Today I wanted to talk to you about Home Owners Associations. Yeah, you know the neighborhood police that some people sometimes think that they are.
Sometimes I think that the HOAs get a really bad rap and I’ll tell you why. The reason that you bought in that subdivision many times it’s because you liked the way the subdivision looked and felt when you drove through.
Remember? You drove out there and there was a great entry way with the wonderful sign, some beautiful flowers, manicured shrubbery, etc. So immediately your first impression of the neighborhood was, “Wow, this is probably a great place to live.”
Then you wandered through and there was a pool, clubhouse, walking trails, park for your children to play in. That was all great. You pay those monthly fees to help maintain those areas and you’re happy.
They also had restrictions in there; what you can do with your personal property. Why? To take over your property? Absolutely not! Not to be bossy.
You don’t want your neighbor next door to all of a sudden have his grass growing up to knee-high. You want to be able to know that whoever moves in and out of the neighborhood is still going to maintain their property in the manner in which the subdivision was originally established.
Conversation With A Client About HOAs
One time I had a buyer in a car with me and he was just adamant he was not going to buy in a neighborhood that had a Homeowners Association.
As we’re pulling into the subdivision there was a great entry way, and he said to me, “Lisa, what’s your feeling on Homeowners Association’s?”
I looked and I said, “Well you see that sign?”
He said, “Yeah.”
I said, “What do you see?”
He said, “Well it’s a nice entry.”
I said, “Yeah. It’s got some pretty flowers, great shrubs, all the letters are on the sign. It looks really good. What do you think about the neighborhood?”
“Oh, if that’s an indication it’s probably well maintained.”, he said.
I said, “Okay, so let’s say what if you pulled in and that monument sign was crumpling, there were dead flowers, overgrown shrubberies, half of the letters were missing, you didn’t even know what the name of the subdivision was; what would be your impression then?”
He goes, “Um, point well taken.”
HOA’s Help Protect Your Investment
You know they’re not there just to rule your life. HOAs there to help protect your investment.
Your home is your biggest investment and you want it to be maintained and you want to make sure that the value stay there, that the integrity of the neighborhood remains.
That’s why the HOA is really there. It’s not to make your life more difficult. It’s to help you maintain the beauty of your neighborhood so that when you get ready to resale somebody else is going to want it just as bad as you did.
So, come on, HOAs really aren’t that bad. I know there are a few that carry it a little far, so maybe your grass gets about ½ inch too high, all of a sudden there’s a notice and threaten to fine, but those are not the norm. There are just a few that like that little dictatorship, but as a whole they’re really there to help you and protect your home.