homeowners association

[XMan]

Originally posted by: IcebergSlim

Originally posted by: xochi

My dues are 350 per year. They cover community pool, tennis courts, club house, landscaping common areas and entrance and various social activities which are actually quite fun.

Octoberfest/Halloween party coming up WHOOT!

my dues are 350 PER MONTH!

Good grief, that's almost half my mortgage . . .

I would never live in a neighborhood with an HOA . . . I've got two acres of grass, and it's all mine, baby. If I want a bonfire party in the backyard . . . no problem. Wanna burn some trash? No problem. Wanna shoot skeet? No sweat.

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: slag

Originally posted by: Citrix

Originally posted by: slag

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: Marlin1975

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: BillGates
There is one in our neighborhood but I don't think we have to pay to be in it - I never pay attention to the mailings. Supposedly there is a rule in our neighborhood that fences aren't allowed - what would happen if I decided I wanted to build one? We never signed any form about this type of thing when we closed on the house last year... What would happen?

they would bitch and complain

you would tell them to go fuck themselfs and build your fence

They then sue him in court and most liekly win. He then has a lein put on house for fines, court cost, lawyers fees, HOA fees, etc... and then they, HOA, sell house fro what is owed to a "private party" and he has nothing to show.


Most states give HOAs powers that even most goveremnts don;t have.

If you value you life fight tooth and nail to keep HOAs out of your area.

if he isnt in the HOA and never agreed to it they cant do shit

Bingo.. he never signed anything saying he was in the HOA. Just because they are in the neighborhood does not mean that you have to sign up and participate. You own the house, you do not belong to the HOA, so any "benefits" they provide should not be received by you and their influence should have no bearing on what you want to do either.

wrong. this happened to my parents. two years after they bought their house a HOA was voted in my parents didn't know at thing about it until he got a letter to move his little 4X8 utility trailer from the driveway and to fork over 120 bucks for the year.

dad researched it and in Texas it is totally legal for a community to vote in by a majority for a HOA and they were SOL.

I stand corrected. Just another reason I would never ever voluntarily live in an HOA. I have 2 lawnmowers on the side of my house, a jetski trailer, a truck, jetski and my wife's explorer parked in the driveway, my two trash cans in front of the garage (cant put them in the garage because they smell too bad and besides, the garage is for my projects), 4 more lawnmowers out back, a lawn tractor, a hot tub on its side on my porch because I'm repairing a small crack to it, kids toys strewn all in the back yard, etc.

And in my neighborhood, my house is normal looking.

Honestly, if I were your neighbor and I saw all that, I'd be a little annoyed. Yeah, maybe the neighbors shouldn't care, but when you pay good money for a home you like to be in a neighborhood that looks like it's kept up. This is why people elect to buy homes in an HOA community. It's not for everyone.

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: Citrix

Originally posted by: Turin39789

Originally posted by: Marlin1975

Originally posted by: Citrix

Originally posted by: slag

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: Marlin1975

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: BillGates
There is one in our neighborhood but I don't think we have to pay to be in it - I never pay attention to the mailings. Supposedly there is a rule in our neighborhood that fences aren't allowed - what would happen if I decided I wanted to build one? We never signed any form about this type of thing when we closed on the house last year... What would happen?

they would bitch and complain

you would tell them to go fuck themselfs and build your fence

They then sue him in court and most liekly win. He then has a lein put on house for fines, court cost, lawyers fees, HOA fees, etc... and then they, HOA, sell house fro what is owed to a "private party" and he has nothing to show.


Most states give HOAs powers that even most goveremnts don;t have.

If you value you life fight tooth and nail to keep HOAs out of your area.

if he isnt in the HOA and never agreed to it they cant do shit

Bingo.. he never signed anything saying he was in the HOA. Just because they are in the neighborhood does not mean that you have to sign up and participate. You own the house, you do not belong to the HOA, so any "benefits" they provide should not be received by you and their influence should have no bearing on what you want to do either.

wrong. this happened to my parents. two years after they bought their house a HOA was voted in my parents didn't know at thing about it until he got a letter to move his little 4X8 utility trailer from the driveway and to fork over 120 bucks for the year.

dad researched it and in Texas it is totally legal for a community to vote in by a majority for a HOA and they were SOL.

