The Value of Your Homeowner Association
by Martie McKinnon
realtor.com

Why do so many homeowners buy their home in a community association? Perhaps they liked the curb appeal of the house or its floor plan, but they most assuredly considered the entire neighborhood-- how the house looked next door as well as down the street. Purchasers made a decision to buy into a lifestyle and surroundings which included so many things outside the home itself (encompassing everything from the community's entries, the recreation center, to the general condition of all the other homes in the neighborhood). They purchased with an expectation that their property and those in their community would be protected by deed restrictions and maintained to a certain reasonable standard. Why else would you submit yourself to an extra monthly common maintenance fee?

What does it take to keep a neighborhood attractive and nice? The crucial factor is the willingness of the men and women who make up the association's board of directors to enforce the rules that have been created. What could happen if the restrictions are not enforced? An average size community with 100 or more members will invite varying degrees of what constitutes an acceptable standard of maintenance. With that in mind, the appearance of a development can steadily decline if the board members do not discuss and establish uniform standards for everyone. The neighborhood can either become an architectural showcase for sustained property values, or it can become a venue for the peculiar and unusual. People have differing views of what is attractive, is quite natural and, in fact, invigorating, but a maverick outlook and/or an aggressive position on design can provide the clear chance of a planned community looking dramatically different over time from the way it did when the buyer first bought his/her home, or from the builder's architectural vision that lured you into your home investment These uncontrolled changes can dramatically affect the way your neighborhood will look in the future and most certainly your personal home investment.

A community also needs to keep pace with its surrounding neighborhood communities, so it can be compared by its "face". It can be different, but it cannot become drab and/or plain having no concern for detail, or that manicured look. The board of directors must collect enough money and spend enough on continued beautification to maintain curb appeal and an upscale community look.

Please see Association Times for the full article that inspired this column.