I have a weird fascination with HOA’s, they seem like such a weird thing to me. I have never lived anywhere where there is an HOA and never would but I enjoy hearing stories about them. Are you guys pro or anti HOA’s? Or no opinion? Any good stories?
@Catlynn
I’m just gonna pop in here with a Not All HOAs.🤣 I live in a small group of 10 duplex houses. The HOA contracts for communal services like yard work, snow and trash removal, and exterior maintenance of all units. The HOA negotiates an insurance policy covering all exterior damage. They deal with all issues regarding these services so I don’t have to. If I have a complaint with any of it, they deal with it. We have a hard time getting anyone to serve on the HOA. Perfect? No. Ok? Yes.
@Catlynn
Most of us are retired, so we have loads of free time, but better things to do with it than do this kind of stuff. I myself am lazy and did not get the Mr. Goodwrench gene so I have no aptitude nor inclination to do my own repairs. It’s the best of all possible worlds for me. I recognize that we might be outliers.
@Catlynn
We’re in Colorado, and there are state laws here that regulate and tend to prevent a lot of the egregious behavior of the HOAs that get all the publicity. Again, perfect? No. Good enough? Yes. As always, your mileage may vary.
@Catlynn in Walnut Creek, CA, I lived in a rancid little HOA that was very concerned with maintaining high property values by upholding the aesthetics of the most unpleasant people with the most free time to be on boards and such. We built a fence with a corner an inch over the required height, and they insisted we lower the corner. I didn't like myself living there--I has too much contempt for my neighbors.
@Catlynn oh wow yes. You're beyond lucky to not have to deal with them. They're brutal. I understand WHY they exist but they always go above and beyond on lesser things, blowing them out of proportion, and when there's some egregious violation they should do something about, they don't seem to do it. That's been my experience. A bad one. I wish I didn't have to deal with them haha
@Catlynn 😂 for real. It's this awful, agreed upon thing they think will keep property values up? When it just ends up harassing people for no reason over the tiny things. And then you see what should be egregious offenses just getting ignored. It's baffling.
@JosephMeyer@doctormo@Catlynn all great takes - and yes the trivial (oil spots on driveway) to the important (overcrowded streets with parking so much on each side you can hardly get through - friggin parking lots on the sides, and commercial trucks with rotting grass in the back? Seriously)
@jake4480@Catlynn
My impression is similar to Jake's. It is presumptuous of me to write that based on my experiences with people in other volunteer organizations, my guess is that most HOA officers are more motivated by a feeling of power and authority than by a genuine wish to serve. My HOA spent many thousands of dollars in legal fees to go after a homeowner who violated HOA rules by running a daycare out of their home, but lost the case. They seem to also spend money on the trivial pet projects of individual officers--statues, memorials, landscaping. They are supposed to help maintain property values by enforcing architectural standards, but most homeowners seem to ignore those standards with no consequences. And a former manager of the HOA and his bookkeeper girlfriend stole several thousand dollars from the association before being found out by an auditor's report. It being an older neighborhood with aging residents, some of whom are having a hard time making financial ends meet, there are homes falling into general disrepair that are seemingly ignored until a real estate speculator offers a rock bottom price for the property, fixes it up, and resells to the highest bidder. On the positive side, I have on a couple occasions gotten in the mail a photograph of my trash bin that I left out by the curb overnight, a violation of HOA rules. :bd06:
@JosephMeyer@jake4480 ooo scandalous! You know, in this day and age I think I might even be a little scared to work for an HOA. You just never know what somebody might do 😬
@jake4480@Catlynn I do not live under an HOA myself, but that is the main complaint from every one of my friends who do: Obsession about the trivial (what color window blinds), indifference to the important (air conditioning units that are dangerously not up to code).
@Catlynn@alameth I don't know whose genius idea it originally was, but there's no way out of it other than finding an area that doesn't have one. Probably pretty rare in a lot of places. Yeah, I've never heard anything GOOD about an HOA hahaha
@jake4480@alameth The prices are just insane too! I had never even heard about them for the longest time and I struggled to believe it was a real thing.
Add comment