When I first moved into this property 5 years ago I tried my best to get to know the neighbors and to find ways in which I could get into the local community. What I quickly learned however was that there really wasn’t much of a community at all, at least not in the immediate surroundings around the property. There was no ill feelings amongst the neighbors, they just didn’t really invest the time in getting to know one another. I had heard about a number of hoa’s near me and I was interested in trying to find out whether or not we qualified to join any of them. I spoke with a number of people who were either in a homeowners association or who were in charge of them, and sadly I discovered that we didn’t fit the bill geographically.
I decided that I would take inspiration from those other hoa’s, and set one up in my street, a move which has certainly gone down well here. Thanks to the inspiration, here is what we have managed to achieve.
Tighter Community
It may have taken a while to get all of the neighbors on board with this, but after we decided to use hoa election inspectors, I found that the trust issues were eliminated and they really began to get on with each other. I can honestly say that there is a much tighter knit community around my home and I have absolutely no doubt that this is something which everyone is much happier about.
Increased Security
We don’t live in a high crime area but even so, there is of course always a security risk that is worth bearing in mind. Having set up the homeowners association here there is definitely an increased level of security. This was proved to me recently after someone knocked on the door to let me know that I had left my keys in the lock, something which I am not sure would have happened in the past.
Making Changes
Something which I personally enjoyed was during our first meeting when we began discussing a certain patch of unkept grass in the middle of the street. Prior to this meeting there were a number of neighbors who believed that this was the responsibility of another neighbor, yet this wasn’t actually the case. As it turned out this was public grounds and that meant that if we wished we could do something about it. On that very first meeting we agreed to pay a small fee each and have something done about the area, and this was very much our first act as an hoa.
Ultimately it was those around me who first put the idea of a homeowners association in my head, and then we went on to create something truly helpful in our own local community. If you are not in one then it is something which I would absolutely suggest could be a great idea for you.
