Ro Troia

HOA’s… The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly!!

Where do you even begin when talking about Home Owners Associations? I have been wanting to write something about them for quite some time now, but where to start? And, do I really want to write a novel about HOA’s? I could. I have a lot to say about them, both good and bad. There was an article that came up earlier this week, which made me decide it was time to say something NOW!

There is a couple in Longmont, Colorado who is suing their HOA for being to relaxed with their rules. Generally, when you see lawsuits against home owners associations, they are due to the HOA’s over-bearance and strict enforcement of the rules. This time, the couple is suing Hammersmith Management Inc. for not enforcing the bylaws, which in my experience is never an issue. I have dealt with Hammersmith on multiple occasions in multiple subdivisions, between Denver and Longmont. I have never know them to be “lax” about anything. Quite the contrary, actually.

They came down hard on one of our listings, in the same subdivision last year, which was vacant. Nobody was watering the yard, because the water was turned off, and they fined the seller a lot of money. The seller was a bank and didn’t care, but Hammersmith was calling and posting letters nonstop, upping the fine every week or so.

This couple in Starwood at Fox Meadow says that the home values are declining due to the associations failure to enforce their guidelines, as far as keeping up with the aesthetic value of the neighborhood. Longmont has seen some tough times over the past several years, as far as real estate values are concerned. So, not only have values dropped significantly over the years, but the HOA’s are having a tough time. A lot of foreclosures have flooded Longmonts’ subdivisions, which makes it hard for HOA’s to remain financially stable. The bank does not care about how many times they get fined or what the yards look like. They usually negotiate any lien’s with the HOA management companies, which really hurts the HOA’s reserves and makes upkeep of the common areas hard to pay for.

This couple says their home’s value has been reduced by over $200,000, because of Hammersmith’s failure to enforce the rules. Their home is currently listed for sale, and with so many homes surrounding them, many are new construction, they are having a difficult time selling. Most of the time, developers do not landscape the yards which affects the aesthetic value of the neighborhood and can drive prices down in an area where new construction is not selling.  Builders will usually offer some credit for the buyer to do what they want with the yard and with these million-dollar homes not selling, many yards are left as just graded dirt until the buyers move in.  In the case of foreclosures, the banks will almost never do anything to maintain the yards.
With HOA’s, you can almost always count on them being very strict. If you are going to buy a home with an HOA, I would go to one of their meetings before closing on the home, so you can see who is running them. The board members will dictate how the HOA is governed and some are lax and some are the extreme opposite. so much so, that you will get a fine if you don’t bring your garbage can in, instantly after trash pick-up. Or, if you have an ugly car in the driveway, they could give you a fine. Some are very tough. I have seen some very harsh HOA’s and I know if I am ever thinking of buying any property that has a homeowners association, I will most certainly do my research.

I guess now, not only do you have to worry about the tough laws of the HOA, but the strength of the HOA and the number of foreclosures and vacancies in your subdivision. Especially if you think you might want to sell at some point. Foreclosed property can definitely hurt the aesthetics of a neighborhood. I am seeing it all up and down the front range of Colorado; subdivisions that have been ripped apart due to foreclosures, or builders running out of funding, or HOA’s that can no longer pay for upkeep of the common amenities due to lack of reserves. Do your research. Read the HOA documents very carefully before you decide whether or not you actually want to close on the new home in the new subdivision.  Just do what we in the real estate business like to call “Your Due Diligence”.  It will save you from a lot of trouble and money and potential lawsuits.

Tags: Tags: Boulder real estate, denver, HOA, homeowners associations, Longmont

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 7th, 2008 at 1:10 pm and is filed under Boulder Subdivisions and Neighborhoods, Buyer's Corner, Colorado Round Up, First Time Buyers, Real Estate Tales, Relocating. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

1. Kevin Kueneke said at October 9th, 2008 at 12:09 am

   Good stuff Brody. HOA’s are an unfortunate necessary evil in newer communities. We just recently tossed the entire board in my neighborhood due to some unfavorable decisions. The things I deal with to have a community pool!

2. FSBO Jane said at November 10th, 2008 at 2:06 pm

   Interesting post, and about a topic that’s been on my mind recently, too. I couldn’t agree more that buyers need to pay attention to the laws/regulations before purchasing homes–you’ll be stuck if you don’t!

3. JR Orlando said at December 1st, 2008 at 7:07 pm

   As a Board President of my Association, and Bookkeeper for Homeowner Associations, I have never understood the impulse to charge high homeowner assessments. We have always kept the assessments as low as possible and it’s paying off big time in this recessionary time. We’re 95% funded.

   In regard to property managers, it is the role of the Board of Directors to set the level of compliance. If the Property Manager isn’t doing it’s job, out they go.

