Do You Really Want To Live In A 55+ Community?

[RetiredHappy]

$7000 for 3 HOA dues per year?? Incredible. I pay more than twice that for 1. YMMV

Does your HOA cover any part of your home or amenities? Ours does not cover anything. The 3 HOAs simply cover general / public area landscaping and 24x7 guards, and maintenance of a privately own lake.

 

[rembrandt]

From what I've read the vast majority of HOAs are run by reasonable people. Of course what is "reasonable" varies widely, but in 22 years of living here we've had no issues and very little contact with the HOA, and what contact there has been was benign. But if someone moves into a HOA community and then wants to paint their house purple with orange stripes to show their individuality, then yeah, they're gonna have issues.

I'd have little sympathy for someone who doesn't bother to read the covenants before buying and then whines about the "HOA-nazis". That's just asking for trouble.

Remember, all the Nazis did not move to Argentina!

 

[Koolau]

From what I've read the vast majority of HOAs are run by reasonable people. Of course what is "reasonable" varies widely, but in 22 years of living here we've had no issues and very little contact with the HOA, and what contact there has been was benign. But if someone moves into a HOA community and then wants to paint their house purple with orange stripes to show their individuality, then yeah, they're gonna have issues.

I'd have little sympathy for someone who doesn't bother to read the covenants before buying and then whines about the "HOA-nazis". That's just asking for trouble.

Agreed. Most board members are reasonable because they are bounded by the same rules. If someone nit-pics a person, that person can nit-pic others. For the most part, the rules are in place for folks who want to abide them.

The occasional infraction is typically inadvertent and corrected with a word from the resident manager.

Our biggest sin has been our screens getting dirty. They're up high and not something we even notice as a rule. I'd say we've been "warned" twice in 15 years. I just drag out the vac and clean them in 2 minutes.

Actually, the "offense" is the most common - so common that a flier comes out at least once a year with "time to clean our screens." Usually, that's all it takes.

 

[Koolau]

Does your HOA cover any part of your home or amenities? Ours does not cover anything. The 3 HOAs simply cover general / public area landscaping and 24x7 guards, and maintenance of a privately own lake.

Well, ours is a concrete building that needs to be painted every 8 years. Things like elevators and public lighting are maintained (as well as a generator for these two items).

So, yes, the building is maintained by the HOA.

 

[RetiredHappy]

Well, ours is a concrete building that needs to be painted every 8 years. Things like elevators and public lighting are maintained (as well as a generator for these two items).

So, yes, the building is maintained by the HOA.

We live in a single family home.

 

[Teacher Terry]

My condo has a hoa and I’m on the board. It’s a lot of work and I’m now the president. There’s been ups and downs of course.

 

[Koolau]

My condo has a hoa and I’m on the board. It’s a lot of work and I’m now the president. There’s been ups and downs of course.

I feel kinda sorry for you - and our board does a good j*b and is reasonably respected. You've accepted quite a responsibility. Good for you

 

[audreyh1]

I’ve never owned a home that wasn’t in an HOA. The rules never seemed extreme to me. Around here some of the areas outside our development look like a nightmare - run down trailer homes next to huge mansions, really bad looking RV parks next to beautiful RV parks and in between. I sometimes joke that part of our drive home looks like an old Mexico retail district. I’m not interested in a large property that hides the neighbors but that we have to maintain. One of our amenities here is weekly yard maintenance and it is very much appreciated that we don’t have to do yard work. It’s a small yard as well which is fine with me. Also our neighborhood is quite quiet, lots of walkers and cyclists, few cars.

 

[ncbill]

Lived in for decades a townhouse with a HOA...the secret is to serve on the board yourself.

I'd likely never choose a 55+ community.

What if something happens to a kid and we have to take in grandkids?

 

[rembrandt]

Lived in for decades a townhouse with a HOA...the secret is to serve on the board yourself.

I'd likely never choose a 55+ community.

What if something happens to a kid and we have to take in grandkids?

If they are 55, you will be OK.

 

[sengsational]

If I don't like how our HOA is handling things, I'm pretty sure I could be president; they're always begging to get people to be on the board and nobody wants to volunteer.

