A ~$500K home in TX is a large “luxury” home with nearby amenities such as a community lake, tennis, HOA, etc.
Since when is an HOA an amenity instead of a ball-and-chain? I’d rather live in a town with a community park (with pool and tennis courts) as is common on the East Coast.[/quote]
Well, you really don’t need “gates” in TX. Or even in SD, for that matter. I think it’s kind of ridiculous to pay for a gated community. TX has a lot of man-made lakes which have housing subdivisions built around them on the order of a “master-planned community” in CA (ex: Eastlake – Chula Vista, CA) except there is generally a lot more room between houses and wider streets there. Those types of communities DO have HOAs set up to provide all the amenities they offer. Some HOAs there even have RV storage and horse boarding!
I’m with you, spdrun. I wouldn’t buy a house in a HOA which had monthly dues. I would however buy a house in a subdivision which had annual dues of $500 or less if the assn was well-established and well-managed. This money is usually used to lobby for continuing water rights, distribute a monthly community newsletter, snow removal on the main arter(ies), maintain community hiking trails, etc.
