Just when you were looking forward to enjoying those Golden years, you are nothing but beholden to thy HOA neighbor

July 21, 2003

By Ann Roth (View author info)
Copyright Ann Roth

Ahhhh yes..........you've finally paid your dues.

You have also paid for the diapers, the DMV, the diplomas, the degree and finally, the Deed. Thirty years of blood, sweat and tears commitment to pay off that mortgage and own your "Golden Castle" free and clear"!

Just when you think you are home free, you quickly realize home is NOT so free.

YOU LIVE IN A HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION!

What were you thinking? You read your Covenants, conditions and restrictions - a.k.a. your HOA "constitution"? Didn't you?

Sure you did. Your CCR's were 20 years old and but a mere 15 pages of legalese 101. Easy enough to read and comprehend even for the average "Joe Homeowner". But what you couldn't have possibly read are the 100 pages of HOA civil code that apply because you never got a copy.

The seller never told you about them. The realtor never told you about them. Because if they did - there likely would have been no sale and therefore no commission. And that is assuming they even knew they existed.

It matters not. There is no requirement in the law that they be disclosed to you anyway. Because these HOA civil codes are considered public law - you are required to know they exist by default. Never mind that those laws spell out in gory detail how your home can be foreclosed on by a handful of so called "elected" neighbors for not paying your dues.

AND YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE DONE PAYING YOUR DUES?

Never. Not for as long as you live in a homeowners association. Those dues just keep going and going and going and going in perpetuity. They also go up. Ever increasing dues can quickly surpass your fixed income living expense limitations. Your timeless HOA indebtedness does not include unexpected special assessments and possible fines for violating your HOA "constitution".

If you can't afford to pay these dues and assessments - you pay big time. That is with your home.

Now you are - BEHOLDEN TO THY HOA NEIGHBOR.

Foreclosure by neighbor is fast becoming a lucrative housing sport for the HOA industry. What better than a paid off home with thousands upon thousands of dollars in equity to supply an unlimited source of nourishment for a litigious feeding frenzy with "Joe Homeowner" being served up as bait in the middle of the arena?

All of this can snowball out of control in just a matter of days with the noose tightening for that final foreclosure choke hold in as little as 90 days time. The HOA industry vendors with a vendetta will sink their claws into your carotid equity and bleed you to debt in no time.

All that hard work. Decades of blood, sweat, and tears shed to create shelter for your Golden years and to provide a legacy for your children and your Grand children, could be gone as quickly as the blip on the angiogram of HOA housing.

Used to be a time that the family farm was passed on for generations to come. Now, the "family farm" is just farmed out once it's coffers are plump and juicy.

The last thing you want to be doing in your Golden years is fighting HOA predators. You may well end up spending your last days on earth fending them off. That is if the stress doesn't kill you first.

Be aware. Be educated. Be in control of your castle. Know what you are getting yourself into.

Before you sink your life and life savings into any type of HOA housing, reconsider your options. Why not buy a real home that can truly be your Golden Castle? No attachments and no attached garages. No board of neighbors to dictate how you will live in your own home. Aren't you old enough by now to know how to do that?

The famous Jurist Sir Edward Coke, could have never imagined how prolific a statement he made when he proclaimed, "A Man's House is His castle." Lord, how he must be turning in his grave, and very likely next to an HOA victim.