Approximately 26% of Americans live in community associations. That amounts to roughly 73 million Americans as of 2018.

A significant portion of these community associations tends to be homeowners associations (HOAs). HOA members band together to control how their community develops and reap benefits accruing from such granular control.

Are you thinking of joining an HOA? Here’s a brief guide to answer the question, “What is the point of a homeowners association?” for you to make the best decision.

What’s a Homeowners Association?

A homeowner association (HOA) is an organization within a community that creates and enforces the rules touching on the property and residents in that community. Some of the communities where you can find an HOA include a subdivision, a planned development, condominium buildings, and gated neighborhoods.

What Does an HOA Do?

As the name might imply, an HOA consists of members from the community it operates within. When you buy a property within the area an HOA operates in, you automatically become a member and are expected to pay HOA fees. Typically, you can’t purchase property in such areas unless you plan to be a member.

Many HOA members are volunteers who run the organization. In some cases, the HOA members can decide to hire an HOA management company that can help run the day-to-day functions more professionally.

An HOA has a board of directors or governors who are elected. Their job is to oversee and execute the organization’s rules and regulations.

These rules are usually codified in a Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&Rs). The document sets conditions that owners and their properties have to meet to continue living in the community.

In case anyone violates the terms and conditions, the CC&Rs set the penalties such a one must incur. These penalties include fees, forced compliance, and in extreme cases, litigation.

How Much Do HOA Charge as Fees?

Evey HOA member is expected to pay fees every month, quarter, or year depending on the rules. The fees go towards maintaining the community’s common areas like parks, walkways, lighting, pools, and clubhouses.

How much you pay depends on your HOA’s living conditions. For example, condominium owners in New York will likely pay more in fees than those in tract houses in Oregon. The amount varies from as low as $50 to as high as several thousand dollars.

HOA fees are typically non-negotiable. If you are buying the property in a buyer’s market, there’s a chance you can have the fees waived for a period as an incentive.

Does an HOA Have the Right to Raise Fees?

In a word, yes. However, any raise has to be in line with the community’s maintenance needs. The number of residents the HOA is serving also informs whether raising the fees is necessary.

Traditionally speaking, every HOA should have a reserve fund. The fund is meant to cover special projects or emergencies. But not all HOAs have a reserve fund.

For those that do, if the fund isn’t large enough, you may be charged a special assessment to raise more money. That can occur even without a majority vote as long as the HOAs structure allows it.

Things to Consider Before Joining an HOA

Before you buy that house under an HOA, there are several factors you ought to weigh that can inform your investment.

1. The Dynamics

A well run HOA is one where democracy reigns and the board works for the good of the owners. To feel the HOA’s dynamics, ask the realtor if you can attend a meeting. You can also request for past minutes from recent meetings to get a feel of the dynamics the organization may have.

2. The Finances

Before you join an HOA, you should request the real estate agent to furnish you with a copy of its latest financial report. In this report, you’re looking for the budget. Specifically, you will want to look at how much the HOA’s reserve fund has in the budget.

If the fund is adequate, then maintenance issues or emergencies can be sufficiently taken care of. However, if the HOA’s reserved fund isn’t adequate, it’s a cause for concern. That’s because anytime an emergency or special project will crop up, you will have to pay extra for it.

Take a closer look at the revenue the HOA generates in light of its expenses to gauge the reserve fund’s health.

3. Disputes

Sometimes ongoing disputes between HOA members can signal matters that may impact you if you become a member. Therefore, you must pay attention to any ongoing conflicts within the HOA that give you more insight into areas of concern.

For example, if you’re planning to join an HOA and learn of an ongoing dispute over missing funds, that can be a point of concern. Could it be that you may be forced to continue making extra payments as a future member? What if these repeated contributions are sizable? These are some of the issues that surface through HOA disputes.

4. Degree of Restrictions

Every HOA has its standard of living that all members have to agree to. Do you like a certain exterior home decor idea the HOA disapproves of? Tough luck. You’ll have to abide by their rules.

Since these are standards that will likely not go away, you have to determine if you are comfortable abiding by them before signing up.

Are HOA Rules Legally Enforceable?

An HOA’s rules are legally enforceable as its operations are governed by state laws. If you violate an HOA rule, the organization will request you to comply. Failure to do so attracts not only fines but even a lawsuit.

For any member that doesn’t pay their HOA fees, the organization will issue a warning. If you continue not to pay the fees, the HOA can place a lien on your house or force you to foreclose.

What Is the Point of a Homeowners Association?

Particular benefits come from the degree of control an HOA executes. However, HOAs are not to be taken lightly. Before signing up, ask yourself, “What is the point of a homeowners association?” To get a clearer picture that can help you make the right decision.

