Homeowners ponder why so many people love HOAs: 'What will you do when your neighbor neglects their lawn?'

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Ally Perry • Writer and Editor
Jul 3, 2024 4:00 PM EDT

There is no getting around the fact that home ownership is a big commitment. All of a sudden, you have to care about things like mortgage rates, and how to find the most reasonably priced plumber. You also have to pay a lot more attention to your neighbors when you are no longer limited to a 12-month rental contract. 

This is especially true if you live in an area with a homeowner's association, an organization that many a person with property has fallen foul of in ways that may or may not be justified. This was the subject of a recent Twitter thread, in which homeowners pondered how useful the much-hated HOA could actually be. Spoiler alert: not many were positive about it, although some came to its defense. One of the benefits of renting for years is that you don't usually have to care about how long the grass on the lawn gets.

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    via Avi Waxman
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    Melissa Stewart @LissaJoStewart Follow I had no idea so many people were pro-HOA. "If you don't have an HOA, will you do when your neighbor neglects their lawn?" Why?!?! would I do?!! anything?!?!? | literally cannot fathom something that would concern me less.
    via LissaJoStewart
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    Foam Beer Koozie @foambeerkoozie . 1d : Replying to @LissaJoStewart I got on my HOA board to render it toothless. I have succeeded.
    via foambeerkoozie
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    John Laster @LasterEsq. 1d Replying to @LissaJoStewart Pretty excited we found one in Orlando without an HOA. It has "volunteer" one which is literally... ASSISTANT TO THE ASSISTANT REGIONAL GIF ALT MANAGER
    via LasterEsq
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    I Don't Even Know a Sa... @MickeyExpediti1 Replying to @LissaJoStewart Follow It's because of $ Everyone is preoccupied with their home value. They want it to be low when it gets assessed for taxes and then high when it comes time to sell. I hate homeownership so much. It's sad that folks save for retirement by bullying their neighborhood into soulessness
    via MickeyExpediti1
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    Mr. D @themrd81.1d Replying to @Lissa JoStewart My wife does customer service for a HOA management company and it's literally people tattling on their neighbors all day long
    via themrd81
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    Lola Jordan @lolarites 1d Replying to @Lissa JoStewart When I ride through one of those developments and there is this lone yard with grass taller than 2", I want to cheer.
    via lolarites
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    Mike Rana Follow @IAmMikeRana Replying to @Lissa Jo Stewart I go with "why do people willingly join an association that tells them what they can do with their own property that they've purchased?"
    via IAmMikeRana
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    CalabroneShowDogs ❤ @CalabroneDogs Replying to @LissaJoStewart Follow It's amazing. I live in a neighborhood without an HOA and we can all keep up our lawns. It's almost like we are adults with common sense.
    via CalabroneDogs
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    J.B.E. Follow @whoismrzero Replying to @LissaJoStewart "If you don't have an HOA, will you do when your neighbor neglects their lawn?" Well if it bothers them that much they could talk to their neighbors, and if they are sick or something, they could offer to cut their grass, like actual neighbors instead of turning them into an HOA.
    via whoismrzero
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    Snarkish Danno @AgesSnark Replying to @LissaJoStewart Follow I live in a Non-HOA area. Nicer area. Sometimes because of work and weather I don't mow my yard as often as my retired neighbors, and it causes a ton of finger wagging as they walk by or gather for their little chats in groups outside. You can see them turn and point etc. I laugh, because who cares? Bees love the clover, rabbits love the dandelions. The rabbits always look at me weird after I've mowed like "you took my stuff away man"
    via AgesSnark
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    David Kinghorn @david_kinghorn -1d Replying to @Lissa JoStewart My HOA doesn't do any of that. They just maintain two pools and two playgrounds and a gym. And it costs far less than gym memberships for the family, so I am happy.
    via david_kinghorn
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    Kevin Behnke @KevinBehnke1 23h Replying to @LissaJoStewart My neighbor neglected their lawn. They were older and not in good shape. So when I cut my lawn I cut theirs too. Took like a half hour.
    via KevinBehnke1
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    Knowing Better @KnowingBetterYT⚫ 21h: Replying to @Lissa Jo Stewart Whenever people complain about HOAs, it's universally about the lawn. Never the rules about how many RVs and junk cars you can have out front. How late parties can go. How quickly sidewalks need to be shoveled. When you're older, you realize that some rules are good, actually.
    via KnowingBetterYT
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    Rebekah Jones @GeoRebekah • 22h Replying to @Lissa JoStewart HOAs should be illegal :
    via GeoRebekah
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    Swann Marcus @SwannMarcus89 Follow There are a lot of bad things about HOAS but "who cares if my neighbor neglects their lawn" is something you'd only say if you've always been affluent and never seen what happens to neighborhoods where people literally do not mow their grass
    via SwannMarcus89
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    George Parish @George Parish18 • 12h The concept of an HOA is one of the most weirdly oppressive things about America that Americans don't realise is oppressive.
    via GeorgeParish18
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    Ernie LuckMan @Ernie Lies • 1d There's no reason HOAs need to act like this. They could be collective organizations interested in the betterment of homeowners not just retirees yelling about garbage cans.
    via ErnieLies
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    John E. C. @johnnyc1952 12m HOAs are stupid as They're there to keep originality away from cookie cutter neighborhoods I'm so glad my neighborhood doesn't have one. I enjoy walking and seeing variety of house design, color, landscape, size, etc.
    via johhnyc1952
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    polinium @polinium • 14h The one time a neighbor neglected their lawn, their spouse had died unexpectedly. You know what we did? We mowed their lawn for them, because that's what community is about, caring for your neighbors
    via polinium

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