That survey has to be rigged. I’ve never met anyone who is satisfied with their HOA

One thing video forgot to point out is they can enforce any arbitrarily rule. They have rights to collect all the dues however they have no obligations to perform any duties.

Any organization that tells me what colors I can or can't paint my house, how tall or short my grass must be, whether or not I can have certain decorations or a garden, and so on is not one worth paying a mortgage for. I remember, years ago, reading an article about an HOA that made a grandmother remove/tear down the playhouse she built in the backyard for her granddaughter. HOAs are composed of power tripping narcissists and little else. At that point, it's barely different than renting.

The main problem is that you can't escape the HOA, there are more than ever.

Giving your money to an HOA is like voluntarily paying more taxes.

Basically, in an HOA, you exchange your freedom with the possibility of keeping your house expensive

Highly recommend watching Jon Oliver's episode about those! From what most commenters I've seen on the internet though, stay away at all costs! Even if the contract is ok now, one new border member being voted in can suddenly mean years of crazy regulations, costs and lawsuits. They can even sell your home without you ever knowing it happened.

We purposely bought a house with no HOA. I love being able to park my cars in the yard when I need to! Grass got a little too long? Who cares! I love having no HOA 😊

I have lived in a house that belonged to an HOA and I realized very quickly that they are not a fit for me. My property, my decisions. Never again.

HOA in a skyscraper is literally unavoidable. Some members will get a power trip, but with a polite nod and group discussions over WhatsApp is what keeps everyone in check.

as a European HOAs sound downright insane lol

This video is missing some cynicism. HOAs are not necessarily popular because people want them, they’re popular because the CC&Rs are the last thing on your mind when you’re buying a home you can afford and you don’t want to close yourself off from like 70% of properties that are in areas and price ranges you want. In my experience working in real estate data, HOAs do not increase the value of homes. Homes without HOAs can automatically have a higher value and even in their listing they advertise “No HOA!” As a selling point. I bought a townhome with an HOA on a gamble, I knew it might suck as I’ve had experience with an HOA as a renter, but this home is what I could afford. The HOA is fairly chill with only 1 extra assessment of $160 in the last 2 years I’ve lived here and seems to have a healthy savings buffer.

I bought a condo last year. My HOA is pricey, but overall I'm pleased with them. I live in a nice part of Sacramento with a gated community and a pool, I don't have to pay water, sewer, or garbage, and best of all... I don't have to do ANY yard work, and I'm not responsible for ANY repairs or upkeep outside the walls of my unit! I was a little nervous about living in an HOA when I first bought it, but after a year they definitely aren't as bad as a lot of people make them out to be.

Also pay attention to how easily new restrictions can be introduced. Is it by simple majority of those present in some HOA meeting? You may like the rules while you are buying your house/condo but what about the new rules you never agreed on?

I wish this video talked a bit more about WHY people like HOAs. Because to me, substantial dues, unexpected fees, heavy restrictions, and unnecessary luxury amenities just seems like a losing proposition!

this is why i bought my house outside of an HOA, i dont want anybody telling me what pet i can have, or how i can decorate my house. plus i really dont think about selling my house probably ever.

I needed this 5 years ago. Special Assessment nearly bankrupted us. I think the world could live without these things.

Anecdotally, my friends in big cities like their HOAs because they live in condos that need lots of routine work but my friends in the sprawled burbs hate theirs. My suburban friends seem to hate theirs due to fines over aesthetics (panting their mailbox purple with daisies, planting 2 shrubs instead 3 like expected etc). I opted for a non-HOA neighborhood and I'm personally very grateful.

It's interesting how positively HOAs are depicted on Two Cents, although they were very clear about them having a lot of legal weight. Maybe stories about nightmare HOAs are less than 1% of how HOAs normally operate, and it's just the nightmare scenarios that everyone hears about. Still, I hate the idea of not being able to do what I want on my own home and property. Also, I would have liked if they touched upon the history of HOAs and how they relate to redlining, but it's probably a topic that is best left for another video.

So glad you brought up the 2021 condo collapse. I followed that story and just shook my head as a prime example of a bad HOA.

I dont think HOAs are usually worth it financially. The 4% return can exclude the payments you make monthly. Putting that money in index funds will almost certainly earn you more than the HOA ever will.

HOAs are good for gated communities and for multi owner residential buildings.Any other housing type and they become a problem.

