HOA Reality Check

We trade a couple real estate life stories, then get blunt about what HOAs really do, from keeping neighborhoods tidy to handing out fines and surprise bills. We lay out the risks buyers miss most, including special assessments, lawsuits that stop sales, and the real power an HOA can have over your home. 
• why HOAs exist and what they enforce 
• benefits like amenities, symmetry, and shared maintenance 
• how gated communities and private roads can raise costs 
• special assessments, reserves, and what big repairs can trigger 
• how HOA lawsuits can make lending and selling difficult 
• management company fees like transfer fees and resale certificates 
• common violations and how enforcement can get petty 
• foreclosure risk when dues or fines go unpaid 
• odd deed restrictions, including outdated and unenforceable language 
• what buyers should ask about budgets, rentals, pets, and approvals 
You can find us at housenextdoor tx.com and like like, share, comment 

https://housenextdoortx.com

Transcript

Welcome And Comedy Club Warm-Up

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Welcome back to the house next door. Where real estate meets reality. I'm Anthony Harris. And I'm Barbara Julio. I almost said I'm Barbara Harris. I swear. And I'm Barbara Harris. I don't know why, but it just looks like gonna come out of my face.

SPEAKER_00 0:17

It's like it's gonna come out of my I don't know why the Are we gonna redo this?

SPEAKER_02 0:25

No, I love it. So let's do our joke. Since we're in the comedy club, we need to give um honor to our fellow comedians.

SPEAKER_00 0:34

Honor or insult?

SPEAKER_02 0:35

It's honor and not our fellow comedians because we're not comedians.

SPEAKER_00 0:39

To the comedians.

SPEAKER_02 0:41

Okay, Anthony, give us your joke. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 0:43

Um why don't real estate agents ever get lost?

SPEAKER_02 0:48

Um I don't know. GPS?

SPEAKER_00 0:51

Because they're always they always know the best location, location, location. Cheesy.

SPEAKER_02 0:59

Cheesy. Oh gosh.

SPEAKER_00 1:01

That's what we're here for.

SPEAKER_02 1:02

Yes.

Bronco Ducking And Car Culture

SPEAKER_02 1:03

Well, let's catch up a little because we haven't we haven't chatted in a hot minute about stuff in our life.

SPEAKER_00 1:09

Let's talk about your Bronco because your Bronco makes good news stories.

SPEAKER_02 1:12

Oh, that's right. So um it was the weirdest thing. So you know how Jeeps have the ducks and they're called you get ducked when you have a I guess it's like it started in the during COVID and giving each other ducks and things. So I was at H E B and I have a big red Bronco, and I got ducked. Wow, I got ducked on my bronco.

SPEAKER_00 1:37

Do they know that it's not a Jeep?

SPEAKER_02 1:39

Well, I don't know. So I didn't even really know what it was. My mom was with me, and there was a little duck on my running board, a little blue duck with a silver bill, and it was like really cute. Mom goes, There's a duck on your car. Somebody left you a little duck. And then there was this woman walking around, she couldn't find her car, and it was a jeep that she was looking for. And I go, Wow, I I have this duck. She and she just happened to walk by at that time and she goes, Oh, you got ducked. Somebody thought you had a Jeep. And I and she's like, Or they just liked your Bronco and gave you a duck.

SPEAKER_01 2:11

That's cool.

SPEAKER_02 2:12

And she couldn't find her car. And she's like, I drive a Jeep and I'm looking for my Jeep and I can't find it. And she kept going around and around and around. And then she's like, Well, my daughter came and picked up my Jeep and left my other car in its place. Oh. And I'm like, Oh my god, that's so that's so rude. Right. And she goes, I think it was my daughter who probably ducked you. Because she said, I have a bag of ducks in my Jeep to give to other people. And she probably just didn't know. But what if maybe my Bronco was so cool that it it like it got the duck badge? Yeah, it like it crossed over car culture to get ducked. Because with Broncos, uh it's called bucking, okay, where you leave like a little horse. Oh, or if you you have a saxwach package, which is I think I have that.

