Comment by aroberge
5 hours ago
I, and I suspect many other people here, prefer to live in countries where there are no neighbourhood associations that can dictate the look of your house, what colour of paint you must use, etc.
5 hours ago
I, and I suspect many other people here, prefer to live in countries where there are no neighbourhood associations that can dictate the look of your house, what colour of paint you must use, etc.
I mean, where I live, there are no HOAs, but the city council instead mandates those kinds of things via zoning rules.
I think I still prefer that to HOAs, because - The city is pretty good at taking care of public facilities - I only pay city tax, not city tax and HOA fees - The city has better things to do than walk around neighborhoods looking for violations, so enforcement is pretty lax - The city government is subject to checks and balances
I prefer to spend $1.25mil on a house that won't drop in value because my neighbor is not allowed to put up demon statues and paint the house pink, etc.
Instead you chose a house that has significantly less value because of home buyer's preference for houses with a HOA and reduction in mortgage payment they can afford because of the fees.
What's the problem? He gets the house at (what you think is) a lower price than could otherwise be had, and he gets to enjoy living even more