By Josh Irwin, Associate Broker
As a real estate professional, many new home shoppers have asked me over the years, “Why does the community need a homeowner’s association?”
Before the Internet, I would spend an hour or two talking my clients through the values of a homeowners association, or HOA, and why master-planned communities benefit from well defined and active associations. Now, in the 21st century, there are multiple touch-points for our self-service society to learn about these important initiatives before you purchase a new home.
Wikipedia defines an HOA as “an organization created by a real estate developer for the purpose of controlling the appearance and managing any common-area assets during the marketing, managing, and selling of homes and sites in a residential subdivision. It grants the developer privileged voting rights in governing the association, while allowing the developer to exit financial and legal responsibility of the organization, typically by transferring ownership of the association to the homeowners after selling off a predetermined number of lots.” This is a very good definition, but remember that every HOA has different agendas and operating procedures.
In the Atlanta golf community of Heron Bay Golf & Country Club, the Homeowner’s Association is run by the developer, Minerva Properties. Heron Bay’s homeowner association encompasses four sub-committees led by community residents to assist in managing the overall community. Our HOA also includes several different people who help Heron Bay maintain an open door policy for all their residents and maintain the overall look of the community. The people involved wear many different hats and act in many roles that benefit Heron Bay.
In most associations, you will have a property manager and someone to help respond to any resident concerns, but in a community as active and engaged as Heron Bay residents also benefit from an event coordinator. It’s all part of Minerva’s commitment to creating and sustaining the best community on Atlanta’s Southside. Before you buy a new home anywhere in the metro area, let’s talk about HOA’s and what they mean to your new home’s long term market value.