I was talking with a couple my wife used to work for. My wife was a hospice aid for the ladies mom. Anyway, these people live a stones throw away from Detroit, MI.

They said ONE of their homes is in an HOA and they pay $400 a month in fees. I thought they were joking. Apparently, I don't get out much.

Then I read that 75,000,000 Americans live in HOA communities.

Does anyone have to deal with that?

Is it a retirement or age restricted community? I have a friend that has a house in one, and the fee seems to pay for clubhouse access, lawn maintenance, exterior house work (paint and roof), trash and bulk pickup etc. Still pricey though.

I’d never put myself in a position to have to ask permission to do anything on my own property no way. I would not live in town even but the mental midgets Karen’s are everywhere where so limit your exposure. We have a county commission that like to abuse their power for their own amusement.

Both good and bad to HOA's. Luckily, you have a choice if you want to abide or not.

ol' dad

If the HOA is included in your title ( deed) you owe it the will attach the arrears HOA fees to the sale of the house. The HOA will get their money.

Yes. And when you purchase the title, you are agreeing to the HOA's terms. Don't like the terms, don't purchase the title.

ol' dad

Grew up in an apartment. when I was a kid I didn't know any different so it was not bad. Have lived in 3 different houses in the country since I moved out on my own.. First was a rental 2nd bought a house and 2 acres( still own it) Today I live on 96 acers and still feel crowded. New houses are going up on small pieces of land everywhere.

Its bitter sweet. More traffic, higher taxes, All the problems that come with having people around. On the other hand property value is 5x or more than what I paid for it and climbing and I will have a larger customer base for ag tourism and events. Im torn between selling out and building it up.

There is absolutely no way I will or would ever live anywhere with a HOA the county is bad enough.

Edit after some thought. Looks like I lied. Mom's condo she picked out and wanted I guess has a hoa or at least a board. And I live there more than 50% of the time or at least shower and sleep. I would never personally have chosen any place like it. They keep raising the fees but other than that it works well for mom. its a 9 story building with 127 units. limited access into the building and no yard to mow and limited up keep. 5 minutes from everything. So works for her.

Here you buy a 1/4 acre lot or 1/4 of a section the hobby size properties are tough to find most lots with a few acres are family selling to family. The 1/4 lots are some farmer looking for maximum return on investment kind of money.

trappers and HOAs don't go well together unless your the guy they pay big $$ to deal with their issues and quietly make them go away.

my parents condo in FL is an HOA , basically every condo in the country is an HOA

the HOA owns the grounds and the outside of the building , roof , siding , you own the windows. the interior and your mechanicals.

you can only replace windows with HOA approved windows

a majority of houses built in sub divisions in the last 25 years are HOA

every gated community is an HOA

some are fairly chill , but so so so many have a HOA Karen as the prez , there is a power dynamic that almost can't be voted out , they don't have to hold open meetings , they can basically decide anything , it can be very bad.

[video:youtube]https://youtu.be/ZQNBVsLR5F0?feature=shared[/video]
I couldn't do it. I'd live in a tent in the woods if it came to that.

Go to You=tube and listen to some of the HOA "Karen" stories.

X2

No I like being my own sheriff

I live in pa but own some land in wv. My land is in a hoa. Not many rules, can't subdivide your land, no mobile homes, couple other ones, not bad, I can trap, hunt shoot ride dirt bikes. $100 a year for road maintenance, its a gravel rd that we maintain.
My house in pa has alot more rules from the township, no hoa.
When I was shopping for land there were alot of hoa properties in wv, mostly for road maintenance but some had a bunch of restrictions and higher cost.

Most of the hoa in pa are town houses where people dont want to pick up a snow shovel or mow their grass so they pay for the hoa to get people to do it. I used to plow snow for a townhouse complex. Made good $. Most were rentals or older people.

I have a trapper friend who lives in a pretty nice neighborhood, Bill Gates's ex-wife lives on one side of him, and Jeff Bezos ex-wife lives on the other side.
I'd love to see his neighbors reaction if they knew what goes on inside his garage.

I can understand having rules. I don't like the idea of paying $4,800 a year to have someone dispute every thing I do. I guess you could argue that taxes do the same thing.

I install tile so i work in these type places all the time but would never live in one. Paint your front door the wrong color and the golf cart police will roll up on you.

I live in a condo complex on 72 beautiful acres. Residents must be 55. No kids. We have about 30 clusters with 4-8 units per cluster. The rolling grounds are beautiful and the property is maintained in a park like manner. We have a 11 man grounds crew, a property manager, and a secretary. Hurricane Helene did $2.6 million in damages to trees, units, and a bridge. I didn’t lift a finger to clean up my yard. I’m not going to quote my HOA fees, but suffice it to say it is well north of $400 per month and increases most every year.

My final move will be to a senior living complex that will be built in two years. It will have hobby shops, restaurants, a cocktail bar, a fitness center, indoor pool, all types of entertainment, a bank, and a medical wing. We can stay there regardless of our health needs. Fortunately, the builder is my son’s father-in-law. Tenants will own their units and they can pass their units to children after death, or can be sold at any time.