What is an HOA?
A Homeowners Association (HOA) is an organization in a subdivision, planned community or condominium that makes and enforces rules for the property and residents who live in that community. No two HOAs are alike and they all have their own individual rules and regulations according to the community they're overseeing.
As stated in the previous post, HOA fees can vary depending on how big the community is and the amount of amenities the community has. The more amenities, the larger the cost. Some HOAs are billed monthly while others are billed annually. The amount can range from anywhere from $200 - 300/mo. to over $500 annually.
Let's get into the pros and cons of buying a home in an HOA community:
Pros:
Most people who live in a community with an HOA feel like it helps hold a community standard for the subdivision and/or neighborhood they live in. The HOA can govern certain things like:
Where you can park
How tall your fence can be
What color you can paint the exterior of your house
Whether homes can be rented in the community
Type of animals you can have as pets
Whether or not you can park boats or RVs visibly on your property
All of these are considered great aspects of the HOA because it is seen to have the community uniformed and hold the value of the homes in that subdivision.
HOAs also provide some additional services for the community such as:
Landscaping
A pool, playground, trails, gym, gazebos, etc.
Streets, sidewalks, speed humps and street lights
HOA all have different CC&Rs (covenants, conditions & restrictions) which you will get when before you purchase the property so that you will know what they consist of.
Cons:
The cons really depend on how you feel about HOAs as a whole. A lot of people tend to not like them because they feel like they control too much of what you can do with and on the property you're buying.
HOAs have very restrictive regulations which deter people from wanting to live in a community with them. For instance, you won't be able to paint your house a certain color or park on the street or have a car sitting on the grass in your front yard. They also regulate things such as how tall your grass gets, painting your mailbox etc.
Renovations can require approval beforehand. Anything you do to your home will have to stay within the neighborhood CC&Rs or you could get fined and/or asked to revert your property back to the community uniform standards.
HOA fees and penalties can also occur. If you don't pay your fees on time, you can be restricted from using community amenities and possibly have legal action taken against you.
In worst case scenario, you may experience poor management from the HOA since most board members consist of volunteers from the actual community. Most of them lack real estate experience and rely on the opinions of neighbors.
Those are just some things to think about if you're planning on moving into a community with an HOA.
As always, happy house shopping!
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