But mine is a neighborhood of working people, not and overwhelming amount of retirees. If you had a little power in your job, and they put you out to pasture, the HOA might appeal to that bossy aspect of your personality...so the kind of person the HOA attracts might be one who likes to get noticed. Thankfully our HOA isn't staffed with that type, or they've at least left me alone. Just the occasional legit "bad boy notice" over 30 years.

 

[Midpack]

All our last three homes were in HOA neighborhoods, fortunately none were too bad, and the current one is completely reasonable.

TBH the last one was decent, it was the residents that were unreasonable PITAs - I went to a couple meetings where they screamed at the volunteer HOA board for hours. Mostly they wanted lower dues and way more services, often services that would benefit a minority of homeowners. It was ridiculous.

As a side note, that last neighborhood was on a good sized manmade lake - properly maintaining a lake and keeping non resident fishermen off is an expensive proposition. Just as I wouldn’t live on a golf course neighborhood, I wouldn’t pay dues to maintain a private lake again either.

 

[Lewis Clark]

I've lived in HOA communities for over three decades, and have served on the boards for 11 years. In my experience, all of the problems were created by homeowners who intentionally chose to ignore the rules.

If people move into an HOA or condo community they should be willing to follow the community rules.

If people don't want to adhere to community rules they should avoid HOA and condo communities.

 

[badatmath]

If I ever move I'll never live in an HOA again. The president breaks the most rules. . . no one wants the job cause they community is very small (less than 50 houses). . . but my main issue is they do not fund/waste the reserves (legal per state law) . . . they don't cover my property but street maintenance and so forth so we are expecting a large assessment. One meeting a year which no one attends basically. . .

I wouldn't be very popular on the board as I'd rip out the cluster of bushes up front that provides a nice shady screen for people to stop and shoot up drugs. . . I'd put some flowers or something so it wasn't bare but NOT something tall.

Some day I hoped to move but it doesn't look good for now.

 

[audreyh1]

Lived in for decades a townhouse with a HOA...the secret is to serve on the board yourself.

I'd likely never choose a 55+ community.

What if something happens to a kid and we have to take in grandkids?

So you keep a certain home just in case you’d have to take in the grandkids?

 

[ncbill]

So you keep a certain home just in case you’d have to take in the grandkids?

No, but in such a situation we'd have to move if we were already living in a 55+ community.

No plans to move from our current place, with a HOA, but not a 55+ community.

 

[Aerides]

I’ve never owned a home that wasn’t in an HOA. The rules never seemed extreme to me. Around here some of the areas outside our development look like a nightmare - run down trailer homes next to huge mansions, really bad looking RV parks next to beautiful RV parks and in between. I sometimes joke that part of our drive home looks like an old Mexico retail district. I’m not interested in a large property that hides the neighbors but that we have to maintain. One of our amenities here is weekly yard maintenance and it is very much appreciated that we don’t have to do yard work. It’s a small yard as well which is fine with me. Also our neighborhood is quite quiet, lots of walkers and cyclists, few cars.

This is a big deal to me. My parents now live in a 55+ HOA, and they love it. They have no need for outside maintenance, painting, power washing, gardening, etc. Given they live in S.Fla, my sister and I were very glad for this, as we weren't sure if my Dad was ever going to give up mowing the lawn otherwise.

They have a nice clubhouse and bocce courts (they play). They have onsite pickle ball and tennis courts, a security gate, and plenty of neighbors in their peer group.

Their HOA fee also includes their cable/internet.

In S.Fla, many of these communities are quite upscale, newer builds, but cheaper than their comparable non-55 neighborhoods, which would all still be HOA. So a SFH 700k house can be found for less than 600k, but it's very easy to spend well north of 1M especially for a bigger home, lake views, etc.

 

[Dtail]

This is a big deal to me. My parents now live in a 55+ HOA, and they love it. They have no need for outside maintenance, painting, power washing, gardening, etc. Given they live in S.Fla, my sister and I were very glad for this, as we weren't sure if my Dad was ever going to give up mowing the lawn otherwise.

They have a nice clubhouse and bocce courts (they play). They have onsite pickle ball and tennis courts, a security gate, and plenty of neighbors in their peer group.

Their HOA fee also includes their cable/internet.

In S.Fla, many of these communities are quite upscale, newer builds, but cheaper than their comparable non-55 neighborhoods, which would all still be HOA. So a SFH 700k house can be found for less than 600k, but it's very easy to spend well north of 1M especially for a bigger home, lake views, etc.

