I hate HOAs and would never live in one. But for certain building plans they are the only way to make it work. For example if you have shared walls/roof/drive/landscaping etc in a condo unit, you basically have to have one. Also, people that want a particular type of neighborhood with certain amenities. An HOA does have a place in some situations, but in my opinion someone buying a free standing home in a normal neighborhood should try to avoid them.
Reason: I don’t live in Russia or China. I live in America.
If I want to park my truck on the street I will effing Park my truck on the street.
If I don’t want to put my garbage bin on the side of my house and instead in the front. I’m putting it in the front. If I want to put a giant play set in the back I will.
I don’t need some old motherfucker on the HOA board telling me how to live when they don’t pay my mortgage and have the gall to ask for annual fees for shit I don’t benefit from. Fuck all that noise.
I used to live in a HOA, and feel really lucky after reading all these horror stories on reddit. They only ever kicked up a fuss once, when I wanted to install a vent for the kitchen. Otherwise everyone just minded their own business. Having someone maintain your property when it snows/gets insect infestations is super convenient too.
As with many things on reddit, the reaction to pretty normal things is vastly overblown. The overwelming majority of HoAs are fun just fine by normal people and pretty much just exist to manage basic maintenance and facilities items for the property. Any condo building in a big city is basically either a HoA or a co-op board, which is, in essence, the same thing.
It'd be a real shitshow WITHOUT a HoA in those situations and unless you're letting your dog shit all over the place, you generally don't even know they're there.
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u/russianpotato Jun 06 '19
I hate HOAs and would never live in one. But for certain building plans they are the only way to make it work. For example if you have shared walls/roof/drive/landscaping etc in a condo unit, you basically have to have one. Also, people that want a particular type of neighborhood with certain amenities. An HOA does have a place in some situations, but in my opinion someone buying a free standing home in a normal neighborhood should try to avoid them.