In my line of work I hear many conflicting opinions about homeowners associations. Unfortunately, most home-owners view their homeowners associations as the “Neighborhood Mafia” or the “Secret Police”.
You may find yourself asking a lot of questions. “Why can’t I put up a fence? Who cares if I park in the road? Who are you to tell me to mow my lawn? So what if I put a basketball net on the ground! I own this house, who the heck are you to tell me not to change my oil in the driveway? My house needs to be painted – why do I need to ask permission if I want to change the color? This is my property, I pay the mortgage, my taxes and my HOA dues, I can afford to do so by working out of my truck, but I cannot park it in my driveway!” 
Does this sound familiar? I am sure it does. We as homeowners spend a lot of money on our homes and we want to live the way we want to. We all purchased our homes because it is good to invest in real estate. We all wanted the American dream of homeownership and now we have it. But why is it not what we hoped for?
The truth of the matter is that we are taught that you can’t lose by purchasing real estate. The problem with this concept is that it is not true. As we are seeing in today’s market, property values are not always on the rise and some areas are hit harder than others. So what do property values have to do with irritating HOAs? In a word…everything!
First, what we need to realize is that homeowners associations are bodies of mini-governments that are put into place to enforce covenants and restrictions placed on the deed of the property that you purchased.
Although you own your property, you purchased it along with the responsibilities and restrictions that have been legally placed on the deed. Covenants and restrictions are placed on a property to protect the neighborhood values. When you purchase a home, you choose it for several reasons. One reason should have been because you liked the neighborhood and feel that it is a safe place to live as well as a solid investment. Whether you realize it or not, the covenants are laws that you accept and agree to abide by when you consummated the purchase of a home that has restrictive covenants.
These laws specifically address items that affect the visual appeal of the neighborhood. Lawns, fences, parked cars, and cleaning up after pets are usually the hottest topics of conversation. The reason is because these items most affect the value of the entire neighborhood. When someone is shopping for a home, their first impression is the neighborhood. Lawns that are browned out, full of weeds, or are overgrown give a home buyer the impression that homeowners do not care about the neighborhood. Many times, a buyer may pass a house they love because the neighbor may have and overgrown lawn, a poorly constructed fence, siding that is showing wear that needs painting, or even parking in the street.
So, how does this affect the value of the entire neighborhood? What will end up happening is that the sellers will have to lower their price in order to get their home sold? Consequently, the price of every home that is sold will be determined by the most recent home sale in the neighborhood.
The bottom line is that HOAs are here to protect you. Don’t hold it against the president of the association or any member of the association for that matter. Be respectful of your neighbors and abide by the rules. If you don’t like the direction the neighborhood is moving in, go to the HOA meetings and voice your opinion. Better yet, volunteer to become a member of the board.
In the end, if you don’t like the rules of the neighborhood, purchase a home that doesn’t have restrictive covenants. You will be able to park your RV in your yard, but on the flip side, your neighbor is allowed to park a 1952-model school bus with no windows in theirs.
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