Homeowner's associations...if you live in any sort of planned community or subdivision, you probably are a part of one. Most of the time, they are a good idea, they protect property values and insure that no one has to live next door to the neighborhood eyesore. But some are ridiculous! What are your experiences? Good and bad?
I live in one, currently...and for the most part, I feel they are a wonderful thing.
Ours is governed by a small board (5 officers) and several committees (resident orchestrated). It's very beneficial, as you mentioned, to the property value because every homeowner is required to follow the same requirements, rules, and restricitions...our nieghborhood is very beautiful and well-maintained.
The biggest article regulates any major change to the exterior of the home and must be approved prior to being conducted (e.g. paint color, construction of outbuildings, & pool/screen enclosures).
We have several retirees that enjoy volunteering their time to the community & it saves the homeowner's a lot of money and keeps the yearly dues very low. About the only setback is that a few parts of the bylaws have become antiquated & are unrealistic -- for example, homeowners are not permitted to park a vehicle or truck in their driveway that has a business or adverstisement on it.
I live in a very small subdivision (only 8 homes), yet we have a homeowner's association. To my knowledge, it consists of a president, secretary, and treasurer only. We were told when we bought our home that there would be regular meetings open to all residents, where suggestions, complaints, and questions could all be lodged. In the 2 1/2 yrs that I've lived in my home, I've only been privy to one meeting, which was basically about 7 people sitting around complaining about 2 of the homes in the neighborhood. Supposedly, letters were to be sent to the 2 homes in question regarding such things as unmowed lawns, junk in yards, cars parked in the street instead of in driveways, etc. I don't know if those letters were ever sent, as the problems still exist over a year later. I'm not sure what the point of having an association is, if the bylaws are not going to be enforced.....
Was just talking about these today at work with the boss. We were discussing the pros and cons.
Personally, I like them because they do maintain some sense of order to a neighborhood. Lawns are kept up, houses appear nicer on the outside due to the strict rules, and you don't have people putting questionably designed shacks in their yards (or in the case in my neighborhood, where its just far enough outside city limits that there are not ordinances regarding structural design, what appears to be a doublewide trailer on top of a brick ranch. Okay, maybe not a trailer, but close, but I digress).
The negative side is if you are tastefully creative, it may be more difficult to show your creative self in your home.
Thank God I'm a country girl. :-)..............been there, done that with the homeowners assoc.....
now the man next door owns a tractor, and he clears the road in the winter....
it is only a one lane road.... but it leads to our "Heaven on Earth." :-)