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Post by melanell on May 24, 2022 12:06:01 GMT
This is NOT meant to be an HOA bashing thread, nor a debate about wanting to live in an HOA neighborhood or not. This thread exists due to one line uttered at the end of a news segment I watched recently. It was about 2 different women, both in Georgie, who lost their homes due to HOA debates. In both cases it appears that both the HOA and the women were partly to blame, as was the laws in the state of Georgia regarding HOAs. The moral of that story, as per the report, was that if you have an argument with your HOA, the answer is not to refuse to pay dues or fines while you are arguing. Instead, pay what you owe, and then sue the HOA. Anyway, at the very end one of the reporters said "It's hard to buy a home these days that is not part of an HOA..." Now, I don't know if they meant in Georgia as a whole, or the US as a whole, or just their region of Georgia, because they didn't specify. But it made me immediately think "Really? It's hard to find homes not part of an HOA??" Where I live, it is absolutely not true at all. If you want to live in a condo or townhouse, then yes, you're going to deal with HOAs, but in the case of neighborhoods of detached dwellings, you'd be hard pressed to find a neighborhood with an HOA around here. Even the very newest or the most expensive neighborhoods rarely have them. Instead, our town itself takes care of some of the complaints people would tend to go to an HOA about. We get newsletters from the town reminding us of how long the grass can be, and how quickly we need to remove snow, and that we need permits for most types of improvements, etc. And if anyone has a complaint about how a neighbor is keeping (or not keeping) their property, going to the town about will get it taken care of quite quickly. Mind you, that's not going to cover the stereotypical issues of someone wanting to paint their house pink. But I will say that we have one pink house in town that I can think of, and it's really a lovely, well-kept house, and the pink is very nice. So, is that statement about it being difficult to buy a home without an HOA true for where you live now, or have lived before, or maybe just in areas where you have looked at real estate without buying? I'm in no way asking anyone to reveal where they live, even by state or region. I'm just curious if I live in a little bubble in this regard, or if the statement was likely one meant for people living in their immediate area.
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Post by peasapie on May 24, 2022 12:10:58 GMT
I live in a 55+ Community, so yes. But in general, regular SF homes are not part of HOAs where I live. (NY and NJ).
I’m surprised to hear people can lose their homes due to unpaid HOA fees. I used to be on a board in an apartment bldg in NYC and they were unable to put people out even if they had not paid their fees in years and years. All they could do was put a lien in the apartment. I guess the rules vary by state.
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luckyexwife
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Jun 25, 2014 21:21:08 GMT
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Post by luckyexwife on May 24, 2022 12:17:39 GMT
HOAs are not the norm here, more neighborhoods without them.
How did they lose their homes??? I didn't know that was even possible due to HOA fees!
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mich5481
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Oct 2, 2017 23:20:46 GMT
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Post by mich5481 on May 24, 2022 12:25:38 GMT
HOAs can put liens on properties and add assessments which add up very quickly.
There are a lot of places where almost all newly built master plan communities have an HOA. The developer initially runs it and then it is gradually turned over to the homeowners as they buy the homes.
I lived in an area where most older homes were HOA free, but the newer ones, like mine, had an HOA. It was so incredibly frustrating to deal with people who complain about the rules when they had options to buy a non HOA property - but then again, they didn't want those homes...
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Post by Linda on May 24, 2022 12:26:59 GMT
I'm in Florida- almost all new build subdivisions are HOA and unless you build on acreage, yeah, not many options for new-build. I think nearly 50% of Floridians live under an HOA
I *think* they are more common in the south and I suspect that's because they've been used (probably still used) as a way to keep 'undesirable' people (read - POC, Jews...more recently LGBTQ+ etc...) out.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Oct 6, 2024 12:31:43 GMT
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2022 12:45:26 GMT
Around here, HOA are part of planned neighborhoods, condos, and/or the expensive neighborhoods. You can usually guess where a HOA is present based on the fact there's only one street into the neighborhood and if there's a partial stone wall announcing the name of said neighborhood. In our area, these neighborhoods are usually on the outskirts of town without being rural or in the historical district where they're trying to preserve the older homes and prevent them from turning into cheap apartments.
