If you don’t know already, a homeowners association is an organization or committee that is classified as a non-profit and is formed within neighborhoods to create and enforce rules for the residents and maintain the community. This is considered a nonprofit because the purpose is not to make money. The purpose is to enforce rules and maintain a presentable neighborhood. HOAs are supposed to make the living experience for residents better and more uniform. Many communities have set HOAs so if you purchase property that is within the boundaries of that HOA there are dues that must be paid in order to live there so they can hire people to maintain the neighborhood.
HOAs can be beneficial to keep the neighborhood looking presentable and appealing to buyers. Many people like their neighborhood to have a sense of government because they believe the presentation of the neighborhood is important. Many homeowners like for everyone’s homes in the neighborhood to be well-groomed to make the neighborhood look more put together. Others could not care less what their neighbor’s house looks like and get annoyed by the governing of the HOA. Some can be very strict and don’t give their residents much freedom, but others can be pretty lenient.
In my experience, when I was living with my parents their neighborhood had a pretty strict HOA. The neighborhood prides itself on the HOA. They call the neighborhood “Natures Neighborhood” because of all the trees and little walking trails. There is an actual clubhouse built for HOA meetings and it was a huge part of the neighborhood. When my dad was remodeling his backyard he replaced the grass with artificial grass since there were a bunch of kids, a dog, and just not enough time to maintain the grass. Once the backyard was finally done being remodeled, the HOA made them cover up the artificial grass because it’s not natural. While I get it, it’s “nature’s neighborhood”, we were just so bummed to have to cover it up after it just had been finished and looked so pretty. It’s been a couple of years now and the artificial grass is still covered up and my parents are still going back and forth with the HOA about it. This issue has even made my dad consider moving to a different neighborhood.
In conclusion, I think HOAs are great for maintaining a presentable neighborhood and keeping it looking clean. On the other hand, HOAs can be a little overbearing and I think it’s important for them to keep a good balance between how much control they have and how much freedom they let their residents have. It’s important that HOAs do not drive out the residents. That defeats the purpose. I personally think it is ridiculous that my dad couldn’t have artificial grass in his backyard where literally nobody but the people that live there can see it. So we’ve been a little frustrated with the HOA. From a real estate agent standpoint, nobody wants to be controlled too much so it’s gonna be hard to get someone to buy a property if the HOA has a reputation for being controlling. But if a neighborhood looks super well-kept and uniform, that’s attractive to buyers. HOAs need to have a balance to maintain a good relationship with the residents. HOAs and real estate agents need to work together to create the best living situation for new and existing residents.