Disillusioned with HOA and thinking of moving

[folivier]

We've had our house in a 55+ community for about 8 years now. We bought here thinking it would be a good place since we spend at least half of the year at our Colorado cabin.
Unfortunately the HOA has become a small dictatorship. The same people are the only ones who run for election every 2-3 years. The board creates conflict and is known for enforcing the rules impartially.
Neither one of us is interested in being on the board.
So we're thinking of selling and buying another house. Not interested in anywhere with another HOA.
What brought up our possibility of moving is my DW's aunt recently passed away just after her 100th birthday and we may buy her house. This is in my DW's small home town about 20 miles from where our house currently is. The house would need some repairs and updating but should be much less expensive than what we can sell our house for. DW has a sister 2 houses down who just moved back from VA and a cousin next door. Plus other close relatives nearby.
I don't really care where I live and this house would give me options for projects that I can't do now because of the HOA.
Any thoughts?

 

[Midpack]

HOAs are a double edged sword, though IME the positives outweigh the negatives. Having rules enforced can be a (very) good thing, versus living next door to someone who paints their house purple, has 10 cars parked in their driveway/on the street, and neglects their landscaping and lawn because it would be too difficult to mow around all the junk left in the front yard. If you end up living near a "bad neighbor" you will wish there was an HOA, especially if you ever want to sell the property.

We're lucky to be in a neighborhood with a great HOA now, and the neighborhood is very well maintained as a result. Our last neighborhood HOA did some things that were a little suspect, but not horrible all in all. I went to an HOA meeting at the last neighborhood, and found the many residents who chose to attend were mostly loud and unreasonable - they all wanted lower dues and more benefits (of course each resident wanted different added benefits). I concluded you couldn't give me a position on an all volunteer HOA board...a thankless job from what I experienced.

 

[Aerides]

There are plusses and minuses to both.

You will have the "NO HOA EVER" crowd chime in, of course. Me, personally? I like my HOA to keep the neighborhood maintained, address behaviors that detract from home values, etc., and ours maintains the entrance road to the neighborhood, our park, and provides security.

I think if you live in an area where you can't hardly see the next house from your front window, then an HOA is less important. Or if you want to paint your house purple, and have cars propped up for months on end to work on in the driveway, then you definitely don't want an HOA.

But if you live in a typical subdivision with <30 feet between neighbors, want shared amenities, and someone taking care of the common areas, working with the city/county when needed...then you probably can benefit from an HOA.

 

[ncbill]

Yeah, here no HOA means junk cars parked in the yard (in the city!) & several months of uncontrolled landscape growth (are they selling hay?) before the city will even begin enforcement proceedings.

 

[COcheesehead]

A neighborhood without an HOA means you can do anything…and so can your neighbor.

I have lived in both. I’ll take the HOA.

 

[target2019]

We've had our house in a 55+ community for about 8 years now. We bought here thinking it would be a good place since we spend at least half of the year at our Colorado cabin.
Unfortunately the HOA has become a small dictatorship. The same people are the only ones who run for election every 2-3 years. The board creates conflict and is known for enforcing the rules impartially.
Neither one of us is interested in being on the board.
So we're thinking of selling and buying another house. Not interested in anywhere with another HOA.
What brought up our possibility of moving is my DW's aunt recently passed away just after her 100th birthday and we may buy her house. This is in my DW's small home town about 20 miles from where our house currently is. The house would need some repairs and updating but should be much less expensive than what we can sell our house for. DW has a sister 2 houses down who just moved back from VA and a cousin next door. Plus other close relatives nearby.
I don't really care where I live and this house would give me options for projects that I can't do now because of the HOA.
Any thoughts?

We live in a single home, and each time we went and looked at newer construction, with HOA, there was no desire on our part.

I'm familiar with HOA's from family and friends. My brother sat on an HOA. It was a situation like you describe. He was able to get on the board and just run things in a logical way (was an accountant, and a people-person.

Our neighborhood of 600+ single homes has no cars on front lawn. The town itself has ordinances to prevent many un-savory things. When things do start to root, you may have to go to the town for enforcement.

