HOA Fees and Increases

[harpoonalt]

I'm the president of a HOA in Vermont, but on a much smaller scale. The HOA fees I've seen at most of the communities are very reasonable for what they include. We pay $500 a year each for 9 homes on a 1/2 mile private road. Very little common areas, but we have a fire pond and the road to maintain. Snow plowing, sanding, mowing, insurance, road grading all add up. Plus we're still paying all our own utilities and mowing and maintaining our own yards. And even with only 9 families, it's hard to keep everyone happy.
So when I see the HOA fees on those communities, I see a bargain for what you get. I'm sure you have some HOA boards that go overboard. We have one family that wants to spend money on everything and not everyone agrees with everything. Try being on an HOA board and you'll see what I mean. The good ones work for the majority regardless of their personal feelings, but you'll always get people who are only self-serving. That's why it's important to make sure the right people are in charge and go over the rules with a fine tooth comb before you buy.
That said, I'm looking forward to retiring my snow shovel, rakes, shovels, snow plow, lawnmower, dump pass, and spend time having fun. The hours the HOA fees save me is worth every penny. Your mileage may vary.

[canudigit]

Originally Posted by CarolinaDreams

Lol hoa still a joke and even more of a rip off with some of the new things I've learned. Hoa still don't do any thing but rip people out of money. They do things on purpose just to raise the fees not to mention the flat out silly rules. Anyone that buys a home in a hoa place is a fool and has sucker written on them.

Wow. What a nasty comment. It's probably better that you do "retire" from C-D if you cannot refrain from insulting people who do not live and think exactly as you do. I remember when you first started posting here and you were looking for "luxury" and specifically mentioned Grande Dunes. We looked at a condo in the Marina Inn at Grande Dunes to possibly purchase just over two years ago and the HOA fee then, for a two bedroom, two bath condo, was over $1,100.00/month. The HOA fee at the condo that we ended up purchasing in the same general area is $905.00/month. We pay it gladly, because we happen to get a lot of bang for our buck from our HOA. There is no way we could live out of state and own a nice property in MB without paying someone to look after it, and they do a terrific job. Without our HOA, we would not be able to own our condo.

Good luck to you, CD, I hope things get better for you in MB and that you find what you are looking for.

[blueherons]

Originally Posted by CarolinaDreams

Lol hoa still a joke and even more of a rip off with some of the new things I've learned. Hoa still don't do any thing but rip people out of money. They do things on purpose just to raise the fees not to mention the flat out silly rules. Anyone that buys a home in a hoa place is a fool and has sucker written on them.

Your post makes you come across as uneducated and rude.

[Global Friend]

Another thread that's taking a bad turn. No need to argue, name calling and anyone to be rude. Opinions can be made without all that. Please let's keep things informative without the nasty stuff. Thanks!