combat wombat said:

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62strat said:

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combat wombat said:

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We live in a gated community. Our subdivision doesn't allow garage sales. EVER. Not even a once-annual community-wide garage sale, which some communities allow.

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Hate to point out the obvious, but you live in a gated community.

How do you think all the Mexicans are supposed to get in? Just leave the gates open on garage sale day lol?

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Well yes. Leave the gates open for ONE day between garage sale hours. How hard is that.

But seriously, the gates make it more difficult to gain entry. Some of my neighbors are just nutjobs who think that there are murdering mobs just waiting at the gates to get in and steal from us or otherwise do us hard. They think the gates make this a "compound". I think the gates just give people a false sense of security.

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Yep ...

I read the Santa Fe New Mexican regularly to chuckle at angst on parade.

As annoying as HOAs can be I lived in an area outside of DC that displayed how valuable they can be.

I lived in a suburban housing area that was adjacent to an area with the exact same type of houses. Both areas obviously had the same builder and were built sometime in the mid 60s. One area had a HOA the other did not. The average value of the homes in the area with a HOA was about 100K greater than the area next to it that had no HOA. The non-HOA area was a hot mess. Crap yards, unkept houses with ungodly paint schemes, cars/boats/RVs parked in yards and on streets, etc. I'll take the annoying HOA and greater property value any day of the week.

here's a concept for your fence...

How much more would you have if you had invested those HOA dues since 1960?

Because $1000/yr at 6% for 50 years is a lot more than $$100k.

Where can I get 6% with the same level of risk as a home?

Burdizzo said:

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Where can I get 6% with the same level of risk as a home?

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Pretty much any index fund since panzer's hypothetical HOA started.


Point is, an HOA as a creator/protector of value is a bad idea.

An HOA is a costly service used to force an aesthetic that you desire. If you value that fine, but it most likely doesn't make financial sense.

You're assuming a great deal. Same owners of homes since the 60s which is most likely quite rare at this point. And that said owners took money saved from lack of HOA and invested wisely. Even less likely.

I also left off how the property taxes would be significantly different between to two further increasing the cost of an HOA beyond that of the dues.

You can think they provide a service that is worth the cost but they aren't a net financial add over the life of the property.

Duncan Idaho said:

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How much more would you have if you had invested those HOA dues since 1960?

Because $1000/yr at 6% for 50 years is a lot more than $$100k.

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Damn... mines $300 some a year and includes a pool and trash collection.

I also laughed when i got the letter about the "Pallet stored in my front lawn." I'd bought a pallet of landscaping border stones and land it on the curb on Sunday evening. Figured someone had till Wednesday (trash day) if they wanted it. I got the letter the following Friday.

Duncan Idaho said:

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How much more would you have if you had invested those HOA dues since 1960?

Because $1000/yr at 6% for 50 years is a lot more than $$100k.

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And based off your extensive research, how much were the HOA dues in the 60's?

And how much today?

Duncan Idaho said:

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How much more would you have if you had invested those HOA dues since 1960?

Because $1000/yr at 6% for 50 years is a lot more than $$100k.

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This doesn't make any sense.

Many HOA's pay for trash, pools, recreational areas/private parks (and irrigation for those areas), snow clearing.. My HOA dues pay for all those except a pool since we don't have one. It's not like we are only paying dues just so we can have a management company keep an eye out to make sure our neighbors don't paint the house pink or leave a car in the yard. Most of HOA dues are paying for common areas. Very little is towards the actual management/enforcement of deeds.

What a dumb argument.

I don't pay HOA fees or city taxes

Bo Darville said:

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I don't pay HOA fees or city taxes

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Freedom

Some guys are getting cookies tonight

Bo Darville said:

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I don't pay HOA fees or city taxes

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My father in law doesn't pay property taxes..

Checked the mail this morning and got a letter from the HOA about removing halloween decorations. I was mowing the yard last Saturday and the kids grabbed one of those pumpkin baskets and hung it up on a bush in the front yard. I saw it Sunday morning and put it back in the garage. Yet, I'm sure my neighbor how has had a water leak for the better part of a year (I've told him about it 3 times) and keeps a constant flow of water in front of my house probably hasn't received anything. These people are effing ridiculous.

Should I call them on Monday to see just how tacky they're going to be and if kids having fun is against HOA rules?

We live in a neighborhood with manned security 24/7. Built around a private golf course. Been here 23 years. The HOA is not any problem. We have a lot of streets and common areas, and they are maintained very well. Access is controlled by staff. We never lock our doors and I leave my keys in my truck. Never been an issue. You can go walking at night with no concerns, other than skunks. Security not only mans the access, but does patrols every hour. All paid for by our dues. We are very fortunate to be here.

Y'all don't have problems in the summer with bored teenagers?

I choose to live here. I choose to pay for it. Thus I get the benefits.
To give you a perspective on the neighborhood, Google, Mira Vista castle. The first picture is the view from my back yard.

My area has a guarded gated neighborhood too. Nothing is guaranteed, years ago there was a rape in that neighborhood. 2 other gated areas have had car break-ins in the past few months. I would never assume a gate or guard = safe enough to leave keys in a car and doors unlocked.

I live in a gated, guarded subdivision. It's quite nice. HOA dues are very high to pay for security and other amenities. That being said, we had a rash of car break-ins. Also things were going missing from unlocked garages. Turns out it was a teenager in the early morning hours checking for open doors. When he found an open door he would rifle through the car for spare change, cash, computers, iPads, iPhones, Etc. Never did find out whether he was a resident or not. However, the children of residents have been problems before. Entitled teenagers can be a pain in the ass.

Flashdiaz said:

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Wood

fwheightsboy said:

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I choose to live here. I choose to pay for it. Thus I get the benefits.
To give you a perspective on the neighborhood, Google, Mira Vista castle. The first picture is the view from my back yard.

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Bragging about living in dfw

fwheightsboy said:

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We live in a neighborhood with manned security 24/7. Built around a private golf course. Been here 23 years. The HOA is not any problem. We have a lot of streets and common areas, and they are maintained very well. Access is controlled by staff. We never lock our doors and I leave my keys in my truck. Never been an issue. You can go walking at night with no concerns, other than skunks. Security not only mans the access, but does patrols every hour. All paid for by our dues. We are very fortunate to be here.

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Not even and gophers in the golf course? I'm not buying it...