SPEAKER_00 3:03

Um is that just a big car?

SPEAKER_02 3:06

You put like a bigfoot on their car. Okay. But or you can get a duck that looks like a horse and leave it for for Bronco owners. So yeah, there's this whole thing called But I got duck. I got ducked. I was really.

SPEAKER_00 3:18

You gotta be ducking kidding me.

SPEAKER_02 3:20

I I got duck. And now I keep and I asked the lady, I said, Well, I since I don't have a Jeep, can I put it on my dashboard? And she said, Honey, you put that duck on your dashboard and you display it proudly. And I said, Okay. So he just sits on my little dashboard now. Oh, so you have a duck. I have a duck.

SPEAKER_00 3:36

I have lots of ducks, so I'll have to give you another duck.

SPEAKER_02 3:39

Well, and tell us about like you just sent me something that you looked

Glass Elevator House Tour Talk

SPEAKER_02 3:42

at yesterday. It was a glass house. No, it was a house with an elevator.

SPEAKER_00 3:46

Yeah, a glass elevator.

SPEAKER_02 3:48

Okay, what the heck?

SPEAKER_00 3:49

Yeah, it's kind of three stories-ish. You come in on the second level, but it's just like a little foyer.

SPEAKER_02 3:55

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_00 3:55

And then so it has an elevator that goes in its glass. It was like 4,000 square feet or wow, that's a pretty big house. It's big. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:03

So did you guys get in the elevator and go up and down?

SPEAKER_00 4:05

Not yet. We're looking at it today.

SPEAKER_02 4:08

And it's and it's so it's glass. I saw it, and it just goes up from like all three levels. It did kind of look like Willy Wonka. Oh my gosh. I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 4:17

That's a small film it.

SPEAKER_02 4:18

That's so much added maintenance.

SPEAKER_00 4:20

That is.

SPEAKER_02 4:21

Yeah. And then Willie, you get what if you're naked in the elevator and get stuck? Well, then everybody sees you because there's glass. You're just like, oh, I'm just gonna, you know, like if you're one of those people who sleeps naked, I'm not because I'm afraid of a natural disaster. And then I'm gonna be like running around the neighborhood.

SPEAKER_00 4:37

So the house is gonna be on fire and you're gonna be going down the glass elevator.

SPEAKER_02 4:40

Yeah. So I'm terrified to stop. So, but I know a lot of people do sleep naked. So what if you're like, oh, I'm just gonna get a glass of water or something? You hop in your elevator, this glass, you get stuck. There you are, stuck in your elevator, naked and afraid. I don't know. That's where my mind went immediately.

SPEAKER_00 4:58

No, I mean I don't think I'd be naked in my glass elevator, but you might just be like, I'm gonna go get a snack.

SPEAKER_02 5:05

And then that's when it happens.

SPEAKER_00 5:07

Then you would have to call the elevator repair manager.

SPEAKER_02 5:09

I know. Or your mom to come over and like get you out. I'm like, sorry, mom. And you like push your your let's get on to the subject of our podcast today.

SPEAKER_00 5:23

We haven't been canceled already.

SPEAKER_02 5:25

I make all things dirty, but that's exactly what I thought of when I thought of your glass elevator. Like, what if you were making it?

SPEAKER_00 5:33

Could have been worse.

SPEAKER_02 5:34

Could have been worse. Okay, Anthony, what's our episode about today?

HOA Basics And Why They Exist

SPEAKER_00 5:37

So we're gonna talk about HOAs. Ooh. The bad and the crazy.

SPEAKER_02 5:42

The good, the bad, and the crazy of HOAs. And I feel like this is gonna be the episode where you really get to talk for once because you'll see. They have juries about because you are so like you know everything about an HOA.

SPEAKER_00 5:56

Well, I don't know about everything.

SPEAKER_02 5:57

Well, you know more than me when and I I don't know a lot. So hey, you know everything. So there you go.

