April 27, 2005

• Never, never....and I mean NEVER get involved in a homeowners association.  It's one of the classic blunders...the most famous is never get involved in a land war in Asia.....But I digress.  I've just learned (after moving in 3 months ago) that we are about to vote on whether we should raise the monthly dues by $60.  We almost passed up this house because the dues were expensive to begin with ($90/month), but they took care of the lawn, gave us free basic cable, and upkeep a pool and a hot tub.  We figured that cable is worth about $40 a month, and $50-$60 a month was comparable to other HOAs in the area without free cable.

  
  

  To make matters worse, the few neighbors that we've discussed this about seem to think that this will be voted through.  The extra money will be set aside with the "intent" to be used for road maintenence, but of course noone but the board members will be able to ensure that this will actually happen. 

  
  

  I was looking on the internet and was trying to find a listing of HOA dues for the area so that I could write a letter and ask why this increase would be justified since I know we will be one of the top priced HOAs after this increase (except for the rich "brand-name" gated communities).  Anyone know how to get information like this?

  • 8:31 am
  • 3 Comments