Yep people don;t know how much power HOAs have until it is to late. Most people that have problems are good people that were probable pro-HOA until the HOA came after them.


Me and my wife sold our HOA house in NC. Rule 1 when looking at house here in N.VA was it had to NOT have a HOA. We looked at some houses but as soon as we found out it was a HOA we cut it from our list.

It's brilliant. They formed to make the neighborhood look more martha-stewart and keep property prices up, but the majority of the people I know would never live in a HOA neighborhood.

that there is the biggest crock of shit there is.

How so? I'm not a real estate expert, but I can tell you that my perception of value in a home would be significantly more if all the other homes in the neighborhood were kept up properly. A beautiful home in a neighborhood with people parking their old Camaros on cinder blocks in the front yard won't get the same amount of money as one that's well maintained. This same principle can be extended to simple things like keeping the house painted, yard maintained, avoiding houses being painted in bright blue, trash in the yard, etc.

Thoughts?

 

[kranky]

A big problem with HOAs is that you can't even predict if a particular one is good or bad. If a bunch of busybodies choose to run for office and get elected, a good one can turn into a nightmare that fast.

I don't think people really comprehend the power HOAs can wield. Imagine that you violate one of the innumerable CC&Rs, are told to comply at once, and you think it's a crock so you tell the officers to take a hike... oh, something like you paid $3000 to get your house painted but didn't use one of the five "official" colors and yours is a shade off in someone's judgment. Next thing you know, there's a lien on your home, you try to fight it, and they raise your HOA dues to pay for their lawyer who is working to screw you over!

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: slag

Originally posted by: Citrix

Originally posted by: slag

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: Marlin1975

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: BillGates
There is one in our neighborhood but I don't think we have to pay to be in it - I never pay attention to the mailings. Supposedly there is a rule in our neighborhood that fences aren't allowed - what would happen if I decided I wanted to build one? We never signed any form about this type of thing when we closed on the house last year... What would happen?

they would bitch and complain

you would tell them to go fuck themselfs and build your fence

They then sue him in court and most liekly win. He then has a lein put on house for fines, court cost, lawyers fees, HOA fees, etc... and then they, HOA, sell house fro what is owed to a "private party" and he has nothing to show.


Most states give HOAs powers that even most goveremnts don;t have.

If you value you life fight tooth and nail to keep HOAs out of your area.

if he isnt in the HOA and never agreed to it they cant do shit

Bingo.. he never signed anything saying he was in the HOA. Just because they are in the neighborhood does not mean that you have to sign up and participate. You own the house, you do not belong to the HOA, so any "benefits" they provide should not be received by you and their influence should have no bearing on what you want to do either.

wrong. this happened to my parents. two years after they bought their house a HOA was voted in my parents didn't know at thing about it until he got a letter to move his little 4X8 utility trailer from the driveway and to fork over 120 bucks for the year.

dad researched it and in Texas it is totally legal for a community to vote in by a majority for a HOA and they were SOL.

I stand corrected. Just another reason I would never ever voluntarily live in an HOA. I have 2 lawnmowers on the side of my house, a jetski trailer, a truck, jetski and my wife's explorer parked in the driveway, my two trash cans in front of the garage (cant put them in the garage because they smell too bad and besides, the garage is for my projects), 4 more lawnmowers out back, a lawn tractor, a hot tub on its side on my porch because I'm repairing a small crack to it, kids toys strewn all in the back yard, etc.

And in my neighborhood, my house is normal looking.

thats why i love living in the country. my house is like that also.


only diffrence is the kids toys are all over. the front back and side heh.

i did have one person complain. a family was looking to buy the house next to me (heh they are asking $194 for a $150k house). they asked me if the toys are out all the time.

well yeah. i have 2 kids, the neighbor kids are over all the time, and i watch a good friends of mine kids all the time And if the weather is nice they are outside. TV is not allowed if its nice enough to play outside.

 

[JohnAn2112]

120/year is damn cheap. I pay 309 a month....damn you, California!!

