Anyone who has lived in an HOA neighborhood understands the petty politics involved, sometimes the absurd rules - and there’s almost one “narc” who thinks their job is to spy on the neighbors to make sure they’re not adding a non approved deck or keeping their boat in the driveway too long or whatever.
On the other hand, it is 100% voluntary to live in an HOA neighborhood - and they do keep odd ball houses from ruining everyone’s property value.
But not a gov/political issue.
and here is the lovely Czarina of Nudge....
Maya Shankar is a senior policy advisor at the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy. Her mandate is to supervise the organization of a federal government ‘nudge squad’ that will subtly change the behaviors of bureaucrats — and the rest of us. The book ‘Nudge’ has become a bible for advocates of ‘choice architecture’ decision-making in government. (Engineering Evil)
We’re looking for a vacation/future retirement home in Vegas. It’s extremely difficult to find homes not in HOAs. I just won’t have it.
Don’t buy or live in a HOA neighborhood.
If enough people don’t do this, developers will not create them because they will not sell houses.
Ahhhhhh....the trials and tribulations of living with other people. Lawyers make a good living off those trials and tribulations.
I’ll never forget the instructor in the class I had to take to get a gun permit. He was talking about guns in homes, etc. and mentioned he lived in a condo. “Kind of like socialism” he said with a weary expression.
Condos and HOAs are petri dishes for neighborhood tyrannies. If you get decent, level-headed people in management, fine. If you get liberal busybodies who have never had power before, watch out. They will want to spend your money and micromanage your use of your own property. The stories I’ve heard from people have convinced me to avoid them.
When my wife and I first met, she liked them because you could keep from living next to a neighbor with his RV parked out front. From my perspective I said that I would NEVER live in one because I value my OWN freedom too much.
We’re now in agreement. We live next to a guy in a dilapidated single wide, but it’s ok since he’s 500 yards away and 80 feet down in the valley. We don’t see it.
I can’t imagine living in a neighborhood where my neighbors can tell me what color to paint my house.
After 30 years in the mortgage industry as an underwriter, corporate exec and mortgage broker I have counseled people a million times about HOA’s. Just make sure you know what you are getting into before buying in a community with an HOA. There are good points and bad points. Personally I would never ever even consider it.
The Republicans hire Political Scientists. The Democrats hire Sociologists and Psychologists. The Political Scientists can tell you how many Republicans are in each block. The Sociologists and Psychologists can tell you how to get people to vote Democrat. The Republicans can look at the thermometer and tell you the temperature in a room. The Democrats build a fire or open the window to heat or cool the room. The Republican Party “observes”. The Democrat Party “acts”. Which one has a future?
The problem with HOAs is that you can not know the character of same until you are living there, invested. Well, I suppose if you can rent a unit and then query the neighbors. But then, things can change over time, and I’m not only not the busybody type who seeks to surveil his neighbors, but I don’t especially like those who are. It isn’t my preference. But people orders of magnitude more normal than I am may find it to their liking. Even if there were no HOA, I am not a fan of OWNING in that type of clustered, uniform environment. Renting an apartment is fine.
If you want to get a good idea of what is was like to live in east germany during the cold war, buy a house in an HOA ruled subdivision.
It’s like buying your own little slice of the socialist surveillance state. But if that is what you want, don’t whine when you get it.
I have an HOA in Portland - it works quite well for me....but if you want to use a chemical pesticide on bugs another resident threatens lawsuits. We’ve had a few altercations but overall it works quite well. I think it has helped maintain the value of our investment.
On the other hand, the HOA our Seattle condo - everyone lives in one building - was awful.
Lesson: before you buy, read the title report and all the documents listed in the title report. Consider buying extended title insurance. If the title company overlooked something that costs you, you can make a claim.
Back in the early 70’s when condos were first becoming popular in FlyOver-Country, I bought a townhouse in a development that was being converted from apartments to condos.
We had the first developer/homeowners meeting and I got chosen as president. Served two years. More than 50% of the homeowners were upset with me for enforcing one rule or another (”why can’t I have more than the standard two reserved parking spaces?”, etc.). The HOA board had to hire a lawyer to force homeowners to pay their fair allotment for maintenance and repairs.
I was very glad when the two years was up. My first, last and only experience with a HOA.
Back in the early 70’s when condos were first becoming popular in FlyOver-Country, I bought a townhouse in a development that was being converted from apartments to condos.
We had the first developer/homeowners meeting and I got chosen as president. Served two years. More than 50% of the homeowners were upset with me for enforcing one rule or another (”why can’t I have more than the standard two reserved parking spaces?”, etc.). The HOA board had to hire a lawyer to force homeowners to pay their fair allotment for maintenance and repairs.
I was very glad when the two years was up. My first, last and only experience with a HOA.
I’m a fan of good fences and reasonable zoning laws, HOA restrictions and amendments just sort of multiply like bunnies, and heaven help you when a board member loses their job or retires and starts viewing the association as their mission.
Anyone who buys property tied into an HOA or who joins his already owned property to an HOA is giving up all his property rights except the right and obligation to pay the HOA’s taxes on that property.If you give up your rights for security you then have neither. You have more rights with a lease than in an HOA. People sometimes join HOAs so that they don’t have to have neighbors “reducing their property values” by neglecting to paint the right color orr by having the Chevy up on blocks in the yard but, hey, does one believe in private property or not? I may not like what my next door neighbor does to his property but it is his property. I do not own it and do not crave to direct how he is to use his own property. I absolutely abhor the person who buys a house in a neighborhood thinking he has bought rights to the whole neighborhood.
My parents moved to Scottsdale, AZ and they had a HOA. They could not paint their house any color but white. They could not plant anything without approval from the socialists. The mailboxes were grouped half a block away for the neighbors to get their exercise.....
My uncle lived in Rancho Paloes Verdes near Los Angeles. Built his home on 2.5 acres in 1959. Never voted for a HOA but one came along many years later.
They decided to add 2 walls to enclose a porch. The HOA socialists told them what windows they could have.... mind you not a single person can see their home as it has many trees and is in the hills but they held up the building by 6 months. 6 months for 2 walls because of socialists. This is a weekend project to add the walls. Add a few days for 2 coats of paint and moving their stuff in.
They went thru the same problem with the skylight they added later on.
One year a lady showed up at their home who they never saw before and she told them to clean up the property (to her satisfaction). My uncle said he didn’t change a thing and never saw her again. I bet this lady was to busy being a busybody with the other homeowners and forgot about it.
State and local governments have given HOAs have far too much power.
It has been obvious for a long time, at least to anyone paying attention, that state and local governments have granted FAR too much power to Homeowner Associatons. That being the case, anyone at this point in time who purchases property in a development with an HOA deserves everything they get.