Housing without Homeowners Associations

[RealityCheck]

While there is very little new construction on the Peninsula any more, what little there is contains a mandatory involvement in a homeowners association.

Homeowners associations were a big thing in the 80's and 90's, and I think there are plenty of horror stories of how these housing "communities" do not ultimately work.

San Mateo City Council has approved plans at the old Visa headquarters site for another development that will contain another homeowners association.

http://www.hlcsmc.org/housing_detail.php?sid=3271

HOA growth should be stopped. This limits housing choice for anyone who would be a buyer.

[jonvn]

Most houses here don't have an HOA. Buy one of those.

[bent1]

Then you don't believe in class action law suits, right? Everyone
for themselves, right?

Going farther on that, where do you stand on zoning laws? They
were drafted by committee way back then. Albeit by a very small
group from a small community. Now it is run by the planning commission
and they are appointed by the city council, who are elected by
you and me. All homes in San Mateo are covered by a HOA.

Balance as there are two sides to every coin.

Maybe your issue is with small HOA's, like a condo complex where
few attend their meetings and even fewer vote. So a very small
percentage 'manage' the HOA. That small HOA is within a larger
HOA for a whole area of the city.

If you don't like the HOA...join, attend and vote. Speak out
and gather support for your position and press for a vote.

If you won't/don't, then don't complain here. Complain at
the meetings, bring others to speak up and vote.

[havebookwillteach]

A key responsiblity of most HomeOwner Associations is to maintain common areas like many swimming pools, outdoor walkways, gardens, outside hallways, railings, parking lots, any shared tennis or recrecational facilities, and so forth. Also if there is a shared roof, that too has to be maintained by somebody. And we have had instances where shared walls need reinforcement or repair, etc. (And yes, sometimes a small clique can take over a HOA to its detriment, meaning if you are in one you may have to get active in its affairs....) You can learn more in College of San Mateo Real estate classes (Spring registration underway right NOW at www.gocsm.net) ... but frankly it is something a person needs to find out about BEFORE purchasing a condo or whatever... the material aspects of any HOA are supposed to be disclosed to the buyers....and as a practical matter- a buyer really should make it a point to find out as much as possible before getting into a bad situation...including any litigation the HOA is involved with...and what its financial condition is.....Another thing to be wary of is an unusually low HOA fee, it may still be subsidized by the developer (who will in all probability end any such subsidy after sale of the last little unit)...or it may reflect low maintenance and operating costs of a new building that will only increase with time as the building ages. Hope that helps... Best regards. HBWT

[bent1]

Not all HOA's are condo based.

"Regular' homes also have HOA's. The City of San Mateo has several HOA's
in addition to the HOA's that are condo/townhome based.

The 'power' of HOA's for non-condo/Townhome complexes is less, as 'those'
home owners did not sign a contract with the HOA when they purchased
their homes.

[havebookwillteach]

HOA's go back decades in California real estate, but MOST housing tracts did NOT (do not) have them. You can easily find thousands of homes around here which will not involve you with a HomeOwnersAssociation. Also, if a home has a HOA that fact is disclosable, meaning the real estate agent will tell you about it ... so you can decide KNOWING whether it comes with or without a HOA. If it comes with a HOA you can either ask to see other houses without HOA, or you can ask for more information (such as: its dues, how long has it had the same or similar level of dues, are there any major maintenance items coming up soon for which the dues might be increased, what financial reserves has the association, is it involved in any litigation, etc.) There is no shortage of houses for sale out there, get yourself a good local agent and have fun !!
ps --(We train both agents and home buyers in real estate classes at CSM, check it out! -- www.collegeofsanmateo.edu).