If you are mulling about buying a house, one of the things you will be thinking about is whether or not to buy one in a community with a home owners association. If you are apprehensive about being a member of an HOA, you are not alone. Many people are apprehensive about purchasing such homes, but the truth is that these associations are not as evil as many people make them out to be.
Benefits of homeowners associations
The benefits of homeowners associations include:
Preservation of values
One of the major goals of these associations is to maintain the real estate values of their respective neighborhoods. This also applies to any new community that strives for a harmonious living standard. To achieve this goal, the communities have to come up with special rules. They are also tasked with enforcing these rules, and this makes them unpopular to many people. These rules differ from association to association but a few of them tend to be common. The number of pets you can keep, type and size of these pets, lawn maintenance, size and type of renovations are just a few of these common rules. When everybody keeps them, the community becomes presentable, and hence its value either remains the same or appreciates.
Maintenance of common areas
You are responsible for maintaining your rooms, but who maintains the common areas? The associations are responsible for ensuring that all the common areas are well maintained. You wouldn't want your house to be well maintained and let the bushes encroach onto the sidewalks. The aesthetic value of the streets, landscaping and the general neighborhood is important for everybody in the neighborhood.
Provision of amenities
Another great advantage of homeowners associations is that they provide communal amenities to members of their respective communities. How do you like living in a community with swimming pools, fitness clubs, golf courses, basketball pitches and tennis courts? Just like many people, you probably live in such a place or you are dreaming of doing it soon. Yet, all these enjoyable sports and activities are only possible due to the hard work of HOAs. With these amenities, you don't have to join expensive clubs in your neighborhood to enjoy your weekends and free times. It would be extremely expensive for each homeowner to construct all these amenities for personal use.
Dispute resolutions
This is one of the most overlooked benefits of home owners associations. Suppose you extend your fence and your neighbor is displeased with the action, how do you resolve the dispute without letting it get out of hand? If you do not have a homeowners association, your dispute might stretch on for a long time and ruin your reputation with your neighbors. If you are a member of an HOA, however, you just need to take the dispute to them, and they will use the association's rules to resolve it.
In conclusion, it is very clear that the benefits of homeowners associations far outweigh the disadvantages. The perception that these associations behave as militants, matching around the communities looking for lawbreakers, is wrong. Most HOAs are docile and are ready to work with members of their associations to make the communities pleasant places to live in.
Martin Alexander has been extensively involved in various community projects. He enjoys sharing his insights on various property websites. Visit MahoganyLiving.com and find out more about their townhomes.
