137 replies to this topic

[Orangetj]

All you mentioned pros have NOTHING to do with HOA! They are included in the price of your House/Lot, NOT HOA!

You are right that EDH home prices are lower than Folsom but that's only after 2005. EDH used to be 20k-30k higher than similar homes in Folsom.

BTW, if I can vote, I would definitely vote to desolve HOA, or, I would ONLY pay $70 for front yard lawn maintainance and gate!

I didn't say those "pros" had much to do with the HOA, but they are part of the neighborhood none-the-less. The HOA is directly involved in maintaining the very nice parks and the system of trails that my family enjoys every week. They also have the responsibility of maintaining all of the roadways in the development, since they are not public streets. Personally, I would prefer that the gate be gone and the streets be public (and therefore maintained by the county), but that's not the way it is and I knew that when I purchased my home. I do think that the HOA engages in some wasteful spending that needs to be addressed. As I said, I would love it if the HOA fees went way down, but I bought my house knowing that they were going to be relatively expensive and therefore choose not to b#tch to loudly about it.

There is much more to living in any neighborhood than just the HOA (or the absence of one). It's part of the equation, that's all. Each person just has to decide how big of a factor it is. For some in this thread, obviously it's a huge factor. Fine. For our part, we looked at homes in Fair Oaks, Folsom, Granite Bay and El Dorado Hills before purchasing our home here in 07. Prior to that, we lived in Folsom for 5 years. While in Folsom, we saw our home's value almost double from 02 to 05 and then drop rapidly from early 06 until we moved in 07. Homes similar to the one we owned have subsequently gone back down to a value lower than what we originally paid for ours in 02. Home values have plummeted everywhere. In our case, our EDH home has actually lost less of a percentage of it's value than I believe our previous Folsom home probably has. I recognize, though, that two homes don't amount to a statistically significant sample. In the final analysis, they're homes, not bank accounts.

I know there are those with an axe to grind with the HOA and that's fine, but I also think it's important for those of us who have NOT had our entire homeownership experience tainted by the HOA to voice our opinions in discussions such as these.

BTW, if you think Serrano's HOA is strict, check out Gold River in Rancho. Can't even park in your driveway there and they come and paint your house every three years whether it needs it or not. HOA dues are about $150 more per month as well. Also, I think it's funny how much ire Serrano draws in this regard when Folsom's own Parkway has essentially the same HOA and rules.

[Orangetj]

The HOA was there BEFORE the market sucked... and that place was cool, and pretty... then the ARM losers came and ruined a LOT of neighborhoods! Even MY neighborhood had a lot of BANK OWNED messed up houses that were not distressed before them.

Guess what, though - the ARM losers have not ruined the neighborhood. It is still pretty and extremely well maintained. That's one nice thing about having an HOA - despite the fact that some homes are empty, they still look nice with well maintained yards, etc.. We don't have the problem of empty houses having yards go to weeds, front yards with "move-out junk" piled up, etc. I have no illusions that the cost of that maintenance won't ultimately be put back on the homeowners, but it does have the effect of keeping the neighborhood looking nice.

[Andrea V]

Guess what, though - the ARM losers have not ruined the neighborhood. It is still pretty and extremely well maintained. That's one nice thing about having an HOA - despite the fact that some homes are empty, they still look nice with well maintained yards, etc.. We don't have the problem of empty houses having yards go to weeds, front yards with "move-out junk" piled up, etc. I have no illusions that the cost of that maintenance won't ultimately be put back on the homeowners, but it does have the effect of keeping the neighborhood looking nice.

see, and that is great! that's part of what you are paying for, and whether some here believe it or not, that DOES help with "raising" the prices of the homes there.... compared to them having the "that must be bank owned" look.

some people do not mind paying, what some people think is too much, to have someone ENFORCE neighborhood rules. A lot of the people who live there think it is totally worth the cost. And that's why they chose that neighborhood in the 1st place.

I'm glad you enjoy your neighborhood!

[Deb aka Resume Lady]

Although..... you don't have to have HOAs to keep abandoned properties maintained. My husband and another neighbor maintained the front lawn and monitored stagnant pool water of a foreclosed house on our street until it was sold. It looked better and didn't appear abandoned (thus preventing vandalism).

[Andrea V]

Although..... you don't have to have HOAs to keep abandoned properties maintained. My husband and another neighbor maintained the front lawn and monitored stagnant pool water of a foreclosed house on our street until it was sold. It looked better and didn't appear abandoned (thus preventing vandalism).

you're awesome... we need more neighbors like you...

or wait... that's a lot of work ,could we pay some one else ???? Like a HOA to do it for us???

[Orangetj]

eliminate 75% o f their administrative staff, Christmas parties on the members dime, etc. They also need to do a massive bidding and transparent bidding process for any "maintenance" or outside vendors and award contracts to the most cost effective companies.

I agree with the bolded items above. Personally, I believe that the HOA should really consist entirely of actual homeowners who work on a volunteer basis or for a minimal stipend. I don't see the need for administrative staff, "professional development" courses in the budget, offices, etc.. Perhaps someday, when Parker Development has finally finished it's involvement with the neighborhood, this will come to reality.

