The Much Maligned HOA

Those three little letters, "HOA" often produce a shudder in folks, for one reason or another. Maybe they've gotten a "nastygram" for not putting away their trash cans quickly enough or some other minor infraction. Or perhaps they've been turned down for approval on a landscape change, or something more major. There have been numerous stories of HOAs run amuck, stealing funds, confiscating widow's houses, and other egregious activities. How interesting would it be to read a story of a well-run HOA made up of top-notch residents who really do struggle through the questions and desires of their fellow homeowners? If you want to see one in action, rather than read about one, be sure to attend the Higley Groves West annual HOA meeting tonight (doors open at 6pm at the Farm Bureau building) where there will be elections for two board members.

The truth is that most of Gilbert's residents live within an HOA, and most of us do just fine under their direction. After all, isn't one of the main purposes to ensure that property values are not decreased by one recalcitrant homeowner? Before moving to Morrison Ranch, the Mister and I lived in a "Parkway Improvement District", which is explained more fully in this article:

Basically, the districts are to HOAs what co-ops are to large corporations.

While neighborhoods that are PKIDs may have covenants, codes and restrictions most do not have homeowners associations. Unlike most HOAs, the districts do not own common property.

The residents pay fees for maintenance of right-of-way areas. These are common landscaped areas and facilities such as green spaces adjacent to curbs, retention basins and fences in their neighborhoods that are not owned by the residents but that residents pay the Public Works Department to maintain. Improvements must be voted on, and often members are expected to pitch in on the work, said Helga Stafford, Gilbert neighborhood services coordinator. There's no property management company like the ones hired by many of Gilbert's HOAs. Projects in the districts are funded through taxing property owners in the neighborhoods, Stafford said.

We had great neighbors where we lived, and most were interested in presenting a tidy scene to the front street. We heard some stories of tension involving street lights (which we could have used more of), and because we used flood irrigation for the large lots, there were some occasional flaring tempers when someone flooded a neighbor; but on the whole, it was a pleasant place to live. The important thing, it seems to me, is to know what sort of association you want to be part of, and then support it as though your property values depended on it.