Reston Residents, tell me about your HOA? (Arlington, Herndon: for sale, foreclosures)

[tigger37708]

Reston Residents, tell me about your HOA?
I am seriously considering buying a Detached house and moving to Reston.
The only thing that has me worried are all the horror stories you hear about HOA boards run amuck.
Power hungry little napoleon’s with the power to sue and foreclose.
I suppose if I found a home I liked just fine and wasn't ever going to change the outside that there would be no reason for the HOA board to mess with me.
What have your experiences been?
Am I making too much of this?
Are the boards really reasonable?
Do they (HOA) have say so over interior renovations?
Can you make an income suite in your basement and rent it out in Reston?
Is every home in Reston part of the same HOA? or are there seperate HOA's in different neighborhoods?
Are any better or worse than the others?

[perries]

Originally Posted by tigger37708

Reston Residents, tell me about your HOA?
I am seriously considering buying a Detached house and moving to Reston.
The only thing that has me worried are all the horror stories you hear about HOA boards run amuck.
Power hungry little napoleon’s with the power to sue and foreclose.
I suppose if I found a home I liked just fine and wasn't ever going to change the outside that there would be no reason for the HOA board to mess with me.
What have your experiences been?
Am I making too much of this?
Are the boards really reasonable?
Do they (HOA) have say so over interior renovations?
Can you make an income suite in your basement and rent it out in Reston?
Is every home in Reston part of the same HOA? or are there seperate HOA's in different neighborhoods?
Are any better or worse than the others?

- There is the overarching Reston Association HOA, and then there are the small neighborhood HOAs, and some neighborhoods have no HOA (something I learned from a poster here). I don't know of any comparison between HOAs - your best chance of information on that would probably be to talk to a long time local, and there are many, but then the composition of the board changes with the residents....
-In our cluster (local parlance for neighborhood/hoa), the board is very reasonable, from my perspective, and conservative with the finances. My idea of reasonable is that I do not hear anything from the board except for the annual picnics and volunteer events, or general notices. They do have more or less annual walk-arounds to spot any exterior issues, but they are not fanatical about enforcement. In fact, usually they raise an issue, and if it doesn't get addressed, then they might go so far as to raise it again the next year.
- We do have a few non-board-member residents who are eagle eyed on neighborhood 'infractions.' We have one for whom this is a major pastime and is rather... obsessive. She has actually campaigned against certain infractions and, when not receiving the demanded satisfaction from the hoa board, has taken the issues to the RA. To my knowledge she has never won the day or ever succeeded in forcing anybody to change anything, but she has annoyed some of her neighbors, who have taken these campaigns personally. But since there is no house up for sale in our cluster, you will definitely be safe from her.
- No say on internal renovations
- Don't know about income suites or rentals
- No knowledge of any suing or foreclosing. This has not happened in our cluster. If it had, it would be a story told and retold through the years.

Usually the issues that come up to our hoa cluster board are raised by residents. Here are some typical issues in our cluster from the board minutes:
- people using bright colored tarp on their woodpiles (apparently it supposed to be brown or clear)
- unknown dog walkers not scooping the poo
- preferences for different landscaping on common areas, proposals for volunteer landscaping, objections to volunteer landscaping on common areas, variations on theme
- non-residents using/hanging out at cluster property
- under-performance of contractors (snow, landscaping)
- should the cluster switch to a different trash/recycling service
- whether a canoe is orphaned and what to do with it

So you see, hardly huge issues, though often people feel very passionate about the issue of the day.

[stpickrell]

Well, if you don't pay the HOA dues then sure, the HOA has the right to foreclosure or place a lien on the property.

The risk is that in a going-downhill HOA if say 25% of the homes are behind on the mortgage, HOA payments, etc., snow/trash/etc. folks will still want/need 100% of the bill. So you might get a "special assessment" to cover for others, or if the common areas get damaged. Your Realtor ought to be able to check the default/foreclosure stats in your cluster.

