I understand what HOA’s do, and was first introduced to the term in a condo building (not mine). I understand in a condo building, or high rise, you’re all sharing one building and need to contribute to that building’s maintenance. But I don’t understand HOA’s in neighborhoods…when you live in your own house. Is it only certain neighborhoods? I know someone who lives on a nice street in a suburb and there’s no HOA. Who decides if there is one, and what do neighborhood HOA’s exist for? Are you allowed to opt out?
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It’s important to realize that when it comes to neighborhood HOA’s, there’s really two varieties:
1. Intense, super hands-on HOA’s that govern absolutely everything from requiring approval of landscaping design to the contractors you use to actually do the work.
2. HOA’s that exist with extremely minimal rules and fees that really don’t / can’t do anything but collect a tiny amount of money from people in the neighborhood to maintain the sign and apply pressure on people to keep things looking remotely presentable.
We live in HOA style #2, and our rules are basically no broke down cars / excess junk in your yard, no living in campers / RV’s, no farm animals, and outbuildings / accessory dwelling units much match the color and style of the primary structure. That’s it.
When we moved to where we live now I was very anti-HOA as the HOA’s I’ve heard about from friends were all HOA style #1. Then we got looking around at neighborhoods without HOA’s and you’d be inside of a million dollar house looking out across the street at Skeeter’s collection of rusted riding lawnmowers, or next door to someone who has way too small of a lot that decided to run 20 cattle on it so it’s just a mud pit with electric fences on the property line, etc.
If you don’t have local city / county ordinances to prevent this kind of stuff, you have absolutely no power to do anything. If you’re living inside of an HOA you can have rules everyone agrees on to maintain some kind of minimal standards to the neighborhood. HOA style #2 can be a huge net positive, and some people really love HOA style #1 because they want everything to be perfect.
Different strokes for different folks.
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