More than 69 million Americans, or about 20% of the country, live in an area governed by a homeowners association. In Nevada, the percentage is higher – about a third of housing, or some 500,000 homes, are part of HOAs.
Some people love them, others hate them; for some it’s love-hate, but almost everyone has an opinion. HOAs receive so much attention that in 1997, Nevada established the Office of the Ombudsman for CICCH/HOA Owners to help resolve disputes.
Barbara Holland is a property manager who writes a Q&A column on HOAs for Las Vegas Review-Journal. She joined state of nevada host Joe Schoenmann with Shanta Patton Golarthe director of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers; Stephanie Grant, the vice president of Las Vegas Realtors; and Chris Guinchiglianiformer Clark County Commissioner.
INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS
What areas do HOAs have control over?
HOLLAND: We have an obligation to maintain the common areas. If you’re in a condo or townhouse, we have some controls over what you do if you have patios. If you are in a single family home, I can’t paint my house purple and gray. So there are architectural guidelines. Most associations have an architectural guideline that tells a homeowner what they can do outside their home, I can’t put a swimming pool first. And if we’re going to think about our relationship with landlords, if you’re doing major work in your backyard landscaping, and you’re doing it in such a way that you’ve now affected your neighbor, and that’s still a big problem for us. Your tree is over my pool and your leaves are falling into my pool. You didn’t water well, so it’s flooding my landscape. This is one of the instances where an association board can get involved, which relates to your individual use as a nuisance.
We’ve all heard of party houses in terms of Airbnbs. We actually have a problem to some degree with marijuana, where people say that when they walk past individual homes, they assume they can smell marijuana outside.
When people buy their home, they know if there is an HOA involved. They are also given the laws and regulations of an HOA, so they know the rules. So when they complain, do they really have a leg to stand on?
GUINCHIGLIANI: In a certain way. Now they have the responsibility as the owner to do their homework, to read the documents. And if you don’t agree, you shouldn’t buy a product from an HOA. I still remember when we created the Office of the Ombudsman. So should the owner be aware or choose not to live in HOA? You know, that’s where government code enforcement comes in. And in standard neighborhoods, the most frustrating part was, as an elected official, I couldn’t do anything about an HOA. I had to refer them either to the mediator, or go through the ADR, or contact the state because there is a local elected official, you have no say in the HOAs. Everything is governed by the state of Nevada.
What to do with nosy or racist neighbors?
TO AGREE: Just being able to communicate, getting to know each other. It can also be an advantage for you. I mean, if, for example, you have to go out of town for a few days, and you know your neighbor, and you’ve exchanged numbers, he can watch if there’s something going on at your place, or it you need a package picked up or whatever, just keep an eye on you. It’s about building that relationship.
PATTON GOLAR: I know we don’t care about these things. And it can be a little crazy. But we are talking about racial profiling. So if you’re dealing with something like this, it’s not something to be taken lightly. We understand that people are losing their lives every day because of these things. You have to document, you have to involve the authorities every time. Use them, that’s what they’re there for, because you could potentially build a case for the next person of color who’s been shot in your neighborhood because of nosy neighbors or racist neighbors. So take this seriously.
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