the vast majority of ATOT'ers hate HOA's. My question is, why would you buy a house with a HOA if you don't like them? They serve an important need for people who want a HOA. Yes, I know that is hard to believe, but some people like them - that is why they exist.

 

[BassBomb]

I don't even know what an HOA is

 

[bignateyk]

Originally posted by: NL5
It seems like the vast majority of ATOT'ers hate HOA's. My question is, why would you buy a house with a HOA if you don't like them? They serve an important need for people who want a HOA. Yes, I know that is hard to believe, but some people like them - that is why they exist.

Because it's pretty much impossible to buy a house in an urban area (outside the ghetto or trailer park) that doesn't have a HOA...

 

[SpunkyJones]

And some people like to be punched in the testicles.

 

[Anubis]

1) Some people get screwed and the HOA comes to them (neighbors vote one in, More :thumbsup: then :thumbsdown:
2) some arnt told there is an HOA where they are moving (yes this happens, i know its not supposed to but it does)
3) Some have no choice. It?s either a HOA or a 4 hour commute

That about sums it up

 

[Vette73]

No they exist so the builder can keep the false image up and then after they leave nosey people thay have nothing better to do take over.


Most do not want them but when builders buy up all the land and get the zoning in areas to change the rules to their favor then there is nothing left for a lot of people and they have to buy into a HOA.



Should note me and my wife had a rule, no HOA. When we went looking for houses we would call up the realtor and the first question was does it have a HOA. If they said yes we told them thanks but no thanks.
Our house is over 1/2 acre (pretty big for N.VA near DC) and has no HOA.

 

[cheezy321]

Originally posted by: NL5
It seems like the vast majority of ATOT'ers hate HOA's. My question is, why would you buy a house with a HOA if you don't like them? They serve an important need for people who want a HOA. Yes, I know that is hard to believe, but some people like them - that is why they exist.

Some people want them, some people think they are a suckers bet.

I understand HOA's that do something good. A lot of them just overstep their boundaries and are wayyy too gestapo like for me.

My HOA has done the following to us:
Fined us b/c there were cigarette butts in the neighbors area which was "our fault". (Dont know how it became "our fault")
They fined us b/c our front entry way was "too dirty" (Most people in our complex got rid of the tiles in their front entry way and only have concrete there b/c the HOA bitches too much)
We had ONE BLIND broken in our window, and they made us fix it IMMEDIATELY.

We pay them 150 a month. Want to know whats included? Basic cable (~30) and water (~30). So therefore they are getting around 90 bucks from everyone in the complex. There are around 60 units in this complex. There is minimal yardwork to do (We live in a desert, not much to take care of), so they are getting around 5400 in profit per month from my complex. So there is around 68K in free money that is getting handed to them each year to do what they need to do.

Thats a hell of a lot of money for a job that takes hardly any time of all

 

[spidey07]

Because without fail all new construction has a HOA attached to it. So if you want a NEW home chance are very high there is a HOA covenant to control how tall your grass can be.

 

[NL5]

It just seems like there would have to be housing available without an HOA. Or, if new construction is what you want, why not have a home built.

I purposely bought a house w/o an HOA, however sometimes I wish we had one. Some of my neighbors let the weeds get 3 feet tall before they mow.

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: NL5
It just seems like there would have to be housing available without an HOA. Or, if new construction is what you want, why not have a home built.

I purposely bought a house w/o an HOA, however sometimes I wish we had one. Some of my neighbors let the weeds get 3 feet tall before they mow.

Then call the city/county/health dept/etc...


Please don;t start giving all the same BS for reasons that someone needs a HOA since the city/county/health dept/etc... have rules in place to cover over grown yards, cars on blocks, rotting houses, etc...

Our NON-hoa area has better looking houses/yards then the townhomes near us that do have a HOA.

 

[Yreka]

Originally posted by: NL5
It just seems like there would have to be housing available without an HOA. Or, if new construction is what you want, why not have a home built.

I purposely bought a house w/o an HOA, however sometimes I wish we had one. Some of my neighbors let the weeds get 3 feet tall before they mow.

Have you ever lived in one ? I only ask because you sound just like me before I actually moved into one and saw what it was all about.

It was HELL, luckily it was only a rental..

Beforehand we were living in a somewhat decent area, but there was one "Section 8 ok" Landlord who owned the duplexes on either side of us.. Of course, our neighbors on both sides were the "Lets have 6 families share 1 800sq foot duplex and take up the whole street for parking" types. There also happened to be a couple of "Lets not work, and instead sit in front of the house and drink shitty beer all day all the while throwing cans and garbage about until the whole street looks like a 3rd world country" type people living there as well...

Anyhoo, coming from that, moving out there and reading the HOA clauses sounded damn good. We really liked the idea that you could not park 30 cars all down the street.. We liked that you were expected to keep your lawn mowed, edged, and generally make sure your house doesn't look like a Bosnian shitbox..

