Navigating the world of Homeowners Associations (HOAs) in Sonoma County can feel overwhelming, especially for those encountering them for the first time.
With a variety of rules, fees, and responsibilities involved, it’s no surprise that prospective homebuyers often have questions or even hesitations:
We spoke with local real estate professionals Christopher Ortiz and Bryce McChinak at BW&CO. Real Estate to help answer these questions and help you feel confident and informed as you consider whether living in an HOA community is the right fit for you.
Here’s what we learned.
Christopher: I’m Christopher Ortiz, and I was born and raised here in Sonoma County. I’ve been in the real estate industry for eight years, and I absolutely love what I do.
Bryce: My name is Bryce McChinak. I was born and raised in Sonoma County as well. I’ve been selling real estate for quite some time now. My whole family is actually in the real estate industry. My dad is a builder and developer, my older brother is in the mortgage industry, and my other younger brother is also a realtor.
Christopher: HOAs sometimes do get a bad rap. However, I think industry professionals like ourselves don’t always do a good job of breaking down the pros and cons to buyers.
Lots of people just look at an HOA as an extra financial output when buying a home, but that isn’t the whole story.
There are a ton of pros to living in an HOA community.
For example, with a condo or townhouse governed by an HOA, those monthly payments will cover not only the cost of all exterior maintenance but they will also address liability and insurance in most cases. They also often cover things like water, sewage, and trash collection, depending on your HOA.
Homes governed by HOAs also tend to be on the cheaper side. So, first-time home buyers may find homes in an HOA more appealing to their wallets.
So, there are tons of benefits to living in a community with an HOA. You just need to be very aware of what those benefits are and what you’re actually paying for.
There are, of course, a few cons as well. For example, you might be limited in what you can do with your property. If you want to tear down walls, paint your house, or revamp your backyard, you might run into some limitations.
I’d always recommend working with your agent to ensure you clearly understand the benefits and regulations of an HOA before purchasing a home. You want to know exactly what you’re signing up for before you make an offer.
Christopher: Rules and regulations are very clearly disclosed upfront when you are in contract on a home in an HOA. You also can—and should—ask your agent to get these details before you put an offer on the home.
You want to know exactly what you’re getting into.
For the most part, it’s fairly simple.
You need to make sure you take care of the home and don’t let it get run down. There are typically rules about what color you’re allowed to paint the exterior of your home. There are also often rules about landscaping.
So, if you want to buy a home in an HOA and you don’t like the backyard, make sure you look through the rules and regulations to find out what you can do to change it.
Other common rules that I see are about pets. Some HOAs have regulations on the number of pets or types of breeds you can have.
However, there shouldn’t be any surprises because, as I said, these rules and regulations are all disclosed upfront, typically before you write the offer.
Christopher: That is a really common question I get from clients. They want to know if they can take down a wall or remodel the kitchen, for instance.
Typically, these kinds of things are completely fine.
However, I always recommend double-checking everything. It’s not really any different than buying a home without an HOA and having to check in with the city.
Generally, when you want to do any kind of renovations, you’d have to go down to the city or the PRMD to check permits and see what’s required. It’s the same situation for HOA homes—make sure you look at the HOA’s Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&Rs). Check those important boxes before you write that offer.
Bryce: HOA fees depend more on what the HOA includes than the neighborhood itself.
If an HOA is offering insurance or pays for the water and electricity, it’s probably going to cost more than an HOA that’s just taking care of the maintenance of the common grounds and building exterior.
Look at Fountain Grove. This area is full of multi-million dollar homes, and it has an HOA, but the dues are only about $75 a quarter. It’s so low because they just take care of the streets.
It changes a lot from place to place.
Christopher: The benefit of buying a new construction home, like the ones at SOMO Village, is that everything’s in great shape. All of the appliances, the roof, and the structure itself are brand new.
So, you’re typically going to be looking at fewer repairs and less maintenance for the foreseeable future. That means the HOA isn’t going to have to spend as much money to address things like a roof replacement, dry rot, or things of that nature for quite a long time.
So, in that respect, I would say there are a lot of benefits to buying a brand-new construction home as opposed to a resale home.
Bryce: HOAs keep a reserve balance with funds that they put towards the cost of repairs or other work. When considering buying a home, you want to make sure that your HOA has a reserve that is satisfactory to safeguard against future potential issues.
Let’s say you want to move into an older condominium complex that has dry rot on the exterior or needs a new roof soon, you’d want to make sure that your HOA actually has a reserve that is hefty enough to go towards making those future repairs.
Christopher: When you get into contract, your representative will request the HOA complete a form that discloses their financial health and reserves, so you should have no surprises.
Christopher: We always advise our clients to get a full home inspection and structural pest inspection of the property so they know exactly what repairs may come up. However, the HOA usually covers repairs related to the exterior of the property.
Bryce: I just had an experience like this recently. I was looking at an HOA property with a client, and the HOA covered exterior repairs. So, we had a home inspection done and were also considering getting a pest inspector out on the property to give us an idea as to how much it might cost to address some of the issues on the exterior.
We actually didn’t end up having somebody come out because the HOA was willing to take care of all that stuff on the exterior.
Christopher: I’ve never heard any horror stories related to unexpected payments. If a payment isn’t in the contract, there should be no surprises whatsoever.
Bryce: There is one thing to consider, though. When you’re buying a home, you might have a rough idea of how much an HOA charges per month.
But often within these contracts that the HOA provides, there are little caveats that protect them in this exact case. For example, it’s sometimes written into the contract that they can increase the monthly payment.
Unfortunately, many people don’t fully read or understand their contracts, so this could result in a surprise increase. This is why it’s so important to review HOA documents with your agent fully or even ask a lawyer for help if you’re not certain about what the language means.
Christopher: If an issue comes up with your HOA, they will typically reach out on a personal basis first to try to find a solution. They will look for a reasonable solution for all parties.
If a solution can’t be found, the issue will likely go to a neutral third party to mediate the dispute.
If you’re interested in working with Christopher or Bryce on your next property purchase in Sonoma County, here’s how to get in touch:
Christopher Ortiz
REALTOR® | Lead Sales Agent, BW&CO.
Instagram: @christopherortizrealtor
Email: chris@teambwco.com
Bryce McChinak
REALTOR® | BW&CO.
Instagram: @brycemcchinak
Email: bryce@teambwco.com
If you’re interested in living in a sustainable community that fuses the best of city living with the country lifestyle and all the amazing things that Sonoma County has to offer, we invite you to visit SOMO Village. To learn more, download our residential project brief or get in touch with us today.