You’ve bought a home and now own part of the American Dream. In the process you have also acquired many responsibilities and concerns. There are mortgage payments to make, records to keep and maintenance to perform. Not to mention your association’s pile of documents that you must familiarize yourself with. Below are a few tips that may help the existing as well as the new homeowner in an association.

Home Maintenance
Your mortgage requires that you adequately maintain your property and not allow it to deteriorate. As a homeowner, you can’t afford to sit back and postpone maintenance. You can extend the life of appliances, fixtures, and your home in general and avoid expensive repairs by performing routine maintenance. It’s a good idea to set up a budget for your home’s regular maintenance and unexpected repairs. You may want to budget 1 percent of the purchase price of your house to cover annual maintenance and repairs. General exterior maintenance will help avoid issues with your association as well.

Painting – It is important that you inspect the exterior paint on your home on at least an annual basis. As this is a big project it is important that you budget accordingly. If painting is put off too long, it can become much more expensive due to chalking or flaking of stucco or deterioration of wood trim etc. You can contact any professional paint contractor and they should also be able to assess your home.

Side Gates – One of the major problems with new developments is the lack of maintenance to owners side gates. The wood slats and wrought iron must be properly protected to avoid rusting and discoloration of the wood. It is very important in the Arizona climate that the wood slats have a protective coating applied on a regular basis. This will keep the slats looking new for years rather than turning black or grey and warping.

Roofs – It is important that you have a roofing contractor assess your roofs on a regular basis. Flat roofs should be checked by the owner at least quarterly and all debris on the roofs and any scuppers should be removed. Even on tile roofs the underlayment may develop problems well before any leaks occur. Keep the roofs properly checked and cleaned and you may avoid some expensive interior repairs later.

Landscape – The most common complaint and issue with landscaping are weeds on the property. The best way to handle weed problems are to purchase a substance called pre-emergent that can be placed over the entire yard that will prevent seeds from germinating. These substances can be purchased at any home improvement store and are safe for existing plants and trees. They usually last at least 6 months. You may still get a weed or two now or then, but you won’t have a yard full of weeds every week. If you are planting winter rye, October is the best month for you to scalp your Bermuda and plant your rye grass. Severe cutbacks on existing plants are usually performed in the springtime to avoid frosting of the newly cut plant.

Exterior Changes - Please be aware that most associations require that any exterior changes be approved by the Architectural Committee prior to proceeding with the work, so don’t start that painting project, reproofing project, landscape project, or any other project until first checking with the association.

Other HOA Common Issues

Barking Dogs – We receive numerous complaints from owners with regards to barking dogs. The best way to handle a barking dog issue is neighbor to neighbor. We request that you try approaching the neighbor in a polite and professional manner with regards to the nuisance. If this doesn’t work, the City that you reside in will have a barking dog ordinance and you should contact the City and file a complaint.

Bulk Trash Pickup – Each City will have a bulk trash schedule in which you can contact the City and place your large items at the edge of your lot for the City to pick them up. The City will request that the items not be placed out before a week prior to pickup.

Wildlife – We receive numerous complaints with regards to pigeons, Javelina, cats, etc that are a nuisance to the neighborhood. The best way to avoid these issues is to not make food available to the animals. The pigeons will not go away if they have a pool with water and a bird feeder hanging in the tree. You may also contact a pest control company for screening and other substances that can help deter the pigeons from coming back and roosting.

Crime - The biggest cause of crime in most neighborhoods is owners leaving their garage doors open when unattended. Please make sure that your garage doors remain closed at all times except for ingress and egress. Please also always park your vehicles in the garage at all times and avoid ever leaving the vehicle parked out unlocked or with valuable items visible in the vehicle. Please also keep a look out while walking or driving the community for any suspicious activity. You as owners are the best crime preventers.