A quick tour of your favorite search engine's menu on the topic of "disbanding homeowner's associations" sites would be mildly entertaining if inquiries weren't so fraught with rants and anger. A great HOA does nothing but help a community share expenses and responsibility, but when power is abused and members reach a collective breaking point, there's nothing to be done short of cutting the umbilical cord that holds residents to an existing, structured code of conduct.
"A great HOA does nothing but help a community share expenses and responsibility, but when power is abused and members reach a collective breaking point,"
ReplyDeleteWhich explains why HOAs have a 70% negative approval rating from homeowners who live in HOAs.
"Two-thirds of people who live in the jurisdiction of a homeowners association are "annoyed" by them, or worse, and 19% have been in what they call a "war" with their HOA. This is according to a survey of more than 3,000 customers by Service Magic."
source: "Two-Thirds 'Annoyed' With HOA, Survey Says" L.A. Times (blog). September 05, 2007. "HOA Problems and Complaints" Service Magic.
According to the survey of homeowners in H.O.A.s,
- 08% think they're great
- 16% think they're OK (24% positive)
- 21% think they're a minor annoyance
- 48% think they're a major headache (69% negative)
- 07% gave no opinion
- 19% said they had been in what they call a "war" with their HOA
- 54% said they "would rather live with a 'sloppy neighbor' than deal with an HOA."
- 78% said they might consider NOT buying a home under the jurisdiction of an HOA