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HOA’s love them or hate them?

PackersGirl

PackersGirl

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So, I’m not sure how I feel about HOA’s anymore. When we first moved in the neighborhood we had to get approval to change our door and shutter color from red to black. We also had to request approval to start our business out of our home. That upset me because it’s my house. But, we moved here knowing we entered into an HOA so we requested permission and it was approved.
Fast forward almost 7 years. Our neighbor painted part of their fence turquoise, among other bright colors on one side of their front yard. They received a letter from the HOA saying fence has to be natural colors and to remove all the other items. Now, it’s an eyesore and doesn’t fit in our neighborhood but is this me agreeing with the HOA? Ugh. On one hand, it’s their yard. On the other hand, will it lower the market in the neighborhood? I’d like to sell in the future but will that stop some people from buying here? I just don’t know.
So, do you love or hate your HOA? I’m undecided at the moment I think.
 
For them.
Caveat being when done properly.
Our last neighborhood in Nashville was well done.
 
Nope. Don't want anybody telling me what I can or cannot do with my home and property. Does that mean I have to suffer neighbors doing things with their property which might not meet with my approval? Sure does. C'est la vie. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
Was in an HOA in FL for 8 years. Was on the board. It was mostly appropriate but behind the scenes as in most every circumstance of life....It's better to be aligned with the people in power than not. Will never be back in one again.
 
JB said:
For them.
Caveat being when done properly.
Our last neighborhood in Nashville was well done.
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This is our first HOA we’ve had to deal with and we’ve had ups and downs. A lot of complaints from others in the neighborhood but we’ve been left alone for years so I’ve never really cared. Until now that the turquoise fence is up hahahaha I’m invested a little more.
 
We live a area that has a heritage overlay where complementary works consistent with neighbouring property is preferential unless the existing property has no heritage value … This opens a can of worms
Lol , Local councils control their regions / suburbs.

so I understand your conundrum ,
as Dr Spock said - the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few….

There will always be some who’s tastes though may challenge those who it affects )
 
PackersGirl said:
This is our first HOA we’ve had to deal with and we’ve had ups and downs. A lot of complaints from others in the neighborhood but we’ve been left alone for years so I’ve never really cared. Until now that the turquoise fence is up hahahaha I’m invested a little more.
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To me a HOA should be about community and having standards. If there are sparse or nonsense, it’s just a way to waste money. With good amenities and a neighborhood that mostly wants it to stay that way, they can be great. Our Nashville neighborhood was fantastic about this. Our last one in Tampa was awful. It should be about help and standards.
 
Hate them. But they are good if they are well run. My current one is great and well run. It’s a relatively big hoa. My old one that I still own and rent is a disaster. They are penny wise and pound foolish. They have had to do multiple large projects such as roofs and deck ways and stairs because they try to save pennys the first time rather than do it right.
 
Definitely depends on the situation. Our previous HOA did an excellent job managing common areas including a playground. They also coordinated our refuse services. Property management was not well policed.

We currently don’t have an HOA and odds the lots are kept in much better shape. We also don’t have any neighborhood events, which is a bummer.
 
So let me throw a wrench into this.
The painted fence and rocks are part of a memorial for the daughter she lost to an overdose several months ago.

Would that make you look the other way?
 
Hibs said:
So let me throw a wrench into this.
The painted fence and rocks are part of a memorial for the daughter she lost to an overdose several months ago.

Would that make you look the other way?
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For me no. Not because it’s callous or cold hearted but because you would need something by in bylaws that says “allowed if”.

Those can be chsnges, although if original covenant sometimes it’s an expensive task.
 
RealPretendPsychic said:
Definitely depends on the situation. Our previous HOA did an excellent job managing common areas including a playground. They also coordinated our refuse services. Property management was not well policed.

We currently don’t have an HOA and odds the lots are kept in much better shape. We also don’t have any neighborhood events, which is a bummer.
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You need to live in our neighborhood. We have TONS of events. We have kids bussed in for Halloween, markets, food trucks, movie nights, tennis events and teams. List goes on. It’s exhausting but only because our kids are out of the house and we’re not in the kid stage anymore. We need to move in a 55 and older community 🤣
 
PackersGirl said:
You need to live in our neighborhood. We have TONS of events. We have kids bussed in for Halloween, markets, food trucks, movie nights, tennis events and teams. List goes on. It’s exhausting but only because our kids are out of the house and we’re not in the kid stage anymore. We need to move in a 55 and older community 🤣
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I cannot wait to move to a retirement community :LOL: although we’ve had a few family friends who were not prepared for the politics involved with those communities.
 
Mine is dumb and isn't consistent. Some fences are denied. Then the same type approved 6 months later. Can't have the same color house next to each other. Until the builder does it. Then that's OK.

And we've had 5 different websites to pay our dues in 3 years. Nobody knows what they are doing. They are just incompetent.
 
If business is taken care of an hoa could be be a good thing. Have heard stories both ways. My only personal experience is with an hoa where we own a vacation property. For many years it was let go. In recent years we had to develop new bylaws as the originals has been lost. Tough to enforce covenants without bylaws.
Can see why and where an hoa is a good thing. I’m sorry but I think the fence needs to follow rules regardless of circumstances.
 
Where do HOA fees go to? (serious questions)

I'm currently looking for homes in the DFW area
 
jazi95 said:
Where do HOA fees go to? (serious questions)

I'm currently looking for homes in the DFW area
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They go to common areas and any parks or recreation offered by the community. Community pools, dog park, things like that as well. If you have a fountain in the lake, the HOA is responsible for maintaining it, if you have a gate or community landscaping, that’s all the HOA. In some cases it goes to the roads and sidewalks inside the community too if they aren’t owned by the city. Things like that.

I forgot to add, holiday decorations are usually included in that as well, and if your community does events that’s paid for by the HOA too. We had movie’s in the park and pancake breakfasts, Santa would visit on a sleigh, those types of activities often came out of the HOA funds.
 
Complex we were part of had a two tier HOA. The master which was for the CC and pool, trash and cable but predominantly the 24/7 security of 3 gates. The neighborhood HOA was mostly for full maintenance of the grounds, both common and your property.
 
We're in two, one is much better than the other. The Fl one is pretty good and the one at the NC beach is iffy. I'm one that doesn't want anyone telling me what I can or can't do.
 
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