I've lived in an HOA since 1999 until 2022 (4 different ones) when we bought our current house NOT in an HOA. It was one of many selling points. HOAs sound good on paper and have some pros but in reality after much experience with them I have come to the conclusion that it is nothing more than an additional layer of government ordering you to pay them monthly and telling you what you can and cannot do on the property you bought and pay taxes on. The cons outweigh the pros.

First home had an hoa and we got stuck out of town for awhile. Got a lien on our home for an empty trash can that was left outside for a couple weeks.Our current home has no HOA and no regret what so ever, some houses are a little brighter than I’d choose for myself or have landscaping issues but in the long run causes me no problem. It’s also very competitive in the market because we can store our rv or boat in our yards.

A friend of mine actually loved Halloween. She lived in an HOA that wouldn't let her set up Halloween decorations in September.

If I want basic chores like landscaping and snow shoveling done, I'll do it myself or hire someone instead of paying $200+ every month for it. I can't believe people are blocked from opting out of services like that.

HOAs are overpriced and terrible in 99% of cases. $150 for trash removal and a playground. Meanwhile a comparable trash service would be $50 or less a month and the land and playground equipment would cost you $2000-$5000. Divide that over the course of your mortgage or share that cost with your neighbors and $150/month is SIGNIFICANTLY more… even with repairs.

Some HOA’s are insane with their dues. I’ve seen HOA dues as high as $600 a month and only included paint and common area insurance/electricity. Insane.

Another commenter mentioned John Oliver's piece. In that story, it was reported that HOAs in some areas do not have to reveal all contract terms to potential buyers before sale. Unbelieveable.

If I lived in a condo, HOA for sure. If I lived in the suburbs our country, absolutely no chance someone can tell me what to do with my property

A community I bought a house refused to let you read the HOA rules prior to purchase. You can’t always check if an HOA is good for you or not. My experience, HOAs are never worth it.

I hate HOAs and have mostly heard horror stories. I've never owned any property under an HOA and I never will because no one ever owns it. They are depending upon the arbitrary rules, the assessments and all these other things that just take your freedom away. Create a lot of stress and anger etc. Just stay away

After living in a community with an HOA that threatened us with a fine if we didn’t get the yard mowed the day we moved in, we determined to never live under an HOA again. Unfortunately those things are everywhere so it might not be possible to avoid them permanently.

To me, the dues alone are enough to make HOAs a hard no. Not to mention the fact that I have no desire to live in Camazotz.

Our HOA is $25 a month, maintains a playground, fixes the signs/fence, and otherwise keeps to themselves. There’s a neighborhood yard sale and ice cream social in the summer. No junk cars or RVs in our neighborhood, but it’s also not aesthetically “fake” in nature. It’s the perfect amount of power/intrusion.

Nothing in the CCNR's about the threat of combustion to keep your HOA board in line. "Dad are we setting fire to the neighbor's house??" "Yes, we arson." 👀

Where I live, it's so hard to find houses without HOA. Non HOA houses are well outside the city far from everything else, at least where I live.

In my country we have private companies that are hired by a community of owners to do exactly the same thing. They usually manage multiple properties and in this way they can negotiate better prices for maintenance, materials and services. Plus, they are fully professionalized.

Thanks for the video, So the short answer is Yes! I work for a cable company and one of the clients needed the HOA to know which company (with this it means the technician was from the cable company, a contractor or for a third party company) was going to do the installation and where they were going to put the antenna but the technician is the one that judges that based on the house and the company chooses the person doing the job on the same day and the HOA wanted to know days before... Like, I understand you want to know the service they getting in case you have a contract or something if you rent, BUT IF THE HOUSE IS YOUR HOUSE AND YOU PAY YOUR MORTGAGE THEY SHOULDN'T CARE

You will NEVER convince me HOA's are legal, and seriously go to hell for ever trying to convince anyone they ARE a good idea.

Absolutely. I've had two bad HOA's.. things were fine at first until some crazy fool got on the board and caused everyone absolute headaches. I'll never live anywhere with one again.

4% more doesn't seem worth it after you factor in the costs of the HOA you've paid over the years. I think I'd only live in an HOA if I were buying a condo with a pool or a similar perk because it would be similar to the apartment life I enjoy now but I could paint and remodel inside my unit however I like. If I'm buying a house, I want to be able to actually enjoy living there and making it my own. I don't want anybody telling me that I can't paint my house a certain color or put yard decorations out.

