Home Owners Associations

[2putz]

Some of my friends have got me a bit worried about the dreaded the role of HOAs (Home Owners Association) if we end up buying in an active adult community. I hear horror stories about wacko board members, restrictive rules, big assessments. Anybody have any tips for how to figure out (in advance!) whether the HOA is going to be allright in any of the places we end up considering?

[honcho2]

It is worth it to spend the time researching the quality of the HOA. Talk with other residents and the owners with a list of questions. Interview the HOA officers. We had the good fortune to be buying at the time of the annual meeting, which we were invited to. That is an unbelievably good way to see what is going on. The most important things are to see that there is an active board in place that is managing proactively - forseeing problems and setting aside maintenance money to fix them, and that they are holding regular meetings and acting reasonably. The worst 4 things in my book are:
1. Failure to address maintenance issues in time
2. Passing crazy regulations that please only a minority of residents
3. Overspending on projects that don't have a clear payback
4. Not taking responsibility for the association

[wired2retire]

With regard to HOA and CONDO associations/properties be very careful - investigate the prior assessments and interview the board, don't let them interview you- Some of these boards are out of control. There is very little oversight and in florida and no adult supervision. Assessments can ruin your financial plans. Just remember that the beautiful clubhouse pool etc. are all part of the property you are purchasing, and some one has to pay and ensure that the maintenance and management of the property is done effectively. Once the builder leaves this is often left up to disinterested self important directors- you can end up with a massive problem.

[Richard]

A high quality HOA can be worth a lot and that fact will definitely play a role for our research.

[62andout]

I agree with the sentiments expressed here. HOA's are double edged swords - when they are good they are very helpful. When they are bad they can ruin your life. So check them out.

On the bad side i have seen HOA's that had so many rules they turned the residents into vigilantes. I have been screamed at because I was jogging without a shirt on a hot Florida day.

On the good side they carefully budget for rainy days, establish sinking funds for major maintenance, and carefully put projects out to qualified bidders through requests for proposals.

These days with so many foreclosures, they are even more important. Skillful handling of that issue can make a big difference.