[Mad Man]

And continuing with the thought of "choice," see

www.bethyoung.org/ibeth/2008/08/hoas-r-on-ur-pr.html (emphasis added. See original for all hyper-links):

August 12, 2008
HOAs r on ur property, makn u miserable

Whenever an hoa story hits the news, no matter how brainless the hoa's action, no matter how innocent and legal or even praiseworthy the homeowner's action, no matter how liberal or conservative the website, a bunch of commenters will say the same thing:
[INDENT]"Well, that person CHOSE to live in an hoa. If you don't want to do whatever the hoa says, you shouldn't buy the house."[/INDENT]
Let's set aside, for this post anyway, the idiotic belief that rules should be enforced simply because they exist, whether or not they are unnecessary or harmful. Let's talk about "choice." This article, The Myth of 'Privatopia', echoes what I've been saying for a long time: very few people actually CHOOSE to live in an hoa. To wit:
[INDENT][M]ore than 80 percent of new housing in the country is being built within CIDs [common-interest developments]. [snip]

Why would cities allow developers to circumvent planning ordinances and create communities that may not be up to the task of maintaining their own infrastructure?

"The cities get something for nothing," says [Evan] McKenzie. "They still get the property taxes without building or maintaining the infrastructure, the pipes, the streets, the parks. Essentially, it's a form of double taxation."[/INDENT]
Exactly. Where I live, municipalities have actually required developers to create hoas for at least the past decade. Since that's when most of the area's growth occurred, hoa-less homes are scarce, especially for those who don't have $500,000+ to spend. Read the whole article for an enlightening history of hoa creep.

Even if you somehow manage to locate and purchase a non-hoa property (increasingly tough to do unless you custom-build on property located 90 mins from anywhere)--apparently you can be forced into an hoa anyway! Kudos to one courageous Floridian who refuses to be bullied. I'm sure he is getting all kinds of grief from his "neighbors."

By the way, I'm not posting this to complain about my own hoa--our board right now (afaik) consists of well-meaning, nice people. It's the hoa system that cries out for reform.

If you live in Florida, do join the Cyber Citizens for Justice hoa reform organization (or at least, fill out their survey).

Back in 1995, a change in Texas law made it easier for non-H.O.A. homes to be incorporated into H.O.A.s. See "Homeowner Association Foreclosures and Property Values in Harris County, 1985–2001" (PDF file).

A second turning point came in 1995, with the passage of Chapter 204 of the Texas Property Code. Written by Houston HOA attorney Michael Gainer, and applied only to Harris County, this law makes it easier for Harris County HOAs to adopt and enforce new deed restrictions, and allowed the creation of HOAs in existing subdivisions over the objections of a minority of property owners. This law overrides any prior agreements within subdivisions prohibiting HOAs or requiring unanimous consent in their formation.