Oooh the devil is in the interpretations my friend.. We had the most anal see you enn tee as a HOA manager.. She had no job, no life, she just drove around all day looking for infractions..

Now, the clauses were pretty general.. " Keep your lawn mowed", "Keep your lawn edged" etc.. Ok, fine.. Problem is, her definitions of "mowed" and "Edged" were muuuch tighter than any other human.. Basically anything that grew longer than a week without attention got a notice. We got notices for leaving the garage open too long.. Got notices for storing boxes in the garage instead of cars ( which we kept completely in our driveway, NEVER parked in the street).. Couldnt keep the bikes and the boat in there, nooo that is for the cars.. I think the last one we got on our way out was an infraction for the color of our Sat cable.. it was black which was unsightly.. All cables must be painted to match the house..

That was enough.. Looking to buy the new house, first response when the Realtor asked what we were looking for was "NO HOA".. She also went on to tell us that HOA's actually end up being a negative anymore.. They start with good intentions, but almost inevitably end up being taken over by power hungry mini-dictators.

She has used them several times to barter down prices on a house for other buyers.. Must really suck for the owners

 

[NL5]

Originally posted by: Marlin1975

Originally posted by: NL5
It just seems like there would have to be housing available without an HOA. Or, if new construction is what you want, why not have a home built.

I purposely bought a house w/o an HOA, however sometimes I wish we had one. Some of my neighbors let the weeds get 3 feet tall before they mow.

Please don;t start giving all the same BS for reasons that someone needs a HOA since the city/county/health dept/etc... have rules in place to cover over grown yards, cars on blocks, rotting houses, etc...

I never said someone needs an HOA, only that there are valid reasons for them, and that if some did not like them, they shouldn't have bought a house with one. That is stupidity, plain and simple.

Also, the city, county, health dept, etc - doesn't have anywhere near the kind of standards that a typical HOA has.

Lastly, it is an ASSOCIATION. If the majority of the people living within the HOA don't like something, they can change the rules. Obviously, the people bitching about HOA's are in the minority.

 

[NL5]

Originally posted by: Yreka

Have you ever lived in one ?

Yes. There were a lot of things I liked about it. I would buy in an HOA neighborhood if I reviewed the HOA rules, and found them satisfactory. I am a meticulous yard groomer though, and I like to keep my property looking it's best, and like the whole neighborhood to look good, as it brings up the property value - and it just plain looks nice.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Originally posted by: cheezy321

Originally posted by: NL5
It seems like the vast majority of ATOT'ers hate HOA's. My question is, why would you buy a house with a HOA if you don't like them? They serve an important need for people who want a HOA. Yes, I know that is hard to believe, but some people like them - that is why they exist.

Some people want them, some people think they are a suckers bet.

I understand HOA's that do something good. A lot of them just overstep their boundaries and are wayyy too gestapo like for me.

My HOA has done the following to us:
Fined us b/c there were cigarette butts in the neighbors area which was "our fault". (Dont know how it became "our fault")
They fined us b/c our front entry way was "too dirty" (Most people in our complex got rid of the tiles in their front entry way and only have concrete there b/c the HOA bitches too much)
We had ONE BLIND broken in our window, and they made us fix it IMMEDIATELY.

We pay them 150 a month. Want to know whats included? Basic cable (~30) and water (~30). So therefore they are getting around 90 bucks from everyone in the complex. There are around 60 units in this complex. There is minimal yardwork to do (We live in a desert, not much to take care of), so they are getting around 5400 in profit per month from my complex. So there is around 68K in free money that is getting handed to them each year to do what they need to do.

Thats a hell of a lot of money for a job that takes hardly any time of all

Have you seen the budget for your HOA fees? It should break-out your fees. If you don't like it, why not go to a HOA meeting to discuss?

 

[slag]

i would never ever ever own a home in the bounds of an HOA. If the city law says its legal, then it should be legal for the home i own. I dont need a bunch of people policing my property when the city govt already makes rules as to the height of grass, where you can park, etc.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: NL5

Originally posted by: Yreka

Have you ever lived in one ?

Yes. There were a lot of things I liked about it. I would buy in an HOA neighborhood if I reviewed the HOA rules, and found them satisfactory. I am a meticulous yard groomer though, and I like to keep my property looking it's best, and like the whole neighborhood to look good, as it brings up the property value - and it just plain looks nice.

That's what supporters always say "it's for property value". Yet if you compare comparable property with HOA and without there simply isn't any difference so that point is invalid.

And as for the "just attend the meetings" - freaking hens on the HOA always call the meeting at 3:00 on a workday when nobody can attend. It's all one big racket to give people an excuse to extort control over others because they have nothing better to do than run around all day writing down "infractions".

 

[OutHouse]

i know in texas a community can vote in a HOA. this happend to my parents a year after they bought their house. my dad was beyond pissed when he got the letter informing him that he was now in a HOA.

