Do you think homeowners associations were ever a good idea?

voldothegr8 posted...

Sounds like you live in a condo. Those are the only pieces of property where an HOA makes sense, because you don't own the land.

No. I rent from a private person. But these are all privately owned house.

Depends on the HOA and the situation. While I hated the one I was in (almost had to sue them because they wanted me to get rid of my dog since he was over the weight limit), had my current home been part of an HOA it would've saved me about $22,000. Meaning when my roof and sewer needed repairs that would've been on them, as is I'm just out of pocket that money which really fucking sucked

RamenNoodles posted...

No. I rent from a private person. But these are all privately owned house.

Hol up, you rent AND pay HOA fees?

JFC

voldothegr8 posted...

Hol up, you rent AND pay HOA fees?

JFC

No I dont pay it.
I live in a nice house and very nice town yet my rent it dirt cheap. Im extremely lucky. The owners didnt raise the rent when it went up everywhere,

Considering they stemmed from redlining, they never should have been legal.

Asherlee10 posted...

I also used to be against HOAs no matter what until I lived in a neighborhood that didn't have one and we moved because it was terrible. Here is mostly what went down:

* Next door neighbor decided to turn his home into an automotive repair shop/racing shop. So we got to hear cars revving at all hours, machinery 7 days a week, and traffic spilling over to the front of our house with parked cars
* Other neighbor stopped living there so they didn't take care of the yard and I spent more time than I care removing snakes and creatures from our yard because of the tall grass and weeds next door
* The neighborhood amenities were fully vandalized and wrecked. So they were abandoned.
* Construction in the neighborhood roads were abysmal. I had to fight a company who ruined our driveway bc they kept turning large machinary around in our driveway and it broke all the concrete.

I live in a neighborhood that doesn't have one for 12 years now and experienced none of that, nor will I because my city enforces ordinances and all neighborhoods are clean with or without HOA. Local taxes are high admittedly, and I understand not all cities/towns are created equal thus it's not an option for everyone. But typically most Americans can find the best of both worlds as I have.

Asherlee10 posted...

Our HOA does a few things that I find beneficial:
Ensure that street parking does not become a regular habit

Never been an issue in any house I've lived it, and I can't imagine it would ever be on one on my cul-de-sac. And even then, I can't imagine I'd care if there was cars regularly parked in front of my house.

Asherlee10 posted...

Maintenance of our community assets
New community assets added about once a year

I use exactly zero community assets. Well, except putting my dog poop bags in the playground trash if necessary, but again, the city maintains that and keeps it clean.

Asherlee10 posted...

Community events (including everyone's favor quarterly large-item trash pickup)

I have never and will never attend community events. The dump is a 5 minute drive, or I can set up a large item trash pickup easily with the city.

Asherlee10 posted...

Yards cannot be wildly overgrown

I couldn't give less of a fuck what other people do with their yards. Make beautiful gardens, use as extra parking, keep trimmed, let it grow, etc. It's their land.

Asherlee10 posted...

Fights the city and county on projects that don't sound great and fights for projects that sound great

I would rather that people in the area should voice their individual concerns to the city - or group together if they want - instead of a singular board determining that stuff. Meanwhile, my city posts public notices of potential projects and asks the public to reach out with ideas or concerns.

Asherlee10 posted...

Negotiates with Texas Guard and police to have regular patrols in the area

I do not want police actively patrolling my street and I live in Canada. In Texas? Jesus Christ no.

Glad you find those things beneficial. Absolutely zero are to me, and are reasons I would never live in a HOA.

HOA's started out okay, but a lot of modern HOA's are too restrictive.

They are absolutely far more bad. For every 1 good quality they might have they have another 50 negative qualities

They wreak havoc on finances unless you're on easy money street.

Nah. Scummy Karens and nosey busybodies