This Is the Craziest Rule My HOA Has

Be sure you know all of the HOA rules before you buy in a neighborhood with an association.

A short time ago, I purchased a home in a neighborhood where there is a homeowners association. Buying in a neighborhood with an HOA means there are monthly dues to pay on top of regular mortgage payments. There are also some rules that homeowners have to follow. 

Many of the rules are designed to help keep up property values or ensure that neighbors don't bother each other. For example, you have to keep your garage doors closed most of the time, you can't leave your trash cans out for too long, and you have to keep up with basic property maintenance tasks. 

There's also one really unusual rule, though, which I haven't heard about in too many neighborhoods besides the one I live in.

This odd HOA rule makes my neighborhood stand out

The strange rule that we have to follow in our neighborhood is a requirement that we spend $75 per month on food at the local onsite restaurant.

See, my neighborhood has a country club and golf course attached -- and there's a residents-only clubhouse with a restaurant located within it. Every resident of the country club neighborhood has to pay $75 per month in dues that is earmarked for restaurant spending, along with the other dues that we owe. You then get a credit on your account for the $75 and can go to the restaurant and spend your credit by charging the food to your account. 

This requirement is, presumably, in place in order for the neighborhood association to offer the amenity of an onsite restaurant without risking money loss. Since every resident either has to spend $75 per month there (or they lose the money they were required to pay), the restaurant has a built-in customer base and won't end up in the red. 

Be sure to read the fine print on your HOA 

I was aware of this requirement before moving into the neighborhood because we read the details of the HOA agreement. And I was OK with incurring this cost because the neighborhood offers lots of other features we liked, it was in a good location, and the restaurant is actually pretty good in terms of its food offerings.

Had I not taken the time to learn the details of the association requirements, though, it would likely have come as a shock to me that a neighborhood required me to eat at a certain restaurant once a month or lose money for not doing so.

This quirky rule just goes to show how important it is to pay careful attention to HOA requirements before buying in an association neighborhood. These requirements can go beyond what you might expect and if you are surprised by some of the mandated fees when you move in, they could put unnecessary strain on your budget.

Before you make an offer on any home, alway find out if there is an association, what your cost will be, and what it covers so you don't find yourself with something unexpected like a restaurant bill you didn't count on.