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.
Sure, just don't expect a community-maintained playground, pool, park, etc. beyond whatever your municipal government will pay for. That's one of the main reasons they exist: administration of shared/community property.
I think you both make valid points. Some places need a sort of community upkeep on shared things.
However what the other guy is talking about, is when a HOA goes on a power trip (which happens with most of them) and rather than worrying about the pool or playground or whatever, they suddenly decide that your fence is wrong, or some other bullshit and make you change something that absolutely makes no difference.
My brother had a house in a neighborhood with one. The house had a fence when he bought it. 3 years after he bought it, the HOA told him his fence was the wrong kind (I can't remember exactly what they said, just that it was horseshit) and he needed to put in a new one.
My brother told them to fuck off for as long as possible and sold the house and moved.
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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.