The homeowner association fee or HOA fee is the monthly money paid by property owners in the association. The association uses the money for maintenance and improvements of properties in the association.
How much is the homeowner association fee?
The monthly association fee will be different from association to association. This is because the monthly payments depend on amenities and services the association provides. For example, an association that provides only a gym will charge less money than the one with a pool, golf court, gym, and a tennis court.
In general, you can expect to pay hundreds of dollars or thousands depending on locations, amenities, and services your association provides. The more amenities and services you get, the higher the fee. The homeowner association will collect the money and oversee all activities in the association.
What do HOA fees do?
The HOA fee will cover a lot of activities in the association. The following are some of the many uses of the fee.
- Preventative maintenance
- Ongoing repairs
- Creation of rules and regulations in the association
- City services
- Insurances
- Amenities and services
- Pest control
- Reserve money
Benefits of HOA fee
The HOA fee can give the homeowner a lot of benefits. By most maintenance and repair activities taken care of, the owners will have time to do other things. The following are some of the befits of the HOA fee.
- Providing a lot of amenities
- can increase the value of the home
- Provide safety and security to people living in the communities
- Provide landscaping services
- Tax-deductible if the property is a rental property
The disadvantages of HOA fee
- Foreclosure due to failure of payments
- Rules are set for you and you have to follow them
- Limited options for renovations
- The fee can be unaffordable
- Not tax-deductible if the property is your primary residence
You must be careful when you are buying a house in the HOA community. Knowing the rules, services, and amenities will help you decide if they are right for you. Just because they offer a ton of services, it does not mean that you need all of them. Don’t pay a lot of money for services you don’t use.
Furthermore, make sure the HOA fee will be in your budget. It can become expensive real fast and failing to pay the fee can lead to financial disasters.
