We have lived in 4 houses, all have been in neighborhoods with HOAs. We would never live in a neighborhood without them! I agree with everything truble says. Our current ones are $775/year. But we have a heated neighborhood jr. olympic sized pool with a water slide, tennis courts, basketball courts, sand volleyball, playground and an awesome clubhouse that you can rent out for special occassions. We also have neighborhood get-togethers several times a year. It's worth every penny to us to be sure that there aren't old cars on blocks, unmowed lawns, trash sitting out in front of your house, houses painted crazy colors, sheds built in the back yards, etc.

We have friends who can't imagine living in a neighborhood like ours and are perfectly happy living in neighborhoods without rules and things we don't want near us. It doesn't matter to me! Each to his own - if we were all the same, it would be a boring world!

Lisa

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"It's not having what you want,
It's wanting what you've got"