Bolding added.
Ah. Let freedom ring! As long as you have permission, of course.
Tris
Eh, they take care of my property, too- trim my trees, shape the hedges, etc. I mean, I could of course hire a tree trimmer and gardener, but this way it doesn’t even have to cross my mind.
Or, if I’ve got a neighbor being a douche and parking where they shouldn’t, throwing parties all the time, making a meth lab, whatever- well, I don’t have to deal with it. I don’t even have to complain, its taken care of before I even can complain (admittedly, this might have something to do with the fact that I live on a cul de sac w/ the President of the board). So yes, I’ve gotten a few threatening letters of stupid shit (the aforementioned bucket in planter incident), but it all was easily taken care of.
So, on balance, I’d say I prefer my HOA to not. Granted, there are much much worse out there, but there ya go.
But this is the whole point of a condo development. Uniform appearance. If you don’t want an HOA, at the very least don’t buy a condo.
Condos in Canada have HOAs as well. I used to live in one in Montreal.
In a condo, you don’t have a yard. Although some may call it their yard, it is part of the common elements.
Every parcel of land comes with restrictions. Foremost are zoning ordinances (residential, commercial, mixed-use, etc.), building set-back lines, and other ordinances. Many parcels also contain covenants and restrictions of record, running with the land, which in many cases are similar to the same limitations found in a home owners’ association. I think Canada would have similar municipal ordinances and restrictions of record.
Yup, we have the freedom to buy a place with an HOA or not…
Okay, I can understand a Condo authority, especially since a Condo is really a single building.
I thought what was being spoken about was those “gated communities” where they seem to have all kinds of rules about such things as type of Christmas decorations you can put up, whether you can have a basketball hoop on your garage, etc. I believe there was an X-Files episode about the anality of the gated community.
Here, in a regular neighbourhood, if you have a complaint about something a neighbour is doing, you call a by-law enforcement officer.
That is what we’re talking about. The condo issue is a red herring.
In most HOA communities I know of (at least those made up primarily of single-family, stand-alone dwellings) you still have to take care of those things yourself, at least on your own property. Yours must be an exception.
If my neighbor is doing anything illegal, I call the cops on him. If he’s just doing assholish things, I go over and talk to him. Not that I’ve had those problems, but that’s pretty what I would do if I did.
My HOA community is a mixture of single units, duplexes, and townhouses, each of which pay different dues, have different responsibilities, and receive different services. I own half of a duplex, and the HOA takes care of the lawn care on my property, cleans the gutters, and is responsible for upkeep of the exterior and roof of my unit. I have to get approval for any changes to the landscaping in the front, such as planting or removing trees or other plantings. From what I’ve seen and heard at the HOA meetings the committee is pretty laid back, so I’m not terribly concerned about being dictated to.
Sure and in the past, I’ve done both of these things. All I’m saying is: it’s kind of nice not to have to do that now. Personal preferences and all that jazz.
Oh and for what it’s worth: I live in one of those gated communities In Winnipeg mentioned. No X Files going on though :).
Did you apologise for verbally abusing them?
It just depends. My mom lives in half of a duplex with a HOA that takes care of exterior paint, roofs, common areas and lawn care. She loves it and is especially glad she will live her when she retires. She saw how much my great-grandmother struggled to deal with this stuff as she got older, and is sure that her HOA will help her be independent as long as possible.