Time to Hate Those HOAs (again).
11th September 2010
Home Owners’ Associations are living proof that Americans can be as fascist as anybody when they’re inclined to be.
Like much in contemporary American politics, this leaves me confused. I don’t understand why an exclusive residential association, freely entered into, with explicit rules that are presented at the outset, offering services-for-cash, is un-American. After all, this is in contrast to a municipality that levies taxes for services from which one cannot opt out (if one has no children in the schools, for instance) and which may not be available to all (such as public transport), and which could easily be seen as a redistributive institution, an example of that socialism we keep hearing so much about.
That’s because you’re dimwitted. The HOA agreement is usually mandatory for a particular neighborhood, and if you want to live there you have to join and pay — not unlike a municipality. And the actions of HOAs aren’t subject to the normal political processes or safeguards — quite unlike legitimate political entities. Many times their oppressive nature isn’t apparent until one is already stuck; and with the housing market the way it is, there is no easy way to escape.