Should I live in an HOA?
HOA’s or Home Owner Associations are non-profit organizations that manage a community or neighborhood or homes. Generally it will get turned over to the homeowners once the builders are finished building the community.
Lets go through the Pros and Cons of living in an HOA.
Pros:
1-Security
Many HOA’s will have extra security usually in the form of a gated community. This is great for keeping your family safer as it will be much harder for people who don't belong there to get in. They can also have security guards to patrol at night.
2-Amenities
HOA’s offer many community areas that neighborhoods without HOAs do not have. Public pools, tennis courts, parks, clubhouses, and gyms are common amenities that can be provided to a community.
3-Maintenance
Another benefit of living in an HOA is that they will pay landscapers to maintain the landscape for the community areas and keep the area in a better standard than communities without an HOA.
4-Leadership and Community
HOA’s generally have a board composed of current homeowners who are there to resolve issues in the neighborhood when they arise. They are there to make sure your issues do not go unheard. And when living in an HOA they may plan special events like holiday parties for its members. There is a greater sense of community since you can run into your fellow neighbors in community areas more often.
Cons:
1-Cost
The main drawback of an HOA is usually the cost. Each one is different but you will have to pay either monthly or annually to keep the maintenance levels high and pay for the community amenities. It can also hurt your debt to income ratios when you are thinking about purchasing in a neighborhood with an HOA. You do not want to miss your HOA payments since that can lead to you being foreclosed upon very quickly.
2-Extra Rules and Red Tape
To keep up the higher standard of living in an HOA, there are generally extra rules that are placed . Common examples are noise levels, keeping a higher standard for personal property, keeping trimmed lawns etc.
And if you are planning on doing construction on your home, it will need to be approved by the HOA before you proceed with it. So if you wanted to put in a pool or put certain fencing or a shed in your backyard, it would need to be approved by the HOA.
So in the end, it really depends on what you and your family will want to get out of the home. HOA communities generally are preferred by those who have families since they are generally safer and are a nicer environment to grow up in. Investors however prefer to buy homes not in HOA’s because they want to not pay the extra HOA dues.
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