The problem is most people want the benefits/amenities in their community brought about by HOAs, but don't want the obligation/restrictions that comes along with having these shared benefits or resources. So they get frustrated by a limitation/restriction when they encounter one. This nothing unique to HOAs, it's allover society. People complain about speeding tickets and even speed limits, but like the benefits of a public road and the safety of not being t-boned by a semi truck going 150MPH

I've never heard a good story about an HOA, and the amount they charge in dues for doing practically nothing but harass people is appalling. The last house I rented (with a pile of roommates) was in an HOA - luckily we never had to deal with them. Just got our bins off the street on time, and the homeowners were doing the yardwork. Just moved to a new house with a new HOA. Our across-the-street neighbor is breaking rules left and right - primarily by blaring loud music and political podcasts outside, which we can hear inside our house. I'm very much a "live and let live" type of person, but I know noise complaints are like a super common thing in neighborhoods, so I do end up wondering. If this HOA isn't enforcing that rule, what else are they neglecting? And how much are they charging each month to do nothing? I mean, whatever, I'm not paying the dues, it just seems like an unjust system...

The HOA on my house is $750/mo, pretty wild. It covers insurance and exterior maintainance. We also get a pool, tennis courts, and a clubhouse, but it still seems pretty steep.

Running an HOA is what you want to do when you have the pettiness corruption and narcissism of a politician but don't have the aptitude

HOA for a condo is mandatory. It pays for the landscapers, trash bill, electric bill, parking lot etc. I mean if we could afford to buy a standalone house we would, but if you live in a condo, there's an HOA that is needed to pay for those utilities. I feel like people always comment that "Why would you ever choose to live in an HOA" but aren't really seeing the reality.

I wish you provided an elaboration of what a lien means (it goes hand in hand with an eviction, and all the financial damning that ruins your future as well).

I don't have an HOA, I have a co-op board. I specifically looked to buy a co-op and not a condo because of the power boards have to establish rules of conduct (and also because the maintenance fee covers pretty much all the things I have zero interest in doing myself). Am someone that doesn't like loud sounds so i love that my coop has rules regarding the hours things like a radio can be played.

I live in South FL and it seems like 95% of homes and condos have HOA’s smh. And they’re all $600+ a month

Sound strange to how HOAs work in USA. In Romania, in my town, the HOAs manage the apartament buildings and their task are: colecting money for the garbage pick up fees, hiring janitors and maintainance and colecting the fees for water and sewage. Also they establish some rules, like keep quiet hours and other rules like this.

The professionalism of our HOA board leaves a lot to be desired. It's usually a shouting match at the meetings I've seen. I pay my fees and keep my head down.

I wouldn't perhaps hate HOA's so much if they weren't designed in a manner where it's but impossible to get rid of them if the people living in them so desired. There's also the ugly fact that in most locales, if you want to live in a newer development, you pretty much have no choice but to buy in an HOA community, and the city goes along with it in hopes the HOA will help it collect more property tax revenue and take some of the cost of enforcement burden off their hands. I was very fortunate when I bought my home to find one in a non-HOA tract that was an addition to a HOA community. Honestly, the homes look exactly the same, go for the exact same prices, and I don't have to deal with paying for things like a community swimming pool or walking paths behind my house that I would never use. Honestly, if we were to give prospective homebuyers a good and fair tutorial on the pros and cons of HOA's and then asked them what they would prefer, I'm quite certain that a significant chunk of those folks would be in the "Hell no!!" crowd, but this sentiment isn't being addressed by building more non-HOA homes. Whatever happened to "the customer is always right"?

The main issue with HOA is when the fees are raised too fast, or special levies happens and you don't have spare cash. If you own a non-HOA property, you can push off restaining your deck a year if finances are thigh. And you can do it yourself. With a HOA it will be done when they decide at the cost quoted by what ever professional they chose. HOA are great if you have a lot of disposable income and can afford the "unforseen" special levies.

