Our long house hunt seems to be intensifying, and we found a house that seems to fit our family's needs rather perfectly. It is a bit more than I want to spend, but it is in a clubhouse community--swimming pool, tennis courts, workout faciilities, etc.
What do you think about these types of communities? Are they worth it? Do the people tend to form cliques? Are you looked down upon if you don't decide to join the club? This is the Midwest, so the pool is really only open for the summer.
So this community is set up like this: All homeowners in the subdivision are automatically part of the HOA--annual dues are $300. This covers only the maintenance of the streets, common areas, landscaping for the easements, etc. There is a separate annual fee to use the club house amenities. I toured today and it was actually pretty good. There's a small indoor pool, too, which is a huge bonus over other club house communities in the area. One nice thing is that even if you aren't a member, as long as you live in the neighborhood you can pay $5/day to use it.
I read the covenants and by-laws of the HOA and they seem pretty reasonable. I wish I knew someone who lived there, but I searched through the entire directory for my kids' school and didn't see a single family who lives there.
As for the cost of the house--it's certainly within our budget, but more than I would personally like to spend. My husband is more willing to approach the upper end of our budget and has actually told me he'll sell his other car, which we own outright, to help out.
We're going to make an offer with a contingency to sell our current house, and cross our fingers. Our realtor tells us that houses in our area are flying off the market and he can barely keep up. So, praying that our house sells quickly and we can lock down this other house.
Thanks for all the input--these types of things are so new to me. Our current neighborhood has no association and I oftentimes wish there was someone who could make some of the neighbors be better neighbors, by clearing their snow, not leaving trash cans out for days at a time, mowing the lawns and not letting it go to weed and spread to everyone else's, as well as enforcing noise ordinances.
I couldn't live in a club community, I don't do well with rules, and I'm a bit of a loner. In fact, I'm looking for a decent sized piece of land. I'm sick of being close to neighbors. I want space, and green, and quiet :-)
i love having the HOA. they regulate a lot of things that probably people would ignore if it weren't for the 'rules.' so everyone has nice yards, cars are parked where they are supposed to. people are friendly etc.
If you are likely to use those facilities then it might be a good deal for you.
For awhile we lived in an apartment complex that had 2 pools, a club house, racquetball court, weight room, etc.
It was novel for awhile but it wore off and then we didn't use the facilities at all.
We tend to like non home owners association type neighborhoods and that's the kind of homes we choose to buy.
It's not that I actually WANT any pink flamingos in my front yard but I don't want anyone telling me that I CAN'T have any pink flamingos in my front yard.
My biggest concern would be the HOA. They pretty much own your soul. Go over the CC&R's with a fine tooth comb before you commit. Even then, they can often change the rules and you agree that you will live with whatever the HOA board decides. For me, the HOA burden is not worth the benefits.
Find out all of the rules of the community. Make sure you can live with them. Also if there is an annual fee for maintenance find out how much and how often it increases.
I do estate sales and recently held one in one of these communities.
The rules were crazy and the people that are on the "Board" are kind of intense.
No parking on the streets. Yes, this is a rule. Visitors, ALL of them, even handicapped, must park in special area and then walk to the homes they are visiting for a length of time. All cars must be parked in their closed garages. Short term visitors can park on the driveway, but not overnight..
Certain times of the day, no children allowed in the pool, and the exercise areas.
Trash cans must be cleaned and no odors.
Landscaping has to be approved. It goes to a committee. Same with home colors if you repaint.
No yard art. in the front yard. No lawn furniture in the front yards. No wind chimes anywhere allowed.
It went on and on.
Of course no Garage sales or Estate Sales are allowed, but NOT 1 person told me this. The first open house for the Estate Sale where a ton of the neighbors attended and drank 4 bottles of wine and 2 gallons of lemonade and stayed the entire time did not say a word. .
The actual day of the event, they sent a spokesman to tell me to "shut it down". I told him that I was hired to hold this event by the "late owners daughter" who obviously had no idea that these sales were not allowed. Told him about the night before how "the neighbors attended, drank and shopped." I even had photos on my ipad to show him.. Ha!
This is when some of the neighbors came over and chewed me out, while others told me all about the"Rules"..
I thought, there is no way I would fit into a place like this.
