Home Owners Associations: the pros and cons

Home Owners Associations...or HOA for short.

Some people would never live in a community that did not have a Home Owners Association while others would never consider living under any Associations rules...ever.

Which is right for you?

Before buying any property with a Home Owners Association, it would be good to review what Associations are legally able to enforce. Lets look at some PROS and CONS here to help you decide.

CONS:

When you purchase a property with a Home Owners Association, you give up some rights and agree to live by the rules of the Home Owners Association.

Some rights which you could be asked to give up are:

-the right to choose what color your home will be painted;
-the right to choose what kind of roof you want on your home;
-the right to choose when you will next paint or re-roof your home;
-the right to choose which plants will be in front of your house;
-the right to choose if you will park in your driveway or in your garage;
-the right to choose if you will leave your garage door open for any length of time, beyond just getting into the garage (its true!);
-the right to let your home go into any state of disrepair ... what is disrepair?  Any neighbor can complain to the Association what they think is disrepair, leaving the final decision up to the Association;
-the right to rent out your property if you no longer want to live there;
-the right to keep pets;
-the right to even have a dumpster put in front of your home when you are moving or remodeling unless you pay the Association a fee (as well as the rental fee of the dumpster) and making sure it is removed within the time specified by the Association;
-how about the right to NOT put up Christmas Lights, if you don't want to!
and on and on and on

Failure to live by the Associations Rules can lead to fines, and failure on your part to pay your HOA dues and/or fines on time can even lead to you having the Association file a LIEN against your home.

Of course not all Associations enforce the rules I've mentioned above (and some Associations have rules I have not even mentioned above) but this list is put here to show you what I have personally seen as enforceable RULES from varying Home Owners Associations over the years of selling Real Estate in the Pasadena, La Crescenta, La Canada, Sunland, and now Santa Clarita neighborhoods.

PROS:

"But what about the benefits?" some will ask. These are the people who love living under a set of rules so that they won't have to put up with neighbors who want to paint their houses neon lime green or neighbors who park their extra large work trailers on the street every evening, weekend and holiday...never mind the boats, water ski-dos, camper trailers, RVs, and more which can be seen on many Southern California streets, driveways, and even lawns!

The benefits of the Home Owners Association will be just that ... beneficial in enforcing rules which will keep your streets clean and looking well-kept and keep your neighbors in line.

And for the neighbor who steps out of line ... wham-o ... a fine will be slapped on them.

How about a $100 per day fine? Is that fair?  Would you want that thrown at you if you stepped out of line, knowingly or unknowingly?  Would you like that threat constantly hanging over your head, all the years that you lived in your newly purchased "dream home"?  (See here about the $100/day fine for wrong colored mulch.)

Of course the choice is yours to make, but make sure you are informed before you close Escrow on your new purchase. HOA documents are very SLOW at making their appearance during the Escrow, I have found, so do some homework on your own while waiting for the Documents...knock on neighbors doors in the community in which you want to purchase or stop to talk with anyone out watering their lawns or walking their dogs.  Ask how intrusive the HOA rules are and then be sure to READ YOUR HOA DOCS which will be provided (at some point) during your Escrow!

You just may find that you may not want to live under their heavy-handed rules.

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For all of your real estate needs or questions in the Santa Clarita Valley contact me at:

LeeAnn Bell  661-309-2364  or
LeeAnnRealtor@yahoo.com

CalBRE License #01260650

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READ about HOA Complexes and their current trouble with FHA FINANCING HERE