A few weeks ago, I ran across an excellent resource for anyone curious about the Homeowners Association experience. His website is still under construction, but Robert R. has been through the HOA meatgrinder a couple of times. He’s one of the few people who’s ever actually won a lawsuit against the parasites in the legal profession who’ve turned HOA life into a nightmare for hundreds of thousands of Americans. Since his site is still under development, I’ll let him tell his own story if he chooses to do so.
Millions of Americans have moved into covenant-protected neighborhoods, thinking the experience will be a positive one, maintenance will protect property values, neighbors will be friendly. A good percentage will find exactly what they were searching for.
Sadly, many others will discover that the move to the new neighborhood constituted a fundamental change of government. Yes, they’ve actually moved out of the United States of America and into a private non-profit corporation governed, not by the U.S. Constitution, but by a set of bylaws and restrictions. The restrictions were created by the original real estate developer and control handed over to neighborhood boards. The new corporate rules have nothing to do with the Bill of Rights with which most of us are familiar.
One of the main purposes of a homeowners association is to maintain the common areas in a neighborhood like the parks and roads. The homeowners in turn are obliged to pay their dues to sustain these amenities. Often, these can be from $100 to $10,000 per year, based on the kind of neighborhood and their amenities. Moreover, not only do the residents have to pay their HOA dues, but they also are required to follow the rule book of the association.
