What is their purpose? What authority do they have? I’m young (not a minor) and don’t have anyone I could ask, so I figured I’d ask here.
In: Other
Let’s say you have a neighborhood of homes in the suburbs, all built the same developer, and all generally speaking looking pretty similar. All the houses are painted pretty bland and similar to each other, and no one has anything outrageous in their yards. Then one day, someone sells their home, and a new family moves in. They immediately paint their house completely black, and put signs everywhere in their yard that say “HAIL SATAN!” All of the sudden, other people in that neighborhood might have a little trouble selling their houses. Who wants to move next door to a home that has Satan worshippers? So now the value of the homes in a neighborhood has decreased, perhaps drastically, because one house in a neighborhood went against the grain.
HOAs are designed, in theory, to protect against something like that. There might be limits on what colors you can paint your house, what type of lawn decorations you can have, what flags you can fly, etc. HOAs will also monitor and manage certain amenities in the neighborhood or complex (like a neighborhood pool or park).
As for authority, it’s usually stipulated that if you buy a house in that neighborhood, you have to also become a member of the HOA, and are legally required to follow what the HOA decides. This can become incredibly petty if the HOA leader is a stickler.
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