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: Descartes

Originally posted by: Citrix

Originally posted by: Turin39789

Originally posted by: Marlin1975

Originally posted by: Citrix

Originally posted by: slag

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: Marlin1975

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: BillGates
There is one in our neighborhood but I don't think we have to pay to be in it - I never pay attention to the mailings. Supposedly there is a rule in our neighborhood that fences aren't allowed - what would happen if I decided I wanted to build one? We never signed any form about this type of thing when we closed on the house last year... What would happen?

they would bitch and complain

you would tell them to go fuck themselfs and build your fence

They then sue him in court and most liekly win. He then has a lein put on house for fines, court cost, lawyers fees, HOA fees, etc... and then they, HOA, sell house fro what is owed to a "private party" and he has nothing to show.


Most states give HOAs powers that even most goveremnts don;t have.

If you value you life fight tooth and nail to keep HOAs out of your area.

if he isnt in the HOA and never agreed to it they cant do shit

Bingo.. he never signed anything saying he was in the HOA. Just because they are in the neighborhood does not mean that you have to sign up and participate. You own the house, you do not belong to the HOA, so any "benefits" they provide should not be received by you and their influence should have no bearing on what you want to do either.

wrong. this happened to my parents. two years after they bought their house a HOA was voted in my parents didn't know at thing about it until he got a letter to move his little 4X8 utility trailer from the driveway and to fork over 120 bucks for the year.

dad researched it and in Texas it is totally legal for a community to vote in by a majority for a HOA and they were SOL.

Yep people don;t know how much power HOAs have until it is to late. Most people that have problems are good people that were probable pro-HOA until the HOA came after them.


Me and my wife sold our HOA house in NC. Rule 1 when looking at house here in N.VA was it had to NOT have a HOA. We looked at some houses but as soon as we found out it was a HOA we cut it from our list.

It's brilliant. They formed to make the neighborhood look more martha-stewart and keep property prices up, but the majority of the people I know would never live in a HOA neighborhood.

that there is the biggest crock of shit there is.

How so? I'm not a real estate expert, but I can tell you that my perception of value in a home would be significantly more if all the other homes in the neighborhood were kept up properly. A beautiful home in a neighborhood with people parking their old Camaros on cinder blocks in the front yard won't get the same amount of money as one that's well maintained. This same principle can be extended to simple things like keeping the house painted, yard maintained, avoiding houses being painted in bright blue, trash in the yard, etc.

Thoughts?

Oh good greif charlie brown. I was waiting for someone to post BS like this. No offense but there are people that say what you did like it was written in a holy book.


Cities, counties, and health departments have rules against broken down cars, trash, house quality, etc... Also if you house payment is $1000 a month add in another $100 to that for JUST hoa fees. That means your house cost 10% more then a house that does not have a HOA. I can assure a HOA is not going to add 10% (or whatever fee they apply) value back to the house. If anything it may hurt esp. when the market turn south like now. Its hard enough to sell a house, tell someone it has a HOA and requires $XXX a month in fees and see how much harder it is to sell.

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: kranky
A big problem with HOAs is that you can't even predict if a particular one is good or bad. If a bunch of busybodies choose to run for office and get elected, a good one can turn into a nightmare that fast.

I don't think people really comprehend the power HOAs can wield. Imagine that you violate one of the innumerable CC&Rs, are told to comply at once, and you think it's a crock so you tell the officers to take a hike... oh, something like you paid $3000 to get your house painted but didn't use one of the five "official" colors and yours is a shade off in someone's judgment. Next thing you know, there's a lien on your home, you try to fight it, and they raise your HOA dues to pay for their lawyer who is working to screw you over!

I'm getting the feeling that most in this thread wouldn't agree with me, but I fail to see how this is a problem. The response that some HOAs have is extreme, and for that alone they shouldn't have so much power; however, it's not hard for a homeowner to consider changes to their home so that they're in accordance. If you do anything to change the appearance of your home, then it's almost certainly going to fall into the CC&Rs. Just check before you do anything and get the approval in writing.

So, what's the problem? It seems like a lot of this can be avoided. I too would rather not have to answer to an HOA, but similar to how it only takes one negative HOA member to ruin it, it only takes one irresponsible neighbor to ruin the neighborhood.

IMO. I'll reply back when I get burned by my HOA

 

[jersiq]

Originally posted by: Marlin1975

Originally posted by: fatkorean
I think it all depends on the HOA, you will get good ones and bad ones. You usually only hear about the bad ones though...

