Are you prepared to be ruled by a homeowners association?

[farbet]

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Buying a home is already a complex endeavor. Add in the sometimes unfathomable machinations of a homeowners association and you enter a realm filled with the potential for misunderstandings that may have legal and financial consequences.
Often, home buyers don’t fully realize the tradeoff they’re making when they move into communities that involve becoming association members, experts…..

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/you-prepared-ruled-homeowners-association/story.aspx?guid=%7BA42A7C4E%2D5706%2D4627%2D8515%2D0317F67C754F%7D

[farbet]

Mean bastards these HOA’s are. Are the homeowners on the board of these associations?

[Alex_angel]

This is why HOAs are good. Along with not having RV row on your street

-The size, type and number of pets. “We do have one client who has a scale in the manager’s office to weigh a pet. They don’t want big dogs,” Pearlstein said.
-Exterior antennas, clotheslines, flags, fence types and paint color
-Running a home-based business, including restrictions on parking commercial vehicles.

This is a good part of HOAs

[Wickedheart]

No, thanks. I’d rather live next door to the canary yellow house than be harrassed by a HOA. The canary yellow house serves as a good landmark when you give your friends directions to your home. HOA boards are usually composed of the neighborhood busybodies who have nothing better to do. My daughter and I were assembling and painting some bedroom furniture in her driveway. This furniture was in her driveway only a few hours and she got a nasty gram from the HOA about it.

[farbet]

A clothesline in the backyard saves energy. Where is AL GORE?

[Ren]

“HOA boards are usually composed of the neighborhood busybodies who have nothing better to do.”

Exactly. In a way it’s similar to police officers – a certain personality type is a prerequisite, and that type is frequently unpleasant. In the case of the HOA, it’s the type who spends their free time spying on their neighbors.

As for running a business out of your home, our HOA rules state that you’re not allowed to run one in your garage. Of course I ignore this, because it isn’t their garage. It serves as my warehouse and office. The only way you would know anything is happening in there is when the Fedex truck shows up once every two weeks and I open the big door. I get along very well with my neighbors and they haven’t complained, but then I probably don’t live next to a board member.

[The-Shoveler]

Nor_LA-Temcu-SD-Guy

I had a few run in’s with My HOA when I first moved in, You just have to prove there are other neighbors do what you are doing and no one else is complaining and they usually leave you alone after they find out that it’s one of their buddies doing the same thing you are.

As far as clothes lines, I think there is a law that says that you can put any energy saving device you want (like a 30 foot pole with a wind generator on it) and the HOA can do nothing about it, But I would need to check on that again.

[NotCranky]

“Are you prepared to be ruled by a homeowners association?”

My mother in law is the “Ruler” of a homeowners association. I have to give her a gentle reminder that our house is in a different state from time to time!

Seriously, It is a personality and quality issue. Certain types, do well with HOA’S depending on the quality.

[donaldduckmoore]

Are there any rules limiting the HOA fee increase per year, how often and how much?

[kaycee]

Our HOA rules state that the dues cannot be raised more than 5% per year by the board without a majority vote of all of the members. And you couldn’t get 50% to cast a vote on anything never mind 50% to agree on which way to vote. So that essentially puts a cap of 5% on. Even then the 5% raise has to be approved by a simple majority of memebers attending the annual meeting. We raised dues last year for the first time in 6 years.

Pretty good considering we have a pool and a community dock.

[no_such_reality]

Kaycee, watch the books carefully. I’d guess you’re going to have one ugly special assessment in the future.

[Author]

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