SPEAKER_00 6:04

So do you know what an HOA is?

SPEAKER_02 6:06

Uh Homeowners Association. I knew that.

SPEAKER_00 6:10

Do you know what they do?

SPEAKER_02 6:12

Yeah, they're there to put in all kinds of stupid roles. So, like you don't have a pink house next to you or a broken down car.

SPEAKER_00 6:20

Or pink house next to you.

SPEAKER_02 6:22

I do. Yeah. Oh, I want. I thought you said I own one. Yeah. No, like, so for me, I don't mind. Like, I'm kind of anti-hoa. The less is more for me. But there are people who like clients will say, I don't want an hoa, I don't want an hoa, and then I go show them the neighborhoods where there are no HOAs, and they're like, Well, why are there doll heads all over the fence? You know, there's those properties that have all the doll heads. Oh, that's so creepy and cool. And I'm like, Well, you said I think it's kind of cool. Like, there was one where I drove by and they had all these spikes, right? With baby like doll heads on. Oh, they were pulling murderers and Barbie doll heads on. And it was hundreds, and they lined the whole fence on the spikes, like they on the spikes, yeah, like they were impaled. And I was like, What that's something you don't see every day.

SPEAKER_00 7:11

Yeah, but it was the FBI's most wanted. They lived there.

SPEAKER_02 7:13

You know where it was? It was out by that um lot that I told you about where I thought you would end up if you got roofied at a bar. So it was in that neighborhood.

SPEAKER_00 7:21

It makes sense.

SPEAKER_02 7:22

So makes sense, but you know, it's like they think they want it, and then they see that you know, really there are no rules.

SPEAKER_00 7:28

Yeah. So it's the wild west.

SPEAKER_02 7:30

So do they really want it? Like, so yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:32

Yeah, see, you know what a HOA is.

SPEAKER_02 7:34

Well, I know what it is. You know a lot.

SPEAKER_00 7:37

Um, so so you talked about it, but some of the benefits of an HOA.

SPEAKER_02 7:43

Okay, yeah. Say the good. What's the good of an HOA?

SPEAKER_00 7:46

There's law and order. They make sure that your neighbor or try to make sure that your neighbors are keeping their house up, keeping it clean.

SPEAKER_02 7:54

No weeds in the yard, no couches in the front yard.

SPEAKER_00 7:58

That's my favorite. Watching the stars from the couch in the front yard.

SPEAKER_02 8:01

I mean, it doesn't get any better than that.

SPEAKER_00 8:03

And then you have your lone star beer in the ice cooler next to you.

SPEAKER_02 8:06

Are you are you making are you making some uh what generalizations? Okay, go on.

SPEAKER_00 8:16

So other good things. Maintain law and order. They maintain ro um sometimes roads, depending if it's gated. Um, gates if they have them, clubhouses, pools, yards.

SPEAKER_02 8:28

If you have like small yards in the front, they'll maintain them so you have that nice lock and leave. Yeah, like my listing, a lock and leave vibe. Yeah. Um, and they maintain order, so you have a very symmetry look, especially if you're a person who likes, you know, everything looking really super neat and tidy, and you don't like weeds and you don't like this or that. It gives you that uniform look. And without you having to march over to your neighbor's house and say, pull your weights.

SPEAKER_00 8:58

Well, that was gonna bring me to my next point. What is an HOA? What brings out the Karen's?

SPEAKER_02 9:02

It brings out the Karen.

SPEAKER_00 9:04

Sorry, Karen. So it brings out the ones that want to complain about something, they they want to go to the meetings and make a fuss, um, which is interesting. I just sold a house that's in a very regulated, like, 55 and up community.

SPEAKER_02 9:19

Oh, right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:20

And my clients were telling me that um their neighbor hates HOAs, like absolutely hates them.

SPEAKER_02 9:26

So why would they move there?

SPEAKER_00 9:27

Yeah, you pick the wrong neighborhood. Like they have a gate with a guard that has a gun. Right. Like you pick the wrong neighborhood.

