oogabooga
Diamond Member
I've dealt with a couple of HOA's.
The first one : Townhouse when I was a kid living with my folks. They were very hands off. They painted the home exteriors every 12 years (from regular hoa dues saved), maintained the pool, did the gardening, and weren't crazy nazi's about things. They weren't bad. They did try to maintain parking as 'guest' but you'd have to park in the same spot for 2 weeks before the finally said something.
The second one : This HOA was snooty and bad. Their fees were steep, but there wasn't much they had to do. They were condo's that didn't actually have lawns, yet they had gardner fees? The pool was never kept, and rarely swimable. They constantly had supplamental fees for things like "extra pool maintenance" when again.. that pool was terrible. This HOA had a very corrupt board that wouldn't listen to member complaints. The parking situation was terrible as you had to have this 8x11 permit that was just laminated paper on any non guest car parked in purchased parking spots. Oh yea, you had to pay for parking spots. If that permit wasn't there you were towed. IF the liscense plate didn't match the plate, you were towed. Thats right, no guest parking in the complex.
You were not allowed to do any work with anything exceeding an electric screw driver? That drill? Better stop using it. While they said this was a 'formality' just to set a standard, they really were sticklers about this. There was absolutely no car maintenance to be done in any hoa property or private garage. I can't change my car oil in my garage? Nope, here's a list of nearby places that can do it for you so you can abide by hoa standards. Thanks, but I'll change my oil thank you very much, I'm not pulling the engine out of my car, I'm changing the oil in my car, the same car i've done it for ever since i've owned it. I understand not wanting to see a car in repair when you drive home, but seriously, absolutely no car maintenance. I asked if this would cover headlight repair, they told me i should do that at the autostore parking lot or see a mechanic. Thanks.
My current HOA that I'm living isn't as bad as the second, not as good as the first. They are restrictive about parking, insisting permits be used but refusing to issue additional permits to anyone even for a fee. That means a family of 4 might end up with a 1 car garage, 1 car with permit, and 1 car outside all the time (2 if both kids drive). They also can't really have guests conviniently as any guest is warned, two warnings in a row is a tow.
They keep a nice pool, they do good gardening, the exteriors of the house look nice. One thing I found kinda shady is that there was some chimney maintenance that needed to be done and the HoA wouldn't do it saying it wasn't their responsibility. apparently the home owners had to sue the management company, and the city found in favor of the residents and told the hoa they had to fix it. The hoa then promptly sent out a letter raising everyones fees, which is being fought by the same group of residents. I'm renting here so I don't know all the details but that's what the letters we've been receiving/forwarding to the landlord say.
The first one : Townhouse when I was a kid living with my folks. They were very hands off. They painted the home exteriors every 12 years (from regular hoa dues saved), maintained the pool, did the gardening, and weren't crazy nazi's about things. They weren't bad. They did try to maintain parking as 'guest' but you'd have to park in the same spot for 2 weeks before the finally said something.
The second one : This HOA was snooty and bad. Their fees were steep, but there wasn't much they had to do. They were condo's that didn't actually have lawns, yet they had gardner fees? The pool was never kept, and rarely swimable. They constantly had supplamental fees for things like "extra pool maintenance" when again.. that pool was terrible. This HOA had a very corrupt board that wouldn't listen to member complaints. The parking situation was terrible as you had to have this 8x11 permit that was just laminated paper on any non guest car parked in purchased parking spots. Oh yea, you had to pay for parking spots. If that permit wasn't there you were towed. IF the liscense plate didn't match the plate, you were towed. Thats right, no guest parking in the complex.
You were not allowed to do any work with anything exceeding an electric screw driver? That drill? Better stop using it. While they said this was a 'formality' just to set a standard, they really were sticklers about this. There was absolutely no car maintenance to be done in any hoa property or private garage. I can't change my car oil in my garage? Nope, here's a list of nearby places that can do it for you so you can abide by hoa standards. Thanks, but I'll change my oil thank you very much, I'm not pulling the engine out of my car, I'm changing the oil in my car, the same car i've done it for ever since i've owned it. I understand not wanting to see a car in repair when you drive home, but seriously, absolutely no car maintenance. I asked if this would cover headlight repair, they told me i should do that at the autostore parking lot or see a mechanic. Thanks.
My current HOA that I'm living isn't as bad as the second, not as good as the first. They are restrictive about parking, insisting permits be used but refusing to issue additional permits to anyone even for a fee. That means a family of 4 might end up with a 1 car garage, 1 car with permit, and 1 car outside all the time (2 if both kids drive). They also can't really have guests conviniently as any guest is warned, two warnings in a row is a tow.
They keep a nice pool, they do good gardening, the exteriors of the house look nice. One thing I found kinda shady is that there was some chimney maintenance that needed to be done and the HoA wouldn't do it saying it wasn't their responsibility. apparently the home owners had to sue the management company, and the city found in favor of the residents and told the hoa they had to fix it. The hoa then promptly sent out a letter raising everyones fees, which is being fought by the same group of residents. I'm renting here so I don't know all the details but that's what the letters we've been receiving/forwarding to the landlord say.
