4 ms·

HOAs are not a story of free association. They are a story of privatization. We used to have local government deal with local governance. But local governments

HOAs are not a story of free association. They are a story of privatization. We used to have local government deal with local governance. But local governments decided they didn't want to do that anymore, so they started encouraging the creation of HOAs to deal with all of those pesky local governance issues. If all thar mattered was free association, the fix would be very simple. Enshrine into the the right to leave an HOA. But states won't do that, because once people leave, they will except their local governments to start providing the same services the HOAs do, and all of those local governments are going to complain to the state government.

corysama 2y ago
Felt this when I bought my first house and a week after the sale finalized, my situation changed dramatically and unexpectedly. I needed to move across the country, but the HOA had a strict No Renters clause. So, I had to choose between 1) Spend 30 years paying the mortgage for a house no one can use. 2) Turn around and sell the house I just bought.
- em-bee 2y ago
  that's why i don't like to buy property. presumably you didn't want to just sell again because of the effort involved. if buying and selling was easier and guaranteed to never sell at a loss, then this would not be an issue. how did you resolve the problem?
  - corysama 2y ago
    I ate it. Turned around and sold at a small loss on price, bigger loss on all the costs associated with the process.
    - em-bee 2y ago
      do you think you could have avoided a loss if you were not under pressure to sell, but say, had a few months of time before the move and find a good buyer?
      - corysama 2y ago
        I did have a couple months. Was still rough. However, the market turned downward later and I think the buyer sold at a bigger loss after five years or so. So, could have been worse.
em-bee 2y ago
this is really the crux of the issue. HOAs should really be treated and organized like neighborhood level government councils.

corysama 2y ago

Felt this when I bought my first house and a week after the sale finalized, my situation changed dramatically and unexpectedly. I needed to move across the country, but the HOA had a strict No Renters clause. So, I had to choose between 1) Spend 30 years paying the mortgage for a house no one can use. 2) Turn around and sell the house I just bought.

em-bee 2y ago
that's why i don't like to buy property. presumably you didn't want to just sell again because of the effort involved. if buying and selling was easier and guaranteed to never sell at a loss, then this would not be an issue. how did you resolve the problem?
- corysama 2y ago
  I ate it. Turned around and sold at a small loss on price, bigger loss on all the costs associated with the process.
  - em-bee 2y ago
    do you think you could have avoided a loss if you were not under pressure to sell, but say, had a few months of time before the move and find a good buyer?
    - corysama 2y ago
      I did have a couple months. Was still rough. However, the market turned downward later and I think the buyer sold at a bigger loss after five years or so. So, could have been worse.

em-bee 2y ago

this is really the crux of the issue. HOAs should really be treated and organized like neighborhood level government councils.