Best solution to living in a bad HOA: MOVE

Even those of us who advise people to run for the board will often qualify their advice.

My often-repeated comment is that one should always analyze the pros and cons before making a decision:

* How much do you love your home/your neighborhood?

* Is there something unique about it that will make it worth all the issues that come with it?

* In contrast, is your home easily replaceable?

* Do you personally have the time, knowledge and skills needed to serve on the board? A lot of people don't, and I don't intend that to be a criticism, just a statement of fact.

The large majority of people who buy into HOAs or COAs don't understand one important point. **Ownership in these communities combines home ownership with features of owning a business.** Buyers become the legal and financial partners of a bunch of people they did not choose, and some number of these people will be bad bets. Sheila once commented that buying a condo is like walking into a bar and becoming the business partner of everybody in the joint. That sums it up very well.

Living in an HOA or COA can be a great experience, as long as it's well run (and you personally aren't doing any of the work).

Unfortunately, it's almost impossible to tell from the outside what sort of community you're buying into. Appearances can be deceiving. And a well-run community can turn almost overnight as the demographics change or if an incompetent board takes over.

Yes, I used to live in an area where the government was full of rabid partisans of the other party...I moved, and I'm not the only one who's done that.

But your point is valid. Thank you.

Moving is not always possible for lotsa reasons.

With George, replacing the board majority can be done. Just did it a year ago in my HOA. BUT the owner must be willing to seek other owners so they can band together, meet, educated themselves about their governing documents, establish goals, elect new candidates for director and then act to replace the bad Board.

Too often on this forum we see owners who do want to make changes in their HOA and try to go it alone. These "rugged individualists" rarely succeed. They even go to court and get some kind of settlement. But their Board can come out unscathed.

I don't think that, as Chris believe, that many HOAs' governing documents inhibit transparency. But some state's statutes do. In NY, for instance, open board meetings are not required.