SPEAKER_02 9:33

Well, and active adult communities are really known for very, very restrictive. Well, first of all, they're age restricted. You can't have kids in full time, and you can only have them, you know, a certain period of time. Yeah. And so, yeah, that's a unique choice.

SPEAKER_00 9:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:49

For somebody who doesn't like an HOA.

SPEAKER_00 9:51

Because her family moved to Canyon, or her son or someone moved to Canyon Lake, I was like, well, you probably shouldn't have moved out there. There's no HOA out there.

SPEAKER_02 9:58

Right, exactly. So, um, so talk about the so this is new to

Private Roads Special Assessments Explained

SPEAKER_02 10:05

me. So the private roads and the gated communities. So if you have a gate in a neighborhood, the HOA takes care of those roads. Yes. Right. So no longer the city is not responsible for those roads. So what does that mean for what does that mean for residents?

SPEAKER_00 10:20

So the residents are responsible for maintenance and the upkeep of the roads.

SPEAKER_02 10:25

So that could be higher HOA dues. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 10:27

And then if something happens to the roads, there could be a special assessment to pay for that where all the homeowners have to pay in extra money.

SPEAKER_02 10:36

And explain what a special assessment is, because a lot of people don't know what that means.

SPEAKER_00 10:40

Special assessment is kind of it's where the board has decided on they need extra funds for something. So it could be for maintenance, deferred maintenance, it could be maintenance, it could be um bigger reserve, whatever the case might be, which a reserve is just the savings account for the HOA. Um or they're gonna do a big capital project like new roofs for everybody or whatever. So they need special assessments to be assessed where it's a one-time HOA fee.

SPEAKER_02 11:08

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 11:09

To fund those.

SPEAKER_02 11:10

So do they just spring that on the residents, or is there like a meeting, or how do they go about saying we're gonna fix the roads? And oh, by the way, you guys owe you know $10,000. Is there yeah, is there like a cap or how does that work? Okay, so they could literally come to you with that kind of bill.

SPEAKER_00 11:29

There was a condo downtown that their special assessments were $40,000.

SPEAKER_02 11:33

$40,000.

SPEAKER_00 11:34

They needed new balconies.

SPEAKER_02 11:35

For all the and so how did do the people get to vote on this?

SPEAKER_00 11:40

Yeah, so typically they have to vote and then um I don't know if it's the board that votes on it or the people. Um, but with theirs, they gave them the option to do a loan over five years or whatever for to pay forty thousand.

SPEAKER_02 11:53

Oh my gosh. So this was individuals were having to pay 40,000, or was it split the 40,000 was split?

SPEAKER_00 11:59

It was no each each unit was 40,000. Oh, I think it was 30. 30 or 40, but a lot of money.

SPEAKER_02 12:05

Yeah, so that could make it so you can't afford your home.

SPEAKER_00 12:07

Yeah. And you have no control over this. And so what happened was when the resident sued over it, and that brings us to our next plight.

HOA Lawsuits And Selling Problems

SPEAKER_00 12:14

So then when they sued the HOA was in a lawsuit, which also may cost money.

SPEAKER_02 12:18

Right.

SPEAKER_00 12:18

Um, but whenever someone sues the HOA, most of the times a lender will not land on it.

SPEAKER_02 12:24

So now you can't sell your house.

SPEAKER_00 12:25

Yep. So they were stuck in litigation, I think, for two years. And so they gave where allowance of people because it was restricted on how many could be rentals, but they lifted that so that people that had to move could could afford to pay their mortgage.

SPEAKER_02 12:42

Oh my gosh. Yeah, I knew I knew that when you have when your HOAs are getting sued, it's near impossible to be able to sell your home because you're the lenders aren't gonna lend on it.

SPEAKER_00 12:55

Yeah, because you're buying into that HOA.

