[Lilybeans]

What I've noticed is that people that complain about HOA's don't want to take the time to take part in it. They don't want to volunteer, or run for office, or serve on committees. If you want to live in a place with an HOA, get involved. Don't complain if you can't be bothered to be part of the solution.

They happily purchased a home in an HOA, and then complain about it and say they didn't have time to read the documents. Duh? what did you expect?

[imagardener]

Originally Posted by Lilybeans

What I've noticed is that people that complain about HOA's don't want to take the time to take part in it. They don't want to volunteer, or run for office, or serve on committees. If you want to live in a place with an HOA, get involved. Don't complain if you can't be bothered to be part of the solution.

They happily purchased a home in an HOA, and then complain about it and say they didn't have time to read the documents. Duh? what did you expect?

Not true in our case. We served on the board, volunteered, etc. That gives us the right to complain that our HOA was taken over by a small group of organized dictators who changed the rules, bullied owners, fired loyal (to owners) employees, held illegal elections, etc, etc.

Our HOA was not an isolated case. When we looked around for a better place to live we found that most HOA's were involved in some kind of legal issues with owners such as fining them for trivial matters, hiring lawyers to change the rules and more of the same.

Were these dictators taking good care of common property and keeping maintenance up or having good amounts of money in Reserve? Nope. It was spend, baby, spend. On sweetheart projects that benefitted their cronies. And the manager got kickbacks on their expensive pork-barrel projects.

Never again will we live in an HOA.

[dgp1939]

Originally Posted by matchpoint

It's nice to see that HOA misery is a nationwide phenomena. A lot of the comments and restrictions seem very reminiscent of southern California to me.

I am looking at buying a condo when I move to Florida. I'll just make sure I make a purchasing decision with as much info as possible. It's tricky too because HOAs generally address cosmetic needs first and drag their feet with more extensive, structural concerns which is bad for homeowners...

Before you make that move, research Florida condo HOA woes carefully. Check for hidden hands in your pockets! Condo Association dues can be pretty pricey. Our association dues are a mere $16 per year, but we don't own the park and have little say in its management. Many HOAs are run by ignorant residents who have no idea what they're doing. Talk turkey with the HOA board before you buy.

dgp1939

[faithfulFrank]

Some good advice here.

Just a word of caution. Every HOA is different. I only have experience with the one in my home in Florida. It is run well, common sense, and not restrictive. Our fees are very reasonable, and owners are encouraged to get involved if they like.

Our homes look good, and are not all alike. I for one am pleased.

All things in life are a two edged sword. I'm thankful our HOA seems balanced.
I have seen others around that are not.

Frank

[Retiredcoach]

Maybe it's just me, but I don't want an HOA sharing in any part of the ownership of my home. It's bad enough that the government does not allow me to retain the property that I paid for, without first extracting their bounty (property taxes). Why would anyone allow another "lien placing" entity share in the ownership? If anything has been learned from the real estate market correction is that HOA's are especially bad news for those left "holding the bag" for those not willing/able to pay their HOA assessments.

[harrycrat]

Very interesting thread...
I read all comments,noone described an irrational HOA restriction...

As for painting your home,I read elsewhere that even is "restricted" Coral Gables ,u have the choice of ...100 colours...

[dgp1939]

Most of the above comments seem to deal with condos. Our manufactured home gated community in Ormond Beach has 599 homes. The park is owned by a wealthy manufacturer on the west coast. It is his little cash cow. He has a commercial management team overseeing his little Stalag. In our community, we don't own the land and we rent the lot on which our homes are situated. Our residents are from all over the country and are essentially ignorant of the laws here. Lot rents average about $550/mo, which is ridiculous for the return we get for our buck.

In Florida, when you purchase a home in such a park, you automatically become a member of the HOA by law. For many years, our residents thought they had an option as to whether to "join" the HOA or not. This has resulted in apathy. Past Boards of Directors have been self-seeking fools with little common sense, acting penny-wise and pound foolish. Our HOA has very little power under the law because we don't own the park. Our members have in the past neglected to pay our exorbitant dues of $16/yr. A whole $1.33 per month. We waste more than that keeping lights on, running ceiling fans, and making unnecessary road trips. Only recently, I discovered how to increase the HOA treasury.

