What are your experiences with homeowner's associations?

Just wondered what the good and the bad of these are.

[Momo]

I do not care for my HOA at all!!!...
they can control the tiniest of details...since moving here to AZ I have heard & seen horror stories about how they ruin peoples experiences of being a homeowner. They are ideal if you want to live in bland cookie cutter neighborhood... I agree that they prevent wacko paint jobs & beater cars from being parked on streets in front of properties...but here it's ridiculous what they do to people for the most unnoticeable things...I guess the best thing to to before buying a home in a given neighborhood is ask any neighbors you may see while driving around, or take a walk in the neighborhood and just ask residents what they think of their HOA...oh yes and find out what the dues are??!!

How prevalent are they? Are they only in newer developments or in older neighborhoods, too?

[DCJenn]

The SW part of DC is ALL condos and co-ops (ownership rules are different but essentially the same premise).

Our was/is responsible for all external maintenance, 24 hour security, snow removal, trash (MWF pick-up) and recycling (once a week) and once a week bulk trash pick ups. Water is included in the HO fees. They're functioning as our property managers for a small percentage of the rent. (smaller than the realtors were going to charge). and when the flood of 2006 was coursing through my basement, it was pretty awesome to have people to call.

The bad side- when they don't charge enough in fees to keep a safety net for large repairs which then require a special assessment (new roof is now costing us 20k over the next 10 years- and we can't pass the costs on to a buyer should we sell. I had to re-paint the front door RED. Fire Engine Red.
My HOA at my condo required 20% down before any buyers will be approved. When you're talking about 500 sq foot condos costing close to 200k these days...that's a lot of upfront cash for first time home buyers.

There's pluses and minuses. My parent's found the HOA where they lived for 30 years to be very arbitrary in the approvals of additions, etc. and a lot was based on 'who' in the 'hood asked.

Jenn

[Stella]

My parents just moved out of their neighborhood. They had a very particular HOA there. My mother was on the board for approving housing plans and it stressed her out a lot. There were rules on everything from how close your house could be to the road to how long your grass could grow. It keeps everyone in line, more or less, but it's still a lot of cliquish squabble.