 

[hanoverphist]

Originally posted by: bignateyk

Originally posted by: NL5
It seems like the vast majority of ATOT'ers hate HOA's. My question is, why would you buy a house with a HOA if you don't like them? They serve an important need for people who want a HOA. Yes, I know that is hard to believe, but some people like them - that is why they exist.

Because it's pretty much impossible to buy a house in an urban area (outside the ghetto or trailer park) that doesn't have a HOA...

i dont live in a trailer or the ghetto and i dont have an HOA at all. my neighborhood is old, but hardly ghetto. my moms new house has an hoa and they have to justify everything they do. they get fined if their trash can stays out front too long when they are on vacation.

most HOAs start out with the best of intentions, but the people on the boards eventually find themselves corrupt and unable to do their functions fairly. i well run HOA is a good thing, and can have a very positive effect on the community.

 

[Squisher]

My HOA is pretty loose. $300/yr.

I go to the meetings usually. Most of the topics surround issues with the builder.

I've only seen one time where a homeowner was singled out do something and that was to remove a shed. Sheds are not allowed, although almost all the units have raised decks over walkout basements which you are allowed to enclose for storage.

 

[Linflas]

Originally posted by: bignateyk

Originally posted by: NL5
It seems like the vast majority of ATOT'ers hate HOA's. My question is, why would you buy a house with a HOA if you don't like them? They serve an important need for people who want a HOA. Yes, I know that is hard to believe, but some people like them - that is why they exist.

Because it's pretty much impossible to buy a house in an urban area (outside the ghetto or trailer park) that doesn't have a HOA...

The only way to do it here is to buy something that was built before 1975ish or a piece of land that is not part of a development and have a house put on it.

 

[PrinceofWands]

yeah, that's the part I don't get. i would never buy a house in a hoa...well, i won't be buying another house anyway. I can't imagine someone getting tricked into such a situation, so it seems like the answer is for everyone to just not buy in those areas. If it ever gets to the point where a majority of available homes are covered by hoas, then it will change things.

 

[bignateyk]

Originally posted by: hanoverphist

Originally posted by: bignateyk

Originally posted by: NL5
It seems like the vast majority of ATOT'ers hate HOA's. My question is, why would you buy a house with a HOA if you don't like them? They serve an important need for people who want a HOA. Yes, I know that is hard to believe, but some people like them - that is why they exist.

Because it's pretty much impossible to buy a house in an urban area (outside the ghetto or trailer park) that doesn't have a HOA...

i dont live in a trailer or the ghetto and i dont have an HOA at all. my neighborhood is old, but hardly ghetto. my moms new house has an hoa and they have to justify everything they do. they get fined if their trash can stays out front too long when they are on vacation.

most HOAs start out with the best of intentions, but the people on the boards eventually find themselves corrupt and unable to do their functions fairly. i well run HOA is a good thing, and can have a very positive effect on the community.

Try finding a suburban house in a development built in the last 20 years that doesnt have a HOA. I doubt you'd be successful.

 

[PrinceofWands]

Originally posted by: bignateyk

Originally posted by: hanoverphist

Originally posted by: bignateyk

Originally posted by: NL5
It seems like the vast majority of ATOT'ers hate HOA's. My question is, why would you buy a house with a HOA if you don't like them? They serve an important need for people who want a HOA. Yes, I know that is hard to believe, but some people like them - that is why they exist.

Because it's pretty much impossible to buy a house in an urban area (outside the ghetto or trailer park) that doesn't have a HOA...

i dont live in a trailer or the ghetto and i dont have an HOA at all. my neighborhood is old, but hardly ghetto. my moms new house has an hoa and they have to justify everything they do. they get fined if their trash can stays out front too long when they are on vacation.

most HOAs start out with the best of intentions, but the people on the boards eventually find themselves corrupt and unable to do their functions fairly. i well run HOA is a good thing, and can have a very positive effect on the community.

Try finding a suburban house in a development built in the last 20 years that doesnt have a HOA. I doubt you'd be successful.

Basic economics. Quit buying houses in the developments. When houses stand empty it will force a reconsidering of why. If it's found that people won't buy in HOA's then HOA's will be abandoned. People have the power to force any change they wish, they just have to not be lazy or selfish and do it.

 

[bignateyk]

Originally posted by: PrinceofWands
...

Basic economics. Quit buying houses in the developments. When houses stand empty it will force a reconsidering of why. If it's found that people won't buy in HOA's then HOA's will be abandoned. People have the power to force any change they wish, they just have to not be lazy or selfish and do it.

yeah, that would work in principle, but you would never get enough people to do it. Most people just make the decision that they are gonna deal with a HOA rather than boycott them and live 3 hours from where they work in some shitty school district.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: NL5
It seems like the vast majority of ATOT'ers hate HOA's. My question is, why would you buy a house with a HOA if you don't like them? They serve an important need for people who want a HOA. Yes, I know that is hard to believe, but some people like them - that is why they exist.

Many areas around here are HOA. If you buy a home manufactured in the last 15 years chances are high that it's an HOA community.