Homeowners Association: to be or not to be in one? First let’s look at what it is and what the nitty-gritty details are.

By definition, HOAs are legal entities created to maintain common areas. More often than not these are for condominiums, townhouses, and even single-family subdivisions. There is a document issued to each homeowner known as the covenants, conditions and restrictions (CC&Rs) that must be followed in order to maintain a certain quality and value to the properties in the association.

Essentially, the CC&Rs can have anything from required yard maintenance, to limits on home remodeling. In theory, you can’t have six broken down cars on your lawn, and if you want to extend your living room all the way to your neighbor’s window, that’s not going to fly. You can’t paint your house hot pink either, sorry.

Wow, doesn’t this sound great? Well, maybe not. There are horror stories about the strict regulations that some homeowner’s associations put in place. People complain that they have had their classic cars they were remodeling in the driveway towed away, or that they were fined for having too many roses in their garden. Fees can pile up quickly, and the HOA doesn’t even have to notify you because you signed to abide by the CC&Rs.

A HOA is usually a condition when purchasing a property, so a buyer doesn’t get to opt in or out. Being part of a HOA means you pay monthly or annual fees to maintain the organization. Per the examples from above, you should be able to decide if this is for you or not. It’s definitely ideal, but you have to make sure you follow the rules.

There is one last note to take into account before you make up your mind. Once a developer has sold a predetermined number of properties, the ownership of the HOA is transferred to the homeowners. Then, the people in the development can decide as a group what is appropriate for their neighborhood. Another option is hiring a property management company to do the work, but it’s up to the homeowners.

To be or not to be in a homeowners association, that is still the question.