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seaexplore
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Apr 25, 2015 23:57:30 GMT
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Post by seaexplore on May 24, 2022 12:45:34 GMT
I’m in an old subdivision in CA but it’s on a golf course ( I don’t live on the course but in the subdivision) and we have a cheap HOA that is under $300/year. We have had a fine sitting on our account for 11 years now because our trash cans were in view and I went to a hearing and it was supposedly dismissed but yet the fee still is on our account. I’m not paying it, they’re not removing it. I try every once in a while to get it fixed and submit everything for it to show it should be removed but yet they don’t remove it so it sits there. No added fees, just a monthly bill. I told DH we should be saving all the stamps that are on the bills they mail and send them back when it’s equal to our $300 we owe. I might be a bit stubborn. We do pay our yearly fee. Basically there are no amenities but it prevents junk cars and trashed yards. Not really worth it IMO.
We have a neighboring subdivision, the largest in CA, that has optional dues you can pay which gets you the use of tennis courts and clubhouse and pool. It’s like $200/year.
Neither subdivision has sidewalks nor lighting nor landscaping included so it’s basically roads that are covered.
Another neighboring subdivision has sidewalks, gated entry, pool (that is closed down), clubhouse, lighting, yard maintained and I think they pay around $400/mo.
Then there are various apartment type subdivisions with a few residences that have HOA’s for roads and that’s it.
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Post by bigbundt on May 24, 2022 12:49:50 GMT
I wouldn't say it is impossible in my area but you're either going to have to shell out A LOT of money or be okay with a much older home that is very small that probably needs top to bottom renovations. Plus it will probably end up in an area outside city limits with little to no zoning so you may very well end up with some neighbors who are not as conscientious about keeping up their home or someone would plop a trailer park next door to you or have a literal scrap yard full of junk.
Not to mention we have kids and in order to stay within zoning of the schools we prefer, most of the houses on the market are going to be in HOAs. If we didn't have kids, it would be much easier to find something not in an HOA because our search area would be greatly increased. My husband needs a certain level of internet for his job and it isn't always available in the more outlying areas where this non-HOA houses are.
So some people may find it easy to find something in my area without an HOA but us with our requirements, it is very hard.
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peabay
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Jun 25, 2014 19:50:41 GMT
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Post by peabay on May 24, 2022 12:53:34 GMT
Around here, HOA are part of planned neighborhoods, condos, and/or the expensive neighborhoods. You can usually guess where a HOA is present based on the fact there's only one street into the neighborhood and if there's a partial stone wall announcing the name of said neighborhood. In our area, these neighborhoods are usually on the outskirts of town without being rural or in the historical district where they're trying to preserve the older homes and prevent them from turning into cheap apartments. Pretty much a ditto. We have 4 neighborhoods in town that are HOAs and have their own pools/tennis courts etc... it's pretty clear what neighborhoods they are and most homes here are not in these distinct neighborhoods.
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Post by bigbundt on May 24, 2022 13:02:18 GMT
I lived in an area where most older homes were HOA free, but the newer ones, like mine, had an HOA. It was so incredibly frustrating to deal with people who complain about the rules when they had options to buy a non HOA property - but then again, they didn't want those homes... It is so stupid too because you can always ask for the covenants and read through them *before* you make an offer. There are a few neighborhoods we will not buy into because we don't agree with the restrictions. There are plenty of neighborhoods with less stringent HOAs. Ours is pretty hands off except for architectural changes but I've heard some horror stories from friends in other neighborhoods. One memorable one was one trying to tell people what was acceptable wreaths they could hang on front doors. I have another friend whose HOA requires white linings on curtains hanging in windows and candles in each front facing window at Christmas.
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smartypants71
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,816
Location: Houston, TX
Jun 25, 2014 22:47:49 GMT
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Post by smartypants71 on May 24, 2022 13:02:50 GMT
I do live in an HOA, but it's a very small one. I live in a group of 6 homes, and we pay the HOA to maintain the common area, insurance for the common areas, and the electronic gate. In addition, they maintain the entire outside of our properties (roof, painting, etc). I don't think it's really common here to have an HOA until you start getting out to the 'burbs where the master-planned communities are. Inside the city, I think it's more common to have deed restriction communities, but I think that is pretty loose. For instance, my friend lives in a community where 3 story houses or multi-family homes are not allowed, but it also says black people aren't allowed either, so clearly the restrictions haven't been updated in some time.
