Do You Have to Join a Homeowners Association?
Homeowners institutions, or HOAs, are typical in residential subdivisions and planned communities throughout the state of California. In reality, over 8.5 million California residents were estimated to be living in a growth with an HOA as of 2006, says The Orange County Register. At that moment, there were approximately 43,000 HOAs from the country with many more in development. When there are lots of homeowners institutions in the San Francisco area, residents of those communities may have a choice as to if they must join the HOA.
Kinds of Membership
A homeowners association generally adopts one of two membership coverages: voluntary or mandatory. According to the North Carolina Real Estate Commission, homeowners who live in a neighborhood where HOA membership is voluntary do not have to join; those living in a mandatory membership community will have to become members of that association.
Dues
Much like membership, membership dues are either voluntary or mandatory in line with the membership coverage of the HOA, states that the North Carolina Real Estate Commission. Dues for mandatory membership has to be compensated in total for each payment period for a homeowner to remain a resident of this community.
Benefits
Many homeowners find there are advantages to connecting an HOA, whether voluntary or mandatory. The membership dues are used to beautify the area and create a safer area. Members of an HOA often enjoy several community characteristics they couldn’t afford by themselves, such as a playground or a pool. HOA members may also feel that the team enhances the feeling of”neighborhood” in their area while at the same time maintaining high property values during the evolution.
Caution
Membership dues should be taken by homeowners who are involved with a HOA that was mandatory. In some cases, HOAs have taken their members to court for failing to cover fees. According to NPR, the HOA can also induce the members to cover any necessary court costs associated with the situation.
Theories
Much speculation has been made about if living in an HOA community is too restricting. Although a lot of people enjoy the advantages of living in a regulated home improvement, there are others who believe that the rules do not allow for sensible freedoms. By way of example, The Dallas Morning News reported on a couple that has been taken to court with their own HOA in early 2010 after installing solar panels on their roof; the HOA claimed that the improvement was a breach of HOA policies.