SPEAKER_02 12:57

And you're buying into a lawsuit. Yeah. Yeah. And so the house, the the property is tied up into litigation. That's really scary. Yep. To know that so I could see my old neighborhood, Clearwater Ranch. Um, people kept saying they wanted it to be gated. And um, and the the other side of that was, well, once they're gated, then we have private roads and we're gonna be responsible for maintaining those roads. And um people were like, Well, I don't want my HOA fees to go up. Well, their your HOA fees are gonna go up if all of a sudden we're taking care of a road. And then I could just already see how that was gonna happen. Well, there's a pothole. Now we have to our HOA fees go up, and all the people on the Facebook page that are part of the HOA. It's just it's so much politics and noise and people complaining. Uh so I could see where it's like, yeah, let's not put a gate on that, please. Let's let's let the city take care of that. Yeah, oh that's that's nuts. So what does an HOA do? Tell me.

SPEAKER_00 13:59

So good question. Who knows?

SPEAKER_02 14:02

Scam you, take your money for these 40,000 assessments. Well, we talked a little bit about what they do, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:10

Um they keep rule rules. The the problem I have is HOA management companies.

SPEAKER_02 14:14

Okay, yeah, talk about it.

SPEAKER_00 14:16

You know, when we do a contract, we have the transfer fee and the resale certificate.

SPEAKER_02 14:20

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 14:21

Which so buyers and sellers have to pay all this money for the HOA management company, and none of it goes to the HOA.

SPEAKER_02 14:27

It just goes to the company that manages it.

SPEAKER_00 14:29

To hit print.

unknown 14:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:30

Control P.

SPEAKER_02 14:31

Right, just to transfer the HOA ownership into the new buyers, it's $500. Yeah. And so if for whatever reason that certificate is ordered before the and the the buyers of that current, you know, contract decide to back out, and then you get a new buyer, the sellers have to pay oftentimes another $500 transfer fee, which is ridiculous.

SPEAKER_00 14:57

Yeah. So we try to wait until option.

SPEAKER_02 15:00

The very last minute, yeah. But um, so they do maintain the pools. We talked about that. They may they maintain the parks, they maintain the gates or the clubhouses and the landscaping.

SPEAKER_00 15:13

They make people mad.

SPEAKER_02 15:14

They make people mad. So my my HOA, my last neighborhood, was really tight. Like you there were people in the community on it, and there was also, you know, the management company. And you know, you'd have just a few weeds in your yard, and then they would give you a a letter, right? And and then there was also the time where we couldn't water here in Texas, like we were on water restrictions, we were in a bad drought. Yeah, and if we watered, we would get in trouble with the city and charge, and they were actually putting um water meters on restricting your water flow, right? Out where we were, and so everybody's lawn dies, and then all of us were getting HOA violations because our lawns were dying. But we were like, but we can't water our lawn, you have to remove these violations, and they wouldn't. And if you get to where you have to pay them, they can foreclose on your house.

Fines Foreclosure And Power Plays

SPEAKER_02 16:15

So talk about that.

SPEAKER_00 16:16

Yeah, so if you don't pay your fines or you don't pay your HOA dues, they can force a foreclosure on the house. And it's not very common because it costs a lot of money. Um but HOAs can, so in my parents' previous neighborhood, or they still live there, um there was a bank that owned a house and didn't upkeep it, so the HOA continuously had to go over their mow and you know, yeah maintain this house for two years.

SPEAKER_02 16:43

Because it was on a foreclosure.

SPEAKER_00 16:45

Uh-huh. Yeah. And so they um filed foreclosure notice with on the bank. So they foreclosed on it from the bank.

SPEAKER_02 16:53

So the house was already in foreclosure.

SPEAKER_00 16:56

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 16:57

Owned by the bank, and they weren't taking care of the yard. So then the HOA gave them so many violations that it foreclosed on the foreclosure.

SPEAKER_00 17:05

Yep. And they hadn't paid and they hadn't paid HOA dues either.

SPEAKER_02 17:08

And they hadn't paid HOA dues. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:10

From before the previous, you know, the the owners that got um foreclosed on. So they hadn't been paying.