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peabay
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Jun 25, 2014 19:50:41 GMT
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Post by peabay on May 24, 2022 13:04:15 GMT
I do live in an HOA, but it's a very small one. I live in a group of 6 homes, and we pay the HOA to maintain the common area, insurance for the common areas, and the electronic gate. In addition, they maintain the entire outside of our properties (roof, painting, etc). I don't think it's really common here to have an HOA until you start getting out to the 'burbs where the master-planned communities are. Inside the city, I think it's more common to have deed restriction communities, but I think that is pretty loose. For instance, my friend lives in a community where 3 story houses are not allowed, but it also says black people aren't allowed either, so clearly the restrictions haven't been updated in some time. Why hasn't anyone updated that? Can't believe no one has sued! And rightfully so!
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Sarah*H
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Jun 25, 2014 20:07:06 GMT
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Post by Sarah*H on May 24, 2022 13:04:44 GMT
Around here, HOA are part of planned neighborhoods, condos, and/or the expensive neighborhoods. You can usually guess where a HOA is present based on the fact there's only one street into the neighborhood and if there's a partial stone wall announcing the name of said neighborhood. In our area, these neighborhoods are usually on the outskirts of town without being rural or in the historical district where they're trying to preserve the older homes and prevent them from turning into cheap apartments. This is the situation in my immediate community except some of the most expensive neighborhoods are very rural, bumping up against farms and nature preserves. However, I would not say this is the case for our county as a whole which has a lot of rural areas and, old company towns (like coal patches) and rust belt towns where most homes would not be subject to an HOA. I would guess that 95% of new builds in this county are subject to an HOA though.
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smartypants71
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,816
Location: Houston, TX
Jun 25, 2014 22:47:49 GMT
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Post by smartypants71 on May 24, 2022 13:06:19 GMT
I do live in an HOA, but it's a very small one. I live in a group of 6 homes, and we pay the HOA to maintain the common area, insurance for the common areas, and the electronic gate. In addition, they maintain the entire outside of our properties (roof, painting, etc). I don't think it's really common here to have an HOA until you start getting out to the 'burbs where the master-planned communities are. Inside the city, I think it's more common to have deed restriction communities, but I think that is pretty loose. For instance, my friend lives in a community where 3 story houses are not allowed, but it also says black people aren't allowed either, so clearly the restrictions haven't been updated in some time. Why hasn't anyone updated that? Can't believe no one has sued! And rightfully so! Here's the last update I've seen on it. Not sure what the outcome was: www.khou.com/article/news/local/growing-momentum-to-rewrite-racist-deed-restrictions-in-oak-forest/285-cfc7cf4c-0d1f-4bdc-b221-79cbc45c48b4
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Post by mom2jnk on May 24, 2022 13:14:24 GMT
I'm in the Midwest, in a bedroom community of about 10,000 people just outside of a major university town. Both of the homes that we have owned in this community were part of HOAs.
HOAs are extremely common here; some are more extensive in their fees and amenities, and more rigorous with enforcement of aesthetic issues, but the only way to get around them locally is to purchase an older home within the community and not in one of the many subdivisions.
The HOAs around here are usually formed by the developer/real estate agents who create the neighborhood and then are eventually passed into the control of the homeowners once the subdivision is fully established. But it is the local real estate "royalty" who create the HOAs and the bylaws and if you want to live in the subdivision, you have to follow their rules.
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maryannscraps
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Post by maryannscraps on May 24, 2022 13:19:41 GMT
Not in my state, with the exception of townhomes which are usually under state condominium laws.
Three aren't any HOAs in my town that I know of. There are a few 55+ developments, but they're all condos.
We pitch in a few bucks a year and some weeding time to maintain the garden at the entrance to our neighborhood.
