Submitted by KindKill267 t3_107p0be in Pennsylvania
Me and my wife have been up to the Poconos area a couple of times now in the past few years and we're looking at buying a vacation home there. We really liked the lake area and also the winter activities. Does anyone have anything to say about the HOA communities up there like Indian Rocks, the Hideout, Lake Wallenpaupack Estates etc. It seems most homes are located in some form of planned community or another.
How so?
Drugs, corruption, waspy neighbors, airbnb guests acting like assholes, are all not unheard of. Im sure there's a few that arent too bad but you can get a much cheaper property the further north you go especially in Wayne County. Less obnoxious tourists and more nature. Pike also isnt too bad.
I used to service nearby areas when I was in pest control. Anecdotal but HOA didn’t stop people from having issues like the poster above me. Hell, you’re paying a monthly fee and your neighbors are breaking into each other’s houses. And I didn’t visit the places OP mentioned I don’t think but the state of disrepair some of them had. Or how the one place had to put up signs saying they needed to raise money to fix a bridge that looked and at was going to fall apart. Like the Miami condo collapse they didn’t keep up with maintenance on a lot of stuff.
They are all bad, 100% of them are awful. Avoid HOA's at all costs, or you WILL get lots of extra costs.
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If you ARE going to buy, make damn sure you fully read the HOA rules, things like color of house, where your trash cans can be, what you can have in your driveway,... and of course how much the monthly costs are compared to what you are going to use.
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Also, keep in mind that most HOA areas are for shared services, which means you are going share them with all the people there on vacation with Air BnB's/VRBO
OP, please listen to this person. I've lived in 2 HOA's in Monroe County (A Pocono Country Place and Timber Hill). I've also had friends who have lived in Saw Creek, Penn Estates and Ski Haven. HOA's are all god awful and I would never recommend any person lives in any HOA, ever.
I know everyone has their own wants and needs but if it were me I’d much prefer something up in the northern tier. Like the Tioga/Lycoming/Sullivan areas.
This is the way, but don’t tell everyone
I live in Cumberland county so not really interested in driving over 3 hours to get somewhere. I'm in it for the boating. We were looking at raystown lake because it's closer to us but feel outside of raystown lake there isn't much besides Huntingdon.
Personal sidenote, what we have been doing is camping at all of PA's awesome state parks and taking my smaller boat with us to use on the smaller lakes. I feel this is the way but my wife and kids want something more permanent I guess. That and winter camping is never fun haha.
Raystown lake is very nice although yeah maybe not so much in January lol.
Side note, I’m not sure if this is 100% true but I heard once that when Teddy Roosevelt was president he was so impressed with the PA state park system he used it as the blueprint when they did the national parks.
It's the best. My main goal in life is to camp at everyone and fill out my passport!
Towamensing trails is a little further south but has a great lake and beach among other amenities. The HOA fees are more reasonable than moat of the other developments in the area.
Our kids love the beach there.
Thanks!
The hideout is a larger development for the area with many amenities. Indian Rocks is an older, quiet non gated development. Depends what you are looking for . The Hideout has a lot of wealthier city second home and retirees from NYC area.
Just looking for something decent around 250-300k nothing crazy. The big draw for me is the lake. We have 2 small children so if there's stuff for the kids to do while not out on the water that's a plus.
Watch the show Ozarks before you make your decision. 😁
HOAs aren't inherently evil. Some can be bad, but there are just as many ones without any issues. "We had a discussion on snow removal and arrived at a sensible conclusion" doesn't make good clickbait journalism or Reddit karma, and people who say things like "I'm happy with my HOA community" usually get downvoted heavily.
Take a good look at what services are included with the HOA. In exchange for that monthly payment, what are you getting? What restrictions are in place? What rules would you have to follow if you wanted to, say, add a deck?
Just a reminder that the Idaho killer lived with his parents in a Poconos HOA community so ask around before you buy. Never know who might be next door.
spicynuggies t1_j3ntojx wrote
I wouldnt touch a listing in a hoa with a 10 ft pole, but the Poconos is especially bad and barelyfunctional.
Not worth the charges . Get a vacation home out in the middle if the woods or near a trail instead of in a development.