It’s interesting to see such a variance in opinion on this matter. I don’t think we’d ever live somewhere that had a HOA unless we downsized later in life and bought a condo. I figure if you actually own a home, you should be able to do what you like with it. Isn’t that kind of the point of owning it? I realize there can be certain downsides to owning without a HOA but to me the negatives of having one outweigh the lack of one. I guess you just need to pick an established great neighborhood which I know is not a guarantee but so far I guess we’ve been lucky. The majority of the owners around here take great care of their homes but we have a couple POS’s in the mix (which people are eyeballing for teardowns). I like when all of the houses have different styles, landscaping, colors, and elevations. I don’t want to have to count to find my stucco box in another shade of beige, even if I can be 100% sure it doesn’t have Christmas lights up in June.
