[robojester]

Hello folks,

Having never lived in a planned comunity or anything, tell me about HOAs.

All I have ever hear here in MN is that the fees go up often, and that hiring our the yard work ect your self would be cheaper in the long run.


Not to interested in condos or town houses.
Seems with the fees they cost about the same as a house.

Just gathering intel for a possible relocation.

[ScoopLV]

This has been discussed dozens of times before.

The short answer is that every HOA is different. Some of them will write the homeowner up for a single dandelion in the front yard. Some of them are hopelessly corrupt and exist as a means to siphon money away from homeowners and into the HOAs bank account. Others do the job they were enacted to do. Good luck determining which is which.

[nfapps]

Originally Posted by robojester

Hello folks,

Having never lived in a planned comunity or anything, tell me about HOAs.

All I have ever hear here in MN is that the fees go up often, and that hiring our the yard work ect your self would be cheaper in the long run.

Not to interested in condos or town houses.
Seems with the fees they cost about the same as a house.

Just gathering intel for a possible relocation.

Just to correct a possible misunderstanding - with most HOA's you are still responsible for your own yard work, the HOA maintains the common areas of the community but you maintain your property and there are generally requirements to keep the front yard looking maintained. If you don't, you generally get a courtesy notice about it (not a big deal, just bringing it to your attention) but if you don't correct any violations in a reasonable time you can be fined.

During a purchase, you have the opportunity to review the HOA documents, and in fact if you find something you don't like it's grounds for you to back out of the purchase. The concept with the HOA is that it is in a "common interest community" - if you don't share the common interests of that community (keeping your property maintained, possible parking restrictions etc..) you shouldn't live there.

We love our HOA community. The fees have not gone up in over 5 years, and the community is beautifully maintained. We have visited homes in non-HOA areas where the homes start out beautiful, but the neighborhoods get really ratty looking. We feel we get a lot for our money, with reasonable dues and beautiful landscaped sidewalks, walking trails and parks to enjoy all maintained by the HOA.

As another poster said, not all are the same so you'll need to do your research and choose a well managed HOA or purchase in a non-HOA area if that's your desire - you have both options in the Las Vegas area.

[MollieW]

After previously living in Southern California we didn't look at any house that didn't belong to an HOA. There is just something comforting about not having to worry about old cars in the front yard or if your neighbor is going to paint their house Crayola yellow or lavendar. Keeps your property values up.

[Clarkcty]

Love our homeowners association. It could be better just like everything else but they can get things done for you. I love the fact I dont have to worry about the maintenance of the pool and jacuzzi nor the cost of having it installed. Don't know how much pool and jacuzzi cost nowadays and the monthly maintenance for it but I'm glad I don't have to worry about it. My association dues pretty much cover many items and Im satisfied with it.

[localinsight]

Good point, how about that odd peacock color?

[NLVgal]

HOAs are hit and miss. Mine is very reasonable, but my dad's is controlled by a bunch of people with WAY too much time on their hands. If you don't like the way your association is being run, you can always run for the board.

My friend's mom lived in a non-HOA community. It kind of sucked for her when her next door neighbors decided to put carpet and a couch in the driveway, right when she was trying to sell her place.

[irishspy]

Well the HOA's do maintain the community roads and etc so it is much less than having your property taxes go sky high and rise each year like many towns,villages and cities do. We pay $2,820.00 in dues per year and $ 780.00 land and school tax per year compared to over $ 8,000.00 in taxes per year back east. Now how they are run is another Animal but you must become involved and attend the meetings to really get a real picture of the HOA. Please keep in mind your community HOA board members are not paid BUT the Management Group they hire is paid and they many times are the problem!!!

[Everdeen]

Originally Posted by nfapps

We love our HOA community. The fees have not gone up in over 5 years, and the community is beautifully maintained. We have visited homes in non-HOA areas where the homes start out beautiful, but the neighborhoods get really ratty looking. We feel we get a lot for our money, with reasonable dues and beautiful landscaped sidewalks, walking trails and parks to enjoy all maintained by the HOA.

As another poster said, not all are the same so you'll need to do your research and choose a well managed HOA or purchase in a non-HOA area if that's your desire - you have both options in the Las Vegas area.

^ This.

My home is located in a community that has very few amenities, so our dues are pretty low. There are some neighborhoods close to mine that are non HOA that I would not want to live in because they have gone downhill so much. Built at the same time, too.

Originally Posted by NLVgal

If you don't like the way your association is being run, you can always run for the board.

A word of warning: That's a thankless job and you will have a lot of people mad at you all the time.

[BBMW]

I think this needs to be approached from both directions.

First decide if you are the type of person that can deal with HOA restrictions. Want to paint your house lavender, with lime green trim? Whant to restore your '57 Chevy in your driveway? Then likely, a house in an HOA neighborhood is not for you. If you want a neighborhood where your neighbors will NOT be doing those things, than an HOA is for you.

If you do get an HOA, you need to do some due diligence on how well it's run. Having a go lawyer doing your closing can help you with this.

Finally, if you're in an HOA, you might want to get on the board. Other in a PITA factor. But you will know what's going on, and have a higher degree of control.