Speaking of bad ones.. here is one that was on the news

linky here

-fk

Problem is it only takes 1 person on a HOA to turn it into bad. So yea its good now but a person with more time then sence moves in and/or gets on the board and now your grass is to dry, trash can was out to long, newspaper was on driveway for more then 24hrs, etc...

I lived in New Territory in Texas, and honestly the HOA wasn't bad at all.
850/year gave us landscaping of common areas, somewhere around 5 pools I think, multiple neighborhood "pocket parks", some larger parks, an activity club with various weights, basketball court, tennis courts.

There was an issue with the compliance coordinator sending out a mass mailing for having to powerwash your driveway, even though there were clearly some people who were not in violation (my neighbor for example)
Also, they forced homeowners to plant two trees (when the community was first built, long before I had purchased the house) near the sidewalks.
Unfortunately, a few years later, the roots wreaked havoc on the sidewalks in some cases, and initially the HOA said that everyone who was in violation had to foot the bill, and any future repiars.

Complaints rolled in, and they changed their tune a little (allowing homeowners to remove the trees, but they discouraged this)

At any rate this happened while one particular person was the compliance director, and shortly after these incidents, he was let go.

I never really had a problem with my HOA. I've received letters for needing to paint my house, which was a valid complaint. I called the coordinator becasue I wasn't able to comply in the timeframe given, and they worked with me on a new date. They weren;t bad a t all about mowing as sometimes I would have to mow every other week due to a very busy schedule.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Oh good greif charlie brown. I was waiting for someone to post BS like this. No offense but there are people that say what you did like it was written in a holy book.


Cities, counties, and health departments have rules against broken down cars, trash, house quality, etc... Also if you house payment is $1000 a month add in another $100 to that for JUST hoa fees. That means your house cost 10% more then a house that does not have a HOA. I can assure a HOA is not going to add 10% (or whatever fee they apply) value back to the house. If anything it may hurt esp. when the market turn south like now. Its hard enough to sell a house, tell someone it has a HOA and requires $XXX a month in fees and see how much harder it is to sell.

Not all Cities, counties, and health departments have rules against broken down cars, trash, house quality, etc...

Also, most HOA fees aren't that high and if it is then it more than likely covers security, club house, pool, tennis/basketball courts, snow removal, etc. All added value to a house.

 

[Henrythewound]

I live next to the VP of our HOA.

I have had to enter mediation about my barking dog (< 3 barks/hour, his words)

I have had to justify why I wanted to add a patio onto my house (he has a bigger one)

He feels the need to be in everyones business and is a grumpy ass racist old man.
He is the reason why I will be buying a house sitting on acreage next time

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: Marlin1975

Originally posted by: Descartes

Originally posted by: Citrix

Originally posted by: Turin39789

Originally posted by: Marlin1975

Originally posted by: Citrix

Originally posted by: slag

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: Marlin1975

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: BillGates
There is one in our neighborhood but I don't think we have to pay to be in it - I never pay attention to the mailings. Supposedly there is a rule in our neighborhood that fences aren't allowed - what would happen if I decided I wanted to build one? We never signed any form about this type of thing when we closed on the house last year... What would happen?

they would bitch and complain

you would tell them to go fuck themselfs and build your fence

They then sue him in court and most liekly win. He then has a lein put on house for fines, court cost, lawyers fees, HOA fees, etc... and then they, HOA, sell house fro what is owed to a "private party" and he has nothing to show.


Most states give HOAs powers that even most goveremnts don;t have.

If you value you life fight tooth and nail to keep HOAs out of your area.

if he isnt in the HOA and never agreed to it they cant do shit

Bingo.. he never signed anything saying he was in the HOA. Just because they are in the neighborhood does not mean that you have to sign up and participate. You own the house, you do not belong to the HOA, so any "benefits" they provide should not be received by you and their influence should have no bearing on what you want to do either.

wrong. this happened to my parents. two years after they bought their house a HOA was voted in my parents didn't know at thing about it until he got a letter to move his little 4X8 utility trailer from the driveway and to fork over 120 bucks for the year.

dad researched it and in Texas it is totally legal for a community to vote in by a majority for a HOA and they were SOL.

Yep people don;t know how much power HOAs have until it is to late. Most people that have problems are good people that were probable pro-HOA until the HOA came after them.