In the past three years, we've built our Board into an integrated team that works together for a common goal; improving the welfare of the residents. We have also built a better understanding with Park Management and they now know we don't mess around. We do this for an incredible annual salary of $0.00 and no perks, no free lunches or junkets.

Florida law states that the resident is bound by the Articles of Incorporation and bylaws of the HOA. I rewrote the ancient bylaws and updated them to include dues payment as a requirement. The amendments passed a membership vote by a great majority.

The monies we receive into our treasury are used entirely to benefit the homeowners. Our greatest expense is in fighting unfair annual rental increases, which have been known to go to state mediation. This requires having an expensive lawyer with the guts and clout to fight the Park's high-powered law firm.

I've instituted bulk mailing as a way of quickly communicating with the members. The park management has fought all our other efforts to communicate effectively. We barely have enough room on the BB in the clubhouse. We are not allowed to have a marquee-type sign at the park entrance, and have had to rely in the past on getting volunteers to go door-to-door with printed handouts. We even tried to place an easel in the club house lobby with important notices on it. Management destroyed it.

We still have many complainers about the common every day trifles, and many more who dislike the HOA but are too lazy or complacent to do anything about it. We BEG for resident input and meeting attendance and you name it. It looks like the whole "I don't want to get involved" generation lives here. But then, when something major comes up, they are all over us to do something about it. Just think of it as a labor union with no power to fight greedy management.

I rest my grits for now.

dgp1939

[harrycrat]

Is it moral to enter a community accepting its HOA regulations & then act like a Trojan ?

[ssg II]

WOW! What happened to regular neighborhoods?

Guess everybody got sucked into "The Florida Lifestyle Sales Pitch."

Especially & pitifully true with some manufactured home communities. Lot rent $400-700 on a home which depreciates yearly, like a car. These poor people can't sell & can't afford to stay. It's criminal!

[chicy724]

Originally Posted by TommyG

Okay, forgive me for asking what is probably a fairly basic question, but I've never lived anywhere before where I've had to deal with a Home Owners Association. We're looking at houses in & around the Lake Buena Vista area, and I'm curious about a couple of things: So does anyone know:

1 - On average, what will an HOA run you in fees/dues every year?
2 - What do you receive for that money?
3 - Any pros or cons to being saddled with an HOA?

Any feedback on the subject is welcome. Thanks!

Allow me to respond. I work for a property management company which deals with HOA's.
HOA's assessments can vary GREATLY. We have some that are a mere $350 a year and some that are $920 per quarter. It depends on the association, the size of the association and the fees that must be covered.

Most association dues include master insurance policies, such as flood, wind, directors & officers (if someone was to sue a member of your association board for example), crime (if an employee steals from the company/association), general liability (if someone gets injured on-site), etc. These usually will only cover the common areas, and NOT your interior. What I mean is, if there is a flood, your interior contents are not covered. In most cases, it will cover restoration of walls, which will bring the building back to its original condition. Improvements are not covered. This typically is mostly for COA's though (condominium associations), versus HOA's.

It will include an common area amenities such as pools and such.

Also to keep in mind.. the covenants can be very restrictive. Such as pet restrictions, decor, renovations, additions, fascia, etc., etc. The condo docs tend to be very long so it can be tough to read over everything prior to purchasing..... but if you can, or have a lawyer do it.. it may benefit you in the long run. There is a situation where someone bought a duplex and thought he only had to pay one assessment fee but in reality they are required to pay two.. and this was misunderstood at/prior to closing. Also, if you are buying a foreclosed home or condo, be sure to check if they owe delinquent assessments.. you may be stuck with them if it is a foreclosure or even if it isn't a foreclosure and there is a lien on property.

Cons that I see are... an association can special assess as seen fit. This can wind up being thousands extra per year. This is not always the case, but does happen. There is an association I can think of right now that had a $21,000 special assessment... and they have had to pay almost $2600 per quarter on top of their normal assessments. Oh, and an extra note, if other owners do not pay their dues then the association can be strapped with debt because they operate on a budget and not revenue. They can (and I have often seen) a special assessment for "bad debt". Typically associations do work in amounts for doubtful accounts, but it may not cover all those who choose not to pay. Especially in these troubling times.... the debt is extremely high.

Dues also almost always go up each year. So keep that in mind. Some have it written in the covenants that they cannot increase over a certain percentage. I have seen some go down, but typically, they increase with each new budget.

Good Luck!