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casii
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Jun 29, 2014 14:40:44 GMT
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Post by casii on May 24, 2022 13:23:16 GMT
I would say in my area, if it's a development, there's an HOA.
I live in the old part of my town, so no HOA, but definitely active code enforcement.
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Post by maryland on May 24, 2022 13:34:07 GMT
We have one in our current neighborhood that is wonderful! We had one in our former neighborhood and it was horrible! You were fined for having a weed in your yard as their group of 5 would walk around with clipboards writing certain home owners up every month.
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Post by crazy4scraps on May 24, 2022 13:34:32 GMT
We don’t have an HOA where we live now, nor was there one at our previous house. It’s pretty easy to avoid them here with single family homes unless you are looking at living in a condo, a townhouse or on a golf course. In those situations it’s pretty much standard operating procedure.
When we were house hunting in 2011-2012, we looked at several lovely houses that were in HOA neighborhoods and it always ended up being a deal breaker for us. It didn’t sit well with us to have things strictly dictated like exterior paint colors, having to have all vehicles parked inside the garage overnight, or what we could or couldn’t do with our landscaping, etc. So yes, we did have a choice and we opted to not go that route.
Now having said that, the neighborhood/community we live in does have an optional home improvement association that residents can either opt into or not annually. This organization has dues of about $25 a year or so and they organize things like Adopt A Highway cleanup days, an Easter egg hunt and Santa visits for the kids, a summer picnic/potluck, swimming lessons and a water ski show, a perennial plant trading event, those kinds of things.
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keithurbanlovinpea
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Flowing with the go...
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Jun 29, 2014 3:29:30 GMT
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Post by keithurbanlovinpea on May 24, 2022 13:40:22 GMT
I am in mortgage servicing and HOAs are the BANE OF OUR EXISTENCE. They tend to be a more southern US thing although they do extend some into NM, AZ, and NV. So many things to complain about HOAs. Did you know that some states are what we call super lien states, which means that an HOA lien is superior to your mortgage and not only do you lose your house to the HOA if they foreclose but I lose my collateral as well. Gone like the wind. Looking at you Nevada.
In any case, I live in Texas, and while they are not common in the cities except for townhome/condos, they are are very much a presence in the suburbs if you live in a master planned community. Ours is pretty tame, and pretty cheap, and we get some basic amenities and such. But the one on the other side of the highway is rabid, citing people for driveways that are cracked and houses that need to be powerwashed.
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peabay
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Jun 25, 2014 19:50:41 GMT
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Post by peabay on May 24, 2022 13:44:44 GMT
I'm not even going to pretend to understand how hard it could be to simply change the wording in an HOA. That's insane.
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Post by padresfan619 on May 24, 2022 13:44:59 GMT
We do not live in an HOA and it was a requirement to find a neighborhood that didn’t have one when we were looking for a house. I’d say it’s pretty easy to find a neighborhood here without one if you’re willing to be open minded about the area, but if you have a very specific area in mind you’ll be hard pressed to find a house that’s not in an HOA.
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Post by CardBoxer on May 24, 2022 13:50:57 GMT
I do live in an HOA, but it's a very small one. I live in a group of 6 homes, and we pay the HOA to maintain the common area, insurance for the common areas, and the electronic gate. In addition, they maintain the entire outside of our properties (roof, painting, etc). I don't think it's really common here to have an HOA until you start getting out to the 'burbs where the master-planned communities are. Inside the city, I think it's more common to have deed restriction communities, but I think that is pretty loose. For instance, my friend lives in a community where 3 story houses are not allowed, but it also says black people aren't allowed either, so clearly the restrictions haven't been updated in some time. Why hasn't anyone updated that? Can't believe no one has sued! And rightfully so! Often unrelated to HOAs, there are large numbers of old covenants across the U.S. that have never been challenged that have restrictions on housing to blacks, Jews, “semites,” and other minorities. Changing them is time consuming and expensive, but some states have streamlined the process. In 2020 Maryland made it possible for homeowners to go to court for free to get them changed. We purchased a house in Bethesda, Maryland at one time, which is a blue area in a blue state. The covenant was exactly the same as the one The Washington Post referred to, below. The previous owners were black and one of us is Jewish. So there, racist covenants. Probably behind a paywall: www.washingtonpost.com/local/racist-housing-covenants/2020/10/21/9d262738-0261-11eb-8879-7663b816bfa5_story.html“As one dated May 6, 1946, explains, property “shall never be used or occupied by . . . negroes or any person or persons, of negro blood or extraction, or to any person of the Semitic Race, blood or origin, or Jews, Armenians, Hebrews, Persians and Syrians, except . . . partial occupancy of the premises by domestic servants.”
