HOAs are dictatorships, stay away from them!

[Jorge Vazquez]

I've never had a good experience dealing with anything tied to an association long-term. After doing this for 20 years and doing 3,000 transactions, I realized that most associations have too much control and have the power to increase fees when they please, making it very hard to determine what your actual cash flow will be long term. I advise against buying condos or anything with HOA fees, relying on the collective financial status to upkeep the property's common areas.

Trust me. I have experience with a previous market crash where the rest of the owners stopped paying, and my fees quadrupled. But the maintenance of the common areas got worst. And the worst part is that I had no saying on the matter. To make it worse, they put a clause on the bylaws that they have the first right of refusal. Still, at the same time, they refuse to buy my condo, putting me in a very tough situation where I had to foreclose on the apartment to find out later that they picked up the property at the foreclosure court for pennies.

If you're concerned about repairs, don't be. It is a massive part of the business, and you have to learn how to deal with them head-on. The quicker you get used to it, the faster you realize it's not a big deal. It will prepare you for the next-level stuff you are going to do. As long as you have a professional management team and you have professionally inspected your property where all "4 points" are in good shape, you'll be fine!

Summary:

In the end, if every owner stops paying the fees, you don't want to be left inside a sinking ship at that moment; it is too late. It is a myth that collective long-term maintenance of your property repairs will be better than doing it yourself. Nobody will take care of your property as well as yourself! I advise going with a single-family home or even a duplex detach from any homeowner association when possible.

Bonus:

In a buyers market, when you need a buyer the most!!!!

Most people renting an apartment are in a transitional period and have no plans of buying the condo, even if you offer owner financing. Most people that are renting from an apartment complex are in a transitional period. They will likely never buy your condo but will consider a house even if the value has gone down a little.

I hope this helps!!