SPEAKER_02 17:18

So how do you even ever sell a house that has two foreclosures on it?

SPEAKER_00 17:21

Like, oh, what the? That's a question for Noah.

SPEAKER_02 17:24

And that is a question for Noah that is we're gonna have a title guy come in and he can explain that to us. Um yeah, that's uh Isn't that crazy? That's a pretty crazy it got really messy too.

SPEAKER_00 17:35

So after they foreclosed on it, they sold the HOA sold it to an investor. Okay, and they took that money.

SPEAKER_02 17:42

Wait, so the bank no longer owned it.

SPEAKER_00 17:44

Nope.

SPEAKER_02 17:45

HOA now owns the house. I've never heard of an HOA owning a house. Yeah, but it can go that far.

SPEAKER_00 17:50

I guess so. I I don't know exactly what happened with it. It was a big mess, though. Okay. So they made a promise to the investor that if they can't get clear title to it, then they would pay for all the repairs that the investor did and buy it back from them.

SPEAKER_02 18:07

That is the stupidest.

SPEAKER_00 18:09

That's good for the investor.

SPEAKER_02 18:10

I mean, it's great for the investor, but I mean the HOA? What are they even like how does that even make sense? Well, and then come to find out.

SPEAKER_00 18:20

Well, come to find out, the president lived next door and he was about to sell his house, so he didn't want that one to So here we go.

SPEAKER_02 18:27

It this was all a self-serving situation that see it didn't make any sense, but now that makes sense because it was kind of corrupt and self-serving.

SPEAKER_00 18:36

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 18:36

Which I would say that a lot of people would argue that these HOAs are very political, uh-huh, very self-serving, yeah, and a lot of you know, kind of egotistical people wielding some power that benefits.

SPEAKER_00 18:50

HOA president.

SPEAKER_02 18:50

Yeah, that benefits them and their like Empire of the HOA. Well, and just like how people are so intolerant of how other people live. Like everybody thinks you should live the way that that you live. Like, I, you know, it's one of those things where we live in a community of of humans. People have different standards and different ways of living, but the HOAs is kind of like all like-minded, you know, like these are our rules. Everybody has to follow our rules. You know, you have to drive slow, you have to keep your weeds out. This is my tiny little box of acceptable human behavior. And if you don't fit in it, you're out. I'm gonna foreclose on your house. That's just nuts. But I mean, again, we're we're kind of bashing we're kind of bashing them, but like yours is good.

SPEAKER_00 19:37

Your new your current HOA?

SPEAKER_02 19:38

No, no, I don't like certain things about it. Um so we can't have chickens.

SPEAKER_00 19:43

Whoa. And I want to have a I agree with that because I don't like birds.

SPEAKER_02 19:47

Well, I know you don't like birds, but but I understand the reasonies. Well, I the reasoning is we are a wildlife uh sanctuary. Uh-huh. And so we have to try to create these habitats. Like we're really not supposed to um get rid of our brush a lot because we have to create habitats for birds and squirrels and all this good stuff. We're not really supposed to do a lot of pest control because again, we're trying to make sure that all the animals can feed. I mean, we're really not supposed to do that either, because if we poison them and a bird of prey eats them, now we've killed the bird of prey. So we're like, we're really supposed to do all this natural pest control. We're not really supposed to do any weed control because the dandelions, when they come up, they're the first food for the bees after the winter. And so there's all these kind of rules around being in a wildlife sanctuary. And they're they're actually pretty cool. Uh-huh. But with the chicken one I don't like, but it makes sense because chickens bring predators in. Oh. And so as soon as you put a chicken coop out there, now all the other ants, the coyotes are getting the deer, they're getting the turkey. So you're introducing this element of uh prey. So yeah, so I don't like it, but I respect it.

SPEAKER_00 21:04

But you can have it at your mom's house.