Me and my wife sold our HOA house in NC. Rule 1 when looking at house here in N.VA was it had to NOT have a HOA. We looked at some houses but as soon as we found out it was a HOA we cut it from our list.

It's brilliant. They formed to make the neighborhood look more martha-stewart and keep property prices up, but the majority of the people I know would never live in a HOA neighborhood.

that there is the biggest crock of shit there is.

How so? I'm not a real estate expert, but I can tell you that my perception of value in a home would be significantly more if all the other homes in the neighborhood were kept up properly. A beautiful home in a neighborhood with people parking their old Camaros on cinder blocks in the front yard won't get the same amount of money as one that's well maintained. This same principle can be extended to simple things like keeping the house painted, yard maintained, avoiding houses being painted in bright blue, trash in the yard, etc.

Thoughts?

Oh good greif charlie brown. I was waiting for someone to post BS like this. No offense but there are people that say what you did like it was written in a holy book.


Cities, counties, and health departments have rules against broken down cars, trash, house quality, etc... Also if you house payment is $1000 a month add in another $100 to that for JUST hoa fees. That means your house cost 10% more then a house that does not have a HOA. I can assure a HOA is not going to add 10% (or whatever fee they apply) value back to the house. If anything it may hurt esp. when the market turn south like now. Its hard enough to sell a house, tell someone it has a HOA and requires $XXX a month in fees and see how much harder it is to sell.

I don't buy that at all. I've lived in a lot of cities in a lot of different styles of neighborhood, and while I much prefer the character of a traditional neighborhood over a subdivision controlled by an HOA, I also know that the blighted house on the block can do a lot to turn the perception negative. I can't translate that into actual value added/removed from a house, but I do know it has an impact. I had a beautiful 1920s bungalow in a historic district about 5 years ago, and one of the first things people would point out is that my neighbor had 4 cars parked all over the street, driveway, etc. and that his house looked like it was in disrepair. It probably wouldn't soil the whole deal, but I'm sure it turned some buyers away.

Also, you're misrepresenting the value added by the 10%. The majority of the costs in my association (of which I am a member) go toward actual services rendered on the properties, so there's little surplus left in the association. I would spend that money if I were to do everything the association organizes anyway.

So, I think we're down to the restrictions imposed as it shouldn't be a cost issue (and if it is, then vote to reduce them). My argument is that these restrictions are a necessary evil due to the above reasons, and that many owners prefer to have them.

 

[lokiju]

Originally posted by: Marlin1975
HOA / Homeowner association horror stories

I think there would be a MDK on my hands if any of these happen to me.

My HOA is $200 a year and covers the entrance area and street lights and that's it as far as I know.

 

[kevnich2]

I agree with everyone else, I'd rather have a house without an HOA. Yes, HOA's, like everything else, were originally made for a good purpose. But that purpose erodes quickly when you have a power hungry bored person that can't stay out of other people's business. If I buy a house, I shouldn't have to get "approval" to paint the house, to put up a fence, etc. It's my d*mn house and I will do with it what I please. I would fight with every might I had to make sure an HOA didn't come into the neighborhood. If one did, I would look into selling the house.

 

[AmpedSilence]

Originally posted by: Marlin1975
HOA / Homeowner association horror stories

at the bottom of the page.... It asks if you want more stories sent directly to you. Thats great.

 

[Toastedlightly]

My neighbor acts like shes an HOA. For instance, she asks us, "Why do you have so many cars?" "We have 5 people who drive who live here." Crazy people.

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: Semidevil
I have been living in my house for a year now, and they just now started a homeownes association. Dues are 120/year.

Looking at the newsletter that they passed out, looks like one of the first things they wanted to do was to clean up the entrance area of the neighborhood.

what are your homeowners association like? do they do anything that actually benifiets you directly? I mean, if every house in our neighborhood pays 120 per year, I think that can do more then just cleaning up the entrance area.

Repeat after me:

Ein volk,
Ein Reich,
Ein Fuhrer.

Heil Hitler!

Originally posted by: Squisher
We pay $500/yr. but that takes care of snow removal, street maintenance, street lighting, landscaping the commons areas, and the ongoing lawsuits against the builder/developer.