Interesting on the price comment. The Villages for example are clearly higher price per sq ft vs our New Tampa suburban HOA developments.

 

[Sunset]

If I ever move I'll never live in an HOA again. The president breaks the most rules. . . no one wants the job cause they community is very small (less than 50 houses). . . but my main issue is they do not fund/waste the reserves (legal per state law) . . . they don't cover my property but street maintenance and so forth so we are expecting a large assessment. One meeting a year which no one attends basically. . .

I wouldn't be very popular on the board as I'd rip out the cluster of bushes up front that provides a nice shady screen for people to stop and shoot up drugs. . . I'd put some flowers or something so it wasn't bare but NOT something tall.

Some day I hoped to move but it doesn't look good for now.

Run for the board.
If you are going to stay there, might as well fix some of the things that bug you.

 

[RetiredHappy]

All our last three homes were in HOA neighborhoods, fortunately none were too bad, and the current one is completely reasonable.

TBH the last one was decent, it was the residents that were unreasonable PITAs - I went to a couple meetings where they screamed at the volunteer HOA board for hours. Mostly they wanted lower dues and way more services, often services that would benefit a minority of homeowners. It was ridiculous.

As a side note, that last neighborhood was on a good sized manmade lake - properly maintaining a lake and keeping non resident fishermen off is an expensive proposition. Just as I wouldn’t live on a golf course neighborhood, I wouldn’t pay dues to maintain a private lake again either.

One of our HOAs is to pay for the private lake, $153 per month. We don't use it but it's nice to look at. I don't mind it as it is not exorbitant. The constant gripe with people outside the community is the jealousy of our community. They are continually taking to social media like Next Door,, complaining that those rich people living there can keep a huge private lake and as a result, wastage of water when we are in water crisis.

The expensive HOA is the one paying for the 24x7 guards, which I would not change a thing.

 

[Gremlin]

The only two HOA neighborhoods I’ve lived in have had few rules, mainly regarding the number/kind of livestock you can have on your property. We just recently voted to allow a few chickens, which were previously prohibited. I don’t think we’re the 55+ community type. Although when one or the other of us passes or gets seriously disabled (hopefully a long time from now) that will probably change. And I’m okay with that!

 

[CaptTom]

We pay 3 HOAs, which don't cover anything related to our home and we don't live in an active 55 community. We love living in a HOA environment even though we pay about $7000 a year. It keeps out the riff raff.

I think I'm the riff raff y'all want to keep out.

Don't worry. I'll never buy into an HOA. Municipal, county, state and national governments have more than enough rules already. I'm not about to allow myself to be subjugated to yet another layer of politicians.

 

[Aerides]

Interesting on the price comment. The Villages for example are clearly higher price per sq ft vs our New Tampa suburban HOA developments.

I think the Villages is unique in that it's got national appeal to a demographic. I see no reason to live in florida somewhere I can't drive to the beach for afternoon!

But down here in SE fla, particularly once you get about 5 miles or more inland, 55+ neighborhoods are more common - especially in areas that were built up in the last 30 years, Palm Beach County. (think west Delray, Boynton Beach) - and the medical community is aware, as is Publix - can't throw a stone without hitting a doctors's office!

 

[imjustawarrior]

My parents moved to a 55+ apartment a few years ago. I'm so glad they did. They got rid of a bunch of stuff and sold the house. It will make settling their estate much easier. But the real reason I am glad is that my mother passed less than a year after they moved. I would have hated for my dad to be alone in the house. He now has a community around him. It is an awesome place. I have visited him many times and stayed there for up to a week. The people are friendly. There are a lot of activities. They help each other. I have not seen any thing negative there.

 

[Dtail]

I think the Villages is unique in that it's got national appeal to a demographic. I see no reason to live in florida somewhere I can't drive to the beach for afternoon!

But down here in SE fla, particularly once you get about 5 miles or more inland, 55+ neighborhoods are more common - especially in areas that were built up in the last 30 years, Palm Beach County. (think west Delray, Boynton Beach) - and the medical community is aware, as is Publix - can't throw a stone without hitting a doctors's office!

Yeah agree on the Villages comment.