Who owns homeowner associations?

Many people are curious about who owns their homeowner association. Initially the association is established by the developer. As control is transferred from the developer to buyers, it is those owners in a planned development community that own the HOA. Frequently the initial developer will retain excess rights until their units have been sold.  

Some HOAs base ownership by number of lots, so each property represents one unit of ownership. In other cases ownership depends on another factor and in those cases, ownership is based on “unit entitlement”. Unit entitlement can vary based on the size of a given parcel. 

Your fees and the other owners’ will vary from year to year, typically rising with inflation. Whether they are identical depends on if there is a unit entitlement. Collectively you will fund the amenities, repairs and maintenance, and reserve.

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