Neighbors want to dissolve HOA

[Anonymous]

Perhaps your city government can implement some rules surrounding “former HOA communities” or “cluster communities” to set certain guidelines on a city level to address some of the bad things that homeowners do that aren’t a law already. Not the color of a door but not parking in front of your own driveway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do not get rid of it. You will need to sue your neighbors to get them to pay for road maintenance if there is no HOA. it Will destroy your neighborhood. If they cared about maintaining the appearance of their Home they wouldn't be against the HOA. The HOA is also your only protection from simplex destroying the neighborhood. You want to protect yourself from the disaster of Arlington zoning.

Possibly dumb question - why does the HOA maintain the road and not the county?
Signed,
Maryland resident

9:43 here again. It doesn't, necessarily. It all depends on what is in the covenant documents, the original zoning approval and what the developer planned for the HOA to do. Some HOAs only have the authority to govern neighborhood aesthetics and external home/yard maintenance. Some are formed with the responsibility to handle contracts for trash, snowplowing or other services for the entire neighborhood (rather than each homeowner hiring those services themselves, and all the additional traffic that might entail in a development of dozens or hundreds of houses). In other cases, the developer promises that the HOA will maintain all of the roads within a development by assessing the HOA members, so the local government doesn't have to cover any related costs except maintenance of water/sewer service (if applicable)--in this case, as was mentioned, it's usually a sweetener to a city or county to approve the development because they won't have to deal with those maintenance/infrastructure costs.

If you dissolve an HOA that only has the power to dictate your external paint color or how soon you have to move your trash cans back in after trash day, that's probably not a huge deal. It's a total other thing to dissolve an HOA that has legal responsibility for the roads, with no legal, confirmed arrangement of who will do it going forward.

[Anonymous]

Comes down to what does the HOA provide and who'll provide that when the HOA's gone.

[Anonymous]

Our HOA maintains a playground, tennis court, basketball court, and some walking trails. They have an architectural review board, but ours neighbors who are original owners said they have never said no to anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Comes down to what does the HOA provide and who'll provide that when the HOA's gone.

+1 Also consider how much it will cost in legal fees to dissolve it.

[Anonymous]

You don't need an HOA to run a neighborhood.

In our Bethesda neighborhood, we have a Citizen's Association. No dues, money comes from our propery taxes (which are sky-high). They help direct funds to maintain our clubhouse, tennis courts, and hold socials several times a year: Halloween parade and party, and various other things.

What we don't miss are the "your fence must be this high and that color!" sort of nightmare. We get all the good things of an HOA without the bad things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

You don't need an HOA to run a neighborhood.

In our Bethesda neighborhood, we have a Citizen's Association. No dues, money comes from our propery taxes (which are sky-high). They help direct funds to maintain our clubhouse, tennis courts, and hold socials several times a year: Halloween parade and party, and various other things.

What we don't miss are the "your fence must be this high and that color!" sort of nightmare. We get all the good things of an HOA without the bad things.

How can your neighborhood use property taxes for neighborhood maintenance?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps your city government can implement some rules surrounding “former HOA communities” or “cluster communities” to set certain guidelines on a city level to address some of the bad things that homeowners do that aren’t a law already. Not the color of a door but not parking in front of your own driveway.

They will not do this in Fairfax County because it is considered racist to make sure that neighbors don't leave trash in their yards now. "Equity" is now prioritized over preventing rat infestations and protecting public health. Americans don't behave well, and one misbehaving person will ruin the neighborhood. We do not live in Japan and people don't have respect for their neighbors or even consistently clean up trash. You need an HOA to enforce basic pro-social behavior, or your neighborhood will go to hell. I suggest that you reconsider dissolving the HOA. The minimum support to dissolve an (in Virginia) HOA is 2/3rds. So you only need to convince 3/10 of your neighbors to vote against it to save your neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

You don't need an HOA to run a neighborhood.

In our Bethesda neighborhood, we have a Citizen's Association. No dues, money comes from our propery taxes (which are sky-high). They help direct funds to maintain our clubhouse, tennis courts, and hold socials several times a year: Halloween parade and party, and various other things.

What we don't miss are the "your fence must be this high and that color!" sort of nightmare. We get all the good things of an HOA without the bad things.

How can your neighborhood use property taxes for neighborhood maintenance?

Same question…we have to hustle people to pay dues.

[Anonymous]

I won’t buy in a neighborhood with an HOA. No thank you.

[Anonymous]

You have to accept HOA packet when you sign your contract. You know the HOA exists. So, why did they move there? Makes no sense, people who move into communities with HOA and want to fight them. Idiots!

[Anonymous]

I avoided them too when looking at homes.

Op, what exactly does your hoa do? Agree if it’s road maintenance or other common areas, I’d keep it. If it’s for personal home maintenance, I’d resolve.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I won’t buy in a neighborhood with an HOA. No thank you.

I live in a non-HOA neighborhood that is proximate to an HOA neighborhood. I've got a lot of friends in those houses, and I'm a member of their FB group so I see a lot of what they discuss and I am so glad I'm not subject to their jurisdiction. They love creating rules, and everything is rife with judgment. I almost joined their book group and have watched it devolve into this very regulated assignment of snack duty with a whole nomination and voting process for their books. They're a sort of parody of themselves. I know some people love HOAs but I avoid like the plague.

[Anonymous]

I agree with posters who recommend looking into the implications for road maintenance or other expensive community issues. But as a counterpoint to the pro-HOA posters, the problem with an HOA is the vibe is dictated by your neighbors, specifically those who volunteer. Even if your neighborhood has a history of lax enforcement or rubber stamping, if a new neighbor with a micromanaging complex moves in and volunteers, you now are subject to their whims. That said, it is odd for people to move in and the. Try to dissolve the association…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are currently looking for a house, but we are only considering HOA communities. There are many benefits to having one.

If it's an upper scale neighborhood, there really is no benefit.