When purchasing a home, you may notice that many of the homes that you look at are a part of an HOA
or Homeowners Association. Now, what exactly is an HOA or Homeowners Association? A Homeowners
Association is a corporation, non-profit, or some sort of governing body created by the developer
of a community to uphold and enrich the property values. HOAs are run and funded by the residents of
the community and have a board of directors that maintain the day-to-day activities of the HOA. The
board of directors maintains the budget and enforces rules and regulations based on the community
bylaws. The purpose of any good Homeowners Association is to ensure that the community is well
maintained so that the value of your property goes up.
Typically, when you purchase a condo, townhouse, a house in a planned community, or a house in a
gated community you will be a part of an HOA. Once you purchase a property in a community with an
HOA, you automatically become a member of the HOA, and you will be expected to pay your HOA
Dues/HOA Fees on time based on your payment frequency. You will need to make sure you read any
HOA information that you receive from your Escrow Officer or Real Estate agent carefully. Some
information that you receive will be the HOA’s Rules and Regulations, Bylaws and the Declaration of
Covenants, Conditions and Restriction (CC&R’s). These documents will lay out the rules of your
community and the do’s and don’ts of what you can do in your community. For example, if you live in a
condo community your HOA may not allow you to have a cluttered patio area or a gas grill on your patio
area. Or you may have restrictions on how many guests you can have parking in your community on any
given day. You must be aware that if you do not follow the rules of the HOA, they will fine you and send
you a warning notice. So, read over your HOA documents carefully and if you have questions, ask your
Real Estate Agent as soon as you receive these documents from the seller for review during the escrow
process.
Some people absolutely love living in a community that has an HOA, and others will never live in a
community that has an HOA. It is a personal preference when it comes to purchasing a home that is in a
community that has a Homeowners Association. If you are someone who loves living in a community that is well
maintained, has a pool area, fitness center, and recreation center that is inviting and clean then living in
a community with an HOA is for you. If you want the value of your home to remain or increase over
time, then living in a community with an HOA is for you. If you do not mind living in a community that
allows for broken-down cars to line your streets or if you don’t mind your neighbors having a home that
looks like trash with weeds in the yard, foundation cracking, and their home bringing down the value of
your home then a community with no Homeowners Asssociation is for you. Not saying that all communities with no HOA are
like this but there are some.
With all things that come with purchasing a home, there is no exception that there will be pros and cons
to living in a community with or without and HOA. When you are looking at homes, do your research on
the community and don’t be afraid to talk to the people that live in the community. Ask them question
about the community and how they feel about the Homeowners Association. You will be surprised at how willing people are
to talk to their potential new neighbors. You just need to determine if you would like to live in a
community with a Homeowners Association.
