Notes

Green Home Improvements And Property Values - Mutually Exclusive?
The environment has garnered a lot of attention over the past few years, which includes led many homeowners to make improvements on the homes that help reduce their impact on the environment. This shift in focus has resulted in an unfortunate struggle with some Home Owners Associations across the country.

Homeowners' associations, or HOA's, are much like mini government entities that oversee the maintenance and the selling of homes in a specific community. These organizations make decisions on behalf of the entire community, and enforce rules that all homeowners in the area must follow. check here have already been chosen with property values in mind, and if a homeowner refuses to adhere to these guidelines, they are often evicted by the HOA.

Green home improvements are controversial in HOA communities. Green changes such as solar paneling can take from the aesthetics of a house and therefore drop the house value of that home and the homes around it. Many HOA's have actually outlawed solar panels despite their environmental benefit, due to the risk they pose with regard to property value.

Some states, such as for example California, have reacted by making it illegal for HOA's to block using solar paneling.

Hanging clothes out to dry is among the most talked about green improvement issues. Many HOA's around the country have banned the utilization of outdoor drying racks because of their unsightly nature. Again, if something isn't attractive, it must be removed, no matter what benefit it includes. Homeowners have been outraged by this, particularly in the southern states, where they don't really want to run their dryer on hot summer days. The extra heat and the wasted electricity are two reasons that this rule is unreasonable, but HOA's are centered on the bottom line, and on maintaining a particular image for their community.

Even something as small as placing a fan in leading window can be a bone of contention for HOA's Regardless of the heat, and regardless of the effects on the surroundings, homeowners must use air conditioners to cool themselves down, only to avoid giving their home a lived-in look.

For owners of historic homes, the battle could be even bigger. Homeowners must get improvements approved of before going ahead, or they face hefty fines and also eviction. HOA's in historical areas want to keep properties harmonious with each other, and true to their time period. Adding energy efficient window panes or solar paneling to lessen energy bills are simply just out of the question. Modern adjustments would reduce the value of the house, so these improvements are actually seen as a detriment to the complete community.

To be able to make green improvements to your house, you must either move to an area where you won't be dictated to by an HOA, if not fight the powers that be, and make an effort to develop a more democratic and environmentally responsible system that members of the community can live with.

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