A 34-year-old man says he won’t make an offer on his wife’s “dream home” because of what he says is “one real deal breaker”: Homeowners Association fees.
In a post shared on Reddit, the anonymous man writes that he and his wife are currently shopping for their first home.
“We both compiled lists of needs, wants and deal breakers for our desired home,” he writes. Among them are “more bedrooms and a good school for when we have kids, a fenced yard for our dog, no need for major renovations, etc.”
“I only had one real deal breaker,” the man adds. “I told her I would refuse to even make an offer on a house that has an HOA.”
Growing up in an HOA-required home, the man writes, “There’s no way I want to spend a huge amount of money and have to deal with that kind of thing for who knows how many years. The house could check every box on our needs and wants list, and I’d still refuse even and try to buy.”
sold house sign.
Getty
But what seemed like a simple quest turned out to be not so easy, writes a man on Reddit.
“We’ve been kicked out of many areas we hoped to live in. And houses that are more within our budget aren’t exactly what we’re looking for,” he writes. “We toured dozens of houses. Offers were rejected. Sellers tried to drag us into bidding wars. We argued, disagreed and fought. It’s bullshit.”
Last week, the couple’s real estate agent sent them a list of the house that was about to be put on the market and ticked all the boxes.
“My wife fell in love with the pictures and wanted to arrange a tour. But as I looked at the listing, I saw it had an HOA,” he writes. “I told the woman I didn’t even want to look because I didn’t want to make an offer.”
After his wife arranged a tour with a realtor without him, she spent “the entire evening trying to convince me that it was her ‘dream house’ and that we needed to make an offer before it was too late,” he adds.
The inconvenience of the HOA, she told him, “will not make up for how much we enjoy our home.”
“I reminded her when we started looking that we both agreed this had to be a 2-yes decision,” the man writes. “Which means if one of us vetoed the house for any reason, we wouldn’t ask for it. And she knows the HOA is my number one veto reason.”
Now the man’s wife is angry with him for vetoing her election, and he believes she is “letting her frustration with the process cloud her judgment” and taking it out on him.
Reddit users have spoken out, and many have sided with the man.
“A decent HOA can change depending on who serves, and if it does, you’re still stuck with it,” writes one commenter.
Another wrote that they agreed with the HOA’s frustrations, but that the man’s trespasser could “throw away all but a lucky chance of finding a home.”
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Source: HIS Education