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Let’s say you have your heart set on buying a house, condo or even a townhouse in a greater Indianapolis community with a less exterior maintenance or amenities like a swimming pool, a clubhouse, and maybe even a playground, lakes or trails. Having access to these services and amenities often means living in a community with a homeowners association, or HOA.
Generally, an HOA is responsible for keeping the neighborhood looking beautiful — and as a result, keeping property values high. But since no two neighborhoods are the same, no two HOAs will be the same, either.
What You Should Know About the Homeowners Association
Doing your research on homes and communities means finding the answers to dozens of questions. As a savvy home buyer, you’ve probably already considered some of the most important topics early on in your home search, such as the local property taxes and whether the neighborhood is appreciating in value.
But if you’re considering a neighborhood with an HOA, there are a few additional things that you should know about the community and the association before you buy a home. Here are the essential questions you should ask.
1. What Does the Homeowners Association Do?
Each community varies, but in general, a homeowners association assists residents with property maintenance (by providing services like lawn care, trash removal, or Internet), regularly beautifies the neighborhood common areas, and upkeeps any shared amenities. In return for these services, residents pay an association fee, which we’ll talk about later.
Since the HOA is also concerned with keeping property values high, the homeowners association may also dictate what residents can and can’t do with their properties. These rules keep residents from worrying about a neighbor painting their house a funky color or letting their lawn go wild.
2. Are You Required to Join the HOA?
Before you decide to buy a home in an HOA neighborhood, first check to see whether the community has a voluntary or mandatory HOA. A voluntary HOA doesn’t require that you join the association or pay dues, but a mandatory HOA does.
3. How Much Are the HOA Fees?
As we mentioned before, HOA fees cover the services that the association provides. HOA fee costs (and the frequency with which they’re paid) can vary from community to community, so ask your real estate agent about how much the fees are before you buy a home in the neighborhood. Depending on the amount of responsibilities the HOA has, the finances of the HOA can be critical. Especially with condos and townhouses any offer should be contingent on seeing a Balance Sheet and an Income Statement for the current and last year.
4. What Are the HOA’s Expectations for Residents?
Typically, a homeowners association will have a list of rules and regulations that residents are expected to follow when they live in the community. (These are known as Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions, or CC&Rs.)
These regulations can dictate everything from what colors you can use to paint your home to how many vehicles you can park in the driveway. Again, each homeowners association varies, so it’s best to read the Bylaws of communities you’re considering to learn what’s expected of residents.
5. When (And How Often) Does the HOA Meet?
If you’re interested in joining your neighborhood’s HOA to get involved in your community, you might also want to consider when the association meets. The HOA may meet annually, bimonthly, or monthly, depending on the association’s size, so check to see if the regular meetings will fit within your schedule.
6. Does the HOA Host Any Activities?
Finally, when considering a neighborhood with an HOA, you should learn whether the HOA provides other ways for you to get involved and meet your neighbors. Ask your real estate agent about whether the neighborhood association hosts annual block parties, pool parties, holiday celebrations, Yard of the Month competitions, or any other neighborhood activities.
We’re Here to Answer Your Home Buying Questions!
Have a question about a specific neighborhood or the home buying process in general? We’re more than happy to give you the information you need. Contact us at Mitch@ToHelpUmove.com and let’s chat.
Your Greater Indianapolis Area Buying Resources
If you're considering Buying or Building a Greater Indianapolis Area House, Townhouse or Condominium, then it's time to contact Mitch Rolsky. Understanding the questions to ask about any HOA is just the beginning of the expert advice and knowledge we can use to help you successfully find and buy your next home or investment property.
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Ask Mitch About The Value Of A Properties In An Area You Are Considering!
If you're like most home buyers, you want to pay the least amount of money for a property. And, what a property is worth in terms of Market Value, and what it's worth to you as the buyer, could be two very different amounts!
While only the Buyer can decide what it's worth to them, real estate professionals doing an Appraisal or a Market Analysis are sharing their personal opinions on the Market Value at that point in time. Real estate Market Values though are not like a ten-dollar bill that is worth $10 regardless of if it’s crisp and brand new, or if it’s twenty years old, dirty and torn. Neither the condition of the bill in your hand as the buyer, the condition of other ten-dollar bills, nor the location of where you are holding that ten-dollar bill will change its value! If the Market Value of real estate was also this precise and exact, just like the value of a ten-dollar bill, then there would frankly be no need for real estate agents!
Accurately evaluating the value of a house, townhouse, or condominium is a complex calculation that leverages years of experience and expertise like Mitch has, as one of the Top REALTOR's in the Greater Indy area! So let's start at the very beginning - with the RIGHT price! And the best way to find the RIGHT price is to ask Mitch.
1/3 Is About The Property Itself: The Location, Condition, Updates, Bed & Bath Count, Size, Age & All Features
1/3 Is About Similar Places For Sale A Buyer Could Also Buy, At The Same Time, In The Same & Similar Areas
1/3 Is About What Similar Properties, In The Same Or Similar Areas, Have Sold for In The Last 6-12 Months
Learn About 4 Common Ways To Determine The Value Of A Property - The Most Accurate (4 stars) To Least Accurate (1 star)
Instant Online Value Estimators
The Iron Triangle Of Service: Good, Fast, And Cheap -- PICK TWO. You Can Never Have All Three, As The Saying Goes!
Online Value Estimators are Fast and Free... And Free is the ultimate definition of cheap! So, since you can NOT have all three, and these online instant valuations are Fast and Free, then that means these Estimators can NOT also be Good!
There are many real estate and lending websites offering estimators out there. You can use this if you want a general estimate of your home may be worth. While these can help you decide if it’s worth considering selling or refinancing, these sites tend to dramatically undervalue or overvalue property values. So, using these when selling or purchasing a new place could create unrealistically high or unreasonably low expectations that could cost you thousands of dollars as both a seller or a buyer!
About Mitch
Mitch leverages his local expertise, combined with his meaningful business and life experiences, and decades of professional leadership and growth in the construction and technology industries to contribute to his success as one of Greater Indy's Top REALTORs.
Mitch is committed to helping change the lives of his clients as they start their next chapter, by making it easier, more enjoyable and more profitable for his clients that design, build, buy, and sell their home, condo, townhouse or investment property!
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