Be aware of Home Owners Associsations

Homeowners associations collect dues, which finance a variety of things, including landscaping and playgrounds. The boards, composed of elected volunteers, dictate house paint colors, lawn-mowing schedules and parking policies for recreational vehicles. Homeowners associations are essentially private governments. They assess dues to pay for maintenance and services, such as street lights, swimming pools, trash pickup and snow removal. Homeowners associations and condominium associations may regulate these alternative energy devices only to the extent that the statutes allow.

Being a member of the association is not optional to the homeowners. It is understood when the home is purchased that there is a homeowner's association with associated fees, codes, covenants, and restrictions.

Not only that, but many homeowners report that the legal system routinely rule against the homeowner and for the homeowner association, granting lawyer fees in excess of a million dollars in some cases.