It was beautiful, quiet, VERY Well maintained, but I am a rebel and that would not have worked for me.
I would never live in any form of a planned community. Too many rules, most of them IMO stupid. It is a of making people complacent and 'rule followers'. These 'communities' take away our personal liberties and we pay for the privilege.
No way now how is anyone gonna tell me what kind of flowers or other plants I can have in MY yard. No one is gonna tell me what color I can paint my house. No one is gonna tell me what kind of patio furniture or lawn decorations I can have. This is my home and I pay the taxes to prove it.
we hated our HOA , now we r in the country, 2 acres and nobody is telling us what to do :)
No HOA for me under any circumstances. I bristle at the idea of someone controlling what I do to and around my own home. I also don't like the idea of a planned community with all the houses looking similar. A gate with guard would be the final insult.
Custom, unique, construction with lots of privacy from neighbors and views of nature is what we love.
I would never buy a house where others have a say over what I can do with it, and where my expenses are tied to everyone elses. I have heard horror stories of people buying into a condo and a week later all the siding fell off one of the many buildings and ALL the condo owners had to fork over more money to fix the siding. We did not even want a house with a shared driveway. Instead of paying HOA fees to a community where others decide, put them aside in an account and pay the maintenance on your own house with them.
I live in a HOA simply because I live in an area in which it is really hard to find a house that is not in a HOA. You would really have to have a lot of money to buy a property in BFE to build your own house to get away from it. Or you would have to buy a VERY old house.
I pay a monthly fee. There is a clubhouse for events that we never use. There are tennis courts that we never use - we do not play tennis. There are swimming pools that we use every now and again. We use the playground every so often too. So, no I really don't get my money's worth out of it. We are pretty introverted so we are not very social with our neighbors.
Our HOA goes through phases where it starts citing folks for certain things. One time we got cited for needing to pressure wash our house. Of course, our neighbor had a TOLIET out in his front yard for weeks...buy that wasn't a problem apparently.
I do not like HOAs at all. I really have a problem with paying the mortgage and OWNING a property when someone else tries to dictate what I can do with it. Ideally, I would not live in a HOA community...
We live in in a master planned community. We love it! There are 4 pools, 2 snack bars, a fitness center, tennis courts, skate park, regular parks. It's a fabulous place to raise a family. The most important thing is to check out the covenants and restrictions. Some people hate HOAs and everything to do with it. Ours is what I would call strict, but not over the top and they use common sense for the most part (they don't send nasty-grams about your grass being dead in the middle of winter, for instance). There are cliques in every community, whether they have a clubhouse or not. In mine, you don't either join or not join - if you live there you pay for it in your taxes.
We live in a subdivision with an HoA and no perks! For all the grief I wish I had a pool! Okay I have a pool but I would love for it not to be in my yard where I have to take care of it! I digress
It isn't the amenities that make it bad, it is the HoAs that run them so ask who the trustees are, see if you can meet them. If you really like the trustee you meet ask them are you the sane one. :)
I say that because I am friend with one of our trustees, she is one of my daughter's friend's mom. The other two are insane and abusive with their powers. It isn't so bad here because there isn't a pool or clubhouse or any of that. If there was those two would make using it miserable, in other words I would still have a pool in my backyard to avoid them!
A lot of my friends have the clubhouse and stuff and they have no choice to join because there is no joining, it is part of your subdivision dues. You either pay or they put a lien on your house.
Smaller subdivisions seem to be the worst because the neighborhood crazy person somehow becomes a trustee and it is very easy to micromanage. My brother's subdivision has over 400 homes, he has no problems at all.
we have an HOA, even in our pretty rural neighborhood. it's not a terrible thing- the roads get ploughed, and we have a dumpster and recycling bins. some of the restrictions are stupid. no clotheslines? really? most of us can't even see each other's back yards. but no one's enforcing that stuff either.
the downside is that no one is enforcing rules like 'no commercial enterprises.' i've got big garages with brisk side businesses going on either side.
but we're the opposite of cliquey out here. we leave each other alone.
my brother, on the other hand, won't live anywhere BUT the sort of community you describe. he loves the amenities, the jogging paths, the manicured entranceways, the fact that people can't let junk accumulate and everyone's home is neat and look-me-over.
people can't look down on you for not joining certain clubs if you're not open to being made to feel 'less than.' without ever saying so aloud, you can cultivate an air of 'who would be stupid enough to pay for amenities they're not going to use just to fit in?'
on the other hand, CAN you opt out? most developments like you describe have all that stuff built in the HOA fees.
khairete
S.
