brinnanza replied to your post “Do neighborhoods in England have HOAs?”
I am told they do not
Damn. Well, what’s fic for, if not taking massive creative license in the name of having fun? Because I really, really want to write this fic with an HOA. Because it will be fucking hilarious.
clockworktea and passive-aggressive-sarcasm:
seconding 'what's an HOA' - also, I dunno if I get what a neighbourhood is in this context either tbh
So in this context, a neighborhood is a collection of houses encompassing a specific geographic area. So, a neighborhood might be as small as one or two streets, or as big as a couple square miles, depending on a number of factors.
An HOA, or homeowner’s association, is a community organization that, in theory, is meant to support homeowners in whatever they need to live in the neighborhood: community resources, housing upkeep/repair services, utilities, etc. In practice, they’re huge pains in the ass.
HOA’s charge you for the privilege of being a part of the HOA. Which would be fine if you had the choice of opting out, but you don’t. If your neighborhood has an HOA and you don’t want to be a part of it, you literally have to move to a different neighborhood.
HOA’s impose covenants, or rules that you have to obey. Things like: fences can only be a certain height or certain materials, grass must be kept trimmed to a specified height, houses cannot be painted certain colors, etc. If you don’t follow these covenants (and you sign a contract stating tht you will), they’ll fine you.
HOA’s are run by a board. These people may have started out with the best of intentions, full of community spirit and a desire to make their neighborhood the best it can be for the people who live there. This is not generally the group of people you’ll be dealing with when you have to deal with your HOA board. They’re petty, they’re malicious, they’re drunk on the false sense of power they get from making their neighbors’ lives a living hell.
There have been attempts over the years by specific neighbors in my neighborhood (who would greatly love having any kind of power) to get our neighborhood to start an HOA. But, the majority of us have been there for over thirty years without one, and we keep shooting it down.