Bought our first house, it was a rental previously. Received three letters in short succession about things we had to fix. I can only assume the last owner didn’t care to play ball since they were selling. One of them was to paint the entire exterior of the house! We had it pressure washed and later received a thank you for taking care of this violation letter. Why didn’t they just say the greening under the windows looks bad? Nope! Paint the whole house! Surely you have a few grand laying around. 😅

This is making me rethink my idea of migrating to the US. India feels more like a free country now... I can do whatever I want in my house and decorate/style my house the way I like it without having to worry about anything.

I think of HOAs on about the same level of silliness as co-signing on a loan.

I wish that I would’ve seen this video eight years ago before I joined an HOA. Luckily, my HOA doesn’t seem to really enforce much in the covenant-at least not that I’ve seen.

It’s frustrating that almost all new construction are an HOA .

I find that 85% satisfaction rating suspect. All of my experiences with my hoa have been tenuous at best. And every story I ever hear about an HOA on the internet is always one form of horror story or another.

First video of two cents im not sure i agree with. This seemed to be supporting hoa's rather then narrating a full truth. My experiences, and those ive heard of, would suggest that satisfaction levels are not at 85%.

I will never buy into paying an HOA so they can tell me what I can and can't do in a home with a mortgage & insurance I pay for.

My HOA is $500 a year. We get pools, and they keep the value of our house up. It also keeps people from letting their house and yard go. I'm ok with my HOA.

I honestly don’t like HOAs, but when buying a home 7 years ago, I bought an apartment, bc I didn’t need nor could I afford anything bigger at the time, and all apartments in my state are part of an HOA. It just comes with the territory. I absolutely abhor HOAs tho. I can’t wait to buy an actual home. They do nothing.

Weirdly enough, I don’t mind the HOA’s that I’ve lived at. As long as everything is clean and orderly it’s fine. I now live in a neighborhood with no HOA. Absolute nightmare. Got a guy across the street who works on cars day and night clinking and clanking about. Plus he’s something of a con artist so lots of altercations with his customers about swapped parts, shoddy work and such. Last time a gun was pulled and an on-foot manhunt was called in and they closed the road. Got the neighbors next door running a karaoke carnival day and night and the other neighbors across the street having a competing party with them. I’ll be moving soon. I see the value of both. While there are downsides to both, I’d rather have the HOA if it means some modicum of quiet. There has to be something for everyone though.

Finding a home that isn’t a part of an HOA is becoming more and more difficult, and because it’s desirable for people to live in a home that’s not in an HOA, that’s just going to drive costs up, bc there’s only so many homes with that condition.

"Assuming you have a competent board" is being really optimistic. One of my friends who has an HOA for a condo says it's been a revolving door of bad boards who don't make even bare minimum repairs or upkeep, but collect dues anyways. As much as I would rather own than rent, at least with landlord-tenant laws you can make the landlord do maintenance when the building is falling apart.

I am glad to see you guys still together. I love families

If you are buying a Townhome or Apartment, there is no way around an HOA in the form of Condo association or Co-op because of the structure of the building and common elements. My advice: If possible, ask to read the by-laws and any separare rules and regulations addendum before you buy. After you buy, get yourself elected to the board.

This is why HOA properties are nothing but glorified apartments, without any of the advantages of renting an apartment. Oh, but you're a home owner, and you can paint the walls!

Selling 4% higher is absolutely not worth the monthly cost. And that's if you have a reasonable one that wouldn't fight over forgetting to close a window....

"Home's with HOA's on average sell for 4% more" but some probably pay that much more over their time on extra HOA fee's

Had to search for 6 months to find an acceptable home in a non-hoa neighborhood. You couldn't pay me to live in a place with those power-hungry control freaks.

Growing up in a HOA as a kid, led me to having to relive my childhood in my adult hood because the Berkshires condominiums restricted any kids playing outside.

I just want to share that I have watched all your videos and look forward to new ones. Thank you for the ongoing sound money advice and providing it in easy to understand ways :)

As a European, it's so much fun to watch this stuff and see how US citizens are convinced to live in the most free place in the world 😂

I live in a condo association that has an HOA and I really like how neat and clean the development is. Conversely there's an apartment complex a two minute walk away and it's chaos. Trash in the streets, balconies crammed with refuse, it's night and day.

TL:DR you sell your freedom for 4% of your property's value, minus the cost of any dues, fines, and assessments you will have paid during your time there. How much is your home worth when you subtract all the fees you paid to the HOA? How much would your home be worth if you were allowed to make additions to it, park a car in the driveway, use the garage for storage, have a shed, or plant a tree without needing approval from literally anybody else?

