HOAs Hurting Residents Property Values

Thanks for the post. One of the things that has brought down values in a community that I know is that owners are not allowed to rent it out. When owners have to move they are forced to sell at a low price rather than keep it vacant. It would have been better if they could rent it out .

I once had an HOA president come in to tell me I had to take down my open house signs as one of the neighbors was complaining. I thought is was foolish as how would a potential buyer know where to find the condo otherwise? He agreed and asked me to please remove the signs. I said I would do it right away as it was already the end of the open house period and proceeded to follow him out of the condo.

I can appreciate not wanting a deluge of signs, but I agree they shoot themselves in the foot by being so restrictive. HOA's get a reputation as being cratchety (is that a real word), and although agents form opinions, so do buyers.

Some folks have nothing else to do with their time but to police the neighborhood regardless of consequence.

I have a condo listing with an HOA that doesn't allow sale signs at all.  There is no doubt that this is hurting sellers.  Comps are much higher for similar properties nearby without HOAs.

You are correct that when signs are not permitted on a property it does make it a bit more difficult to sell the property.  We have the same issue here with HOA.  To get around this we use balloons to indicate an Open House.  Also, place a sign at the entrance to the community not on HOA property is usually permitted, but coordinate this with the association first.

Good Morning Jeff: Too restrictive regulations can be very problematic. And most of the time, they tend to become constrictive to live with.

yes to keeping all things equal when a group gets together or even more intimately lives together as neighbors...Hard to please all

I live with an HOA and they have the same rules. There's a home on my street for sale, but you only see the signs when they have an open house. Honestly, I wouldn't mind a for sale sign in their front yard or something. I don't see it as an eyesore. Not really sure what the big deal is.

Every so often you do get a bit of a "crazy" hoa who makes stupid rules. I say contact the home owner and have them get a committee together to change the rules.

Jeff, I had this happen to me once and posted a blog about it.  I had a minivan, so I parked it in front of the house with the open house sign in the back window, they couldn't get to it since the van was locked and no one said a word to me.

I've noticed homes in gated HOA communities with strict rules tend to sell less than comparable homes in close proximity without HOAs. 

It seems, all too often directionals and Open House signs are misplaced, sometimes obstructing the view of incoming traffic, or placed on a homeowners lawn without permission.  Unfortunately, HOAs are trying to protect the homeowners, not realizing they may be hurting potential sales.

Jeff, we have the same issues here in Virginia. We have a condo/townhouse complex in Woodbridge Virginia that does not allow any For Sale Signs what so ever on the property. Open house signs are allowed on the day of the Open House. Prospective home buyers driving the neighborhood have no clue if a home is for sale unless they are using a Mobile App.

Hi, Jeff!  Just to let you know - I included this post in today's Last Week's Favorites!

We have an HOA like that here. Most propeties are 25k to 100k I cannot aford it and don't list there.

There are out of control HOAs all over the country, from what I have read.  I was once holding a broker's open in a neighborhood when the property manager rang the door bell and threw my signs into the foyer of the house.  To bad for him, I was a resident of the neighborhood and knew for a fact there was no prohibition against the signs.   Other resients heard about it and when contract renewal time came, the HOA went with a different association management company after having been with him forever.  Never have understood why some people have to be no difficult

I hear ya!  I like the proposed solution you provided. Hopefully, those type of HOA's will see the realtor's perspective.  In fact, they should focus their efforts on residents who don't maintain their yards and upkeep of their homes.  If you have 10 or so OH signs, that can be expensive if they're confiscated.  I know a fellow realtor who went to the HOA and demanded to find out where her signs went.  Well, she spend the afternoon dumpster diving and fetched all of her signs! Thank goodness!

HOAs sometimes go too far and this is the case with the open house signs.  I'm not sure if this is the reason, but I think sometimes a little authority can go to people's head.