4. Vernita Green said at January 30th, 2009 at 5:08 pm

   Although I don’t live in Colorado anymore, this topic is on my mind as well, since I’m trying to find a nice place to buy. At the outset, my preference was actually to avoed any type of HOA management because I was willing to deal with the disadvantages of that in exchange for not tacking on up to $300 per month for my house payment. Now, however, I’ve decided I want something that may be even more difficult to find: An HOA that does it’s job, enforces the rules (but not like jerks), but that charges a reasonable monthly fee… Somewhere in the range of $50 to a max of $100. Here’s hoping as I continue my search.

5. Lucy Mills said at February 5th, 2009 at 11:02 pm

   I will never buy in an HOA again. We are controlled by a manipulative power hungry individual that is not persuaded one bit by laws and convenants. They have spent thousands of dollars that there is no accounting for. Every attempt to get him off the board by election processes fails as he changes the rules to suit him. What’s most sick is that he can always manipulate a handful of key people into supporting him. I’ve had it. And no, I don’t have any violations, liens or the likewise. I am just scared and disgusted that these associations can literally be taken hostage by just one or two evil people. Please don’t think it can’t happen in your association. The only communities that can succeed in keeping incompetent power mongers out are those that have high levels of resident involvement and quorums at meetings. Our current nuisance President has gone as far as to try and stop having annual meetings. Not so coincidentally, elections for Board Members can only be held at Annual meetings.

6. Bobby Vent said at March 4th, 2009 at 9:50 pm

   One day I hope that society will come to their senses with the power they give HOA. I have lived in two and both are the pits of the earth. While the intent in writing is cream of the crop the actual is the opposite.
   Homeowners are living in fear of speaking out when they see wrong. For the few that do challenge the Boards and lawyers they are doomed with frustration,legal fees and a living nightmare.
   The few victories I won over the years has taken a toll on my health ,finances and quality of life.
   I am currently trying to sell this “American nightmare” and vow never to buy into another.
   In the event you walk away from your home it is difficult to buy another. The sad part is that the HOA will continue to prevail in courts using your assessment fees. To add salt to the wound most homes are HOA’s including those in mobile home parks.
   I have searched the INternet and read the abuse that some owners have endured and it gives me the hives.
   Through my battle I met a homeowner who have spent over 15 yeaRS IN hearings,court and jailed.
   While I am fighting a couple of legal issues I rely on my faith that God will see me through this mess.
   Lucy,our current hoa prez has managed to remain on the board without an election. Not to mention the majority of the board members live on the same block five of the seven. Go figure.
   Peace to all.

7. Bonnie said at July 1st, 2009 at 3:30 pm

   Do home owner associations go too far?

   I am one of the nearly 50 millions who live in home owner associations across the suburbs. I thought having to spend money to on monthly association fee would allow our common ground to be looked after, who knew that they even looked after our backyard? Where is the line between our property and the common ground?

   Every spring, we are reminded to submit an approval for any architectural change that we intend to do and get approval before the work needs to be done. We had no intention of having a permanent play set in our backyard, but settled on a smaller, removable play set for our children. We knew when it was time; we will get rid of it as if nothing was ever placed in our backyard. After the first noticed by the association stating we were not in compliance by having a play set, my husband and I immediately removed the play set from our back yard. Then two weeks later, we received the second notice stating we must remove the play set. Does any one check before sending out these notices? Or worse yet, is there a person that drives around our neighborhood looking for violations so they can send out notices?

   Our family love flowers and spend thousands every year planting flowers in our front and back yard. Al though, we have existing flower bed in our yard, we continuously add new flower beds. According to our association, we are again in violation because we did not submit new application for adding new flower beds. It is my understanding that it is my property and I am doing what I can to improve the look of our house? How is the association involved in what I can and can not plant on MY PROPERTY?

   Our neighborhood consists of families with small children. No one has ever objected to our play set. In fact, they were actually surprised to see we received notices about the play set since it was so small. About the flower beds, who really object to home owners adding curve appeal to their property? This is just getting ridiculous.

   We live in a fairly new development and many lots are still vacant, thanks to the economy. The two lots next to us are wide open, and the wild grass and flowers on those lots are taller than my two years old. We are constantly bombarded with bees and other insects when we’re out in our backyard. What is the rule on those? Who is responsible for those lots? Where is the association when we need one?

   When we first built our house in this development, it was the association who decided on the exterior of our house. We can not use colors that are too bright, we can not have an asphalt driveway because it de-valued the community, and the price of new houses must be over a certain number. Two years later, I see asphalt driveway for every new house, and worse yet, the house across the street from me is about half of my price. Who is de-valuing the property value in the community now? Do we as home owners have civil liberties in a community, or it is stripped away as we move into an association?

Leave a Reply

Name (required)

Email (will not be published) (required)

Website