 

[GenXguy]

No HOA in my neighborhood, no cars in people's yards. Only complaints are noisy mowers and that some people have dogs that will bark occasionally. A "no dogs allowed" neighborhood would be nice.

 

[easysurfer]

Agree about the positives and negatives.

I can list a bunch but will just list a bit as I'm sure most already know.

Positive - no shoveling snow or mowing the grass by residents

Negative - less privacy, seems where I'm at place is always "doing something" that is a bit disruptive like shutting off the water to test, cleaning out the parking garage, fire drill testing, and yes the ticky tacky rules.

 

[Qs Laptop]

You've stated you will probably move and won't move to another place with an HOA. You have some home improvement ideas in mind that you can't implement at your current place with an HOA. You would make money on the move.

You have a place in mind. Sounds like your question is really--"Should I move into my wife's aunt's previous house considering there is a sister-in-law two doors down and a cousin next door?" It seems you are also concerned that you would be leaving a vibrant community of peers for a small town with limited activities.

Have I restated the question correctly?

If so, I can't answer it properly since I don't know the relationship you and your wife have with her sister. Or with the cousin or other relatives "near by." Personally, while I love my family, having them THAT close gives me pause. I'm guessing this is the heart of the issue.

Do you visit the sister and cousin much now? They are only 20 miles away. How about the other relatives that are "close by?"

 

[2HOTinPHX]

I think it would depend on if you like how the neighborhood you would be moving to is. Is it well maintained or does it look like things are going downhill? When I Google map and do street view our first home that was in a non HOA area it looks like it has gone down hill. Way more cars parked on the street now. A lot of neighbors were converting their garages into rental units when we moved and it's only gotten worse.
We are currently in an HOA area now and prefer it to the old neighborhood.
If all the family members get along and would welcome you purchasing the house to be close by I would go for it. I miss being close to family like that. Biggest mistake we made I feel was moving away and missing family.

 

[finnski1]

A neighborhood without an HOA means you can do anything…and so can your neighbor.

I have lived in both. I’ll take the HOA.

Can't even paint the color of my house or trim what I want. Have no visible neighbors and 9 acres of forest separating the few neighbors we have. Most neighbors are second homes and rarely there. The rest is permanent conservation land. A real paradise. I'll not take the HOA. Then again I am in the Live free or die state.

 

[Midpack]

No HOA in my neighborhood, no cars in people's yards. Only complaints are noisy mowers and that some people have dogs that will bark occasionally. A "no dogs allowed" neighborhood would be nice.

Odds are that will be the case with or without an HOA. But it only takes one or two nearby homes to sell to a buyer who doesn't take care of the property and/or remodels with purple paint and pink shutters. That will NOT happen with an HOA...

 

[Cobra9777]

I live in a non-HOA neighborhood. But the lots are huge, ranging from 2.0 to 3.5 acres. It's heavily treed so you generally can't even see your neighbors. Only our front-facing windows have blinds.

The houses are all 50 years old and quite large. It's a relatively expensive neighborhood in a small town. So we've never had issues with people not maintaining their front yards or keeping things orderly. No one parks in the street because it would be a 200 ft walk to your house.

I keep our 20 ft camper van parked in the driveway, which a lot of HOAs would not allow. Lots of people have trailers, boats, and RVs in their driveways. But the lots are so big, and the houses are so far back from the street, that no one cares.

Some people have funky metal sculptures in their front yard, which I think is really cool. Some people have chickens. The former owners of our house kept a horse in the backyard. We like the freedom of this individualistic style of neighborhood.

DW and I have talked about downsizing ever since I retired. But neither of us is comfortable going back to a traditional subdivision setting, with really close neighbors and overly-restrictive HOA rules. Our current thinking is to buy 2 or 3 acres in a nice rural setting and build a small, modern house that suits our needs better as we age.

