Homeowners' Associations

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Permalink Reply by Stephen Brock on December 5, 2008 at 8:47am

I don't live in a HA in the DC area, I don't live in one at all. Mainly I specifically looked for a home without a HA.

I have some friends that say they are great because they "keep your neighbors from painting their houses crazy colors" or "It keeps tehm from letting their house get junky." But, are people afraid to talk to their neighbors? If my neighbor has a rusting car in his front yard, I'll go talk to him. Same if s/he lets their yard get way too high.

Also, I have some friends that havve been "stuck" by home owners associations. I have one friend who had their front screen door get damaged. The "compliance" person was Johnny on the Spot and left written notification that she had two weeks to fix her door or she'd be fined. It also noted that the door had to be approved by the appropriate "committee" which met the second Tuesday of every month.

Great, it was just to bad for her that the next meeting of the committee was one week AFTER she was going to be fined.

Another friend bought a house in a HA, and after moving in was told that the house was noncompliant. It had an illeagal fence that needed to be corrected. Apparently the fence had been out of compliance for three months before he even bought the house. He was forced to make a $3000 repair ASAP. Now that's a welcome to the neightborhood story!!

Also, HA can raise dues, and what if your in the minority? You can get really stuck.

I like my area with no HA. I have no problem talking to my neighbors, and if they get way out of line, chances are that there is a City ordanance or two that is in violation. Hence, I can get teh police, whom I don't have to pay extra, to deal with the issue.

My thoughts.

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Permalink Reply by John Beck on December 8, 2008 at 8:40am

Jessica,

We have lived in Howard County, MD for nearly 2.5 years now and we specifically came to this area because of the HOA's. More specifically we moved from Las Vegas where we lived in Summerlin (Master Planned) community. Summerlin also was built/ Managed by the Rouse Company that built/ managed Columbia, MD. Our experience in Las Vegas was very good.

Although they were very strict with their By-Laws (I got plenty of notices myself), the HOA served it's purpose in many ways and much for the better. I also believe that an HOA can be a nuisance in a sense, however if used properly and reasonably it can be a major benefit to your community (residents) and the overall community (County/ State) as a whole.

Since moving here I have been serving as the President of a Howard County Community that has 70 properties and until recently the Association didn't do much of anything except collect dues. We have since started a Neighborhood Watch Program, Community Fund Raisers, A voice to the County Government for our residence, Cmmunity Websites, etc.

I would be more than happy to speak with you regarding this topic and I will give you the non-biased opinion and sense of reality of the HOA's purpose from my point of view. I also have good and bad tastes about an HOA, however knowing the bad and as a HOA President we can make it a positive experience for all.

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Permalink Reply by Jeanne on January 1, 2009 at 4:13pm

Do you want feedback on condos as well?

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Permalink Reply by Jessica Forres on January 1, 2009 at 5:53pm

Jeanne said:

Do you want feedback on condos as well?

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Permalink Reply by Jessica Forres on January 1, 2009 at 5:54pm

Hi Jeanne,

Yes that would be great! Thank to everyone who responded!

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