No noise allowed Unless of course it's the constant yardwork.

I wonder how many communities survived were single family homes vs condos. I understand condos having HOAs and personally would be happy to have one there. Plus prices going up for a condo with an HOA is obvious since they are likely in popular cities. I would think someone buying single family homes would be doing more things with their personal home vs condo causing far more conflict. Everyone has their own dreams for a home and i can't see everyone agreeing on everything.

The one I had in Texas took my 290k house over 1k in fees. And Texas let them keep the whole amount! Sharyland HOA is corrupt!

I'm good with our hoa, they are 150 a year and don't do anything except make sure the street lights work at night

The only neighborhood that I’ve lived in where the houses near us were broken into, was in an HOA. HOA communities are at their best, security theater. At their worst, modern day red lining.

I would never live in an HOA. Who pays extra money for more restrictions, for everything to look identical, and to let someone tell them what to do? That's like going to work, except instead of getting paid, you pay them.

I seriously love this channel, it saves me a lot of time googling and it's actually fun to watch the animations

I can't imagine ever voluntarily choosing to buy a home in an HOA.

I own a townhouse (my starter home) that's a part of an HOA. I love it where I live. It's quiet; it's clean; we can have pets, and the only real dues we pay go to snow removal and lawncare. I don't really care about changing my house either, so this was a great option for me.

I am in the market to buy a home and this just gave me a good idea of what to avoid!

My neighborhood is mixed. Some houses are under HOA and others aren't. Some people can park on the street, have trailers, work vans and they can't tell them anything. If I don't cut the grass because it's been raining on and off for 3 weeks I get a notice.

That rose bush lawsuit sounds like one of those extreme/nightmarish HOA power trips when you leave out most of the story. It was over a million dollar house (in 1990 dollars) in an upper class neighborhood with a very clear CC&R that he was aware of in advance. The guy was turning his property into an amusement park for the general public by planting several thousand bushes. He asked for the HOA's approval, didn't get it, but went ahead anyway spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on flowers and landscaping despite them rejecting the plans. It's not like some poor fella was unwittingly attacked, left homeless and broke over a few bushes out front.

I bought my first home as a divorced mom of two little girls. I had never heard of HOAs and their "rules". I had abdominal surgery 3 weeks after moving in.. many moving boxes, still unopened were on my screened in back porch. Got a letter from the HOA that my boxes on my porch were an eyesore for my neighbors 👀...give me a break. I purchased a cobalt blue tarp and hung it on my porch to hide the eyesore from my nosy neighbors. I got a letter from the HOA.. your blue tarp is an eyesore... HOA rules say I can't have a clothes line in my yard except between the hours of 9 am and 5 pm, not on holidays and it must not be a permanent clothes line..has to come down end of day. I immediately strung a line across my backyard and hung bras, thongs, men's boxers with white polka dots I created using bleach... put it up everyday with same items for close to two weeks. Didn't hear a word, I felt silent revenge satisfaction.

never, Never, NEVER get a house in/with a HOA,....period.

So glad HoA doesn't exist where i live I have never even heard of the concept untill now

An HOA was created for old people to keep young people out of their neighborhood. I will never do it again. Huge regret.

My condo building has a No Dogs Allowed policy, however a few residents still own them under the "comfort animal" exception. Just thought I'd throw that out there. I've been in a condo since 2008 and have never had a major issue, but it is very important who is (and isn't) on the board of Trustees. We are basically at the mercy of what decisions 5 people collectively make. It's extremely important to have money set aside for surprise assessments.

The first major HOA was also in the first major suburb development, Levittown, which was also a notoriously racist housing development. Many functions of the HOA were designed to exclude POC

ok but how do I find the HOA information before buying a property? They seem un googleable. There seems to be no transparency.

HOAs sound like such a nightmare. I never wanna live in one of those places. The closest to an HOA we have where I live is keep your grass cut, no clutter around the yard, and we pay for garbage service. They allow me to have my ratchet raised bed garden and mostly leave me alone !

Should you avoid Homeowner Associations? Yes And that's our two cents.

A good HOA design is to have every owner under an HOA be required to be on the various committees. This will help keep people from taking positions just to "be in charge". And it will also place the notion of potential payback when it is someone else's turn for a particular position.