Advantages and Disadvantages
If you’ve ever owned a home in a neighborhood or a condo, chances are you are familiar with Homeowners Associations. Basically, a Homeowners Association (HOA) is a private organization that oversees a group of homes in a community, common in condominiums, town houses, and master-planned subdivisions. The HOA is managed by a board of directors elected by the community’s residents, and anyone who buys a home in an HOA neighborhood is required to become a member and abide by the organization’s rules.
Different states do vary with how they are set up. For more specifics that apply to Georgia go to Facts on Georgia Homeowners Associations.
HOA’s protect home values, and enforce specific rules designed to maintain uniformity and uphold neighborhood appearances. As an extreme example, there is not an Association on Planet Earth that will allow you to park your old broken-down car anywhere that can be seen on your property. Less extreme is that many HOA’s will step in if you are not keeping your grass cut, and landscaping tidy. Some HOA’s may also enforce noise restrictions and curfews.
HOA’s are thought of as a smart, organized, and fair way to help maintain the neighborhood’s value and protect your investment. Also, important when you are selling your home as buyers don’t only buy a home- but they tend to buy a neighborhood as well.
Having said that there are a few factors that could be seen as disadvantages, but as a buyer you need to weigh those out before committing.
DISADVANTAGES of an HOA
Restrictions
There will be certain things that you may need to get cleared through the Association. Typically, they include any remodeling, painting, removal of trees, landscaping, adding fencing, etc., etc. With some stricter HOAs, you may need approval to make changes to your home’s exterior—even minor ones such as what color you can paint your door or how high a fence can be.
So if you like full creative control on these decisions or you really want to paint your house bright pink, a property governed by a HOA may not be the best choice.
On the other hand, if you are interested in tasteful design choices and feel certain that you will be asking for reasonable permissions, you have nothing to fear.
Keep in mind HOA permissions also protect you from your neighbors making outrageous choices, or not maintaining their properties.
Rules
Naturally, it is incumbent upon the HOA to enforce all Rules and Restrictions that have been set in place. There may also be restrictions on renting out your home or a limit on how many people can live there. Violating HOA rules could result in hefty fines.
Fees
There are also fees that you will have to pay monthly, quarterly or annually. These fees are used to in the case of single-family homes to maintain commonly owned property, pools, tennis courts etc…
Chatel Group serves many areas within metro Atlanta that has multiple properties that come with HOA’s and many that don’t! They would love to show you all the possibilities.
Contact them today for any questions you may have. They are ready to advise you and show you all the possibilities that are available to find your perfect fit.
