Looked at condos yesterday

House Divided said:
I personally would not consider any property with an HOA. Dues are constantly going up along with special assessments each year, all the rules and politics. It never ends.
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We are living in an inflationary environment, remember? Everything is going up in price with the exception of TV sets).
 
House Divided said:
I personally would not consider any property with an HOA. Dues are constantly going up along with special assessments each year, all the rules and politics. It never ends.
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I completely understand your point of view.

Heh, heh, I don't think I'd consider a place WITHOUT either HOA (or even maybe a rental) because I'm not naturally handy AND neither DW or I are up to getting up on a ladder and cleaning leaves out of gutters nor w*rking on a hot-water boiler, mowing, etc, etc.

I agree HOA's can be a pain. I'd call ours "a little better than average" with only a couple of people who like the little bit of power they have. Dues going up is a given. Stuff is going up, insurance is going up, wages for "the guys" is going up, etc. BUT, we have more reserves than most condos on Island. No worry if something breaks and has to be replaced. The grounds are immaculate. The garage is clean. And I don't have to lift a finger - except to write the monthly check.

Pays your money and takes your choice.
 
House Divided said:
I personally would not consider any property with an HOA. Dues are constantly going up along with special assessments each year, all the rules and politics. It never ends.
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Interesting. I have lived in an HOA property for over 30 years. Due do go up, since costs go up and the developers usually set unusually low dues to start with. But they didn’t this year. The last special assessment was over 10 years ago. Though I do expect one in the next few years for roofing work that needs to be done. It’s been over 20 years since the roofs were replaced. While there are always a few people who think the rules don’t apply to them, most people abide by them and get on with their lives. The property is well maintained.

FWIW, the biggest single cost of living in my home over the last decade has been property taxes. And those increases also apply to single family homes, commercial property, vacant lots, etc.

This has been my experience over decades.
Or….
Am I delusional? Out of touch with reality?
 
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Chuckanut said:
Interesting. I have lived in an HOA property for over 30 years. Due do go up, but they didn’t this year. The last special assessment was over 10 years ago. While there are always a few people who think the rules don’t apply to them, most people abide by them and get on with their lives. The property is well maintained.

Am I delusional? Out of touch with reality?
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Probably, but you're right on about well run HOAs.:LOL:

We've never had an assessment as virtually anything that can (and will) go wrong has a sinking fund. So, we paint the building every so many years. It's covered. The elevator had to be replaced after how many years - It was covered by a fund. Spalling w*rk had to be done - it was covered. On and on. It's expensive and it has to be done. We call it a part of the price of Paradise.

I could have housing on the mainland for the price of our HOA dues, but still consider them "appropriate" if not reasonable. Just what you have to do do live there and keep it nice.
 
House Divided said:
I personally would not consider any property with an HOA. Dues are constantly going up along with special assessments each year, all the rules and politics. It never ends.
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DH does not like apartment living. He lived in apartments when he first came to this country. My mother lived in apartment buildings growing up in Brooklyn, and after her marriage - until after I was born - and loved it. Right now, our next move would be to a SFH with no HOA - but DH is still capable (and seems to enjoy) handling the maintenance. We both enjoy privacy, and DH especially doesn't like to be told what to do (excepting yours truly who phrases requests very diplomatically, of course).

In the event that I were single, I would need to hire someone to handle the outdoor maintenance and house repairs . . .
 
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folivier said:
Closed on the house and our condo yesterday. Movers got to the house at 8:15, 2 hours were done. Buyers signed, we signed for condo, then met the movers.
Exhausted yesterday afternoon, boxes everywhere, but our recliners were set up. I had boxed 2 wine glasses and labeled them "open me first." One of our neighbors knocked on our door to welcome us with some cooked food!
Think we'll like it here.
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Very, very wise. And - I'm glad to hear your neighbors were welcoming!
 
Chuckanut said:
At least they admit it's all about location and the building is a tear-down structure. Nice of them to warn people not to go into it.
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They don't want to get sued in the event of an injury.
 
Regardless of how one feels about HOA issues, if you buy into a condo make sure you look over the finances, including reserves for future issues like the roof, tree removal and other high cost fixes. If there is a big difference between their funds for such things and the expected cost, you may wish to consider that in your offering price.
 
Chuckanut said:
Regardless of how one feels about HOA issues, if you buy into a condo make sure you look over the finances, including reserves for future issues like the roof, tree removal and other high cost fixes. If there is a big difference between their funds for such things and the expected cost, you may wish to consider that in your offering price.
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Very wise advice.
 
When I am single I love living in a condo. The key is to buy one with well funded reserves. Houses also need to be maintained and condos are just giant houses:)). I always read the rules to make sure that they are acceptable.
 
Chuckanut said:
Regardless of how one feels about HOA issues, if you buy into a condo make sure you look over the finances, including reserves for future issues like the roof, tree removal and other high cost fixes. If there is a big difference between their funds for such things and the expected cost, you may wish to consider that in your offering price.
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Our realtor was on top of this and handed us a whole pile of papers and bound things like house rules/bylaws, financial statement, reserves, etc. etc. She (and we) thought things looked pretty good. She also knew the building's reputation (like good resident manager.) It helps to have a realtor who has been around.
 
