Comment by alistairSH
2 hours ago
My HOA owns all the common area in the neighborhood, including the streets and parking spaces. So, all that upkeep (paint, seal, re-pave, snow removal, etc) gets paid out of a HOA dues. They also pay for landscaping of common areas, neighborhood lighting, and a few other things. The also organize trash collection (without which we'd have to buy individually and have a constant stream of trash trucks rolling through). And they have to carry insurance to cover that common property.
Who else is going to fix the roads? The county and state aren't going to, they don't own it. We seal the asphalt every 5-8 years and repave every 15-20 (I've only lived her 10 years, so those are very rough guesses).
> The also organize trash collection (without which we'd have to buy individually and have a constant stream of trash trucks rolling through).
That's not a given. I live in a non-HOA area, and everyone on my street has trash collection from the same company on the same day. Thursday night, we set our carts out. Friday morning, we bring them in.
There's a wide middle between HOA bureaucracy and pure chaos.
In my (and most) neighborhoods, the city or county is responsible for all of that.
There is a single trash company serving our area. Everyone just has a contact with them.