Category Archives: Homes without an HOA

What to do when it’s hard to avoid an HOA

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Homeowner volunteers faces smiling

By Deborah Goonan, Independent American Communities Readers often contact me with a difficult problem. They hate HOAs. But, in their home search, they cannot seem to avoid association-governed housing. And that’s not surprising when you look at the statistics for new home construction over the past decade. Specifically, according to the U.S. Census Survey of Construction (SOC), the nationwide percentage share of new single family detached homes sold has remained steady, in the range of Continue ReadingWhat to do when it’s hard to avoid an HOA→

America’s suburban soul has no HOA

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Suburban home blur street

By Deborah Goonan, Independent American Communities Have you noticed the a culture war against millions of U.S. residents who live in suburban and rural locations? The war is waged by a small but influential group of city planners, and New Urbanism Think Tanks. In their zest to design and build utopian cities, these urban elitists regularly bash the suburbs as undesirable ‘sprawl.’ The majority of urban planners seem to misunderstand non-city dwellers. In their minds, Continue ReadingAmerica’s suburban soul has no HOA→

Why do people who hate rules buy into an HOA?

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By Deborah Goonan, Independent American Communities   Now here’s a good question that comes up over and over again, whenever a homeowners’ association horror story circulates in the news and across social media. And, if you read comment threads, you will inevitably see the typical responses: “I would never buy a home in an HOA,” plus the ever common “didn’t you know about the rules before you bought the house/moved in?” But these commenters assume Continue ReadingWhy do people who hate rules buy into an HOA?→

These Texas homeowners don’t want an HOA, but developers are trying to impose one

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By Deborah Goonan, Independent American Communities   How would you feel if you went out of your way to purchase a home that is NOT governed by a homeowners’ association, only to have an HOA forced upon you a few years later? That’s exactly what may be happening in Key Largo, a subdivision in Converse, Texas, near San Antonio. According to an investigative report by KSAT reporter Dillon Collier, dozens of homeowners purchased homes in Continue ReadingThese Texas homeowners don’t want an HOA, but developers are trying to impose one→