School me on HOA's.

I'm not looking for your opinion on them, just simply looking at how they have any traction. Are they recognized by the local municipalities? I've never belonged to one and we were discussing at work as to the extent of their control.

 

Can't they put a lien on your property or something? My buddy was the Pres. of his one year and said he couldn't do much.

 

Your state sets the standards for HOAS, but, the association can put in any rules and regulations they want (that are legal, they couldn't exclude blacks, for instance). So, what color your house is, whether you can cut down a tree, park in the street, it's all in there

So, if you move in, you're signing a contract to agree with all the rules. Be sure and get a copy of the bylaws and read them. If you can't understand them, have an attorney tell you what they mean*

So, if you don't comply, the association may place a lien on your property. Remember, you agreed that they can do it, so don't whine about it after the fact. Liens, judgements, whatever actions the contract calls for

So, read the bylaws carefully and make sure you agree with them, because there's always some power hungry mofo on the association board who will come down on you.

*I'm hoping your daddy taught you to never sign anything you haven't read and don't understand.

 

Depends on the state, county, city etc of where you live. Some have little to no power despite what you sign others nearly own the house even though you are paying for it. Your best bet is to talk to your lawyer about it.

 

Oh hell no, I'm not. My only demands when we bought our house were a nice garage, and no HOA.

Even so, I guess I just don't see how they can make their contract a part of a home sale. I'm sure I'm over thinking it, so maybe someone will be able to dumb it waaay down for me.

 

Ok, the state setting standards and recognizing them makes sense.

 

SO I guess my question about this is what gives the HOA the authority to require you sign and agree to their terms? Why do they have any claim on the house? Is it because the previous owner signed their contract with them and part of the contract is that it must stay in the HOA upon sale?

 

This.

 

When you buy a house you get a few voting shares on the HOA.
The builder/developer gets the rest.
You don't park your trashcan in the right spot and/or paint your garage door the wrong color or own a motorcycle or don't mow the lawn or anything else they don't like and your home belongs to them, period.

 

Their traction stems from regular contracts law -- good old covenants. You purchase a piece of land and it has convenants attached to it, you have to abide by those convenants.

Most state courts will enforce those covenants...regular old contracts law, a state court judge "you knew about the covenants when you purchased the home and you agreed to abide by those rules...put pine straw down, pick up your dog's poop, and freshen your flowers or move!"

There are lawyers that practice nothing but HOA law.

 

Oh great, thats wonderful to know

 

Personally, I think HOAs are a great thing as long as they serve their purpose and do their job. Keep the place clean, enforce rules and perform landscaping.

Some states require that you are provided the Covenants before signing (rental or purchase) and other states do not. Whatever you think about HOAs, its your due diligence and responsibility to know the rules and abide.

If not expect hassle, fines and they can put a lien against the property.

From my exp, just talking to the Property Manager or HOA folks - they are great and reasonable as long as you are.

But, I have heard of a new nightmares... And, yes there are some situations where builders run the HOA until the defined homeowners live in the nhood or a defined date.

Just my .02.

 

I knew a guy who lived in his neighborhood for over twenty years. They got a new HOA President and over the next year he got four letters telling him they were going to take civil action against him because they kept "catching him" with his garage door left open six inches. He tried to explain numerous times he was working on his car and motorcycle and left the door open so that he didn't die of CO2 poisoning. He then decided to take the Pres. to court for harassment. Not sure how it turned out, but Sheeeeesh!

 

What drives me nutty is the idea that my 4 neighbors can decide to form an HOA on our street and force me into it (or out of my house...).

 

Our property has a covenant of some sort of it, dating back to the 1800s. We are not allowed to block horses from using our creek for water.