[CrawDaddyCA]

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?

Don't buy a house/condo in a subdivision that has a Homeowners Assc.

[bigfootbob]

That is the very best advice. When I bought my place 20 years ago, that was the first issue that got the house removed from the list...CC's&R.

[divine_moment_of_facts]

Amen to that! I've lived in the small townhouse development for 10 years now. There are 28 units.. No pool, No clubhouse, No Nothing, yet the monthly fee has gone from $90 to almost $200. It's become a micro-goverment of "wanna-be landlords" spending like drunken sailors on frivolous cosmetics! I'm outta here as soon as I can find a decent home for under $700,000. I live in NJ.. wish me luck! LOL!

[basil]

I have never lived in a condo or townhouse, but we have owned homes for many years.

I can tell you that every few years, we are hit with a large "maintaince" bill--a new roof, a new plastering job for the pool, new landscaping, etc etc.

I can't imagine that it is any different in a condo or townhome. Property has to be repaired and updated. It's a fact of life--and sometimes, these things cost big bucks.

If we put away say $200/month toward some upcoming repair, chances are it wouldn't be enough to cover the cost of a major repair when the time came.

[AlaskaErik]

Don't buy a house/condo in a subdivision that has a Homeowners Assc.

Unfortunately most new subdivisions have them. We were among the first to buy in our subdivsion earlier this year, so the HOA isn't active yet. I expect that to eventually change but my plan is to go to the first meeting and shut down the control freaks before they can trample over the rest of us. Our CCRs are pretty minimal, but a control freak can still make life miserable.