additional comments on
"Home Owners Associations on the Rise"

1. Bernie says:

   August 2, 2018 at 7:30 am

   Or you have a neighbor who moves out and decides to make his home a rental. Rents out to a cute couple and 1 kid and they bring in 27 additional people to cover the rent. The new tenants park their cars on their front lawn. Parties until the wee hours of the morning. The cops are now making 5 to 6 calls a week to the tenants next door for drugs, guns, domestic violence, noise and fighting…..Yeah if our neighborhood was an HOA this would not happen……

2. BobH says:

   August 2, 2018 at 9:58 am

   I’ve yet to encounter an HOA in southern CA that doesn’t have outrageous HOA dues. I wonder if these HOA’s are ever audited to determine how the fees are spent, because the costs imposed almost always far exceed the benefits (common parks and recreation areas, external hazard insurance on each unit, maintenance of the common grounds, and in some cases minimal security enhancements). What a ripoff! I’ll NEVER buy a property in an HOA.

   Also, from a LO and real estate agent’s view, these outrageous fees often prevent your home purchase prospect from qualifying for the loan.

3. Michael Blaser says:

   August 2, 2018 at 10:37 am

   I for one have lived in SFR HOA communities for decades. To me, the structure and rules provide a framework for everyone in the community to be like-minded. It never works out that way…there is always a rogue homeowner here and there, but for the most part, the framework of the rules and compliance enforcement keeps uniformity and avoids…that purple house you showed. Hey Brian…fire that hair and make-up artist…they’re letting you down.

4. Walter C. White says:

   August 2, 2018 at 1:23 pm

   WOW ! You guys missed the point!

   In my area, a subdivision without an HOA soon sees its streets deteriorate to become impassible to school buses, ambulances and fire trucks. Crime increases as homes are abandoned due to declines in value below mortgages,inability to finance sales, owner flight to “better” neighborhoods.

   Pressure on schools increases, local services are overtaxed, and local businesses fail or move.

   THANK YOUR HOA BOARD MEMBERS THE NEXT TIMKE YOU SEE THEM, and everytime thereafter. It’s a thankless bitch of a job, unpaid, and subject to constant recrimination. Many good people won’t serve.

5. Bert Carpenter says:

   August 3, 2018 at 6:15 pm

   Having lived in properties both in and not in an HOA, I can tell you that a well-managed HOA significantly improves the property values of homes in the community. In the case of a SFR HOA community, the HOA IS NOT responsible for maintaining a foreclosed home, in fact, most CC& Rs require the foreclosing bank to keep up the property and allow the HOA to bill the bank for maintenance performed by the HOA when they fail to do so. In many jurisdictions, the property tax on the HOA owned land (common area) is not taxed, so this helps keep dues low. In general, a drive through an HOA community, shows homes well maintained, yards kept neat and no one is allowed to stockpile or display their “historical” vehicles on blocks in the front yard, etc. Does this mean all HOAs are well managed? Of course not. Get involved. Go to the board meetings. Ask questions. If you have a rule that you think is dumb, challenge it. Don’t forget that most HOAs are managed by companies that are given direction by the board. Get on the board and effect the change you want to see. I have been on two different boards during the last 15 years and with over 486 homeowners between them, there is never more than 1 or 2 non-board member homeowners attending the regular meetings and never more than 10-12 at the annual. I ran for my first board seat because I was being targeted for a stupid rule violation. Once on the board, making changes was easier than I thought possible. As an owner, you have a right to review the financial records, so do it. Challenge why the budget items are as high as they are. Who’s doing the negotiating? Are they really negotiating or just rolling over with the proposal. Is the vendor a family Member? Getting involved can actually make you the catalyst for change for the better. But remember this… If you live in and HOA and you don’t want to follow the rules, we really don’t want you as our neighbor.

6. Walter C. White says:

   August 8, 2018 at 8:59 am

   Bert Carpenter gets it, Thanks for spelling it out, Bert

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