As we were looking at condos we also looked at the surrounding areas. We limited our searching to places with nice subdivisions. But you could tell which ones had active HOA's and which did not. There are nice areas surrounding our condo but there will always be that house which is run down and overgrown among nicely kept up houses. HOA's do have a place.
 
folivier said:
As we were looking at condos we also looked at the surrounding areas. We limited our searching to places with nice subdivisions. But you could tell which ones had active HOA's and which did not. There are nice areas surrounding our condo but there will always be that house which is run down and overgrown among nicely kept up houses. HOA's do have a place.
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Much like any of the other kinds of authorities we hire to regulate us, HOA's are needed. In general, a "good" HOA board is less interested in the things that an individual is concerned about such as low cost and personal autonomy. An HOA board thinks more in terms of preserving value of the property and harmony among HOA members. It's a hard line to walk - just like any other authority.

We've been fortunate that our board walks a pretty good line between authority and harmony. "Rules" are pretty much what you would expect and, for the most part, are generally enforced with kid gloves instead of an iron fist.

We recently had an almost 10% increase in HOA dues. Lots of folks objected, but I pointed out to some neighbors that increased reserves still belong to the owners. Upon selling, that is a very good selling point, namely that reserves are significantly above almost all the condos in the area. In essence, reserves are an asset. You essentially "get your share back" in a higher sales price.
 
House Divided said:
I personally would not consider any property with an HOA. Dues are constantly going up along with special assessments each year, all the rules and politics. It never ends.
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You get what you pay for, we would NOT consider the alternative, unless you like lounging on a sofa in your front yard. :)
 
House Divided said:
I personally would not consider any property with an HOA. Dues are constantly going up along with special assessments each year, all the rules and politics. It never ends.
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Even without an HOA, our neighbors manage to fight like cats in a burlap sack in the community Facebook group. The biggest subject is the community pool and social hall, which are run with voluntary memberships. The board is spending substantial money on deferred maintenance, and doing it well IMHO.
 
ShokWaveRider said:
You get what you pay for, we would NOT consider the alternative, unless you like lounging on a sofa in your front yard. :)
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My mental picture of the sort of poorly kept neighborhood that would make me want an HOA is a big old house I used to drive by on the way to my then-GF's house in my 20s.

There was a large oak that had a car engine hanging from a rope tied to a low branch, which stayed there for months. :rolleyes:
 
Out of Steam said:
My mental picture of the sort of poorly kept neighborhood that would make me want an HOA is a big old house I used to drive by on the way to my then-GF's house in my 20s.

There was a large oak that had a car engine hanging from a rope tied to a low branch, which stayed there for months. :rolleyes:
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Heh, heh, sounds like the old homestead (where I lived as a child and where I'm currently typing this.) My dad had 5 old ramshackle sheds for equipment. One was an old smokehouse. There were (at one time) 2 old cars on the property. All that is gone now and the property looks pretty nice. But it wasn't always so.
 
House Divided said:
I personally would not consider any property with an HOA. Dues are constantly going up along with special assessments each year, all the rules and politics. It never ends.
Click to expand...

I've lived in several HOA communities for about 26 years. Never had a special assessment, not has one even been considered. If the board knows how to handle long term budgeting there should never be a need for a special assessment. I know not every board knows how to budget.
 
Lewis Clark said:
I've lived in several HOA communities for about 26 years. Never had a special assessment, not has one even been considered. If the board knows how to handle long term budgeting there should never be a need for a special assessment. I know not every board knows how to budget.
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Agreed. I've only been in two HOAs and both were well run. The COST of excellent management with no special assessment is higher HOA dues. Reserves must be high enough to cover any contingency. That means extra HOA dues. Just the nature of the beast.
 
street said:
Wow! Dirt is worth more in many real estate sales than structures.
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That was the case in the DC suburb we used to live in. The lot was worth slightly more than the building. Our current house is worth about 3X as much as the lot it's on.
 
street said:
Wow! Dirt is worth more in many real estate sales than structures.
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Dirt is a good way to look at it. Back when we were tourists, we looked at a number of houses, just to get an idea of costs, locations, etc. One of our earliest houses, we read something about 6000 SF for only (I forget - but sounded really cheap.) When we got there, it was a beautiful house, great view, BUT no way was it 6000 SF. The realtor said, no, no, no, that's the land. Sure enough, around the house was a strip of grass abut 3 feet wide plus a side walk. The house and just a bit of landscaping pretty much took up the 6000 SF of land.

Yeah, we had some friends (he was a specialist doctor of some kind.) He lived in Portlock which is a ritzy suburb of Honolulu. They had a very nice house with all the trimmings (pool, panels, granite counters, all stainless appliances, etc.) While we were sitting on the lanai, he pointed to a house across the street. He said "That just sold for 1.1 mil. It's a tear down." (This was 12 years ago, so 1.1 was still a chunk of change for a tear down.) I looked at the house and I couldn't see any flaws. Good roof, nice windows, well maintained, etc. SO, it was just that someone wanted that prime spot for a really nice house.

I never saw the final result as the doc and wife gave up on Hawaii and moved to (IIRC) Hilton Head.

It's nice to have enough money to buy a tear down, but I'm just fine with still loving our condo.
 
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