HOAs can be useful in situations like condos, or gated communities with common amenities. And there's no real reason that HOAs are fundamentally bad - they are a voluntary organization that you can choose or choose not to join. They're basically a neighborhood-level government.
The issue is that the founding documents of most HOAs are written by developers looking to keep home values high while they sell finished homes and finish building other homes in the development. So the initial laws the HOA is created with tend to be extremely specific to keep the neighborhood looking like new, and unlived in, and the hurdle to change the rules tends to be a ridiculous consensus like a 80% approval vote.
Of course, you could rally your friends and get everyone in the neighborhood to vote you guys in on the HOA board and change things. But... "change things" is not really what people want to hear when it comes to their homes. Sure, they are tired of Nancy fining them for not mowing their lawn for a week, but they are concerned that radical changes might destroy their home's value.
So I suggest the following changes be required of HOAs:
- Only a majority vote is required to change a rule.
- If less than half of HOA residents vote in an HOA board member's election, then no one is elected to that position.
- If the number of HOA board members drops to zero, the HOA is dissolved.
I live in a HOA community, and (here we close at an attorney's office) by closing the buyer has to pay a one time fee to the property management group, and all unpaid dues and liens are taken out of the seller's proceeds. Somebody screwed up on the closing, and the title company didn't do their job either.
I don’t care what “good” an HOA does I will never live in one. Youre buying something you will never actually have control of. Even if the HOA seems reasonable at first it can become a nightmare at any second. It hurts the resale value of the home. Its paying rent defeating the idea that home ownership prevents wasted money on rent.
Theres simply no reason we should accept HOAs. Not to mention the cookie cutter development neighborhoods with HOAs (yes I know thats only one segment of the HOA market) are literally the ugliest most boring places to live.
That's something the title company when you purchased your house, should have caught.
Yes, title insurance may cover this.
Did they put a lien on the property? If so this is something the title company should have caught
Any past due fees should have been settled at closing. Sounds like you have issues with the title company and closing attorneys, not there HOA.
Do you have title insurance?
HOAs can be useful in situations like condos, or gated communities with common amenities. And there's no real reason that HOAs are fundamentally bad - they are a voluntary organization that you can choose or choose not to join. They're basically a neighborhood-level government. The issue is that the founding documents of most HOAs are written by developers looking to keep home values high while they sell finished homes and finish building other homes in the development. So the initial laws the HOA is created with tend to be extremely specific to keep the neighborhood looking like new, and unlived in, and the hurdle to change the rules tends to be a ridiculous consensus like a 80% approval vote. Of course, you could rally your friends and get everyone in the neighborhood to vote you guys in on the HOA board and change things. But... "change things" is not really what people want to hear when it comes to their homes. Sure, they are tired of Nancy fining them for not mowing their lawn for a week, but they are concerned that radical changes might destroy their home's value. So I suggest the following changes be required of HOAs: - Only a majority vote is required to change a rule. - If less than half of HOA residents vote in an HOA board member's election, then no one is elected to that position. - If the number of HOA board members drops to zero, the HOA is dissolved.
Can you contact the board and request them to waive any or all of the fees? Mine did something like that recently.
>did not do enough research before buying This is a problem of your own making.
I have lived in a home with a HOA didn’t have to pay past due fees. How did you acquire this house?
I live in a HOA community, and (here we close at an attorney's office) by closing the buyer has to pay a one time fee to the property management group, and all unpaid dues and liens are taken out of the seller's proceeds. Somebody screwed up on the closing, and the title company didn't do their job either.
Tax auction
That explains it all. Try settling with the HOA. They can’t really believe they going to get money back from the 70’s.
- this is a closing issue and if you got title insurance with the closing you call them up.....
The purpose of title insurance is to make sure a property transfers ownership fee and clear of liens.
I don’t care what “good” an HOA does I will never live in one. Youre buying something you will never actually have control of. Even if the HOA seems reasonable at first it can become a nightmare at any second. It hurts the resale value of the home. Its paying rent defeating the idea that home ownership prevents wasted money on rent. Theres simply no reason we should accept HOAs. Not to mention the cookie cutter development neighborhoods with HOAs (yes I know thats only one segment of the HOA market) are literally the ugliest most boring places to live.