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The nominal answer is that HOAs are membership associations to which owners in a condo building or neighborhood are sometimes obligated to join. The homeowners

The nominal answer is that HOAs are membership associations to which owners in a condo building or neighborhood are sometimes obligated to join. The homeowners pool dues every month to cover things like garbage collection, building maintenance, etc. The HOA also acts as a governing body over the building's residents, and is free to impose any number of rules and restrictions on usage, design, etc., in anything defined as a "common area" (chiefly, any part of the building that is outside the airspace of the condo interiors). Some HOAs set additional restrictions on what you can do inside your condo, provided that activity, construction, design, etc., affects the neighboring units in any way. Above and beyond their common-area jurisdictions, many HOAs are free to establish "house rules," which are arbitrary and binding restrictions on just about anything that the HOA board happens to dislike. The cynical answer is that HOAs are legal fictions set up to shelter building developers from the financial burdens and liabilities of having to pay for, or be on the hook for, any of those services or maintenance needs. HOAs are the greatest invention in favor of real estate developers since the timeshare.

Huppie 12y ago
I'm not entirely sure if this is different in the US, however where I live (The Netherlands) the owners make up the HOA in the end. So if a majority of the owners doesn't want a specific rule or board member it's easy (and possible) to override that decision and put a new/better board member there. Where I live the HOA board only gets to decide on the 'small stuff' (for big purchases like said Pool renewal above they still need a majority vote.) I try to 'activate' HOA members (everyone that contributes) and remember them that a HOA is made up of its members in the end. If you don't like anything about it you should either talk with your HOA representative / board member AND/OR contribute by opting to become a board member yourself. Source: I'm one of the five HOA board members in our small (60apt) apartment building.
- adventured 12y ago
  HOA systems vary pretty dramatically in the US, in terms of how they operate exactly. Some HOAs operate by pretty weak by-laws, and can only decide trivial things. Others have obnoxious levels of control. Typically an HOA board consists of community members or home owners (if that's the type of development), and sometimes a company that either developed (and owns) the neighborhood or one that manages it will have seats. Some HOA boards are easy to toss out, others are not. The vast potential variances make it important to try to get to know more about the HOA ahead of time if you're thinking about moving into a development with such.
antihero 12y ago
So do you rent the buildings from the HOA? Or do you own them? And surely if you own them, they have no legal right to tell you want to do unless it breaks the law?
- blueskin_ 12y ago
  As I understand it, it can be either case. Not sure how they can screw you around if you own it, probably some obscure law, but it's obvious enough if you're renting from them.
  - masklinn 12y ago
    > Not sure how they can screw you around if you own it The sale of the residence includes (and requires) contracting with the HOA. > probably some obscure law No need for laws, you've signed a contract.
  - jonnathanson 12y ago
    They can screw you around pretty easily and legally, even if you are an owner. They levy fines for noncompliance, and if you don't pay the fines and comply, they can put liens on your property -- even if you own the property outright. It's all part of the contract you enter into upon purchasing the property. Membership in the HOA is compulsory in many cases, and your purchase of the property comes with the obligation to join the HOA and be subject to its Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions (CC&Rs). So why in the hell would you sign that sort of deal in the first place? Well, if you don't have to, you shouldn't. But in some cities, such as SF, it's extremely hard to buy a condo that doesn't come with an HOA. HOAs are as prevalent as they are because in most cases they are highly beneficial, both legally and financially, to building or subdivision developers. So more and more developers are using them.
- masklinn 12y ago
  > So do you rent the buildings from the HOA? You buy from the developer or the previous owner. > And surely if you own them, they have no legal right to tell you want to do unless it breaks the law? Membership to the HOA is required by and included into the building sale, contracts are binding.
paulornothing 12y ago
I mostly agree with you, my HOA is more of just a community group for our subdivision (or development if you're an east coaster). Members of the board live in the neighborhood and they encourage everyone in the neighborhood to hold a position at some point (2 year term). Our fees are only over 100 bucks a year and cover maintenance of the common areas and the like. We meet once a year, vote on a few things (like to have a spring cleaning event where we rent a dumpster for the community). That's about it. I was afraid of buying a house that had an HOA but I'm ok with the way ours is done, no company owns it just the community.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]

Huppie 12y ago

I'm not entirely sure if this is different in the US, however where I live (The Netherlands) the owners make up the HOA in the end. So if a majority of the owners doesn't want a specific rule or board member it's easy (and possible) to override that decision and put a new/better board member there. Where I live the HOA board only gets to decide on the 'small stuff' (for big purchases like said Pool renewal above they still need a majority vote.) I try to 'activate' HOA members (everyone that contributes) and remember them that a HOA is made up of its members in the end. If you don't like anything about it you should either talk with your HOA representative / board member AND/OR contribute by opting to become a board member yourself. Source: I'm one of the five HOA board members in our small (60apt) apartment building.

adventured 12y ago
HOA systems vary pretty dramatically in the US, in terms of how they operate exactly. Some HOAs operate by pretty weak by-laws, and can only decide trivial things. Others have obnoxious levels of control. Typically an HOA board consists of community members or home owners (if that's the type of development), and sometimes a company that either developed (and owns) the neighborhood or one that manages it will have seats. Some HOA boards are easy to toss out, others are not. The vast potential variances make it important to try to get to know more about the HOA ahead of time if you're thinking about moving into a development with such.

antihero 12y ago

So do you rent the buildings from the HOA? Or do you own them? And surely if you own them, they have no legal right to tell you want to do unless it breaks the law?

blueskin_ 12y ago
As I understand it, it can be either case. Not sure how they can screw you around if you own it, probably some obscure law, but it's obvious enough if you're renting from them.
- masklinn 12y ago
  > Not sure how they can screw you around if you own it The sale of the residence includes (and requires) contracting with the HOA. > probably some obscure law No need for laws, you've signed a contract.
- jonnathanson 12y ago
  They can screw you around pretty easily and legally, even if you are an owner. They levy fines for noncompliance, and if you don't pay the fines and comply, they can put liens on your property -- even if you own the property outright. It's all part of the contract you enter into upon purchasing the property. Membership in the HOA is compulsory in many cases, and your purchase of the property comes with the obligation to join the HOA and be subject to its Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions (CC&Rs). So why in the hell would you sign that sort of deal in the first place? Well, if you don't have to, you shouldn't. But in some cities, such as SF, it's extremely hard to buy a condo that doesn't come with an HOA. HOAs are as prevalent as they are because in most cases they are highly beneficial, both legally and financially, to building or subdivision developers. So more and more developers are using them.
masklinn 12y ago
> So do you rent the buildings from the HOA? You buy from the developer or the previous owner. > And surely if you own them, they have no legal right to tell you want to do unless it breaks the law? Membership to the HOA is required by and included into the building sale, contracts are binding.

paulornothing 12y ago

I mostly agree with you, my HOA is more of just a community group for our subdivision (or development if you're an east coaster). Members of the board live in the neighborhood and they encourage everyone in the neighborhood to hold a position at some point (2 year term). Our fees are only over 100 bucks a year and cover maintenance of the common areas and the like. We meet once a year, vote on a few things (like to have a spring cleaning event where we rent a dumpster for the community). That's about it. I was afraid of buying a house that had an HOA but I'm ok with the way ours is done, no company owns it just the community.

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]