What does HOA offers for your community? (Houston, Katy: HOA fees, crime rates)

[huma281]

$650 and all I get is mosquitoes.

Two large lakes and one medium size. Swimming pool, tennis courts and a small playground is all we get.

Went to my annual HOA meeting last week. Nearly a million surplus sitting in a bank, roughly $150k towards electricity and $150k for yard maintenance per year. Somehow they end up blowing another $300k for misc stuff resulting in about $600k spent per year.

[PedroMartinez]

Originally Posted by huma281

$650 and all I get is mosquitoes.

Two large lakes and one medium size. Swimming pool, tennis courts and a small playground is all we get.

Went to my annual HOA meeting last week. Nearly a million surplus sitting in a bank, roughly $150k towards electricity and $150k for yard maintenance per year. Somehow they end up blowing another $300k for misc stuff resulting in about $600k spent per year.

I get mosquitoes as well, but at a much lower cost.

[texas7]

Some people in a neighborhood I see on my way home, which is not in an HOA, painted their home a bright neon pumpkin color. HOA prevents this.

[Bentley2013]

I pay $1063 and although it may be high, I don't mind paying it.

1. What does your HOA offer and what area is it in?
Very beautiful Club house with 3 pool with lazy river, pads, lots of trails and it seems they actually do their job. One time I forgot to put my trash can in and the following day, I already had a letter in my mailbox.

A neighbor decided to paint his gutter red (I don't know why the hell he'll do that) HOA saw it and had them painted back to original color.

2. How much are your HOA fees?

$1063

3. What are the pro's and con's of the community?

Pros - Club House with 24 hr gym, weekly events such as Poker, pools, walking trails, etc.

4. Have you experienced HOA cost increase? If so, by how much?

It went from $973 to $1063 this year.

[30_miles]

Wow! Thank you everyone for your replies! It is appreciated! The links provided answers a lot of questions and thanks for the advice on the advantage of having an HOA. @angiesu, do you mind providing a link with your community info?

Thank you

[angiesu]

Originally Posted by 30_miles

Wow! Thank you everyone for your replies! It is appreciated! The links provided answers a lot of questions and thanks for the advice on the advantage of having an HOA. @angiesu, do you mind providing a link with your community info?

Thank you

Sure! Like I said we decided to live a little further out adding 10 miles to the commute. We are building in Firethorne which is Katy, but we are in the Lamar Consolidated ISD. Which is our preference. Some prefer Katy ISD which the community is also zoned for depending on what side you live on. The community is really pretty. Wide streets, a wonderful covered park (the picture they have is older and does not show the huge cover), some smaller parks, tennis courts, and a very big green space for sports, two pools, walking trails (real trail going around the lake), gym, rec center. Can't wait to actually live there. June can't come fast enough.

Firethorne | New Homes for Sale in Katy, Texas

[jimmyev]

HOAs are awesome. One important function all HOAs play is freezing your house into one time period. So in 2054, your house will still look like 2014. Very historical.

[lhafer]

I dont live in Sugar Land, but love my HOA!

We live in Eagle Sorings in Atascocita

We pay $825/yr.

What we get:
- 2 large very kid friendly pools and a separate splash pad. Pools are in different areas of the community, 1 towards the front, 1 towards the back)
- 2 very nice clubhouses
- work out facility
- nice sidewalks and walking trails
- landscaping crew who continuous,y maintain our common areas to keep it beautiful
- several tennis courts
- 2 baseball fields
- 2 soccer fields
- sand volleyball
- several catch and release lakes throughout the community
- tons of family friendly community functions throughout the year (Easter egg hunts, BBQ cook off, etc)
- tons of pocket playgrounds throughout the community

[PedroMartinez]

Originally Posted by lhafer

I dont live in Sugar Land, but love my HOA!

We live in Eagle Sorings in Atascocita

We pay $825/yr.

What we get:
- 2 large very kid friendly pools and a separate splash pad. Pools are in different areas of the community, 1 towards the front, 1 towards the back)
- 2 very nice clubhouses
- work out facility
- nice sidewalks and walking trails
- landscaping crew who continuous,y maintain our common areas to keep it beautiful
- several tennis courts
- 2 baseball fields
- 2 soccer fields
- sand volleyball
- several catch and release lakes throughout the community
- tons of family friendly community functions throughout the year (Easter egg hunts, BBQ cook off, etc)
- tons of pocket playgrounds throughout the community

My brother lived there for a few years, and that community was kept of very nice.

[Texas Ag 93]

Originally Posted by ToyYot

So your basing a $400k home buying decision based on whether or not the $400 HOA fee gets you a nice pool ? What about all the other factors? This just seems a bit outlandish.

I think that assuming other factors such as good schools and safe areas are met (which is the case with many, many neighborhoods), then things that set a neighborhood apart like pools, pocket parks, work out rooms etc can go a long way to significantly improving your quality of life (especially when you have kids).