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Post by ~summer~ on May 24, 2022 13:55:50 GMT
I don’t - my town has a few “developments” that do have an HOA. For a minute I seriously considered moving one twin over to a house in an HOA - their fees are like $850/month (eta: just looked at a current listing and HOA is $988/month!) which seemed super high though it gives you full access to a gorgeous country club with pool etc. did seem like a nice feature!
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Post by CardBoxer on May 24, 2022 14:03:31 GMT
We’re in an HOA but there are many areas nearby that don’t have them. I’d guess the reporter made too broad a statement that reflected that area or situation.
If HOA fees are in arrears here it can stop someone selling their house. The homeowners association has taken owners to court (and vice versa!) but generally not for that. But it’s not a typical association - a population of about 60,000 and +/-85 employees in the association.
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Post by elaine on May 24, 2022 14:16:05 GMT
Around here (my part of Fairfax County, VA), I’d say probably 85% of homes are in an HOA. So, yes, it is very difficult to find housing not in one. Yes, I live in one and all the places I looked at when buying here 19 years ago were in one.
Both townhouses and single family homes tend to be part of developments and are governed by HOAs. Most of the homes are newer than 35 years old. The homes in the neighborhoods that are older than that are those without HOAs.
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scorpeao
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Jun 25, 2014 21:04:54 GMT
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Post by scorpeao on May 24, 2022 14:26:56 GMT
I'm in California and I live in a tiny gated neighborhood of condos, but we are really more like duplexes or townhomes. We pay an hoa fee that covers the gate, pool, landscape and exterior of the home. Most of my neighbors are retirees in their mid to late 80s. The board is made up of younger owners (I'm the youngest on the board and I'm pushing 50). The only frustrating thing about our hoa is all the old people think they live in apartments...got rats? Call the hoa. Bathroom toilet overflowed? Call the hoa. I'm not making any friends by telling them call a plumber, here's the number to pest control. The neighborhoods around me that belong to hoas are usually ones that have a community pool or are gated.
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Post by katlady on May 24, 2022 14:51:14 GMT
Yes, we have an HOA. Many newer communities here in this area have them. And I say “newer”, but our community is about 30 years old. Our board has gotten a little more relaxed about yard maintenance (we can now have artificial grass in the front). We cannot park on the street overnight without a special temporary permit. I don’t mind that because some communities around here don’t even let you park in the driveway! We don’t have any amenities like a pool, park, or trails, so our monthly fee is very low ($100). It goes to take care of the gate, street (private street) and common areas. We wanted a newer house (we’ve been here 20 years) and it was close to the schools for the kids. The entire area was fairly new when we moved in.
There is a senior community (55+) that not only has a HOA, but they also have a recreation fee to use the golf course, tennis court, etc. I’ve heard that fee is mandatory! And the homes are expensive and big.
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Rhondito
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Jun 25, 2014 19:33:19 GMT
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Post by Rhondito on May 24, 2022 14:59:28 GMT
Most homes where I live are in an HOA. When I bought my house six years ago we did not have one yet because the neighborhood was still under construction, but I knew as soon as construction was finished we would be turned over to an HOA. For the most part there are no complaints with ours; the only one seems to be about the landscaping company keeping the grass cut around the lake.
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Post by melanell on May 24, 2022 15:03:03 GMT
You can usually guess where a HOA is present based on the fact there's only one street into the neighborhood and if there's a partial stone wall announcing the name of said neighborhood. Ah, I see. We do absolutely have those exact type of neighborhood entrances, but the developments do not have HOAs in the cases here. They just become an easy way to give directions or advertise neighborhood yard sales.
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