HOA Nut House

Banks as well as other folks involved in lending, brokering sales, etc. Believe that HOAs keep property values up. They beleive that by keeping the value up that their investment is protected (if you default then they can sell it to recover the loan vs. a house that is worth less than what is owed).

Realtors beleive that it beneifts their business because they sale on commissiion, the more your house is worth/the more they pocket by selling it for you.

Governments (your county or city) love HOAs because they provide lighting and other ammenaties that are not paid for from the tax dollars (free upkeep for the government).

Lawyers love HOAs because they are a source of income for them when for instance you sue your HOA because they are doing something wrong to you, the lawyers win. When the HOA sues you/file foreslosure or leins, the lawyers win. When you give up and move out/sell your home, the lawyers will host the closing/file the deed for the new owners, the lawyers win.

In fact, the hard reality is that HOAs do in fact benefit everyone except of course the individual homeowner.

I think this answers your question.

Maybe the current economic "downturn" will convince them otherwise. Our property values in this 'PUD' have fallen and keep falling. There have already been several 'tax certificates' sold in this PUD, with more on the way at the next sale this spring. In Florida one can apply for a "tax deed" after two years, so there will be some 'tax deed' sales in here soon too.

Several bank foreclosures from prior years and more to come this year should let these "folks" in lending, etc. know that their beliefs are erroneous in the extreme.

Realtors are part of the problem, as NAR helped set these monstrosities up in the first place. Let us hope that these Realtors will one day figure out that non-HOA properties sell for higher prices than HOA scheme properties.

HOAs are contributing to the economic bust in housing. HOAs are becoming the incentive for many "upside down" homeowners to just walk away from this HOA and negative equity Nightmare!

The "liquidity bubble" has hit all housing, not just PUDs/HOAs. There are trailers being reposesed out there. The banks were selling loans to folks that should never been allowed to borrow money.

That being said.......I don't like PUDs or HOAs because I have lived in one for 8 years now, and it is a constant battle to get the board to do what is right under the law,CCRs, bylaws. After my own sour experience with them, I have read many books and researched them on the net (news articles on the net, not just bash blogs and other's opinions). There is a fundamental problem with HOAs. It seems like the "default setting" for those on the board is cliqueish, selfish, no integrety.

Our board is trying to change our restrictions to make new provisions despite our current set of restrictions having in Article I that they run with the land and are ammendable only after 20 years have elapsed. It has only been 15 years and they are in the process of making changes. They havn't told the membership what the changes are going to be yet. They will bring it out at the next meeting (scheduled near a holiday) when most members won't be there. They will bring lots of proxies and rail road it thru.
Since I am at odds with them and am an "outcast" there will probably be something there that I won't like or something targetting me. Now I won't be able to buy that Polaris 4 wheeler, because I will have to spend that 7 grand sueing them.

In my last neighborhood it was a planned developement that did not have an HOA. It was simply a developement with restricted homesites with no common areas. If a neighbor was to put a trailer or cars on blocks next to you then you could take him to court to have it removed. We had no fashion police writing letters to you about your mailbox. I think that it was the best solution. no cars on blocks/no hoa.

I just closed on a condo in March 2008 that has an HOA. At the closing, everyone sat there (realtor, lender, seller, buyer and closing attorney)and said nothing about the HOA fee for April being due. In fact, the closing attorney announced that no payments were due on anything until May 1. About 2 weeks later, I received a payment book from my HOA and the first ticket read May 1. So I paid this. On the day that was received by them I got something in the mail stating that I owed the April payment. When I called the HOA company they said that the time of the closing the buyer was given a credit for the April fee. If that is the case, why didnt' anyone at the table mention this? Now, yesterday I received a call from the closing attorney's office stating that they forgot to have me sign a PUD rider at the time of closing. Does signing or not signing this PUD rider having anything to do with it being my responsibility to pay this April HOA fee? Who is actually responsible for paying it? My lender is saying that I am.

Please advise.

HERE ARE SOME ANSWERS:

"I just closed on a condo in March 2008 that has an HOA. At the closing, everyone sat there (realtor, lender, seller, buyer and closing attorney)and said nothing about the HOA fee for April being due." SAID IS THE OPERATIVE WORD...IN REAL ESTATE, IF IT'S NOT IN WRITING, IT DOESN'T EXIST. "In fact, the closing attorney announced that no payments were due on anything until May 1." THE PAYMENTS ATTORNEY REFERRED TO WERE MORTGAGE PAYMENTS, AND NOT HOA FEE PAYMENTS. "About 2 weeks later, I received a payment book from my HOA and the first ticket read May 1. So I paid this. On the day that was received by them I got something in the mail stating that I owed the April payment." IT APPEARS THAT THE FORMER OWNER DID NOT TRANSFER THE OLD PAYMENT BOOK TO YOU WITH THE FINAL PAYMENT COUPON. "When I called the HOA company they said that the time of the closing the buyer was given a credit for the April fee." THEY WERE WRONG...THEY SHOULD HAVE SAID THE SELLER WAS GIVEN CREDIT FOR THE APRIL PAYMENT. "If that is the case, why didnt' anyone at the table mention this?" WERE YOU IN A COMA AT YOUR CLOSING? IT'S UP TO YOU TO DETERMINE THE DETAILS OF THE TRANSACTION! "Now, yesterday I received a call from the closing attorney's office stating that they forgot to have me sign a PUD rider at the time of closing. Does signing or not signing this PUD rider having anything to do with it being my responsibility to pay this April HOA fee?" NO. PUD RIDER IS SIGNED AS AN ADJUNCT TO THE MORTGAGE CONTRACT, AND HAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH FEES. "Who is actually responsible for paying it? My lender is saying that I am." YOUR LENDER IS RIGHT.

YOU NEED TO WAKE UP AND SMELL THE JAVA...SOMETHING TELLS ME YOU SLEEP WALK THROUGH LIFE!

While "signing or not signing" a Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac Uniform Instrument would seem questionably relevant to whether the seller or the purchaser "owes" the April payment ("the buyer was given a credit for the April Fee"), the hiccup (failure to have the purchaser sign the lender's required amendment to its security instrument) with respect to determining the details of the transaction and fulfilling the requirements precedent to closing would seem to be that of the closing attorney and/or the other fee-paid professionals. Does the buyer have any post-closing leverage re the disputed fee?

Those with little to say of substantive value generally say little, "In my humble opinion...," or simply whine, kvetch or wring their hands about that which they know little, understand less, are unwilling to discover the truth for themselves but are quick to personally disparage other contributors to "Your Purple Press on the Net" ("Were you in a coma...something tells me you sleep walk through life...Mr. Chief Justice") by directing their vitriol at those that inexplicably seem to cause them distress.

Rather than continuing to demonstrate "her" ignorance and arrogance on HOA Nut House, perhaps "the Empress of Large" should take a pill like the rest of the gurlz.

I'm a homebuyer seeking to live in a deed restricted community. Is there a listing of the available deed restricted neighborhoods in Pinellas County Florida? If so, how can I obtain it?

V/R

Chris