I’ve never owned a house, much less one in a neighborhood under the control of a homeowners association. But I’m curious about them.
When you buy such a house, do you have to sign some kind of agreement or contract for the homeowners association? Or do you automatically become subject to said association just by buying a house in that area?
Assuming the former, what happens if someone somehow buys a house without signing the agreement?
The covenants might be registered with the city, and enforced like zoning laws or city laws, though probably by homeowner boards and their lawyers. When you buy a house, your title search will uncover such convenant agreements, and a copy will probably be a part of your closing.
When you buy into a managed community, you agree to abide by the bylaws of the association. There is usually a board that administers the will of the homeowners, enforces the bylaws, collects the homeowner dues, takes care of contracts for repairs, etc. There was a good article recently on the NY Times website that you might want to read (you can sign up for free and do a search).
Remember that the bylaws are not optional. If you buy into a managed community, you are subject to the rules. Homeowners that do not pay dues can have a lien placed against their mortgage and in extreme cases can lose their home.
All that aside, I like living in the community I’m in. Everything from the paint outward is taken care of by the dues: lawns, paint, snow plowing, etc. I’m also on the board, which I recommend doing at some time, just so you can see how things run and the sorts of problems that come up.
So it’s kinda like communism?
Peace,
mangeorge
You guys missed the point of my question. Suppose through some oversight, a new owner did not sign the association agreement. What are the legal ramifications if that new owner decided that they didn’t want to be in the association? I’m sure it would end up in court, but are there any precedents?
Chefguy, do all associations provide those kind of services? I was under the impression that many do much less.
I think ‘signing up’ for the association takes place during the closing on your house or unit. That’s the way it was when I bought my townhouse. The agreement was one of the documents we signed, and a lawyer for the managing agent was there to collect it.
I can’t imagine that any competant association would overlook this. It is usually part and parcel of the purchase.
You’re right, not all homeowners’ associations are created equal. The dues vary wildly and cover whatever the membership votes on. In our case, we’re in townhouses, so no elevator maintenance costs or swimming pool, and we don’t have a community room or weight room. Our dues are $183 per month, which covers water, sewer, the cable TV cost, and the aforementioned exterior stuff. We also have an RV lot. Other condos in town are MUCH higher and don’t provide as many services. Of course, they have a much higher reserve in the bank.
Yeah, mangeorge, it is sorta like communism. If you don’t want cable TV, it’s just tough crappola, you pay anyway. You really need to think about what you are getting into and if a managed community is what you want. Check the covenants and the bylaws and ask questions of the board members.
In many neighborhoods that have homeowners associations, there’s no distinct “agreement” that you sign when you buy the house to become a member. The requirement to be a member of the association, to obey its rules, and to pay the dues, is all spelled out in the deed to the property. By virtue of taking title to the property, you have automatically agreed to the terms of the deed.
What about a property that did not have a homeowner’s association when it was purchased, but one was formed afterwards. Surely you would have to sign a contract to be bound by its rules?
I would assume that, in such a case, there would be a separate contract. I’ve just never encountered that situation. I imagine it could be pretty tough to create such an association, since you’d need to get every one of the current owners to agree to join, and to be bound by the agreement.
Then, without actually changing the deed, how would you enforce the agreement against a new owner? By what mechanism could you force a purchaser to sign an agreement before he was allowed to take title to the property? Any real estate attorneys out there?
You say, “I will not sell you the house unless you sign the HOA agreement.”
Why would the seller give a damn? As long as he gets his money for the house, I can’t imagine him being willing to pass up the sale, just because some prospective purchaser won’t abide by the terms of an HOA agreement. The seller is leaving, after all!
Because the HOA contract says “you can’t sell the house unless you get the buyer to sign the HOA contract.”
I got about a page and 1/2 of covenants for my assosciation. I never signed anything. I bought the house in this neighborhood and they apply to me.
You don’t have to sign anything - if you buy the house the rules apply. (You didn’t sign anything saying you’d pay the property taxes either.)
The problem is that a legal agreement that lacks an effective enforcement mechanism just ain’t worth very much.
Say I’m selling my house in Virginia, and moving to California. I don’t bother getting the buyer to sign the HOA agreement. The HOA isn’t really a party to the settlement, so they don’t have the power to stop the settlement. All they can do is file suit against me after the fact. I’ve left the state, cash in hand. It’s going to cost the HOA a small fortune to try to enforce the agreement that I signed, all in order to ensure payment of a few hundred bucks a year from the new owner.
Has anyone out there ever even heard of a scenario like this occurring? I know I haven’t.
That’s why HOA obligations are written into the deed to the property; it would seem to be the only effective way of enforcing the obligations. It doesn’t rely for enforcement on someone (like a seller) who doesn’t have much of a motivation to enforce the agreement. It puts the enforcement power back into the hands of the HOA, the party that really is motivated to enforce it.
I can understand the need for these things when people buy apartments, but what’s the attraction for those who buy single-family homes? You know, houses that aren’t attached to each other?
The main advantage is that there is cost-sharing for major property repairs such as driveway, roof and garage door replacements/repairs. An association can have some degree of political clout with the city (100 pissed off homeowners acting in concert opposed to one homeowner bitching about potholes) and may be able to negotiate reduced rates for things like cable TV with the local provider (in my case, my monthly cable costs went from $63 to $23). The portion of the street that runs through my section is in bad shape, but the upper loop is fine. If we were individual homeowners, the assessment to get this section fixed would be astronomical. The downside is the pettiness that can develop and the cronyism that can become entrenched in the governing board.
The attraction is it allows the majority group in the HOA subdivision to control the one homeowner who wants to paint his house purple with pink polka dots. The oddball’s behavior, at least as far as his home’s appearance goes, is controlled in order to “protect the subdivision’s property value.”
Typically HOA’s are created by the original developer, who writes the original bylaws, puts them on record with the county recorder and makes each house in the development subject to them. Subsequent deeds are usually written to include a phrase that the owner takes the property subject to restrictions of record, meaning the bylaws on record at the recorder’s office.
Mangeorge,
You get many services provided that you’d otherwise have to do yourself or pay for. People who travel a lot or who just don’t want to bother with clearing sidewalks, mowing lawns, painting, etc., love having those chores taken care of. Also some adults-only communities are set up this way so that the elderly are relieved of chores they are increasingly unable to do.
The rules and the common exterior maintenance means you don’t have to be concerned about your neighbor failing to maintain his property, or decking it out in an “untasteful” manner.
These rules can range from the sensible to the ridiculous, so you do have to look over the agreement before you sign on. Some associations have rules about how many pets you can have, or that you can’t put up an outdoor clothesline, or that you can’t put garden gnomes or pink flamingos on the lawn. Some prohibit wind chimes and hanging flower baskets! Or they may require that the outside of window curtains must be a neutral color.
It’s certainly not for me, I can tell you that. Not that I’d want to paint my house purple, but I do prefer the “natural” or “wild” look in my back yard. 