My very conservative father (Great Depression baby), who never had any debt except small mortgage loans, was foreclosed on during the last downturn in LA precisely because of these special assessments.
He refused to go along with the HOA because he didn’t think the work was needed (new asphalt, new roofs, etc.). They fought so hard he got death threats, and lawyers were fighting back-and-forth. Real ugly.
He gave up and let it foreclose. He had put 30% down when he bought, and lost all of it.
The problem is very few homes are being built without HOAs. This should definitely be changed, IMO, even if buyers had to pay extra up-front to help pay for infrastructure costs. No Mello-Roos! It should be factored into the cost of the house…therefore, the developers should pay LESS for the land.
Then, there’s this story out today:
Jim Greenwood is parking his 2007 Ford F-150 in the garage, but he’s not through battling the Frisco homeowners’ association. He says the association has declared the iconic Texas truck not upscale enough to leave in his driveway.