I think if you are an active family it's totally worth it. It's such a nice, healthy way to spend time together, isn't it?
We belong to a high end country club and of course their are some snooty a-holes there but so what? We've met plenty of nice normal people (like us LOL!) and have enjoyed many, many years using all the facilities. And I absolutely LOVED being able to drop my kids off at the pool for a few hours during the summer while I went and worked out and ran errands. My son played tennis too. Even though I was skeptical about joining in the beginning I have absolutely no regrets!
The house alone is already more than you really want to spend, so be sure that you are factoring in the additional costs of an HOA fee if there is one and/or other fees you may not be aware of. Does one fee cover your family's use of the pool, the workout facilities, the tennis courts, etc.? Or is there an HOA fee then you pay on top of that for those extra goodies? If you use the pool more than X times a year do you have to pay addiitional fees? And so on.
Not knocking the idea at all -- IF you think your family really will use all those things enough to pay for them, then this could be a good community for you. But you need to find out before you buy about ALL the fees that could come your way. It would be a pity to buy and then discover that it costs more than you realized just to use the amenities for which you moved into that area.
Around us there are community pools run by private non-profit groups that provide a pool for the summer for anyone who pays the fee. (Though the waiting lists to get membership can be long.) That's how lots of folks around here get their pool fix in summer (these are private/by membership but mostly for anyone who can pay and gets in line to sign up--we are not a clubhouse community). We also have great recreation centers with all the things you note. You might want to look at houses in areas close to your county or city recreation centers, or houses in areas near privately run pools where you could become members.
I love living in my community. I don't think anyone would judge you if you didn't 'join the club'. They host a lot of fun activities for the kids. Our HOA isn't strict I know you will horror stories. But really they just want you to keep your yard mowed and not paint your house crazy. We moved from a non HOA neighborhood and 3 months later new people moved in next to our old house and painted their house trim and door pink. Yes pink. Yes it is THEIR home than can do what they want. But that really lowers property value for others. No thank you I'll stick with my HOA..
I'm interested in hearing the responses! I am contemplating a post-divorce move to a clubhouse community too. (I am in your neck of the woods.)
Have you checked to see if the community where you are looking to buy has a Facebook group? I joined the Facebook group for one of the communities where I might want to live, and it has been very interesting to read all of the posts. I have been able to get a good sense of the friendliness and cooperation of the residents. I also read about all of their gripes about snow removal and traffic.
Do you know any of the families who live there now? If not, you should ask your friends if they know anyone who lives there, so you can get in touch with them for questions and opinions. Good luck! I hope you love your next home!
We live in a very nice neighborhood that has a community pool, clubhouse and playgrounds. You don't "join" the club. It is open to anyone who lives here. The pool does have a special key access so that it is only used by our neighborhood. Our neighborhood is not gated.
We used the pool some when daughter was younger. I don't think I've been to the pool area in over 10 years.
We do belong to a high end country club and we ago there a lot for hubby to play golf, daughter enjoyed that pool, and I am involved in a lot of the social activities.
As for HOA, sometimes you get a group of people who believe they are the HOA police and will make your life he$$. We are fortunate that ours is run quite well and I do appreciate many of the restrictions because they help keep my property value at it highest. We have some nit-picky restrictions... one off the top of my head is that a children's play set must have a green slide, the top of it must have a roof and it must be stained properly to keep it looking nice. I personally didn't have a problem with that because I would not want a trashy looking play set in my yard!
The judicial system has been cracking down on some of the HOA's around here for being too tough.
We pay $400 a year, there are several social activities during the year which involves the families and it is very nice. We have a festival every fall and every family gets free bbq, rock climbing walls, bounce houses, face painting etc are for the children. It is the time when we are wrapping up the summer. We also have Easter egg hunts with a parade, Spring slash to open up the pool and more.
