Homeowner Associations: Good or Evil?
Special Contribution Article
The concept is a good one. With lot sizes growing increasingly smaller, the need for a uniform code is crucial to prevent a neighbor from devaluing many homes in a subdivision. We’ve all seen it driving around…the one house painted a bright, obnoxious color with a few cars in the front yard and a couch on the front porch for good measure. No one intentionally wants to live next to that guy. However it seems that associations have eroded homeownership rights continuously as time goes by.
A new trend these days are associations placing limitations on commercial vehicles in the community. Some have simple rules about not parking a dump truck in your front yard. Some have go so far as to include a vehicle with business markings and in one subdivision even included police cruisers. This is foolish! Not only does this substantially limit the potential buyers but it acts as a 21st century discrimination. Blue collar or sales people need not apply. Is my neighbors house worth less when my lettered up Durango is in the driveway? In Annapolis, I ran into a subdivision that would not allow a pickup truck visible anywhere on the property. Unbelievable!
Pets often fall under the purveiew of most homeowners associations. While some do not limit size, most do limit character and the number of animals. While it is inappropriate to keep too many animals in a single residence, the matter can be better handled by the animal control or the police. Vocal pets can cause all kinds of problems as well that may lead to fines or even being forced to sell and move from the subdivision.
Another trend that failed miserably was the prohibition of satellite dishes on homes in a subdivision. Architectural committees were denying requests from homeowners who wanted an alternative to the high price, low quality offering of cable. They didn’t want the “unsightly” satellite dishes cluttering landscape of the community. It took an act of congress to rule that associations did not have the right to limit competition and that they had to allow the satellite dishes to be places wherever the homeowner could get a signal. You can place a satellite dish on the front door if that were the only place a signal could be found.
The role of a good homeowners association is to maintain the common areas and provide for insurance for the common areas, It is my feeling that the reason why the majority of my clients express deep concern about moving into a homeowners association is that the association have expanded to include roving gangs of nickpickers, given a soap box to hyperactive neighbors, and seek to dimish the rights of all homeowners.
When looking for your next home, its important that you read all homeowners documents available to you and pick a home based on lifestyle and needs. Far too often, I hear the excuse “I didn’t know” when they should have read the rules before signing on the dotted line for the house.