By Sharon Bush - Irvine, California -
They can dictate the color of your home. They can place a lien on your property and foreclose on it. They can tell you the type and height of your fence and when to repair your roof. Imagine an invasive private form of government that can do all of the above and can also tell you whether you can have a basketball hoop over your garage, or even how long you can keep your garage door open. "They" exist. "They" are called homeowners' associations. They are alive and their presence threatens homeowners everywhere.
There are approximately 231,000 homeowners' associations in the United States, which is an increase from a mere 500 in 1965[fn1]. Homeowners' associations control the housing of some 47 million Americans across the country.[fn2] In California, there are more than 32,000 homeowners associations.[fn3] Approximately fifty percent of all new homes built in major metropolitan areas fall within homeowners' associations. [fn4] In south Orange County, located on the coast of California, that number is even higher. There, more than eighty percent of new housing is under association control.[fn5]
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