Will Your Knoxville Homeowner’s Association Be Your Worst Nightmare?
Homeowner’s associations can be a deeply polarizing thing among buyers. Some buyers love them and some buyers hate them.
Homeowner’s associations can prevent you from having certain pets or from parking your boat in the driveway. They can dictate that your lawn must be maintained and that you must get approval before putting up a fence. If you don’t abide by the association rules, you can be fined.
On the other hand, homeowner’s associations can help keep up the values of homes in the neighborhood. It can prevent your weird neighbor from raising a bunch of pigs in their backyard or parking their trailer in the street.
Before making an offer on a Knoxville home for sale with a homeowner’s association, it’s important to know what you’re signing up for. In this post, we’ll look at how to determine if your Knoxville homeowner’s association will be your worst nightmare or your best friend.
Read The Bylaws
Reading the bylaw is the best way to learn about an HOA. The bylaws outline what is expected of each resident and what the rules are.
It is in the bylaws that you’ll learn the nitty-gritty details about all of the rules and regulations. You’ll learn if there are rules about parking trailers or boats in your drive way, if you’re expected to maintain your yard, and if you’re allowed to put up a fence. There may even be regulations on what type of fence you can put up, the colors of your home, or what kinds of pets you’re allowed to have.
The bylaws can be a blessing and a curse to many buyers. Some buyers like the comfort of knowing they’re neighbors must maintain their yard, while other buyers don’t want to be tied down to such stringent rules. You’ll just need to determine how you feel about the rules.
Either the seller can provide you with a copy of the Bylaws, or you can request it from your title company.
You Must Pay Your Dues
A majority of the time, Knoxville homeowner’s association due are mandatory. If you don’t pay your dues, you could find yourself in quite a bit of trouble.
When you purchase your home, you agree to pay the HOA dues. Even if you dislike the rules, you still need to pay them. Most homeowner’s association have the ability to file a lien against your property if you don’t pay your dues.
If you continue to miss payments, the HOA can move forward with foreclosure. So, in order to avoid the nightmare all together, be sure that you’re okay with the amount of dues required for the neighborhood.
Going Rogue Will Get You A Fine
HOAs have rules and when you don’t follow them, you will be fined. You may think that no one pays attention, but most of the time HOAs do.
Even if you don’t think a rule is important, it doesn’t matter what you think. If you break the rule, the HOA will fine you. If you refuse to pay the fine, the HOA can file a lien against the property.
You won’t be making a statement by breaking a rule. If you have a problem with one of the rules in the bylaws, it’s probably best you find a different home. There’s very little that can be done to change HOA rules.
Every HOA Is Different
The culture of every HOA is a bit different. HOAs can have a reputation for being catty or petty. But, that doesn’t mean that it’s true for all HOAs.
Before you make an offer on a Knoxville home with an HOA, be sure you get a feel for the culture of the HOA. You can do this by asking the seller about the HOA. Is the HOA strict about enforcing rules? Are there petty arguments? Or, is the HOA laid back?
You can also do some research yourself. Get contact information for some of the board members and contact them prior to writing an offer. You’ll have the opportunity to ask the questions you want and that should give you a good feeling about the HOA.
Are you thinking about buying a Knoxville this year? Please let us know if there is any way that Knoxville Home Team can assist you. Rick can be reached at 865-696-9002 or via email at [email protected]. Kati can be reached at [email protected] or by phone at 865-696-1888.
If you’re ready to start your home search today, be sure to our Knoxville Home Search Page.
