One thing that you need to be aware of with homeowner's associations is that they tend to play things close to the vest. While they are supposed to be, upfront with all of the homeowner's they tend to be very secretive and tell people that what goes on at board meetings is only for the board members to be concerned about. Homeowner's associations are supposed to provide you with full disclosure, which includes information on how homeowner association fees are being spent. If you feel like your homeowner's association is not giving you all of the information there are steps that you can take to see those records.

Something else that you need to be aware of is how much power the homeowner's association can have over you. If you end up conflicting with the board, they can begin to fine you for all of the little things that are included in the bylaws that you agreed to. For example, you can be fined for having too many rose bushes in your front yard. Homeowner's associations can also fine you for being a day late on your monthly dues or they can even lien your home if you fall too far behind. You want to be sure that you follow all of the rules for the association that you are living in and paying your dues on time.

Another thing that often happens inside homeowner's associations is that the board changes the rules as they go along. Normally this isn't supposed to happen because by law in order for the bylaws to be changed a majority of the homeowners has to agree to the change. However, what the board members do is they simply change their house rules, which is an easy way to sidestep the law. The thing with house rules is that they are just as binding as bylaws, but they can be rewritten without asking the homeowners. The thing is that even though this might be wrong it is still the board's right to be able to change the rules. In fact, the board has to be allowed to run the show. All that you can do is complain about the rules that you don't like as soon as they have been updated, and hope that things are changed. You will also need to stay updated to the changes in the rules so that you can complain as early as possible on the ones you don't like because the longer the rules are in place the harder they are to change.

One of the best ways to stay up to date on the rules that are being changed is to attend the monthly homeowner's association board meetings. These meetings are open to all homeowner's, but sometimes board members will do various things to keep people from attending the meetings. While you have every right to show up when you are at the meeting, they board members do not have to let you speak. This means that even if you are ignored at the meetings nothing can be done about it. The best thing that you can do if you don't agree with the boards decisions is to contact the board members individually or to put your complaint in writing.