In This Economy, Somethings Got to Go

I met a woman at an open house yesterday who told me something that stuck with me.

She has what she thought would be her forever home.

Except it isn’t working anymore.

Her neighbor’s pool equipment is so loud she described it as sounding like a generator, and it’s close enough to her property that it has changed the enjoyment of her own home.

My first thought was:

“I thought the HOA could do something about that.”

Apparently, in her situation, it can’t.

And that got me thinking.

We talk a lot about what an HOA gives you.

Community standards. Maintained common areas. Rules intended to protect property values. Sometimes pools, gates, landscaping and other amenities.

But in an economy where homeowners are already looking hard at insurance, taxes, interest rates and every other monthly expense, maybe we should be looking just as hard at that HOA payment.

Because the question isn’t simply:

“How much is the HOA?”

Maybe the better questions are:

What am I actually getting for it?

What do the restrictions protect me from?

What do they restrict me from doing?

And when something affects the enjoyment of my property, what can the association actually do about it?

I’m not anti-HOA.

For some buyers, the amenities, appearance and structure of a well-run community are absolutely worth paying for.

But for another buyer?

That same $200, $300 or $500 a month might be money they’d rather keep—and the freedom to park the boat, build the shop, plant the garden, put up the fence or simply have fewer people involved in decisions about their own property might be worth even more.

In this economy, something’s got to go.

Maybe, for some buyers, it’s the HOA.

Don’t just ask what the HOA costs. Ask what you’re buying with it.

Whit