David M. Peters Homeowners Association Law Blog on Lawyers.com

What Is a Homeowners Association and Why Do They Exist?

Monday, December 7, 2009 by David M. Peters

A homeowners association (HOA) is a legal entity that governs a community of homes, including subdivisions, condominiums, townhomes, or planned community. HOAs operate within state statutes to enforce regulations and collect assessments from homeowners, while also taking care of maintenance repairs of common areas.

Reasons for HOAsIn existence since the 1960s, HOAs were developed for a multitude of reasons, including the following:

They helped developers by allowing them to transfer the day-to-day operations of their properties to an association of the property homeowners once a certain percentage of homes were sold.
They benefited municipalities by providing many of the services that they would otherwise need to provide, while still increasing the tax base.
Homeowners in the HOA gained a single point of contact to handle all maintenance and beautification of common areas.
Community issues could be handled by the HOA in accordance with the bylaws established for the community.
Property values could be preserved through consistent maintenance of common areas and by establishing standards for the maintenance of individual homes within the community.

Helping to get your HOA up and runningEstablishing and running an HOA requires thorough knowledge of the local statutes as well as the many administrative considerations that are involved. The Law Firm of Peters & Freedman, L.L.P. is a group of experienced attorneys, paralegals, assessment collection specialists, and expert administrative staff. Our seasoned professionals in the field of community association law can provide the assistance you need to run your association smoothly and efficiently for the benefit of every owner. Contact one of our attorneys, David Peters, Simon Freedman, James McCormick, Keenan Parker or Stephen Kirkland for the help you need in this complicated area of the law.

Posted at 15:01 PM

Topic: Homeowners Association Law