Jeremy Richardson

Dr. Sallie Griffin

UWRT 1102
3/3/2015

Homeowners Association

Ill be honest with you, before moving into my house I didnt know what a Homeowners
Association was. I had no clue of the responsibilities tied to an HOA and their responsibilities
obligated toward the community in which they manage. If you are like I was a few years ago,
and think that it is crazy to pay someone to tell you how you should keep your lawn, or what
color to paint your house, or fine you for not closing your garage door on Sunday, allow me to
give you a brief history of this organization that became known as the Homeowners Association.
Homeowners Associations have been around for quite some time, starting, informally in
the mid 1900s on Long Island, NY at a community called Levittown. Keep in mind that
Homeowners Association is far from what it is today. Prohibited within Levittown were such
things like having a laundry line strung in the front yard. Having a committee created during that
time frame makes perfect sense. If you look at the history of the housing market there was a huge
increase in Americans purchasing homes within a community at that time. The United States
economy was booming and people started purchasing houses in metropolitan areas just outside
of the city. They were known as railroad communities back then due to the new homeowners
having to ride the train into the city for work. The Homeowners Association is that type of
organization you either hate it, or are never bothered by them. Granted they are legally obligated

to enforce the cleanliness, landscaping, and repair of facilities that are considered common use
(i.e. pool house, tennis courts, and playground). Obligations differ whether you purchase a
townhouse, condo, or single-family home as well. For instance, when you purchase a townhouse
in a Homeowners Association community you do not own the outside of that townhouse and will
not be held responsible for the cleanliness of it. The HOA is responsible for hiring someone to
power wash the exterior and should do so at least once a year depending on the location. It
sounds good that you will not have to spend a Saturday power washing your house. But,
remember if you want to have a television company that must have a satellite or dish to provide
service you will have to get permission to mount that device on the outside of your house. As
crazy as that seems, once you sign the dotted line confirming the purchase of that townhome, you
fall under that Homeowner Associations jurisdiction. There is certain criteria that a HOA must
meet such as: 1. Be formed by a commercial land developer 2. Have compulsory membership 3.
Have membership open only to the developer or builder and the lot purchaser 4. Provide direct
private benefits to the members with any benefits to the general public at best a secondary
concern of the association because of the associations organizational format and operational
plan 5. Involve the existence of an association and a membership that is derived directly from,
and is inextricably tied to, contracts for the sale and purchase of private property. Once you
purchase a house within an HOA community you are obligated to pay the designated amount per
month or year. By doing so, you are welcome to use the amenities the community has to offer
such as a pool, tennis courts, and playground. Remember that different communities have
different amenities, and some communities may not have any but still charge an HOA fee for
maintaining the common grounds. Keep in mind that all HOAs are different, and have different

rules. Some are way stricter that others, and some are just downright lazy. This leads me to my
Homeowners Association for the community of Wellington in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Ive been ready some horror stories while researching Homeowner Associations in the
United States, and I have to say Wellington does not fall into that category. I have never had an
issue, been fined, or had to contact them in my three years of living in the community, until now.
It might be because Im getting older, but certain things I just dont understand. For instance,
there are probably five hundred houses in the neighborhood paying $440 a year in Homeowners
fees. Just doing some quick math that is around two-hundred and twenty thousand dollars they
are getting paid at the beginning of every year to budget. Would it kill them to plant some
pansies in the entrance near the Wellington sign instead of having dirt there? Pansies cost next to
nothing and it would make the entrance look so much more welcoming. There is a gentleman
that lives in the neighborhood who owns a lawn and yard maintenance business, I dont see an
issue of hiring him to spruce up the common area known as the entrance. Its written in the
budget, but seems to get overlooked every spring. I feel if we as homeowners are held to a
certain standard with our lawn care, the community should be held to that same standard with the
common areas. A couple years ago my neighbors took a trip to Connecticut and left on a
Wednesday. Well, it just so happens that our trash is picked up on Fridays. So, they take their
trash can and put it at the end of the driveway Wednesday night before they leave. Keep in mind
that we live in a cul-de-sac with maybe eight houses on that road. The following week they get a
letter in the mail fining them twenty-five dollars for having their trash can down by the road on
an unauthorized day. Within the letter it stated that a neighbor had made the complaint. We all
know one another, and none of us even thought about the trash cans being out one day early,
much less wrote to the Homeowners Association about it. We came to the conclusion that that

was their way of keeping them from looking like the bad guy and still squeezing twenty five
bucks out of someone. Whats funny is our Homeowners Association is not even local! It is in
Georgia, approximately three hours away. Even on the website, if you were to have a complaint
you have to submit a complaint form and wait for a reply. There are currently seven people that
live in the community who volunteer for the Homeowners Association Board, but there are no
emails or phone numbers given on the website in case something came up. Again, you would
have to write a general message to the association in Georgia and wait for a response. In the three
years weve lived there I have seen the HOA inspector car one time. They were apparently
driving around checking to make sure the lawns were properly manicured, because my other
neighbor got a letter stating if the leaves were not picked up and bagged in his common area (not
even technically his yard) he would be fined $25 a day. Needless to say, I went out and helped
him because we are both responsible for that area although its considered a common area. Thats
the thing with HOAs, sometimes they can be complete jerks, and then other times when a car
has been broken down sitting on blocks in the main entrance for a month you never see them.
Every community has that one house that is always for rent. It will be rented out for two months,
and those tenants will get kicked out, and the next tenants come in for two months, and so on and
so forth. Well, we have that same situation happening. It seems to be getting better, the owners
finally had the house painted (a neutral brown color so to not be fined), and a new roof put on. It
actually looks really nice! The issue is renters do not care about the appearance of a house. They
are not going to spend money on mulch or drainage rock to spruce up the outside, and will only
mow the lawn when its absolutely necessary. I get the not spending money stuff, because its not
your house. However, you still have to follow the guidelines of the Homeowners association.
Unless the HOA does nothing about it for months at a time. If Im paying the HOA four hundred

forty dollars a year, I would like them to hold everyone equally accountable of the appearance of
their homes. And if my neighbor gets fined for putting his trash can out one day early, I would
hope the people that left the trash can out for three weeks also received a letter. It seems like a
huge issue to not have your Homeowners Association nearby. Not that you can run to them every
five seconds with minute discrepancies, but you can talk with them over issues that could
potentially devalue your house to a potential buyer. If someone drives into the neighborhood to
do a walk-through of your home and they see this house with the trash can out overflowing and
ruts in the yard, its going to be a major eyesore.
Im still very new to the idea of having a Homeowners Association and for the most part
have not ever had to deal with them. I grew up on one-hundred and twenty acres in a very, very
rural town in Arkansas (population of sixty-three people) and never even knew HOAs existed.
But, now having lived in a couple of HOA developments (rented a townhome in Belmont before
purchasing in Wellington) I know that it is vital to have your Homeowners Association at least in
the same county in order to bring up issues within the community, or have a meeting over the
budget, and future plans for the community. It is very difficult to achieve any of these when you
never see your HOA, or its board members.

ADD WORK CITED!!

Comments: I would refrain from using I and you because it tends to be more
personal than an inquiry paper. Also try to break up your paragraphs to add
structure to the paper. Maybe less stories about the HOA like Griffin said add
more academic sources.