SPEAKER_02 21:06

I could have it at my mom's house, but my mom said no. So there's that. Already she already said. Maybe Peter will tell you yes. But that I mean, that's an instance where somebody like me might think, oh, that's stupid. Why does the HOA put that rule in place? But when you look at the bigger picture, they're really trying to protect the the ecosystem. Yeah. And so it's like, okay, all right, that's an instance where an HOA is making sense. So sometimes we have to look at the bigger, longer picture for some of it. But then, you know, you get the stories like when we were moving out of our house and we had a moving truck. Oh, my son's moving. You know, it's like right there on the side of the truck. And we have boxes that are kind of out in the yard because they're loading them up into the truck. And um We caught an HOA violation. Wow. They took a picture of the boxes in the yard.

SPEAKER_00 22:05

But not the truck.

SPEAKER_02 22:06

No, with the moving truck in the picture. And said, You're not allowed to have boxes on the side of the road. And I'm like, we literally were like two hours. They had us packed. Craig was like, I cannot believe this. This is just somebody who's That's your goodbye letter.

SPEAKER_00 22:24

Yes, that's your book. That was your goodbye letter.

SPEAKER_02 22:26

I mean, this is literally somebody who is just, you know, it was nothing better to do. Nothing. That would that's that is ridiculous HOA. That's crazy. That's a situation. So I just ugh we were so glad to leave that neighborhood because of all of I bet. Yeah. I mean, you get a little weed, you get a little this, you get a little that. All of it. It it was but the neighborhood looked beautiful. I'll give him that.

SPEAKER_00 22:48

Well, better. So what's the weirdest HOA rule that you've seen?

Weird Deed Restrictions Old Rules

SPEAKER_02 22:54

So I don't know if it's an HOA rule as much as it was a deed restriction. Okay. Which I think they're kind of they're kind of the same because HOA would probably enforce the deed restrictions. Um and it was for a property, it was out country property. And I believe it was out in LaGrange. So Fayette County. Fayette. Fayette. Fayette. I always want to say Fayette. I always want to say Fayette wrong.

SPEAKER_00 23:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:22

But now I can't say it wrong. I've been saying it wrong.

SPEAKER_01 23:26

Fayette.

SPEAKER_02 23:26

Fayette. I always want to say Fayette, but it's Fayette. Um and I was reading through the deed restrictions because my client wanted to see if you know mobile homes were allowed or not allowed. They did not want to be in a place where mobile homes were allowed. So I was reading through all those restrictions and one of the restrictions. One of the deed restrictions, I kid you not, was you have to be a decent human. They were like, you have to be a nice person. We really just want folks who get along. And if you're obnoxious, you really have no business being here. We will not tolerate obnoxious behavior.

SPEAKER_00 24:01

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 24:02

The coolest deed restriction I've ever read.

SPEAKER_00 24:04

Who's the determining factor of that?

SPEAKER_02 24:06

But the the that's a little subjective. Yeah. But I love that they actually put in.

SPEAKER_00 24:09

You can pull out the page 28.

SPEAKER_02 24:12

All right. They really honestly put in there, don't be a dick. Like basically, we're saying we don't want anybody who's a jerk to live in this neighborhood. That was pretty funny. But what about you?

SPEAKER_00 24:24

Um so a lot of uh deed restrictions are old. Right. And so I had one out in Lago Vista.

SPEAKER_02 24:31

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 24:32

And so I was reading through the um the restrictions, and it restricted what race of person could be there.

SPEAKER_02 24:40

Ooh, it got into a protected class.

SPEAKER_00 24:42

Which, fun fact, is not enforceable. It's not enforceable, right?

SPEAKER_02 24:46

So it might be because they're a protected class. Like people of race, sex, um religion, national origin, national origin, um, students are a protected class. Um 55 are they a protected class, certain handicaps are a protected class, um certain uh uh illnesses are a protected class, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:08

So it's not enforceable. Yep, it's not enforceable. But it's still there. But yeah, and so apparently you can file anything, um, even if it's against the law, even now. Like if you want to go make new deed restrictions, you can file it, but it's not enforceable.