I don't get it. The first three should be taken care of by the city

 

[Kelemvor]

So getting back to the OP... Where did this HOA come from? I wouldn't pay them anything. If you do, it could be said you are recognizing their status and giving them the ability to order you around. I woudl never join an HOA and would never move somewhere tha thas one. If they wanted to start on in my neighborhood, I'd never pay a cent, never sign anything, never do anything to recognize that they exist.

It's kind of like Tollways. They start out taking a little here and there to pay for specific things. Then they keep getting more and more but you never see the money and can't get any trace of where it went.

 

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: kranky
A big problem with HOAs is that you can't even predict if a particular one is good or bad. If a bunch of busybodies choose to run for office and get elected, a good one can turn into a nightmare that fast.

I don't think people really comprehend the power HOAs can wield. Imagine that you violate one of the innumerable CC&Rs, are told to comply at once, and you think it's a crock so you tell the officers to take a hike... oh, something like you paid $3000 to get your house painted but didn't use one of the five "official" colors and yours is a shade off in someone's judgment. Next thing you know, there's a lien on your home, you try to fight it, and they raise your HOA dues to pay for their lawyer who is working to screw you over!

Exactly. And what kind of people want the job of being the asshole that bitched about what color everyone's house is? Oh thats right, the LAST fucking people in the universe that should be given one ounce of power. Normal people want to watch TV, not scheme up new bullshit rules.

 

[MagicConch]

I just met with the HOA last night in order to get a glass wall approved. They were very cool, mainly b/c developers still control the board (when the actual homeowners take over, it becomes hell). Our dues are $250/mo and that includes basically includes, workout facilities, meeting rooms, clubhouse, pool, tennis courts, and variety of little parks (and one big park) throughout the area. they do okay, although some ground cover/flowers could be nicer in some areas. there is also some big natural reserves they do some maintenance on but are mainly kept for wildlife so they don't need to spend too much money there

 

[teddyv]

In my single experience with an HOA (helping out a friend fined for "high weeds" which were actually blue iris plants that had not bloomed yet) we prevailed by using the HOA agreement against the two idiots that basically ran it as their own personal barony. First, we exercised open books rights and discovered all kinds of unapproved charges (should have seen their faces when we ultimately succeeded in getting the detailed bills for the two HOA cell phones). Then we went through and filed complaints for all the violations, no matter how minor, of the HOA board. When it became clear that we were just getting warmed up, they quickly capitulated.

 

[Linflas]

Just curious, the whole justification for forcing you to abide by the covenants established by an HOA are papers you sign at the closing when you buy your house saying you agree to the terms and covenants. Unless you sign something agreeing to this new HOA I don't see they can possibly enforce anything on you at all.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: Linflas
Just curious, the whole justification for forcing you to abide by the covenants established by an HOA are papers you sign at the closing when you buy your house saying you agree to the terms and covenants. Unless you sign something agreeing to this new HOA I don't see they can possibly enforce anything on you at all.

That's the rub. They have way too much power legally. You don't have to sign anything to be held to their rules and regulations.

 

[Linflas]

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: Linflas
Just curious, the whole justification for forcing you to abide by the covenants established by an HOA are papers you sign at the closing when you buy your house saying you agree to the terms and covenants. Unless you sign something agreeing to this new HOA I don't see they can possibly enforce anything on you at all.

That's the rub. They have way too much power legally. You don't have to sign anything to be held to their rules and regulations.

Not true. It is only through voluntary agreement that they have any power to tell you anything over and above local ordinances. The problem is that almost every new development comes with one already set up as part of the development so it is hard to not be in one unless you buy a home built before HOAs became so popular.

 

[Squisher]

Originally posted by: jagec

Originally posted by: Squisher
We pay $500/yr. but that takes care of snow removal, street maintenance, street lighting, landscaping the commons areas, and the ongoing lawsuits against the builder/developer.

I don't get it. The first three should be taken care of by the city

They should be but aren't. When a development is first proposed these services are divvied up between the developer and the the township. I had just asked at the last HOA meeting if the city would be willing to take over these services, but at this point, they tell me, it is up to the city if they're willing to take over the services and you have to dangle some incentive to make them want to. This is a problem for the HOA, because it is not easy for our assoc. to collect dues and with many people in arrears they had to raise dues from $375/yr. to $500/yr. to cover the shortfall. It is only after people are in arrears for an entire year that you can start the litigation to put liens on their property and chances are you will never get the money out of them until they decide to sell.