Skip to content

What Are the Pros & Disadvantages of Forming a Homeowners Association?

A homeowners association, or HOA, is a non-profit entity organized to keep the integrity and worth of a neighborhood by making sure that neighborhood regulations are enforced and that resident’s concerns are dealt with in a positive way. HOA neighborhoods need membership for all homeowners, without the decision.

Guru: Care

HOAs keep a neighborhood’s common areas , like gardens, tennis courts and swimming pools. Working on behalf of members, they attempt to maintain every region of the community functional and attractive.

Guru: Services

HOAs supply services to community members. These are all jobs you won’t have to consider hiring a third party to do or find the time to do yourself.

Guru: Care

By regulating variables which help keep a community attractive, HOAs can help preserve property values. The small things, such as not letting signs from the front lawn, asking that garages be kept closed and limiting the quantity of time automobiles can be left in your driveway, add to the aesthetics of the neighborhood.

Guru: Mediation

HOAs have the power to mediate disputes between neighbors, helping resolve them and cutting down on hard feelings. The attribute can be shifted away from you, when your neighbor understands that it is the HOA producing the choice.

Con: Intrusive

If you merely don’t need a third party telling you when and how to mow your grass, if you’ve planted the right trees in your yard, or if your dog is the incorrect breed, an HOA might not be for you.

Con: Dues

HOAs operate using the funds provided by its members. These charges are just one more bill to consider when moving into a home in an area. Like any other expense, HOA prices tend to rise over the years.

Con: Board Approval

While this isn’t the case in every neighborhood having an HOA, some require you to have some potential buyer or occupant screened and approved by the board of directors before leasing or selling them your home. Other HOAs proceed so far as to let you know how much you can charge for lease and when during the year occupants are allowed to move in.

Con: Management

HOA boards of directors tend to be comprised of volunteers who do not always have enough time to oversee HOA matters, and who hire a management company to aid with the daily issues. If you are someone who would fret about an outside management firm with no ties to the neighborhood controlling what happens the market, being a portion of an HOA may be a problem for you.

See related