Google the name of the HOA you are seeking to buy and see if multiple people have complained about it, or if the HOA has been involved in scads of lawsuits. You may want to check and see if members of the HOA board have been involved. Usually, non-board busybodies are just annoyances.

You have the right to peruse HOA and RA docs before closing.

Consider the Towns of Herndon or Vienna if you like the community thing and dislike the HOA thing.

[austindoxie1972]

I looked at a lot of different properties in Reston and found that having a realtor who truly knew the area was extremely helpful. In other words, hiring someone who was based in Arlington meant they probably didn't know the ins and out of specific Reston neighborhoods.

There are many different HOAs in Reston, in addition to the overarching Reston fee assessed annually. I also walked around a lot (I have a dog and that made it easier to trapse through neighborhoods) and I asked people questions. Everyone was very friendly. It's also amazing what you'll see on foot that you would not have noticed from a car.

I LOVE Reston and wish you all the best!

[normie]

I lived in Reston several years ago, and loved living there at the time (although I eventually moved out to Loudoun and am happy there). During the years I was in Reston I did not find the HOA to be that intrusive. Having said that, it's also true that the Reston HOA is probably the most rules-oriented of all the Nova HOAs.

Just my opinion, but before you get too alarmed by "a large number" of horror stories, I'd check to see if they're written by the same person. It's a common game to post the same complaint repeatedly, in the hopes that if you say something enough times you'll sound like a crowd of people instead of one guy with a chip on his shoulder.

[normie]

Originally Posted by perries

So you see, hardly huge issues, though often people feel very passionate about the issue of the day.

LOL, especially when it's dog poop!

[tigger37708]

Perries, Stpickrell, Austin, Normie
Thank you for the great replies. Very informative. This settles my HOA jitters considerably. Its not as if I have never owned a home in a neighborhood with a HOA, but Reston seams unique in that respect.
One thing I have also heard is to beware of a neighborhood in trouble (forclosures) as you mentioned. Having to cover HOA expenses for those not paying.
Another great point you bring up is to work with a Reston Realtor. I can see how that can be an assett.
I keep comming back to Reston in my property search. Must be all the trees.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by tigger37708

Its not as if I have never owned a home in a neighborhood with a HOA, but Reston seams unique in that respect.
One thing I have also heard is to beware of a neighborhood in trouble (forclosures) as you mentioned. Having to cover HOA expenses for those not paying.

There are a LOT of communities with HOAs in the Reston area. Reston was the first one, and its success paved the way for many more. Neighborhoods with lots of foreclosures are not really a problem here, with the possible exception of Sterling Park. Reston should be fine, but I believe the foreclosure map is easily accesible through the county government. That would be reassuring for you, I'd think, and a good way to gauge the various neighborhoods.

[JfromReston]

Originally Posted by tigger37708

What have your experiences been?
Am I making too much of this?
Are the boards really reasonable?
Do they (HOA) have say so over interior renovations?
Can you make an income suite in your basement and rent it out in Reston?
Is every home in Reston part of the same HOA? or are there seperate HOA's in different neighborhoods?
Are any better or worse than the others?

I'm gald others have eased your fears - and I hope I too will do so.

I live in Reston in a detached home without a separate neighborhood cluster - so only the Reston HOA.

My experience with the Reston HOA has been excellent and I consider them reasonable. I have requested removal of trees on my property and received permission virtually immediately - I didn't even have to plant new trees (as many said I would need to in order to get permission).

I find that if there is no one complaining there is no enforcement of the rules except when a property changes hands.

HOA has no say on interior renovations - only external.

I don't know officially about income suites in the basement - but I know many who do it. I also know several who have home businesses that don't conform to Reston's rules - I'm not complaining as I am a customer of one.

I think Reston provides a lot of services for the $500/year.

Good luck with your search for a home in Reston - let us know if we can answer and other questions for you.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by normie

Just my opinion, but before you get too alarmed by "a large number" of horror stories, I'd check to see if they're written by the same person. It's a common game to post the same complaint repeatedly, in the hopes that if you say something enough times you'll sound like a crowd of people instead of one guy with a chip on his shoulder.