Context of why I love them:
They take care of the big field we co own
They take care of the nice pool we share
There are only about 20ish homes
Part of hoa fees covers partial home insurance so everyone got a roof covered by hoa when storm damaged the roofs.
It’s only $200.
They ask for volunteers in the community for stuff before hiring anyone. Like we always have someone get certified as a pool tech so don’t have to pay outside service. Someone in the community with a mower mows the field for a discount. When a tree needed to go that was by my house but shared, everyone came by and helped since it needed to go.
There is no style guide because none of the houses look the same. There are 5 fancier town homes, 5 simple town homes, 4 duplexes, then 6 single family homes built in different styles all around a big central field we share with a pool. The original builders back in the 80s made some interesting choices.
So yeah, they take care of good stuff and have caused me no problems.
So I love my hoa, which few will say.
It’s one of those things where you only hear about the bad ones, because stories like yours aren’t clickbait worthy. But a lot of the HOA laws are set up in ways that allow people to do some shifty things, so keep an eye on your board and their finances.