Not so long ago, Home Owner Associations (HOAs) prevented people from flying the flag, putting solar electric on the roof, parking in the driveway, and a whole host of other rules. From the beginning, HOAs were a good concept, but seemed to be modeled after some high-rise apartment in New York, not the personal freedom concept that people embrace in Arizona.
HOAs are no longer allowed to fine you for leaving your trash can out too long, or for debris that accumulates as you are trimming trees and shrubs. The only thing that they can now fine you for, is not paying your HOA dues.
Most HOA dues in the Phoenix for single family subdivisions are between $45 and $65 per month. The amount of the dues depends on how much the HOA has to maintain, how many households there are in the HOA, and whoever the HOA board decides to hire.
When I bough the house that I am currently living in, HOAs were a new concept. They regulated just about everything from the number of trees that you must have in your front yard to what colors you could paint your house, and whether you could park on the street over night. For the most part, the rules didn't bother me, and I would get an occasional nasty-gram telling me about the construction debris left in my yard (I used a brick to prop open a gate, and forgot to put the brick behind the gate when I was done) or that I left a trash can out too long. No big deal.
Now HOAs are "paper tigers" since the Arizona legislature has taken all their teeth by not allowing them to fine you for anything except not paying dues.
Meanwhile, I live in a community with large park areas where children play ball, nice shaded walking paths, and a nice community where the condition of your home is regulated by the peer pressure from the neighbors, just like in the old days.
I like it!
#RealEstate #Avondale , #Goodyear , #Buckeye , #Glendale, #Phoenix, #Surprise, #Peoria, #Tolleson, #Laveen, #Waddell , #Wittman
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