What to Look For In A HOA Whne Buying A House

HOA dues are more of a common factor in Charlotte North Carolina than they are in the northern states. If you lived in a condo/townhome you would pay a fee for the maintenance of the area and landscaping and snow removal.....However; generally neighborhoods were not built with such fees or amneties added to them. in Charlotte, NC. area this is a common fee since most newer subdivisons are built with some type of amenties attached to them. But what is it and how does it affect me purchasing a house? This is the question a lot of people do not ask or think about when they buy a house..... HOA fees are generally a monthly fee that the community charges for the maintenace of the common area, property taxes on that area and to maintain any amenties that the community may have. The amneties can vary from walking trails, playground(s), and swimming pool(s). With additional amenties come additional fees.... One thing I am always looking for when a prospective homebuyer is looking to purchase a home in a community with an HOA is the cost. I have seem them run as low as $20.00 a month and as high as $599.00 a month (I imagine there are even higher ones out there; I just have not come across them yet). That is a large fluctuation. Then, depending on the association and the solvency of the community you want to check to see if they can raise them... Some HOA's have built in provisions that allow the board to increase the fees without the majority vote of the homeowners. Others (like mine) require a vote of the homeowners and must be approved by 75% of the existing homeowners. If you get into an association that raises fees every year that manageable amount every month can quickly escalate to an unmanageable amount. I talked with a prosepctive seller about selling his house becuase his HOA dues have tripled in the past six years. He said he could not afford to keep paying that in addition to the mortgage on his house every month.... You want to know how solvent the community is as well...the reason his association kept raising the dues was becuase they were in financial distress...As the economy got weaker and people fell behind on bills this generally is one they stop paying on first....They did not have enough reserves set up to cover the expenses when people stopped paying. Cost of HOA fees are becoming more and more important as comunites struggle with staying solvent. ... Dave diCecco Realtor/Broker www.davedicecco.com