HOA Full Circle

Started by CyrstalB • 3 replies • 1663 views

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CyrstalB (Maryland)
Posts: 457

Posted:

Sometimes in life you may ask yourself why you went through a particular hellish part of your life, and for me one of those life events was my time on the HOA BOD. Fast forward just a year and all that I learned from it was of a benefit to our Daughter and SIL when they started house shopping.

First house they made an offer to was in an HOA that was still being developed. I went over the CCR's etc to explain how to read them and most importantly what it means to still be under developers control.

I've never "told" my children what to do, but more of leading them to one with education, and I didn't this time either, but as I explained to them the "what if's", I was confident that even if they did buy it, they knew up front what they were getting into. Lucky for them, they were outbid on it. It was difficult to not scream at them to run away fast.

The second house, which they purchased is also in an HOA. They read through the docs and made their choice accordingly. Ironically, looking at the public records, this HOA went through the same crap ours did, but at least their CCR's make sense!

In hindsight, I am grateful for all that I have learned about Corporate law, contract law and HOA BS that I have learned, and so much of it here!

Thanks to all!

MelissaP1 (Alabama)
Posts: 13,836

Posted:

I am glad you have learned things and able to pass them onto others. Keep in mind that HOA's are NOT bad and there are real reasons why they exist. There are benefits that outweigh the political aspects. Our HOA, we had to stay one because of our setup. If not, then we had to turn over to a Management company who ran everything. We would lose our right to vote, set dues rates, choose services, and basically be bound to an outside source.

HOA's do not provide for "Property Values" maintenance or raising. They make the HOA more ATTRACTIVE to potential buyers. It also splits the costs of common elements equally amongst ALL the owners. I found its much cheaper to live in a HOA than not in some cases. You get a "group rate" than individual one when it comes to services.

Once you understand what a HOA is, does, and how to live in one, they aren't all bad evil places to avoid. They are what you make of them. You don't participate and just pay dues, then don't expect much else. If you participate and become a board member, then you make it a place for ALL to live in.

No we are not a "Pro-HOA" in here. We are "Pro-Reality" of what it means to live in one.

Former HOA President

CyrstalB (Maryland)
Posts: 457

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By MelissaP1 on 01/26/2015 8:14 AM
I am glad you have learned things and able to pass them onto others. Keep in mind that HOA's are NOT bad and there are real reasons why they exist. There are benefits that outweigh the political aspects. Our HOA, we had to stay one because of our setup. If not, then we had to turn over to a Management company who ran everything. We would lose our right to vote, set dues rates, choose services, and basically be bound to an outside source.

HOA's do not provide for "Property Values" maintenance or raising. They make the HOA more ATTRACTIVE to potential buyers. It also splits the costs of common elements equally amongst ALL the owners. I found its much cheaper to live in a HOA than not in some cases. You get a "group rate" than individual one when it comes to services.

Once you understand what a HOA is, does, and how to live in one, they aren't all bad evil places to avoid. They are what you make of them. You don't participate and just pay dues, then don't expect much else. If you participate and become a board member, then you make it a place for ALL to live in.

No we are not a "Pro-HOA" in here. We are "Pro-Reality" of what it means to live in one.

Thank You, just to be clear, I consider myself "Pro HOA" all the way. And I firmly believe that if all prospective buyers got the same 10 minute "HOA 101" I gave my daughter, most would embrace an HOA because of the benefits and not run the other way because they can't paint their house purple or pink.

The main reason people are haters of HOA's is because they have been told to hate them. YOu don't hear all the good about them, only the bad. This forum proves that. And since most people in this country are sheeples, they do not try to educate themselves and even try to read the docs or understand them.

JohnC46 (South Carolina)
Posts: 14,265

Posted:

Crystal

Like many I bought into my first Condo without "really reading" any of the docs. I liked the place, I liked the location, I liked the price, and I wanted it. I had a run in when I violated a covenant (concerning a car cover). My first reply was buzz off but it sent me to the Covenants to look. Well they were right and I was wrong. I corrected the violation

It would have been nice to have an HOA 101 course. It would not have stopped me from buying but it would have saved me some aggravation.

I am now on my 6th HOA and no surprises as I now read all before buying.

My present HOA is considering putting together a FAQ list to mainly cover areas we have had issues/misunderstandings about. We do know the "problem" areas. We have talked about how could we make this part of each sale so people do know what to expect.

Good you were able to save them aggravation.

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