Four primary reasons drive this continued growth:
The Value of Collective Management. Americans have largely accepted the collective management structure of community association living. The private covenants and rules characteristic of associations are not novel in residential living, whether rental or ownership. Similar restrictions often exist in rental apartment lease agreements and in zoning laws and building codes that govern more traditional single-family, detached housing.
Privatizing Public Functions.
Local jurisdictions often require builders and developers to
create community associations as a requisite to new housing construction.
Because of the fiscal challenges faced by many municipalities, associations are
created with the stipulation that they will assume many responsibilities that
traditionally belonged to municipalities, including road maintenance,
utilities, trash pickup and storm water management. Privatization allows local
jurisdictions to approve the development of needed housing without having to
increase taxes to pay for additional infrastructure.
Expanding
Affordable Homeownership. Almost from their inception in the
1960s, condominiums have tended to serve as lower-cost housing, especially for
first-time buyers. This was especially true of early condominium conversions,
in which apartment buildings are refurbished into condominiums. Making housing
affordable for greater numbers of Americans has been a consistent goal of
federal, state and local governments for decades. Without the efficiencies
inherent in association development and operation, affordability would be an
even greater challenge.
Minimizing Social Costs and
Fostering Market Efficiencies. Community
associations not only maintain home values, but also reduce the need for
government oversight. Associations promote shared responsibility through
contractual membership, collective management, mandatory covenants and
agreements between the association and homeowners. Put simply, community
associations are an efficient way to provide services, assign payment
responsibility and be responsive to homeowner concerns and priorities.
Information from the Community Associations Institute (www.caionline.org):
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