My parents moved into a townhome with an HOA and love it. Its a single shared wall.
My Dad is one of those people who would legistlate other people’s taste in lawn furniture if he could though - so the idea of having rules about cars parked in your driveway for months on end appeals to him.
For them, they moved from a six bedroom lake home with a LOT of upkeep and a big yard to a place where they don’t need to mow their own lawn or shovel. Which at 70 is really nice. And the association fees are cheaper than what it cost them to hire the yard work and shoveling at the old place - smaller yard, smaller driveway. And its done dependably, where when they hired it was "call the snowplow guy, its been six hours and we still can’t pull out the car.
I kinda suspect that HOAs in every part of the US have foreclosure ability.
If a unit is abandoned, just how else will it get re-sold? An abandoned unit is a very real possibility in a retirement community - Sue bought the place and then died intestate with no relatives. What now?
The scary thing is that the rules can change AFTER you agree to them.
And I suspect that courts are loathe to interfere unless there is some outrageous conduct.
How about the “no visitors under 20” rule? and then you have a grandkid born.
Or they decide that, in addition to trucks wiht business names on them, no trucks period can be left in a driveway?
Usually the owner is responsible for everything from the paint on in, and the HOA for the outside walls, roof, etc.
There is the possibility of a special assessment. One thing you’ll want to look into is whether the association’s reserves are adequate to handle fairly major stuff without steep special assessments. I don’t know enough to vouch for what those levels should be.
Something to consider is what percentage of renters the place has. That can make it difficult to get a mortgage - which may not be an issue for the OP but it affects who else can buy into the place, and therefore it affects property values, plus a high rental percentage would tend to mean residents who don’t care much about the place.
We own a retirement condo (55+) in Florida. Not our choice, but it seemed to be the most cost-effective way of housing my husband’s parents. Some associations require approval before you can purchase - typically a 55+ place would require at least paperwork (and we had to provide references); one other place we looked at actually required my husband and me to take several days off work in order to appear before the committee, in person, for an interview. That was the end of THAT place for us - we felt it was a power thing on the part of the board.
The place we wound up purchasing had restrictions on things like renting - for example we could not rent the place out until we owned it for a year. That was not an issue for us, as the parents aren’t really tenants.
Co-op apartments are similar, though those are fairly rare outside of New York. With those, you definitely have to be interviewed and approved.
You do want to go with a place that has a professional manager in place, not just run by the inmates. I mean, the association is directed by the residents, but do you really want Joe in 103-B to be the guy responsible for getting roofers out to fix problems?
Consider the kinds of residents the place attracts. A friend of mine was downsizing from a 3 level townhouse, to a 2-bedroom condo. One area she looked in, most of the condos were occupied by very young professionals (all under 30). At 55+, she didn’t want to be the dorm mother. She wound up purchasing in a different area where there were people of all ages. She loves not having the maintenance, though as she tells me, her expenses haven’t gone down because the place costs as much as her townhouse did. She loves her shorter commute though.
Do you want a 55+ community? While the thought frankly horrifies me, some people DO prefer it. Costs can be lower but they’re harder to resell because of the restrictions.
The place we bought has dues of roughly 400 a month. They’ve actually fluctuated a bit: 405 2 years ago, 396 last year, 408 this year). As it’s 30+ years old, we think we’re well past the artificially low initial fees period.
Is parking included? At my friend’s condo, she has two spaces. Other units in the building don’t have parking spaces - the original owners presumably paid less, but got no parking in the garage. That seems insane to me.
“no visitors under 20” may be illegal. They may have rules about no residents under 20. Our place, I suppose someone could purchase, marry a much younger spouse, and die, leaving a resident who was otherwise too young; in that case they can still live there.
Rules can change but it’s tough - has to be approved by the homeowners.
Intestate / foreclosure: Our place was in a similar boat. The owner had died; her daughter hadn’t paid the taxes or HOA dues in 2 full years while she was trying to sell. Apparently the association was getting ready to foreclose on the place due to nonpayment of the dues, before we stepped in and purchased.
Stuff like “no truck in the driveway” is petty, but a real concern. If you have a 2-car garage, that basically means you can’t own a 3rd car.
I live in a condo. I retired, sold my house and purchased the condo outright with the proceeds. It is not a “retirement” development (and I notice the OP did not mention that).The board is not intrusive at all. I am happy with my purchase. Here are some possible pitfalls;
You will have neighbors that share floor-ceiling, walls, or both. You will hear them. For lifelong house dwellers, this can come as a shock. Mostly, its fine, although sometimes you can get the neighbors from hell. Not likely, but not impossible. Then again, maybe you are the neighbor from hell. Check the construction. Concrete between floors is the best.
Check the financials. Make sure the Reserve fund is large enough. Most states have guidelines about what constitutes “large enough” and the banks use these guidelines when reviewing mortgage applications. If you are not getting a mortgage, you need to be extra diligent. Talk to your lawyer about it.
What is the parking situation? My brother lives in a condo where most of the owners have converted their garage to storage space and use the common spaces. This can lead to problems when you have guests over with no place to park.
Strongly consider a unit on a single level. You might be fine with a staircase now, but this is something you bought to grow old in, remember?
Before you buy, wander around and talk to the residents. Ask them what their experiences are.
Request the minutes of every board meeting in the past year as well as the annual meeting. After you buy, attend the annual meetings.
If you buy a condo, become an expert in Robert’s Rules of Order. Abuse and ignorance of parliamentary law is how someone takes over the HOA and becomes a tyrant. Protect yourself.