Understanding Arizona Homeowners Associations

Homeowner’s Associations are popular in Arizona communities. The basic idea behind a homeowners’ association (HOA) is that there is a group of people elected by the residents who make up the board directing the homeowners association.

The main duties of the HOA are to:

1) represent the best interests of the residents of the community especially in the capacity of protecting home values through the implementation and enforcement of rules, known as covenants and restrictions and

2) decide on an amount and collect homeowners’ fees to help pay for the upkeep of common areas of the community as well as any other areas provided for in the covenants and deed recordings.

It’s important to understand how this works when you’re looking at Arizona retirement communities.

HOA Fees and Dues

Homeowners association dues vary widely among Arizona retirement communities depending on the amount of amenities that are provided to the homeowners. Some dues simply cover the maintenance of the common areas including medians, right of ways, lakes, and ponds. Other dues can cover things such as upkeep of the streets (if they are private streets), and streetlights.

Some Arizona retirement communities are able to negotiate for a group rate on cable TV or Internet access with service providers. You may be charged fees for those services monthly, quarterly, or yearly. Failure to pay the homeowner’s dues can result in the association placing a lien on your property and eventually foreclosing if you get far enough behind on your payments.

As a prospective purchaser in a community, you are entitled to and encouraged to review the HOA budget. When deciding whether a homeowners’ association’s dues are a good deal or not, add up what you think it would cost you to obtain the services provided on your own. Don’t forget the aggravation the association saves you by not having to deal with finding and scheduling the services and vendors yourself.