If you live in a community that has rules set by a homeowners association management team you were probably first informed about how they work by your realtor. In fact, during the purchase process you were likely presented with a huge stack of papers called the Codes, Covenants and Restrictions. These outlined exactly what you can and can not do as a member of the community.

While the rules may vary from state to state, generally these HOA management companies can and can not do certain things. One thing they can do is collect dues from their members. This could be an annual thing or a monthly thing. Usually these fees cover such things as common area maintenance such as green belts. Another thing that they can do is enforce their rules by implementing fines. For example, a common rule is that homeowners can not allow weeds to get out of control in their front yards. So if you allow weeds to grow, you may be fined.

There are things however that an HOA can not restrict. For example, most states will not allow an HOA to prohibit certain items such as flag poles with the American flag or real estate for sale signs. In order to find out what you HOA allows and disallows it is usually as simple as checking your HOA website.

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