October 12, 2025
Hi Reader,
With recent legislative changes, like California's new law capping HOA fines at $100 per violation and Maryland's mandate for reserve studies in all condo and HOA communities—both taking effect October 2025—we thought now was an ideal time for Purgula to take a deep dive into the current state of HOAs and their future.
Helping us with this endeavor is Vicki MacHale, a 30+ year veteran of the community association industry, and founder of The CASA Alliance. Anyone who cares about the HOA industry would be wise to follow her LinkedIn account, as she is a lone, brave voice during a time that needs courageous action.
Before hearing some of her provocative opinions, please note that she is absolutely NOT anti-HOA. She is against poorly-managed HOAs that are refusing to see the writing on the wall (e.g. upcoming insurance challenges and costly repairs).
MacHale warns:
"The Common Development Industry is set to experience more explosive growth, as more and more municipalities attempt to balance their budgets through the approval of HOAs as a means to offload maintenance and financial obligations typically paid for through taxes."
What began as a niche for amenity-rich, picture-perfect neighborhoods has morphed into America's go-to housing model—yet, according to MacHale, HOAs are teetering on the edge of crisis. Years of skimping on reserves, coupled with tightening laws and a brutal insurance crunch, have left boards scrambling:
"All of the pennies they saved in the past are now going to cost them dollars."
Enter the opportunists—conglomerates, private equity firms, and financial giants— circling like vultures, who are fueled by events like the Surfside condominium collapse. Short-term fixes abound—loans to patch deferred repairs, quick infusions to stabilize communities—but MacHale sees the hook:
"Short-term convenience is being traded for long-term pain," turning HOAs into "financial feeding grounds" from which escape may become impossible.
As smaller community management firms get squeezed out by tech-savvy giants, homeowner choice will erode. One day, MacHale muses, residents may not even recall a time before this entanglement. Her advice? Read George Orwell's Animal Farm—a stark reminder that "power unchecked leads to pigs in suits calling the shots!"
As a productive counter to these stark warnings, we also created two helpful HOA guides—encompassing more of MacHale’ expertise—for prospective homebuyers considering an HOA community, as well as for homeowners currently living in an HOA neighborhood:
PS: Our previous newsletter can be found here and our archive here.
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