ProtectorRoss wrote:GrantMLS wrote: I know they can put a lien agaist your property and than demand the property to go into foreclosure so that they can be paid..Absolutely! He has to pay his bills like everyone else.
one thing i did notice in the 2012 budget was that the cost of chasing late/non-paying owners was pretty high, and the pres. was talking about foreclosing on some units, which we were hoping to be able to buy, but i never heard if that actually happened.
Hate them for not letting me do maintenance on my car in the parking lot but I live in a condo so the fees pay for landscaping, a pool that back porch looks over, electric bill for the street lights, trash pick up and things like the new roof and pavement sealing with lines. Luckily in MD there are laws that allow the unit owners to veto any rate hikes so our rates stay pretty even.
Curmudgeon wrote: Just like unions, sometimes HOAs are a good thing. Also just like unions they can be warped and turned into a bludgeon to suit someone's personal vendettas or can be a reflection of their ignorance/stupidity and I'd just as soon not have that type of aggravation in my life. I am house hunting now and my specific instructions to the agent were 'no HOA's'.
Sums it up pretty nicely, I think.
We don't have an HOA. We have Larry and Ed, who take care of the irrigation ditch. Costs me a box of sugar-free chocolate at Christmas and pitching in to pay for repairs once in a while. Plus Larry doubles as neighborhood watch as he's a retired state patrolman. I've never had a neighbor report doing a perimeter check on my house before 
i have no use for HOA's.. they are simply unamerican. there are plenty of rules and regulations on the books about how a property needs to be maintained at the city, township, county, state, and federal levels that are enforced using money from property taxes. the city, towhship, and county take car of road and street maintenance using that tax money.. i see no need to force people to pay more on top of that, but i've also got a strong "Don't Tread on Me" streak,too.
my only experience with anything similar to an HOA was about 3 months after i bought my house in the spring of '02. my 1 acre property was about 1/4 mile outside of city limits on a busy road that led to a subdivision next to a golf course that was somehow within city limits. i had 4 rusty old vehicles (85 GMC pickup, 82 Ford 3/4 ton van, 78 Impala 2 door, and 78 Ford LTD 2 sport) parked in my back yard that weren't visible from the road unless you looked at a certain angle at a certain spot on the road as you drove by at 50mph. the only way to see them up close without being on my property was to walk along the outside of the fence in the hay field that surrounded by property. all of them had expired tabs, which is why i parked them back there until i could get around to parting them out or whatever.. one day i got a letter from the township with all the license plate and VINs off those vehicle stating that i had to remove them from my property within 30 days or pay some fine in accordance with some county code, which they were also kind enough ti include.. so i did what any sane person would do- i went and bought tabs for all of them and parked them in my front yard (not in either of my 2 driveways- on the grass at weird angles..) for about 3 months until i got sick of looking at them and moving them around every time i mowed the grass. then i parted the truck and van out, sold the impala, and put the LTD2 in my mostly empty 26X48 shed.. i never heard another word from anyone about having anything in my yard until i moved out in the fall of '05, and i had some real crappy looking junk sitting there from time to time.
no one even complained about having this in my driveway for 2 months..
In reply to jonnyd330: The Florida constitution has a homestead protection against forced sale. However, that protection does not extend to liens or judgments that predate the establishment of homestead. Mandatory HOAs have a continuing "lien" (obligation) that predate the home ownership, by the language in the Declaration of Covenants. That means that they can foreclose for failure to pay assessments.
^^See? Told you HOAs are the devil.
novaderrik wrote: i have no use for HOA's.. they are simply unamerican. there are plenty of rules and regulations on the books about how a property needs to be maintained at the city, township, county, state, and federal levels that are enforced using money from property taxes. the city, towhship, and county take car of road and street maintenance using that tax money.. i see no need to force people to pay more on top of that, but i've also got a strong "Don't Tread on Me" streak,too.
At least around here, trying to get code enforcement to actually do anything has proved nearly impossible.
novaderrick: I want one of your Monte Carlos.
That is all.
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