In defense of HOAs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I used to live in a community with an HOA and had to comply with all their rules though it was occasionally annoying. Now I’m in the Town of Vienna and there’s no HOA. It’s about 50/50 new construction vs. old homes. The new construction lawns are all trim and pleasant to look at, but a good number of the older home owners have given up and let their fences fall apart and let the weedy vines take over. Unpleasant to look at and even more unpleasant to deal with when they border us.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I used to live in a community with an HOA and had to comply with all their rules though it was occasionally annoying. Now I’m in the Town of Vienna and there’s no HOA. It’s about 50/50 new construction vs. old homes. The new construction lawns are all trim and pleasant to look at, but a good number of the older home owners have given up and let their fences fall apart and let the weedy vines take over. Unpleasant to look at and even more unpleasant to deal with when they border us.

+1

Then buy in a tract subdivision where all homes are the same, or in the HOA communities or in gated estate communities. Problem solved. It's why these places exist. You want cheaper prices you will have to deal with living among people with lesser means and their crappy homes, weeds, chain link fences, cluttered carports and multiple junky cars. This is a feature, not a bug. until they all die out, or sell. But some are starting to pass their homes onto their kids who don't look like they make a lot of money either to keep up to your standards, just hope they sell to cash out (unlikely if they need a place to live) and have fun with construction noise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm in a no-HOA neighborhood in Cook County IL that is considered "good" (10/10 on Great Schools) and from my kitchen window I can see the following:
Work van parked in front of my house advertising "FURNICE REPAIR". It has been there on and off for almost 10 years.
One house with 6+ cars in yard/driveway
Two houses with foot-tall grass/weeds
One house with bushes so overgrown you cannot see the house
One house with falling-over fence that has "F*CK TRUMP" spraypainted on it
and one where "artists" live who have filled their entire front yard with flamingos and broken pottery.
The rest of the houses are pristine.

Why don't you move?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The problem is that VA has very unsophisticated and weak laws meant to prevent abusive HOAs and their idiot board members from infringing on residents’ rights. Fortunately, the courts occasionally step in and address the worst abuses, but it’d be nice if VA got off its butt and enacted meaningful protections (like CA has, for example).

HOAs and boards in VA can get away with murder. And the incompetent third-rate lawyers who tend to represent HOAs are some of the worst, most corrupt idiots I’ve ever encountered in 20 years practicing law.

You revived this THREE year old thread to say this??

How long did you have to dig to find this one??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yep. I liven in a very quirky, charming neighborhood with complete freedom for 18 years. Moved to a perfectly manicured slice of Camazotz.

I love it. It’s just so darn relaxing not to have to worry about other people’s trash etc. Everything just always looks good.

To each his own!

I applaud you for moving to where you like it, instead of telling people who lived in a neighborhood for far longer than you to move to rural land because they don't have the funds or health to keep up with shiny new mcMansions and their owner's tastes and budgets, and newly overpriced landscapers/contractors.

Is there anyone on this thread to trying to impose an HOA on a non-HOA community? I think people are just reflecting on the differences.

FWIW, I didn’t move because of the HOA, I moved because the house with the location and other features I wanted happen to be in an HOA community. I was pretty ignorant about a HOAs (despite reviewing the document before closing) and it was a rude shock when a month or so after moving in I got a polite letter regarding my trash bin storage! I scowled, and then laughed, and realized that the OCD HOA is why everything looks good all the time. It’s what I signed up for and so I’m good with it. I definitely don’t think HOAs should be imposed on those who don’t want them, though. I don’t really see anyone advocating for that, luckily.

Yes... There was some notice about some neighbors apparently trying to get together with others in the community to see if.. there is enough interest to start an HOA or some sort of neighborhood standards association. It is possible if there are enough people who want it from what I understand. Not necessarily easy to do, but not impossible either. Am I wrong?

Of course there was enough flaming for the simple reason of possible extra measly HOA fee.. They didn't even mention the real problem - not being able to afford to keep up certain appearances, like changing fences or landscaping or hiring professionals or not storing stuff in driveways or carports, etc. Also, the premise of HOA, they way it was getting sold is "community building and safety", nobody is obtuse enough like one of the entitled posters here to publicly say anything about keeping up certain standard of appearances.

I can 100% guarantee that the person posting these bizarre anti-HOA screeds is absolutely the reason that HOAs exist. I’m sure that they have many interesting “collections” on their property and a wildly overgrown front yard “for the insects.”

I’ll put $50 on them describing themselves as ”spiritual.”

I can 100% guarantee that the creator of this thread and the entitled commenter is a disappointed buyer of an overpriced new build in a middle class neighborhood next to old houses hoping that they will turn around and chain link fences and messy carports will be gone, but it's taking so long..what to do? New houses are popping up more and more in areas where people with much more modest means used to live and still do. Prudent to assume people will continue living they way they used to. GL with the HOA, not going to happen.

As far as grass vs. natural lawns, it's preference. Some very expensive homes you cannot afford have them, not because they cannot pay for the landscaper, but because it's a personal preference and it's in these days. You just have more pedestrian...tastes.

This. My neighborhood in FCC (Broadmont) is full of beautiful older homes with natural lawns. There’s barely any inventory and most of it is well over $1m.

Having an HOA that enforces spraying chemicals all over your Stepford looking lawn is not the high class signal OP thinks it is.