Common Myths About Living within a Homeowners Association
Like anything, living in a community that is a part of a homeowner’s association can have both its benefits and its drawbacks. On one hand, homeowners tend to benefit from the recreational opportunities, events, and overall appearance that homeowner’s associations tend to create and enforce. On the other hand, living in a community like this does come with a monthly fee, which depending on where you live can be several hundred dollars. Additionally, there are often strict guidelines that homeowners are expected to follow when it comes to the outward appearance of their homes.
If you look up homeowner’s associations online, you will be swarmed with information regarding what it means to live in such a community. Unforetold, in a lot of cases, the information out there is not completely accurate. While there are specifics, such as what the monthly fee is, and what exactly comes with that, there are a lot of myths out there regarding what it is like living in a community that is part of a homeowner’s association.
Myth 1: You Cannot Paint or Change the Outward Appearance of Your Home
When living in a community with a homeowner’s association, you are expected to follow a set of guidelines. Often these guidelines pertain to the color of your house, the style of fencing you can put on your property; sometimes these expectations can be as specific as the color curtain that can be seen from the outside. While there are guidelines, this does not mean that you are not allowed to change what your home looks like, it simply means that you are expected to do so within the parameters outlined (or upon approval of the board).
Myth 2: Living within a Community with a Homeowners Association Means that You will have a Pool and Tennis Court at your Disposal
As great as it would be for this theory to be true – it is in fact very much FICTION. A certain portion of the fees associated with a homeowner’s association does go towards recreational opportunities for the residents, more often than not this will be something like a playground, trails or basketball court. While there are some homeowner’s associations that provide pools or tennis courts, these amenities are certainly to be considered the most common.
The reality is that if you are considering purchasing a home that is a part of a homeowner’s association there are a lot of things to consider. Can you afford the monthly fee? What do you get each month? Will you have to cut your lawn? Handle your snow removal? Are there activities and programs that go on for your children throughout the neighborhood? While there are a lot of things to consider, homeowner’s associations do offer a lot as well, from a unified and well-kept appearance to up-to-date and well-maintained playground equipment, and lawn maintenance, often living with a homeowner’s association removes some of the pressure from the homeowners themselves.
Before purchasing a home within a homeowner’s association, it is important that you are aware of what the answers are to these, and any other questions that you might have. After all, this is a monthly fee and not something that you can opt out of should you decide that you do not care for it after all.