Novel concept: Pay your HOA dues or get out

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/os-overdue-hoa-bills-20130206,0,7215612.story

If your state’s anything like Florida, each year’s legislative calendar brings a series of bills that attract very little attention early on and a whirlwind of attention in a session’s latter days.  Folks realizing a crazy bill might actually become law kick things into gear in an effort to kill it, while it’s initial backers must step up their efforts to hold the line and hold off Johnny-come-lately vote-watchers seeking to derail their projects.

The bill discussed here is one I’ll jump out there and support from the beginning, though- as it’s a great step towards resolving one of our somewhat hidden (yet significant) housing problems:  folks not paying their HOA dues.  I really can’t see a logical reason to oppose the bill- but I’d say its passage is anything but certain.

As Mary Shanklin’s column explains, folks that are doing the right thing and paying their HOA dues as agreed are being hurt by others for whom the “neighbor” label doesn’t necessarily mean being neighborly.  Refusing to pay your debt to a mortgage holder or lien holder is your business- but failing to fulfill your obligations to your HOA and forcing the guy next door to pick up your slack is just plain wrong.

I’ll be following this bill closely as it moves along, and I’ll be hoping it passes.  The number of folks struggling to do the right thing in paying their dues seems to be dwindling with each passing day as it is- and I’d surely welcome seeing less of those folks hurt by others who’ve chosen not to meet their obligations.

The bottom line comes back to this Novel concept:  Pay your HOA dues or get out.