The Airstream's first satellite dish

HOA or KOA?

Richard Charpentier Airstream Blogs 2 Comments

Months ago (almost a year now) I moved out of the Airstream and into a rental out in View Point. Only a few miles away from where the Airstream had been from 07-12. Almost 5 years at Point of Rocks, and I gave up the Dells for more space……..

So many folks thought when I’d moved to the house I’d purchased it.  Ha!  Small business owner?  Folks, it could only be a rental.  😛

While the house was nice, it was also in an HOA.  And I’ve always disliked the concept of a place with a Home Owners Association.  My last home in New Hampshire was well off the road, hidden behind dense forest, and I couldn’t see my neighbors.  My neighbors couldn’t see me either.  No HOAs, no nosy neighbors, my property and my business were my own, and my neighbors could say the same.

Moving to Viewpoint though it was a little different.  There’s the guy across the street who would run inside any time I came out on the front porch.  There were the folks that complained to the association about the 3 weeds growing through the rocks in the front yard.  And there was always a worry about not offending the neighbors or doing anything to draw attention to yourself.  At the age of 40 I felt like a 14 year old being watched all around.  Ugh.

Now, in my travels and full timing with the Airstream you know what I didn’t experience?  Folks peeking over the fence as it were.  During my time at Point of Rocks I always felt that even though there were other RVs nearby I still had extreme amounts of privacy.  It was a joy to live where I lived.  And moving into an HOA demonstrated one thing to me.

Until I build another home (Classic Post & Beam most likely) the choice is clear.  KOA beats HOA hands down……..

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Comments 2

  1. In the late 1980’s I made the mistake of buying a home in an HOA area. Painful, as you say. Worse because I bought instead of rented. The HOA was run by a group of retirees who morphed into little nazis. They’d send me registered letters about weeds – I pulled the weeds and mailed them back to them. To tweak those turkeys I would attend the HOA meeting and make a motion to dissolve the HOA, which is simply a corporation. They liked me as much as I liked them.
    Anyway, from that time on when I was looking at homes one of my fixed requirements was NO HOA. Make a mistake, learn from it. I did make good money on that house, sold in early in the bubble.

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