Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Condominium Land Units (vacant land lots)

Rodney · 02-04-2006, 10:07 AM

My mother lives in a similar community, although it's a mobile home / modular home community. Everybody owns their own lot and the city maintains and polices the streets, but there is a common meeting hall, park, and RV parking lot maintained by the homeowners association. The homeowner's association (HOA) has control over use of the common areas, general appearance of the homes and use of the property, and (and this is a big and), _who lives there._ It was originally commissioned as a 45- and older community, and a few years ago it was changed to 55-and-older because the primarily older population wanted mainly retired people who weren't doing inconvenient, disruptive things that increased traffic -- like commuting to and from work.

As to value: since an HOA can intrude on what an owner can and can't do to a house, some people are not as eager to buy in. There is also the matter of the monthly fees, which can be substantial. And frankly, HOA politics are not always fun: there can be factions, favoritism, backbiting, all sorts of things. All the things that happen in any community organization -- only these people have control over how you live. And can even -- as in my mother's case -- control who you can or can't sell to.

In today's tight real estate market, people have been less picky in some areas about buying property that falls under an HOA. But if the market ever slacks off (_when_ it slacks off), a whole lot of people will chose an unregulated home over an HOA-regulated home, all other things being equal. That's my opinion, based on the experiences of my friends and myself. And I live under an HOA and am okay with it; but if I moved, I'd look for a non-HOA controlled home. There's just an extra layer of hassle, even in a good group like the one we belong to, that it would be nice not to have.

Also, if there are restrictions in the convenant as to who can buy in there -- seniors only, adults only, etc. -- that's going to restrict the pool of people who _can_ buy your house; and restricting the pool of potential buyers means there's less demand and, potentially, a lower price.

Why would the developer do this? I'm not sure. There could be a lot of different reasons. Maybe he wants to get the HOA maintenance contract for himself, which can be a pretty penny. If the development includes some kind of group-owned feature like a golf course, he could make a pretty penny by running it. Maybe the lot sizes are below standard for the area, but smaller lot sizes are allowable for certain types of planned unit developments (like in my mother's, and in my own). That would allow him to cram in more units than otherwise. Maybe he wants to market the community in a certain way to a certain group of people, and the convenants are written in such a way to discourage certain _other_ groups of people -- young families, etc. -- from settling there.

02-04-2006, 10:07 AM	#8 (permalink)
Rodney Observant Ruminant Location: Rich Wannabe Hippie Town	My mother lives in a similar community, although it's a mobile home / modular home community. Everybody owns their own lot and the city maintains and polices the streets, but there is a common meeting hall, park, and RV parking lot maintained by the homeowners association. The homeowner's association (HOA) has control over use of the common areas, general appearance of the homes and use of the property, and (and this is a big and), _who lives there._ It was originally commissioned as a 45- and older community, and a few years ago it was changed to 55-and-older because the primarily older population wanted mainly retired people who weren't doing inconvenient, disruptive things that increased traffic -- like commuting to and from work. As to value: since an HOA can intrude on what an owner can and can't do to a house, some people are not as eager to buy in. There is also the matter of the monthly fees, which can be substantial. And frankly, HOA politics are not always fun: there can be factions, favoritism, backbiting, all sorts of things. All the things that happen in any community organization -- only these people have control over how you live. And can even -- as in my mother's case -- control who you can or can't sell to. In today's tight real estate market, people have been less picky in some areas about buying property that falls under an HOA. But if the market ever slacks off (_when_ it slacks off), a whole lot of people will chose an unregulated home over an HOA-regulated home, all other things being equal. That's my opinion, based on the experiences of my friends and myself. And I live under an HOA and am okay with it; but if I moved, I'd look for a non-HOA controlled home. There's just an extra layer of hassle, even in a good group like the one we belong to, that it would be nice not to have. Also, if there are restrictions in the convenant as to who can buy in there -- seniors only, adults only, etc. -- that's going to restrict the pool of people who _can_ buy your house; and restricting the pool of potential buyers means there's less demand and, potentially, a lower price. Why would the developer do this? I'm not sure. There could be a lot of different reasons. Maybe he wants to get the HOA maintenance contract for himself, which can be a pretty penny. If the development includes some kind of group-owned feature like a golf course, he could make a pretty penny by running it. Maybe the lot sizes are below standard for the area, but smaller lot sizes are allowable for certain types of planned unit developments (like in my mother's, and in my own). That would allow him to cram in more units than otherwise. Maybe he wants to market the community in a certain way to a certain group of people, and the convenants are written in such a way to discourage certain _other_ groups of people -- young families, etc. -- from settling there.