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When I bought my first home, I started looking only at single family homes. Why? Part of it was privacy and space. Even more, however, was a desire to avoid massive HOA fees in the downtown neighborhoods I was searching.

About 15% of all U.S. real estate belongs to an HOA, which equates to $2 trillion in property value. The majority of Americans claim to be on good terms with their HOA, and 78% believe that their HOA does enhance property value. 62 million Americans live in an HOA. That is big business, and an important issue for all property owners and investors to understand. Continue reading →