On Wed, 29 Aug 2007 06:59:35 -0700, "Roger Shoaf"
wrote:
"Bruce L. Bergman" wrote in message
.. .

If the HOA is run properly by conscientious people, they work. They
bargain a good rate for the gardeners, and fund reserve accounts so
they can replace big items like roofs every 12 years without any
Special Assessment surprises needed. And if you can't live with the
rules they told you about when you bought in, that's your problem.

I wonder what kind of roof is only expected to last 12 years?

Flat ones with built-up composition roofing. You might get 20 to 25
years out of a roof on a single-family house with extraordinary care.
But HOA's rarely spend the extra money on the "extravagance" of making
an extra-reinforced deck under the roof and putting down walk-path
pads on top of the finished roof - to their own detriment.

With 'constant' (relatively, for a roof) foot traffic up there in
all random directions from repairmen fixing the HVAC equipment, Sat TV
antennas, etc., the roofs rarely see 20 years before the leaks start.

-- Bruce --