re: What are the pros and cons of HOA?

Mine is $250 a year and all they do is mow the grass in common areas.
The management company will ride around and nitpick nonsense and send fines. As a group we would rather abolish the management group but they handle everything for us. We just want to amend the rules against street parking, backyard pools, landscaping, etc.
Someone actually got a fine for putting up christmas lights 2 days too early.

The problem with HOAs is losing rights to your property. No way am I comfortable with that happening.

They all start out with good intentions and all end as a money grab, power hungry assholes, and complete shite shows.

I just want to go to work and have a home to come in to relax. You take care of your shite, and I’ll take care of mine.

Saw one in a neighborhood I lived in around Austin that got completely out of control and ridiculous. Now I live in a neighborhood with 1-2 acre lots, no HOA, and perfectly fine.

Cons:

Intrusive
Overbearing
Costs me $275/mo

Pros:

When we moved back to Georgia a few years ago my plan was to build on a larger lot with no HOA. My wife and daughter wanted a move in ready house immediately so we bought in an HOA and bought a lot on the lake to build on. The HOA is not overly intrusive...its controlled by the developer BUT its managed by a local law firm. They seem about as good as they get....most of the neighbors only complain about pool furniture and christmas decorations at the entrance.


The HOA does CONSTANTLY send us letters telling us we have to move our boat or RV out of the driveway. I pretty much ignore them. I store both away from our house but at times one or the other may be in the driveway a week or so....the boat is there almost every week Thursday - Sunday. I have had the camper in the driveway a month a couple of times. They sent a bunch of letters. I tossed them in the garbage. You have to have a high level of don't give a flying frick to do this though because they can and will fine you...I don't give a frick how much they fine me (they have not done so in nearly 4 years). I'll pay whatever it is and continue to do pretty much what I damn well please with my property.

I have maintained their landscaping on 2 sides of our yard for the entire time we have lived here because it is in our yard. They have never done anything to it since we moved in....and I prefer it that way. I have a running tab for what it has cost me to maintain that landscaping. As long as they continue to only send letters I won't send them a bill. If they decide to kick it up a notch I will indeed bill them. I won't ever collect but I am willing to bet they eventually back the frick off.

We are 24 months out of getting out of this neighborhood. I am clearing our lake lot now. As soon as I am finished building I am moving and taking my boat and camper with me and other than doing maintenance on that house I will never set foot in the neighborhood again....its a perfect rental for a mixed military family and the mortgage is 1.6%....it'll rent for nearly 3X what our mortgage payment is. We won't ever sell it until we kill over but we will rent it. I would not voluntarily live in a HOA community....my wife and daughter were insistent and I went along with it knowing my time there was going to be limited.

Pros- they hassle your neighbors keep their place up.
Cons-they hassle you to keep your place up.

Pros: I get to let out verbal diarreah on the leader of mine

Cons: The amount I spend on tissues to wipe off HOA leaders face of my dirreah.

I'm the President of our HOA and I don't frick around. You received covenants when you first close on your property, and then wanna act surprised that you can't do whatever you want to. I put cases on everybody and yes we have the power to put a lien on you property if you simply don't abide by the bylaws.