SPEAKER_02 25:23

It's not enforceable.

SPEAKER_00 25:24

Wow, that's this is not legal advice.

SPEAKER_02 25:26

Oh yeah, I am not giving you legal advice, but oh my gosh, that's uh that's pretty crazy. I I know what do they call those blue laws? Are those blue laws? Oh the ones that were created a long, long time ago. Blue blue could be well, depending on what the blue ball blue now we can depending on what the blue laws are, it could cause you to have blue balls. I'm just saying. I don't know. Oh my gosh. Well, I think that but no, I haven't I don't I think you there's another section that I think is

Buyer Checklist Before Joining An HOA

SPEAKER_02 25:58

really important. Okay. What what should a buyer ask about an HOA before buying? Like what what do what would you say are really important questions?

SPEAKER_00 26:08

So I would ask for the budget, which you get with a resale certificate, but you want to make sure they're financially stable.

SPEAKER_02 26:15

Um because just because a HOA might not have a lot of money and might not have a high monthly fee, that's not necessarily a good thing because that means the assessments could increase. Yeah. Because they don't have the funds.

SPEAKER_00 26:25

So if you have a pool and there's a hundred homes and they each pay thirty dollars a year, yeah. Well, after a year, you're gonna need more money to take care of the pool.

SPEAKER_02 26:34

You're probably looking at an assessment. Yeah. Okay. That's a good thing.

SPEAKER_00 26:37

So it's better, in my opinion, it's better to plan it out and pay over the year versus all at once.

SPEAKER_02 26:43

Yeah. So that's something to keep in in mind is how high are those fees? How much money do they have? Are there roads and pools where you might see that special assessment? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:54

Okay. And then um any lawsuits. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 26:59

Are there any lawsuits? Are there rental restrictions? Because that's a big one. If you're an investor and you're coming in and you're thinking you can rent, you gotta make sure that you you really can. And sometimes there's a percentage. Are we at that percentage? And when your lease is up, is now you're not gonna be able to release it.

SPEAKER_01 27:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 27:16

So that's those are important.

SPEAKER_00 27:18

Airbnb restrictions, if you're thinking again, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 27:22

That's very common now. And then also pet restrictions, yeah. Like certain breeds of dogs or or you can't have a pig or a chickens and exterior approvals, you know, like I wanted to have a tennis court in my backyard, but I couldn't because I couldn't have the lights, which I was like, okay, that's fine. I don't have to have the lights, but then it could no part of the tennis court could be visible from the road. Oh. And I'd put a pool where that would have worked. And but then I went back later to I had listings in the neighborhood. Somebody built a sport court right out, like literally, not a tree around it, and you could see it from multiple roads. I'm like, how do they? He's probably on the HOA.

SPEAKER_00 28:03

Probably.

SPEAKER_02 28:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:04

Yeah. You probably gave him the idea. Right.

SPEAKER_02 28:07

Okay. So you want to make sure, you know, if you have special things that you want, you want to ask those questions. And then you want to know who maintains the roofs, if it's a condo. I mean, when it's a residential community, it's always the owner. And then fences, who's maintaining those community fences, the roads, all that good stuff.

SPEAKER_00 28:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 28:26

So those are all very important questions as buyers to ask. Yeah. All right.

SPEAKER_00 28:31

Well, that wraps it up, I think.

SPEAKER_02 28:33

Yeah, that was a that was a good, bad, and ugly of HOA. It's not one of our fun sessions, but No, but it's important, it's informative and it's important to And I think a lot of people have questions around HOA. I think so too. They're very confusing, and they're something that we all have to pay on and pay attention. And it's good to know that these guys can be pretty powerful and foreclose on your house. So we gotta take them seriously and ask those right questions. So Well, until next time.

Closing And How To Reach Us

SPEAKER_02 29:00

Yes, you can find us at housenextdoor tx.com and like like, share, comment.

SPEAKER_00 29:07

Yes, all the good stuff.

SPEAKER_02 29:09

Thank you.