There are more than 370,000 home owners associations situated throughout the country. Over 40 million American households belong to an HOA.

Joining an HOA is easy. All you need to do is move into a community that is overseen by an HOA and pay HOA dues.

But is the cost of an HOA worth it? That's what some people wonder about prior to purchasing a home in a community that will put them in a position where they'll need to join an HOA.

Joining an HOA isn't going to be for everyone. But there are lots of benefits that you'll be able to enjoy when you become a part of one.

Here are the ten biggest benefits of joining a home owners association.

1. Makes You Feel Like Part of a Community

When you move into a home that isn't a part of an HOA, it'll usually take some time before you feel like you're a part of the local community. But this won't be the case when you move into a home and become a part of an HOA.

From the second that you first get the keys to this house, you'll feel like you're a member of the local community. It'll be a great feeling to have, and it'll make joining an HOA well worth it right from the very beginning.

2. Gives You Access to Many Amenities

Not every home owners association is going to provide you with immediate access to a whole host of amenities. But the majority of them will.

When you join an HOA, you'll be able to take advantage of amenities like:

• A swimming pool
• Tennis courts
• Hiking trails
• Community centers
• And so much more

These are things you won't always be able to access in homes that aren't part of an HOA.

3. Ensures Common Areas Are Well-Maintained

There will be quite a few common areas scattered throughout the average HOA community. From some of the places we just mentioned, like swimming pools and tennis courts, to big, open lawns and playgrounds, you'll be able to use these common areas whenever you would like.

But you won't have to worry about maintaining them. The HOA fees that you pay on a regular basis will be used to cover the costs of cleaning these common areas. So you can bet your bottom dollar they'll always be well-maintained and ready to use.

4. Keeps the Area in Which You Live Looking Great

If you live in a home outside of an HOA and you have a neighbor who decides to paint their house bright pink and let their grass grow to knee-length height, guess what? There won't be a whole lot that you can do about it.

There isn't going to be an HOA that will come along and tell your neighbor that they can't do these things. It'll force you to try to deal with your neighbor on your own.

When you're part of an HOA, you won't have to do this. There will be certain rules and regulations that those in your community will need to abide by. They won't be able to just paint their house whatever color they want or let the outside of their house start to fall apart.

As a result, the area in which you live will always look its absolute best. It's one of the most underrated benefits of home owners association living.

5. Provides You With HOA Insurance

If you live in a home located outside of an HOA and someone falls and gets hurt on your property, you could be left on the hook for their medical bills. At the very least, you may need to file a claim through your homeowners insurance to get these kinds of costs covered.

When you're an HOA member, you'll be provided with HOA insurance as part of your HOA fees. This insurance will cover any accidents that might take place in the common areas within your community.

Visit hummelgrp.com to learn more about HOA insurance and how it works.

6. Prevents You From Dealing With Nuisance Behavior

The last thing you want to do is live in a home that's going to force you to deal with endless noise and rabble-rousing outside. It can affect your quality of life and leave you calling the cops every other day to try to get some sense of peace.

This is yet another thing you won't have to worry about when you belong to a home owners association. Your HOA's rules and regulations will help keep the peace outside and prevent you from having to take any action yourself.

7. Lets You Suggest Improvements You'd Like to See

A home owners association isn't just going to run itself. There will be an HOA board in place that will make important HOA-related decisions.

They'll decide how much to charge HOA members and what to do with the HOA income that is brought in. They'll also be open to any suggestions that HOA members might have on how to improve the local community.

You'll love being able to attend HOA meetings so that you can suggest things you would like to see. You'll also love that you won't necessarily need to be involved in making any actual improvements to your community. You can sit back and let the HOA board worry about how to implement any of the good ideas you and your fellow HOA members might have.

8. Helps Your Property Value Increase

When you buy a home, one of your goals is going to be to keep it in good enough shape to see its value rise over time. But when you live outside of an HOA, this isn't always going to be possible.

Your property value might go down through no fault of your own. It might nosedive solely because of the condition of the other homes in your area.

This shouldn't ever be a problem when you're part of an HOA. Since an HOA will have rules and regulations in place regarding what you can and cannot do to your home, all the homes in your area will remain in good shape overall.

Because of this, you should see your property value go up steadily over time. You won't need to be concerned about your neighbors dragging your property down like you might have to otherwise.

9. Reduces the Stress in Your Life

A recent survey found that about 25% of Americans say they're so stressed out these days that they can't even function normally. They're stressed out over everything from work to the state of the nation.

Wouldn't it be nice to make a move to reduce the amount of stress you have in your life? Joining an HOA might be one excellent way to do it.

When you're part of an HOA, you won't have to worry about doing things like mowing the lawn or shoveling snow. You also won't have to worry about fighting with your neighbor over your property lines or writing letters to local politicians to force your neighbor to maintain the outside of their home.

You'll feel your stress levels go down dramatically from the moment you join an HOA. It'll be such a good feeling to have.

10. Costs Less Than You Might Think

In spite of all the benefits that come along with joining an HOA, there are still some people out there wary about becoming a part of them.

Why? Well, it's simple. They're under the impression that joining an HOA is going to cost too much money.

In some cases, this will be the truth. There are some HOAs that are going to charge you an arm and a leg in fees each month.

But there are also some HOAs that will cost less than $50 per month. And even if you have to spend several hundred dollars each month to be an HOA member, it may still be worth it to you.

You shouldn't write off the idea of joining an HOA without looking into how much it's going to cost first. It could be a lot more cost-effective than you may think.

Consider Joining a Home Owners Association

Now that you're familiar with the many benefits of joining a home owners association, you should go ahead and do it. It might end up being one of the best decisions you ever make.

You'll feel like part of the community as soon as you join an HOA. You'll also get access to all these great benefits that will improve your quality of life in such a big way.

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