Are HOAs worth it?

HOA? I don't even like a city and their B.S. regulations and ordnances. I'm actively looking at unincorporated land. 

I have no use for nannies. 

My sister lived in a development that had an HOA.  Her husband's cousin worked in the office at the place and generally did not like him.  They got 2 citations for too tall grass (both during the week they were on vacation) so when they got back, they measured the height of the grass (compared to the sidewalk) and the height of the grass at the model home/office.  Model home grass was inches higher.  They dropped the "fine" but said to not let it happen again.  

They stopped worrying about all the "fines" after one of the HOA meetings where it was mentioned that only about a 1/3 of the homeowners were active on their dues.  Now the live in another neighborhood adjacent to a state nature preserve so they have a completely new set of rules to adhere to, like kids play equipment has to be earth tones.  

I, on the other hand, enjoy going out on my back porch and shooting clays.  My closest neighbor is 100 yards away across the road and I don't know that I have ever seen them in person.  It's great.  

I can’t do towns and neighborhoods. I grew up on 60 acres of woods with another hundred a mile down the road to play in. Nearest neighbor was my grandmother a 1/4 mile down the road but on the same property. The 2 years I spent living in Fishers solidified my belief that I cannot live that close to people and I sure as hell am not going to let them tell me what I can and cannot do on my friggin property. 

Rural life for me..... our current house has become closer to civilization than I prefer but they still leave us alone. 

Patrick said:

HOA are perfect if your goal is to not live next to someone like me

Idk, I'm pretty sure I'd like living next to you. 

In reply to ProDarwin :

As far as that suburban, the lift and tires could be toned down a little and I’m sure the exhaust is horrible but I’m liking it. 

I lived in one. Rented. It wasn't bad at all, for something like $200 a year they mowed the common areas (playground, decent park), kept up with the sign painting, etc. The bylaws were pretty reasonable too. Think "Here is the list of approved colors. If you want to paint your house a different color, come to the meeting and we'll listen to your petition". 

Boats and extra cars were allowed, but they had to be moved every so often (they didn't want rusting yard art).

On the other hand, we've all heard the ridiculous "Each window must be an individual pane, no grids" and "No charcoal grilling" and "No rock and roll music". They exist and are horrible.

To be honest, HOAs are to keep people like me out 

In reply to Brian :

I just want the grille for my truck. Do they still have it? 

I would never join an association that would have me as a member.

I wish to live close enough to one that I can annoy them but not close enough that they can do anything about it.


But I'm a 4 letter word that isn't nice to say in polite company unless you're australian

Been able to avoid them so far, but I can see the appeal.  Around this area they tend to be the $400 to $800 a month kind. 

My hoa is easy care.  Move your trash cans in within a day.  Ensure no boats I. Your yard.  No race cars outside.   It’s good. I like it. 

I hate HOAs and am so glad we don't have one. Always some moron trying to create a perfect world so their property values go up . Anal retentive asshats.

Our hoa is cool and specifically allows for storing season appropriate toys in your driveway or outside.  

Camper or jetski ski in summer?  OK.  Snowmobiles in summer? Not ok. 

8valve said:

Around this area they tend to be the $400 to $800 a month kind. 

For that kind of money they better damn well be mowing my grass and washing my cars every week, mulching my flowerbeds twice a year, and painting my house every other year.

The one where my wife used to live in Minneapolis wouldn't allow me to park my motorcycle on the driveway.

They had a rule that you can only have one dog or cat, and they had to weigh under 25#.  

The final straw for me though was when someone walked into my garage while I was cleaning up with the door open and told me I had to get rid of my tools and clean up better inside the garage because it was a "public space" and had to be maintained to their aesthetic. I had to go to the next meeting and inform the committee that the next one of them who set foot in my garage would be shot and the police would determine just how public that space is. 

Then one day a few months before I left they decided that the 23 page book of random rules that had evolved over the years wasn't prescriptive enough,  so they adopted a 50 page rulebook from a nearby apartment building in its entirety instead. Surprise,  now you can't own a gun safe because it is too heavy for the  (nonexistent) elevator and if the  (nonexistent) neighbors above you complain about the noise you could get fined. That was a lot of fun.

Glad that we don't have them here.

I live in an old small city.   We have a few codes, like junk cars, unshoveled sidewalks etc. 

Homes tend to be kept up for property value.

We have snow plowing, garbage pickup, recycleing all paid for from our property taxes, no need to pay some one else.

my wife is the only HOA i need. she tells me when to shovel the snow, mow the grass, what colors we can and can't paint stuff, how much junk i can keep in the yard, etc.

In reply to edizzle89 :

And just like a regular HOA, once in a while they'll berk you. 

Appleseed said:

In reply to edizzle89 :

And just like a regular HOA, once in a while they'll berk you. 

/thread

I have lived without one most of my life. 

I just bought in an HOA neighborhood.  It's a 35 year old HOA in a $400K neighborhood with VOLUNTARY $40 per year fee.

First clue it's ok- the low fee  

 I read the covenants carefully. Then I cruised the neighborhood several times.  I was looking for exceptions, and ore-existing conditions. 

No trailers?  Yeah, well good luck enforcing that. Half the neighborhood has trailers. 

No project cars?  Well, if you want to complain about mine, I know exactly which 12 neighbors you are also gonna have to take down. 

Ours makes a nice community. That's is purpose.  Doesn't always work. 

In reply to SVreX :

That is pretty our situation except our houses are 50% the value of yours.  The covenants that are in force were more for the builders than the home owners.  

There are a few pros and cons to them having lived in two.  Our dream home won't be in one but while we are moving every few years for my job they make selling homes really easy.

no

I've lived under the same HOA for 20+ years, and I chose to live here--mainly because it's one of the most established neighborhoods in town. And by "established" I mean "desireable." Plus all of the houses were custom-built in the '70s, so they're kinda funky and cool. We also have giant old-growth trees. I can't park 20 cars in my front lawn but, to be honest, I'm okay with that.