HOA Life is Perfect IF you read the Governing Docs (NOT)

I often hear BofD's state "It's the buyers fault bc they didn't read at the CC&Rs/ByLaws and other governing docs before they moved into a community."

This is a widely propagated myth with no basis in reality. No matter how many times the governing documents were read before close of escrow, a buyer cannot know if there's a bully board of directors or if the board hired a bad management company. There is no good way to gauge the community to learn if it's run by seat warmers or a strong board that does the community good.

In addition, a buyer is generally overloaded with things to do prior to COE ... ie: a move across the country, relocating children in different schools, adjusting to a new work environment, buying appliances and furniture, preparing for inspections, and re-hooking up utilities etc. They assume their community is managed as it should be managed, particularly if not alerted to a problem community by the Title Co or Realtor. There is literally no accountability for HOA Management or a self-managed HOA.

Further, Members of an HOA community are not likely to retain 100+/- pages of legalese community documents written with arbitrary standards allowing boards to interpret them anyway they WANT. They were never written to benefit Members they were written to protect boards. Most don't know if it's inappropriate to plant a 12" American flag in a flower pot at their front door. CC&Rs are often selectively enforced; ByLaws are not adhered to. BofD's rarely know the State Statutes but they expect a Member to know them. How absurd.

What makes a Member miserable is the double taxation just to live there. There is no tax deduction for HOA assessments. Since the millennium almost all available homes are within and HOA. These developer communities are growing at a ferocious pace ... they are getting larger, some the size of small village managed by neo-phytes, not to mention bullies. Local government is inadequately over-seeing developers, often resulting in poor infrastructure or inferior roads.

If you need help with your HOA visit HOATruth.com . It's a free resource for HOA Members who have been bullied or abused by boards or MC's. You can also contact me directly at EarsUp@iCloud.com. We are not attorneys and do not offer legal advice.

Better, ask a Realtor to show you homes unassociated with an HOA. You'll save resources and live free.