Is it that citizens are stupid or is it that many citizens don’t care about this “tax increase”? I agree that maybe 25% of HOA money is spent on administration and other “friction” issues. But many people – like me – just don’t care. Is it that we’re stupid or is it that we’re willing to pay for the convenience of not having to think about these things? I outsource as many things as I possibly can in my life – food preparation, cleaning, the list goes on. And I pay a premium for these services. My time is too valuable to be spent on things like maintenance, mowing yards, cleaning pools, etc. etc. I pay the HOA to do these things. If they waste $100 or $200 a month, I couldn’t possibly care less. And apparently there are a lot of people that feel the same as I do. But perhaps we’re just stupid…
Regarding HOAs being constantly underfunded and the dues constantly increasing, I have one observation: Buildings – whether homes or condos – are depreciating assets. Whatever costs the average condo owner faces, the average home owner will face over time as well. It’s that simple. Walls must be painted, roofs fixed, carpet replaced, etc. But, as pointed out above, the average condo owner is willing to pay a little extra to have someone else deal with the problems. Different strokes for different folks.
