Why are HOA communities so popular?

Why are homeowner associations so powerful, and why do so many people want to live in them? It’s a balance of amenities and control.

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Produced by Dave Amos and the fine folks at Nebula Studios.
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Black Lives Matter.

[CityBeautiful]

Sorry about the audio glitch at 8:28. I watched this video a few times and somehow missed it!

[TheNeodarkwing]

It's ironic that HOAs objective is to provide amenities but realtors often list "no HOA" as an amenity.

[kurtfranklin]

IDK why people like HOA’s. Seems like owning a home without owning one. My uncle just bought a home. “No HOA” was on the top of his prerequisites list.

[andrewrockwell]

I have had a very hard time finding homes that are not in an HOA. Its not that I choose them, its that they monopolize the land.

[ArchOfWinter]

Step 1: Join HOA
Step 2: Become a board member with friends
Step 3: Enforce the rules very strictly
Step 4: Cause so much annoyance and convince people to disband the HOA and turn over public right of way to the city.

[ArchOfWinter]

HOA only makes sense for an entire apartment building/complex where heavier maintenance of elevators and complex machineries are needed, and to govern behaviors that will effects the neighbors you share your walls/floors/ceiling with.

[scunicycler]

I grew up in an HOA and it was fine until one person would inevitably get upset over something and make it their mission to make the other person miserable. That obviously happens in non-HOA communities too, but it felt my like there was a sort of 'secret police' with everyone telling on other people over any little infringement. The whole neighborhood just felt sterile too. I'm glad to be out, living in an interesting neighborhood with lots of variety.

[VoiceDisasterNz]

I grew up in a rural area. To me, living in an HOA sounds like hell.

[fyzxnerd]

Yeah this doesn't do much other than convince me that HOA's need to be abolished. Love your content!

[psyspoop]

Just bought my first home and one of my top requirements was no HOA. I don't want to own property just to give a bunch of Karens the power to decide what I get to do with it. Thankfully, the city I bought in has a lot of good houses available that aren't in an HOA as long as you shop in neighborhoods that are about 10+ years old.

[SaveMoneySavethePlanet]

My issue with HOAs is that they have potential to be super useful, but they rarely live up to that potential.

4 things which most homeowners could do in order to lower their carbon footprint are: Compost, have a small garden, plant yards which require no watering, and install renewable electricity generation. HOAs could help with all of these things.

They could higher outside workers to manage the compost pile and garden so that everything doesn’t die when you go on vacation. They could relax their standards for “perfectly manicured grass lawns” in order to cut down on fertilizer and water use. And they could collectively bargain with a solar installer in order to get everyone a discount!

But instead, we’re stuck with a bunch of HOAs who just care about the junk that was mentioned in that Reddit thread…

[Lildizzle]

the chair of my neighborhood HOA, told me that renters don't need affordable housing and I can go live some place else. there's no reason why I should stay in my neighborhood where I've lived for 5 years now. (housing insecurity doesn't allow us to put down roots)

[gtaeverrr]

Apparently HOA's have the power to put a lien on your house for minor rule violations, which is absolutely ridiculous. I'll never live in an HOA if I can help it, unless their power over communities is significantly reined in.

[habfan]

Living in Florida I went out of my way to ensure I did NOT buy in an HOA community. It was quite frustrating how limiting that hard rule was for me, but I ended up quite happy in a non-HOA community.
When I tell people my "dues" are $0, they get jealous.
$260/month may be the average, but I know some people that pay as much as $900/month, just in HOAs!

[tudorjason]

People subconsciously think conformity equals security.
And an HOA demands conformity.

[tek]

What's the point of buying a single family house if it has an HOA. Just get a condo at that point

[ashtonrooks]

One thing people should really be more aware of, depending on the state, HOA dues and fees can be *foreclosed* ... I have even seen HOAs foreclose on properties in small claims court. People lose their homes over failure to pay dues/fines.

[twitertaker]

In Germany I know this kind of effect mostly at allotment garden areas. People that felt powerless for their whole life become leaders of the allotment garden area and finally they have some form of power... so you can only plant a certain amount of radish in your garden, because Erna, the head of planting council doesn't like them.

[TexMexTraveler]

I became disabled quadriplegic requiring the use of a wheelchair. I had to have ramps put in at each door so I could get in and out. My HOA has been fining me ever since despite knowing I am now disabled. I went to court and lost with the court saying the ADAl laws apply to places of "public" accommodation and that my home and my HOA are private places. I now have over $20, 000 in HOA fines. If I sell and move, I lose a considerable amount of equity in my home due to the HOA fines that will have to be paid at closing. We have a cluster mailbox. I can not reach it from my wheelchair. I have to get other to get my mail. I put up a small mailbox next to my front door that can barely been seen from the road and matches the color of my house. The HOA is now fining me because of the mailbox next to my front door. THERE SHOULD BE A LIMIT TO AN HOA'S POWER AND ABILITY TO FINE. It violates the constitution's "due process" clause as I seemingly have no say in the matter and no way to contest it, and I believe since they are acting like a governmental organization, they are violating the "takings" clause as well. What's worse, the house across the street and down one house has trash in their yard, the lawn isn't moved often, resulting in knee high grass, broken down card are in their driveway with expired tags, and the various residents who come and go are either outside arguing all day and night or outside listening to music until midnight. That house doesn't have a single fine. THey've gotten ZERO nasty-grams from the HOA. HOA's are often political and divisive groups with selective enforcement.

[timothysatyr]

I think it's classism, like sunset laws.

A group of folks get together and form laws that are worded to apply to all, but they are only enforced on the outgroup.