News Article - HOA rules aren't made to be broken

I read it but those rules do not apply to me..........LOL

Duly noted Larry -

Mike thanks for taking the time to provide the article.

Sounds to me like a pretty simple concept to comprehend.

Why don't the rules apply to you?

And the logic some people need to display. Larry thinks HOAs lower property values but then offers nothing to prove that opinion. Then he goes on to tell us he owns a property within an HOA but would never but into one becuase in his opinion that property and ALL other property in any HOA in the country is "worthless". From his viewpoint......

Why oh why would you own worthless property? Why not sell it for NOTHING because in your viewpoint it is "worthless".

I wish I could afford to live in some of those worthless properties!

And Melissa shares with us once again her OPINION HOAs to not incorease property values. Well not once again but perhaps for the 1,000th time. I happen not agree with her logic. And nor do I share her simple explanation of what homes prices are based on.

In my opinion you can have the best looking home in the neighborhood. All the high end components. Top line everything. But if the surrounding neighborhood is a dump then you home will be worth less. I think they refer to it as "curb appeal". Without it your house is worthless.
Now who is responsible for maintaining "curb appeal" in an HOA it would be the HOA. So the HOA can and does have an affect on home values IMO.

Thanks again for the article.

I also agree that HOAs do not raise property values. My HOA insisted they were the cause of the property value increases, all this while at the height of the housing boom. Some involved real estate agents also made the same assertions. I combed through property values for the entire area of comparable homes and had shown that our homes were on par with regional trends.

After reading the article I found it to be very opinionated for a "news" collumn.

"The problem is that stories like this tend to perpetuate the belief that HOAs are dictatorships," writes Kassab. "But when you step back from the emotional appeal of these stories, you're left with a renegade homeowner who is flouting rules that are in place for a very important reason."

I have a problem with this article because it seems to paint a picture of some rule-breaking homeowner running to the media because they are being attacked for... breaking the rules. But the article fails to go into details as to why this homeowner may just be right.

Florida statute 373.185(b) states that "a deed restriction or covenant may not prohibit or be enforced so as to prohibit any property owner from implementing Florida-friendly landscaping on his or her land or create any requirement or limitation in conflict with any provision of part II of this chapter or a water shortage order, other order, consumptive use permit, or rule adopted or issued pursuant to part II of this chapter."

The statute states that a HOA may not prohibit Florida-friendly landscaping.

720.3075 (4) pretty much states the same.

The statute does not state that the HOA may prohibit some landscaping but not others. This is similar to the statutes here that prevent a HOA from banning solar collection devices, such as solar panels or clotheslines, or the rulings regulations regarding satellite dishes.

One of my properties had an extremely sandy lawn (that fine gray sand found throughout much of the state. When the HOA was around they pushed to make grasses like St. Augustine required. I tried to maintain a St. Augustine lawn but to do so would require almost daily watering. The yard was eventually replaced with Bahia that has since thrived with minimal watering. Not the thick lawn one would get with St. Augustine. Some of these requirements put forth by HOAs are simply unreasonable and unsustainable.

Larry is it April Fool's Day or what???

From your first post on this thread.

"From my standpoint, an HOA lowers property values. I own property located in one but my home is elsewhere. Even though I have been on the board of my HOA and not had any major problems, I refuse to purchase a home in an HOA. So if your home is in an HOA, in my eyes (and in the eyes of many others) your home is worthless. I have enough problems already and I do not need to add the hassles of an HOA."

You did say and HOA lowers property values. See above.

And you did say "if you home is in an HOA, in my eyse (and in the eyes of many others) your home is worthless."

And thanks for the offer and I am sure the wild west has its charms but I prefer the east coast
might though be heading a little further south for some milder weather.

And while we too have seen a drop in real estate my home is still worth 2X what I paid for it. My other property is worth 3 1/2 X what I paid. The last property maybe I would break even but have collected rent for years from it and it's paid off. Well actually all three are free and clear. I don't have any regrets when it comes to what I own.

I have posted this story before. In 2000 when my wife and I were relocating to SC we looked at two near identical (homes, prices, areas, etc.) new home developments. Both under HOA's and with amenities like pool, tennis, clubhouse, hiking paths, etc. Development A in Lexington (Columbia) and Development B in Mount Pleasant (Charleston), 120 miles apart. We chose Mount Pleasant.

In 2010 we decided to move to the Columbia area. The first place that occurred was to relook at Development A. Well folks it looked like crap. It was obvious that the HOA BOD had pretty much allowed folks to do as the wished. Hodgepodge of fence styles, colors, sizes, conditions, etc. Un kept yards. Cars parked all over. The amenities looked poorly and in need of repair. We drove off real fast saying we would not live in this crap area. There were many lovely well maintained homes in the development but overall the place was a turnoff.

Development B in Mount Pleasant ran a tight ship. The place looked as good as it did in 2000 when new.

Even with the tough times of 2006ish era, the homes in Mount Pleasant held their prices. Today they sell for about 2.8-3.0 times then when new in 2000. $100K selling for $280-300K. The homes in Lexington are selling for about 1.5-1.8 times then in 2000. $100K selling $150-$180K.

One might argue if an association can increase value, which I believe it can, but I can assure you a poorly run/controlled association will decrease value.

Duly noted and agreed. That's the case with all news anymore it seems.

I have had homeowners running for Board positions claiming that the Board's responsibility is to increase home values. Two points, if that is a valid point, then the association or the Board should get a piece of the profits when homes sell, or the other point what happens when my house, which was purchased in 2008, loses $200K overnight, do I sue the association?

HOA's are businesses and mini-government rolled into one, especially if your assets, such as streets and infra-structure are private. Look at your CCRs and Bylaws. Nowhere in those documents does it state the association is responsible for home values, up or down. What they do tell us is how to maintain the common area and having the ability to enforce certain rules and regulations that we should have agreed upon before we move in.

Other factors come into play when purchasing into an HOA, such as delinquencies, rentals and the overall financial health of the community. Home prices though are based on comparables and not only in your HOA, but in surrounding areas, which may not be controlled or maintained like your HOA. Unless you paid cash for your home, an appraisal had to be done. Your loan to value is based on the appraised value or purchase price, whichever is lower.

The smaller the HOA, in today's environment, the tougher it could be to maintain, as there usually is not enough homeowners to equally share the pain of upkeep. If delinquencies and rentals get out of manageable control, home sales and values will drop.

Bottom-line, if you properly run your HOA, top to bottom, usually good things happen, people pay their dues, things get fixed, bills get paid and buyers and sellers are happy, as well as the real estate agents and the banks.

My two and half cents.