Author Topic: Fancypants HOA?  (Read 4157 times)

Displaced

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Fancypants HOA?
« on: March 03, 2013, 10:01:18 AM »
I never wanted to be part of an HOA because of the fees and horror stories associated with the enforcement police.  Is being part of an HOA ever a good idea?  I'm asking because I'm looking at very specific school-based neighborhoods in a Tampa suburb and there seems to be a lot of property in HOA places and very little outside of them.  One neighborhood in the area pays $700/year per my friend for them but I'm not sure if this is an average or not.  Houses in that neighborhood are about $200,000+ or so.  This would be a primary residence and hopefully a "forever" home. 
I'm not overly concerned with conveniences in an HOA (like parks, etc) because I can just go to local parks. 

Thanks for the advice!

NumberCruncher

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Re: Fancypants HOA?
« Reply #1 on: March 03, 2013, 07:27:01 PM »
It definitely depends on the specific HOA and your family. My parents belong to an HOA that they really like since it's something like $40 a year and they generally agree with all the regulations. If you wanted to keep a camper or RV in your driveway in their neighborhood...you couldn't. Since my parents don't go camping, this works out fine for them. Some are more stringent, some are less.

I wouldn't completely rule out a neighborhood with an HOA unless you want a prairie for a front lawn.

arebelspy

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Re: Fancypants HOA?
« Reply #2 on: March 03, 2013, 07:58:56 PM »
HOAs tend to be a pain in the rear for landlords.

Since it's a primary residence, you may gain some advantages (though I doubt it).

You'll want to do research into the HOA - pending lawsuits, financials, etc.

Also talk to the people living there - HOAs can be annoying busybodies.  Find out what people living there actually think of it.
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digger

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Re: Fancypants HOA?
« Reply #3 on: March 03, 2013, 10:04:50 PM »
Definitely try to find out if there have been special assessments in prior years, and if yes, how much they were.

LizzyBee

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Re: Fancypants HOA?
« Reply #4 on: March 07, 2013, 09:09:10 PM »
Read their rules and regulations. You will learn a lot about the tone of the community by just reading through them. For example, the condo that I live in has a beautiful rooftop patio, but they don't allow you to throw parties up there which is a huge bummer because the patio offers amazing views of the mountains and the Denver skyline. They also have noise regulations which is great because even though there are a lot of younger renters, the condo is really quiet.

Dynasty

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Re: Fancypants HOA?
« Reply #5 on: April 10, 2013, 03:58:04 PM »
Maybe not always, but my knowledge of neighborhoods that are controlled by HOAs, is the roads inside of the development do not belong to the City, or the County. They are not public right of way.

I am referring to recent developments in the past 20 years.

What this means is the roads are never going to get maintained. No repaving, pothole repair, snow plowing, etc. Unless the HOA pays for it. In other words, the asphalt roads are going to disintegrate to nearly gravel before anything is done.

And there is going to be a huge bill for the residents when that happens. Roads are not cheap.

Personally, I have no desire to live in an HOA community for many reasons far beyond road maintenance. I've met with HOA representatives in the past for my job, and they are an interesting type of people. People I would have no desire what so ever to have any control over what I do on my property.

The words "control freaks" comes to mind.  These people have nothing better to do than be checking up on what you're doing.

tryan

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Re: Fancypants HOA?
« Reply #6 on: May 16, 2013, 12:45:16 PM »
Yeah then the HOA over reaches ... one I am in sued a homeowner to prevent him from sub-dividing his lot.  Forget that he complied with state and local laws.  Of course the ASSociation lost the suit (30k later) and alienated the member.  Really nasty.  The cliches reminded me of high school.  Pitting neighbor against neighbor.

But since the roads a private the HOA is a necessary evil.