The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of a Home Owner’s Association

Home Owners Association, better known as the “HOA” have become “Big Brother” of many communities. These associations were formed to ensure neighborhoods remained esthetically pleasing to owners and visitors and a more uniform look and feel remained balanced. However, as the years have passed home owners associations have changed the rules, bylaws and guidelines for living comfortably in your castle.

When we make a purchase as important as a home we’d like to think we could do just about anything but developers err on the side of uniformity and like-minded individuals who’d rather ensure their homes bring increasing value. And when you get right down to the reasoning of an HOA, you must ask yourself; is it really all that bad to keep your community looking good?

While taking a pragmatic view of the Home Owners Association the good effects really outweigh the bad; your bylaws explain what you can and cannot do in your community. This is essentially an agreement between you and the community that you signed off on when you moved in and it’s the HOA’s responsibility to ensure you live up to your agreement.

What many people do not realize is that you have the right to call the HOA before you buy a home. You can ask questions to make sure you are willing to live by all the regulations set forth for that community. No one really goes through the trouble of inquiring what the guidelines are before purchasing a home and that is one of the biggest problems.

The HOA determines:

• What type of fence you can install and specifically where on your property you can install it;
• What style and color deck you can build and the dimensions of the deck;
• What day and time you are able to place your garbage bin outside on garbage day and how long it can remain out before you are fined;
• Whether basketball courts, swimming pools, bar-b-cue grills or the color, type and style of your front door are within the guidelines of that community

In simple terms – you must ask your HOA for permission to change, install or erect anything on your property. Why? Suppose you’re trying to sell your home and your neighbor wants to paint their front door a designer’s psychedelic color? How many people will purchase your home knowing they will have to live next to Picasso, never knowing what color’s he’ll use next?

This is why the HOA ensures uniformity and you never have to worry about crazy colors or embarrassing statues suddenly appearing on someone’s front lawn. But not everyone enjoys living under the rule of a Home Owner’s Association.

There will always be those who love to rule with an iron fist; and then you have some people who are not ethically and morally capable of handling an HOA position.

The developer first places HOA board members there and when the community is complete the new board is then voted in by a quorum of homeowners. Each position has a certain term limit and each position comes with a clause that many feel is unfair.

Board members are insured, payable with community funds, against any lawsuits; meaning you cannot sue them based on their decisions whether good or bad.

A board position comes with a lot of power and many homeowners do not enjoy having rules enforced especially when it’s easy for malicious intent. Cars towed, fines combined, requests denied and funds misused; any number of issues pop up when board members and homeowners views are conflicting and then combative. Oh yes! Many issues have turned into bloody noses and black eyes.

So how do you resolve issues with the HOA? Just about all bylaws explain how to remove the board of directors from the HOA. Or you could take the easy route before you move into a new community and call your HOA management company to ask questions.

Be sure to note the most important aspects of your happiness in your new home such as should you want to change the color of your front door or entire house, what colors have been approved? Asking plenty of questions now can resolve lots of headaches down the road.