[inanutshellus]

Neighbors of owned-properties:

  - care about the long-term effects of their actions
  - care about the plan of their surroundings
  - plan to stick around

This is a HUGE part of the psychological benefit you refer to of buying.

Notably this is equally applicable to any occupant-owned property (e.g. condos > apartments).

[huhkerrf]

Yeah, but it's also one of the downsides. "Care about the plan of their surroundings" can just as easily turn into the HOA drama that many prefer to avoid.

[y1n0]

HOA drama sucks for sure, but just outside of my HOA controlled neighborhood, I see also the houses with junk cars in their yards and grass gone to seed.

As much as I hate many stupid rules and seemingly unfair application of them, I do like that it mitigates against people that just don't give a shit about their property or the impact of their life choices on others.

[TimorousBestie]

> HOA drama sucks for sure, but just outside of my HOA controlled neighborhood, I see also the houses with junk cars in their yards and grass gone to seed.

You don’t need a potentially abusive and/or rent-seeking HOA for this. My locality controls for all of these potential issues through local ordinances.

[alistairSH]

Sure, but you don't need to buy in an abusive HOA community.

I live in a "town" (Reston, VA) that has a notoriously strict HOA. But, it mostly applies to buying/selling and home additions. And it's very consistent. Each subdivision within Reston also has its own HOA that's run by the owners and in charge of regular community upkeep. It works out, as long as you perform due diligence up front and know what you're buying. I don't know anybody who would claim it was abusive or rent-seeking - just mildly annoying sometimes.

[huhkerrf]

Genuine question: how can you know ahead of time? I could imagine you could have an HOA that seems reasonable until you get to know them.

[alistairSH]

As the sibling comment said, you start by reading the HOA covenants. If there are rules in place that you can’t abide by you simply don’t buy the house.

All the stories of people who bought in HOA areas and then got fined for having a work truck… I have little sympathy for them because that would’ve been in the HOA docs which were provided during contract negotiation.

The next step would be looking around the neighborhood to ensure that the rules are actually being fairly enforced. If the covenant say no work trucks, but there are work trucks parked at every third home then that’s indicative of a problem may or may not be an issue to you depending on your line of work, but it’s something to keep in line.

There are other things you can check as well. For example, ask for the HOA finances. Are they doing regular capital projects and do the budget seem reasonable? Do they have enough money in the bank for unforeseen capital expenses? Again not always a dealbreaker, but those are things you need to know and people frequently don’t bother asking about.

[fragmede]

You get a copy of the HOA bylaws before you close/finish buying. Read those bylaws to find out what rules exist. Some, like no having junker cars in your front yard, are going to be agreeable. Others, like the HOA gets to judge and prohibit certain flags, or the color of the paint on your house, are going to be vaguely worded, giving room for the HOA to be unreasonable. Additional bylaws can be introduced later, but usually reading the bylaws will you give your an idea of what you might be getting into.

[pandaman]

Though it could also be a case with a HOA, a government employee is much more likely to not give any fucks about local ordinances than the board of HOA, composed of people who are directly affected by violations.

[blks]

I understand benefits of HOA, but I would like to live with one that allows me to just grow middle length grass or local flower and grasses.

[gib444]

Can attest to this, living on a street which each year sees houses sold off to landlords, and now there are very few of us occupying-owners left.

The renters all have rubbish in their front and back yard, have more pets that they let bark and poo everywhere, smoke weed etc.

[bombcar]

This has more to do with how the neighborhood is going (literally “to the dogs”) than it does with renting - you’d be surprised at the houses that look owner occupied but are actually rentals.

[abalashov]

This can be good, but can also be quite bad if points #1 and #2 manifest in Karen form...