Many gated and even some non-gated developments in the Palm Springs area include an Home Owners Association or HOA. For our Canadian friends, an HOA is similar to Canadian Strata Associations. Most of the Palm Springs area golf communities and non-golf community profiles on this website include recent HOA information.
Palm Springs Area HOA Dues: What’s Included?
Home Owners’ Association dues can vary widely from community to community depending on the amenities and services that are available to property owners. HOA dues in condo communities will generally be higher than those of most single-family home communities because they include exterior building insurance (not contents), exterior building maintenance (walls, roofs and painting) and community shared amenities such as pools, spas, clubhouses, trash pickup, and, often, basic cable TV.
When comparing monthly HOA dues in the Palm Springs area you’ll want to look beyond the numbers and see what’s actually included in these dues. As an example, let’s compare two different HOA’s and what is included:
Community A ($335 Monthly HOA):
- Common area maintenance
- 24/7 Access gate control.
Community B ($520 Monthly HOA):
- Common area maintenance
- 24/7 Access gate control
- Front yard landscape and irrigation
- Exterior painting
- Side-yard pickup of trash
- Basic cable TV
On the surface $335 looks better. Add it all up though and Community B’s dues – while higher – include more services and, in fact, may cost the homeowner less over time. HOA’s in other developments might include community pools and spas, clubhouses, tennis and fitness centers while others may include discounted or even full golf privileges.
Most Palm Springs Area HOA’s Dues Are Paid Monthly
Most HOA dues are usually billed monthly. A few desert communities bill dues quarterly. HOA’s have the legal right to file a lien against a property and possibly even sell the property at auction to recover dues if the owner(s) neglect to pay their HOA dues. Property owners may wish to consider setting up an automatic payment of HOA dues through their bank or set up an automatic debit payment with their HOA.
After signing a purchase contract for a property located within an HOA, and during the escrow ‘due diligence’ period, buyers are entitled to receive a copy of the HOA CC&R’s (declaration of covenants, conditions and restrictions), community rules and regulations and financials for their review. It’s always a good idea to retain a copy of these for future reference.
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Palm Springs Area Condos Compared To Canadian Strata Ownership
Here in the desert a condo does not usually refer to a high-rise community as found in many Canadian Provinces. While there are a few high-rise developments here, most condo communities in the desert are actually single level or two story buildings. This is similar to Canadian Strata communities. There are a wide variety of condo types here including those with no shared walls. Condo communities usually offer a ‘lock and leave’ lifestyle where exterior building maintenance, insurance, landscape and more are taken care of by the condo association or as they are called here in the desert, the Home Owners Association (HOA).
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