 

[ls99]

A friend lives in an HOA. Seems there is never a day when some issue is percolating, often more than one.
While the services are useful or necessary for those unwilling or unable to do them, snow etc.. I would not want my life disturbed by the never ending HOA issues. I see them as the daily drivel.

 

[RobbieB]

I've been here 33 years in a "free" development and have had no problems. One guy in the "hood" painted his house blue with white trim, looked like a fish restaurant.

Didn't mind that either, I like fish restaurants -

 

[SnowballCamper]

I was in the no HOA ever crowd until I got the neighbors I have now. At first it wasn't bad, but the collecting of junk in the yard seems to slowly increase over the years. It is a trade off. If I had to do it over again I would just find a bigger lot or more rural location and skip the HOA. Closer in town or smaller lots in the neighborhood make the HOA more desirable for me. Of course the HOAs are all different.

 

[Time2]

My daughter and my s-i-l rented in a HOA neighbor hood. We are 40 miles away so every time we went to visit, there is an extra car in the driveway and every time we would get notice of a violation. They have a soccer field, the parking lot will hold about 40 cars. So, I parked there one night, nope not permissible. 40 empty parking spaces every night.

 

[Trailwalker]

Homeowners around me don't need an HOA or extra rules to display pride of ownership. Peer pressure and town ordinances seem to suffice.

 

[Bamaman]

I didn't care for HOA's when living in one in Atlanta. They tended to get into "my business." Park a car on the street for overnight and they'd bug you.

But how well do you get along with all the wife's relatives? Living in such close proximity could be as much hassle as having a HOA--in a different way.

If they're one big happy family, go for it.

 

[pacergal]

Does your list of "Pros" outweigh the "Cons" for selling and moving?
Do you like the idea of many projects at the Aunts house and does living near so many relatives sound good to you?

If you don't like the HOA, but also have no desire to run for a position on it to possibly change and make it better, then leaving is probably your best choice as far as not feeling you are living under "a dictatorship"

Best of Luck in your decision making.

 

[Spock]

I have an HOA. $35/month. No amenities.

I also have neighbors with
*cars in the street with 4 flat tires for years
*weeds knee deep (its a desert, if it's green you're supposed to spray roundup on it).
*garbage cans that sit on the curb in perpetuity
*granny houses built in the back yard
*garages packed to the gills with junk (or turned into a family room) so all the cars are parked in the narrow street.


The HOA management will not take action unless somebody complains, and then they require that the offender be notified who it was that that reported them.

Attend an HOA meeting (or just visit the Nextdoor "group") and the level of stupidity is simply amazing... "We can spend 135K on this and it won't cost us anything because it will come out of the reserve fund". These are the people who are going to vote for the olympic sized swimming pool and club house.

I will never have another house in an HOA. It's just another level of government to be taxed by.

 

[MarieIG]

If you like the neighborhood, then it seems like a good choice.

I have never lived in an HOA. Our neighbors manage to mow their lawn and put out the garbage. They paint their homes whatever color they choose, which is fine by me.

For our next home, we want more space/ bigger lot . . .

 

[ncbill]

And since I live in a townhouse the HOA takes care of everything outside.

It would be cheaper for someone who lived in a SFR and could DIY all the outside maintenance.

That describe my in-laws who have lived in their ranch home for ~60 years with a large yard of mixed landscaping plus an extensive garden.

But since they are now in their 80s the ability to DIY all that won't be around much longer.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I have lived in both. My last house before buying my condo was in a neighborhood where all the houses were built in the 1950’s. Most homes were well kept. Our neighbor had a lot of junk in their backyard but were great people otherwise. We built a tall fence so we couldn’t see it. When we sold last year we had 30 people go through it in less than 3 days and offers over asking. The first thing I did when I bought the condo was to join the board.

 

[Chuckanut]

If people choose to not take on any responsibilities of being involved in an HOA that maintains their property, they are effectively giving control of their property to others.
That's a consequence of the choice.

HOA board members, committee members, etc. are unpaid volunteers who are looking out for what is best for the property owners. People should keep that in mind. Somebody has to look after your property including the property you share with others. If not you, who?