Now, my daughter's condo is about 18 minutes from me and her HOA is $210 a month which maintains the grounds in great order, maintains the buildings in good order as well as the pool, exercise area, clubhouse and gates. She is in a gated unit which we like for her safety. Her HOA group is a bit tougher than ours... they have cameras everywhere which can be a good or bad thing. Most of the residents are retirees and there are very few students and young couples and we've learned that the students and young couples are the ones to rack up silly fines $150 for eating or drinking at the pool, picking up pet poop, etc.
I am all for having cameras, I have them in my yard and have managed to get some good info, especially when some teens were vandalizing our yard once. It NEVER happened again because I had the tape, identified them, and the police had a little chat with each one of them.
It is a balance and something you have to weigh out accordingly. Can you speak to someone who lives there about the HOA. Also, if it was not in my price range, I would probably move on because it is expensive to maintain a house and the property.
I dislike HOA's. It seems like they do a lot of talking and not a lot of doing. Same thing happens in my parents neighborhood. Honestly, as long as you live in a subdivision where I am, you pay an HOA to boss you around. Fortunately, my fees are relatively low (about $170 per year), but I don't see them doing a whole lot. We do have a basketball court and playground, both of which we use when the weather is nice.
We pay about $200 for a season pass at the pool on base, right next door to my office. The sitter brings the kids during the week and I get to pop over and have lunch with them! I take them a lot on the weekends. It's a huge pool with a deep end (12 feet), a diving board, and a slide. They dislike a lot of the community pools around here that don't get any deeper than 5 feet....they want to jump. So I don't know that I'd want to pay for that.
We love our neighborhood and the clubhouse/pool amenities! We feel like we live at a resort in the summertime! Love it!
I've never actually heard the term clubhouse community before. Here, we call them Homeowner's Associations (HOAs). Personally, I love having an HOA. I get to have a neighborhood pool, so I don't have to worry about the cost, maintenance or safety of a backyard pool. It's also a great place to meet neighbors and find other local kids. We have tennis courts, but don't have a gym and don't actually have a clubhouse. My parents' neighborhood (adjacent to my own neighborhood) has a clubhouse and I always wish we had one too. It's a great place for things like scout meetings or parties.
I have never felt at all that the communities here become cliquish. Many neighborhoods around here have HOAs.
I guess ours is a little different than yours, because you don't have to join the club. If you live in the neighborhood, you are required to pay HOA dues and, with that, comes full access to all of the neighborhood amenities.
I think it's worth joining though, even if you do have to pay a fee. It is so nice to have easy access to those facilities.
I personally like having the clubhouse 'stuff' yet my husband does not like paying the monthly dues. We used to live in one (not a fancy one, there are several that are really expensive and i could not justify the payments). I like our old neighbors and like the clean neighborhood.
The one thing that gets frowned a pond is when the same guests show up and do not join. I looked at a few (after we moved out of our neighborhood to have the pool and tennis) and the membership person said the guest can only show up once a month. The feeling is, if they go more often then they should pay too.
edit: It is also a nice way to meet and connect with neighbors. Now that I think about it, i do miss it. We had pretty parks and 3 nice pools. You could pay to have a b-day party with your friends. Since it was not over the top expensive, it was worth it.
We love living in our clubhouse community. I echo others who say look over any HOA rules first. Both of my BILs go on and on about how they would never live in a place with an HOA and 'no one's gonna tell me how to live' and on and on. We laugh because when we visit them there are cars up on blocks, RVs parked in the street for months, lawns that are nothing but dirt or weeds. Of course sometimes we feel like rebellious teenagers when someone tells us what to do, but it is for the benefit of property value and aesthetics, so we are more than happy to do it. If you don't wish to follow simple rules of being a good neighbor and hope to paint your house purple one day, it may not be for you. :-)
But HOA aside, we do love it. So family friendly and plenty to keep busy- especially over the summer. In our area, the pools, rec center, etc. are a part of the quarterly dues, so there is no opting in or out. A neighboring area is a golf club community, but belonging to the golf club is optional. I've never heard anything snooty about those who don't join the club.
And as far as cliques, not so much for the community as a whole, but like anywhere, there are some in each school. But mostly, just a nice place to live. I wouldn't trade this community for anything, it's a fantastic place to live. Worth every penny. Oh, speaking of pennies, remember that HOA fees or club fees tend to get raised every few years!! Good luck!