[Orangetj]

The current HOA rate (has stayed this for a few years now) is $91 a month @ Promonotory. They do have rules, BUT they don't really enforce it that much.

What services does the HOA in Promontory provide? This isn't to be argumentative - I'm genuinely curious.

[Orangetj]

Your quite welcome. I am GAME for anyone remotely attempt to convice folks LOGICALLY that the Serrano HOA is (a) a GREAT value and (b) their asanine rules and regulations keep the property values up because of aesthetics .

Interesting sport, except for the fact that you have rigged the rules in your own favor. You seem to define "logic" as being an argument that you agree with. Can you see the circularity of that?

Has anybody in this thread stated that the HOA is a "great" value or that their "asanine rules and regulation keep the property values up"? I think not. Some of us have stated, though, that we do believe we obtain something we consider to be of value in return for our HOA dues. Obviously, the value balance of that equation would go up if the same services were provided at a lower cost. You might also want to consider that there might, just might, be other reasons for the decline in value of Serrano homes aside from the HOA. Are you aware of the notion that correlation does not necessarily imply causation? Could the drop in values possibly have anything to do with the fact that many of the homes were built just as the bubble was rapidly expanding and were thus initially put on the market at elevated prices? Could it be that the timing of this building also coincided with the very rapid growth in prevalence of "creative" loan products? If Serrano's HOA is to blame for the drop in value of homes there, what is to blame for the drop in values in Granite Bay, Fair Oaks, Carmichael, Sacramento and many parts of Folsom?

[Orangetj]

Great points, but I still have this question (which I wish there were some research on this). That is why does Serrano "feel" like they have dropped 40-50% in value? Now I am basing this on the picturesque Trerracina Ave when it was lined up with million $$ homes in 2003-2004, but now no one will touch the listing for 500k-600k???

I would like to see the same correlation in Folsom, Granite bay etc. I know that Lincoln is getting killed with value the same way Serrano is.

Another poster recently linked to a map showing the relative median sale price (not as useful as a mean) for areas across the Sacramento region. EDH and Folsom had actually experienced somewhat less of a percentage drop than many other areas, including Granite Bay. I'll see if I can dig it up. I don't dispute that there are homes in Serrano which have fallen 40-50% in value from their peak value. The same can be said of many places, though. As an example, we lived in a Folsom home that would have sold for about $550K in the 04-05 timeframe. Identical houses are now listed at $285 - $300K. No HOA in that area, either.

[Orangetj]

I do agree that BOTh Folsom and EDH are getting hit HARD by foreclosures, but I was surprised by the sheer numbers of Serrano because I really thought that with that strict HOA board and the crazy rules, that somehow they could either withstand or find another crazy rule to combat it.

It doesn't surprise me, really. Again, a lot of these homes were built and sold during the expansion of the bubble, many of them presumably by people using unconventional financing. Expensive homes purchased at or near the peak of their value using ARM, neg-am or interest only loans are probably generally more highly represented amongst the ranks of foreclosures. The HOA couldn't really do anything about it. They have no power over the banks or over the homeowner's ability to pay their obligations. The forces of the market are far more powerful than anything an HOA can bring to bear.

[Orangetj]

Here's the link to that map I mentioned above. Unfortunately, it doesn't go into specific neighborhoods, but it does show info for the various parts of the Sacramento area. http://www.sacbee.co...ry/1401241.html

Again, these are median sale prices rather than mean values. It's a reasonable indicator of what prices are driving sales, though.

[Orangetj]

Why do you have such a huge bug up your arse about Serrano and the people that live there? Were you kicked out of there or is this just all about hating white people that live there?

Just a guess - she didn't do her homework, bought a house in Serrano, found out after the fact that there was an HOA and CCR's, got into financial trouble, eventually sold her house for a loss. Now it's her mission in life to shout that Serrano is a rip-off whenever the opportunity arises.

[Dave Burrell]

Just a guess - she didn't do her homework, bought a house in Serrano, found out after the fact that there was an HOA and CCR's, got into financial trouble, eventually sold her house for a loss. Now it's her mission in life to shout that Serrano is a rip-off whenever the opportunity arises.

that is exactly the impression I get from reading these posts

I also want to thank you for staying cool and not responding in kind when palango is baiting you with the name calling and put downs. You are the better man.

[Roy]

Guess what, though - the ARM losers have not ruined the neighborhood. It is still pretty and extremely well maintained. That's one nice thing about having an HOA - despite the fact that some homes are empty, they still look nice with well maintained yards, etc.. We don't have the problem of empty houses having yards go to weeds, front yards with "move-out junk" piled up, etc. I have no illusions that the cost of that maintenance won't ultimately be put back on the homeowners, but it does have the effect of keeping the neighborhood looking nice.

So your point is, you pay rediculous high and ever rising HOA to maintain lawn/yard of empty/abandoned houses during drepression?

You have not get my point yet. HOA in Serrano should not cost more than $70 IMO. It is a rip off!

[mylo]

Why do you have such a huge bug up your arse about Serrano and the people that live there? Were you kicked out of there or is this just all about hating white people that live there?

IIRC, he used to live there...