Are you looking to learn more about real estate? Check out more of our content for insightful information to help you make better decisions.

No Sports to Watch? 6 Sports Alternatives to Fill the Void

This pandemic has made life tough for everyone. It’s taken away many of the things that you’ve gotten used to having in your daily life.

None might be more important than the luxury of having live sports to watch whenever you so pleased. Now you’re trapped counting down the days (hopefully) until the major sports leagues return.

How are you supposed to fill your sports void? What are you to do now that there are no sports to watch?

See below for several alternatives that can help you get your sports fix while you wait for the major sports leagues to return to action.

1. YouTube Sports Videos

For those of you that have used YouTube before, you’re probably all too familiar with the amount of sports highlights that are accessible via the YouTube world. For those of you that haven’t, get ready for a whole new level of “awesome”.

What’s the next best thing to watching live sports? Watching highlights of some of the best sports moments, of course!

Almost any sports moment in history is within your grasp via a YouTube video. Many people dedicate their channels to finding and creating different sports videos for your enjoyment.

So… what kind of sports videos do they have? You can watch players’ highlights, game highlights, season highlights, team videos, sports rankings, and so much more. Better yet, you can fall down the rabbit hole of a Youtube Sports channel to pass the time.

2. Sim Sports

Perhaps one of the features of sports that you miss most is the ability to bet on different games.

It seems like just as more and more leagues were starting to embrace the betting space, the entire sports world just shut down in the blink of an eye.

Fortunately, there is one solution to this: SimSports. What are Sim sports you ask? It’s when you bet on the outcome of games such as Madden, NHL, FIFA, and NBA2K which are entirely computer-simulated.

The outcome is completely random, making it super entertaining and quite an engaging community to become a part of.

3. Sports Documentaries

Have you watched the ESPN documentary series The Last Dance based on the Chicago Bull’s run to their sixth NBA title? If so, then you know how powerful a sports documentary can be.

If that was your first exposure to how amazing sports documentaries are, then you’ve got a lot of catching up to do! There are several ESPN 30 for 30’s that you’ll enjoy every minute of.

In the spirit of giving you a top list to start with, you should check out the episodes You Don’t Know Bo, Celtics/Lakers: Best of Enemies, The Two Escobars, and Run Ricky Run.

These documentaries take you behind the scenes of some of the sports world’s most iconic figures and shed light on their backstories. Things you never knew before will come to light, making it something you’ll look forward to watching each night!

4. Video Games

You know how the old saying goes: if you want something done, sometimes you have to do it yourself.

In this case, if you want your favorite sports players to play, sometimes you have to make them play by yourself via video games.

No matter what major sports franchise you’re interested in, there’s an infamous game behind it. Games like FIFA, Madden, NBA2K, and NHL all offer the latest in cutting edge graphics to bring the sights and sounds of the real game to your home.

If you’re waiting for the NFL to start back up, start a franchise mode with your favorite team in Madden 20. If you’re bummed the MLB season still hasn’t started, then start a campaign on The Show 20.

Better yet, if you’ve always dreamed of becoming a superstar in your favorite league, now is the time to do so. Each sports game offers you the chance to create your player and play through your career. Take this time to make that dream a reality!

5. Sports Movies

Perhaps nothing passes the time better than binge-watching, and no form of binge-watching will get you as hyped as when you watch sports movies.

Better yet, there’s a motivational movie for every sport. If you want to get a baseball fix then watch timeless classics such as 42, The Rookie, Moneyball, Rookie of the Year, and The Sandlot.

If you want to watch some football movies, then you can’t go wrong with movies like The Blind Side, Invincible, Any Given Sunday, Remember the Titans, or We Are Marshall.

6. Read Sports Books

With so much digital entertainment in your life already, why not pass the time of “no sports” by diving into a good book?

There’s nothing quite like digging your nose into a sports book, which can offer you advice on coaching, advice on playing, background stories, motivation to excel, etc.

Be sure to start your list with books like The Boys of Summer, Heaven Is a Playground, Into Thin Air, and A Season on the Brink. If you have a sports hero in your life, odds are that they’ve written a book for you to enjoy. Take this time to finally read it!

Make Use of No Sports While You Can

Who said having no sports was all bad? It can be an opportunity for you to find new interests in the sports world.

Be sure to take this list and find a few ways that you like to get your sports fix. Who knows? You might hang on to them even after live sports come back!

Make sure to browse our website for more articles on sports, as well as many other helpful topics!

The United States has a long history of welcoming immigrants and refugees. Today, many people wish to flee their dangerous homelands to seek refuge in the Land of the Free.

At the same time, immigration and asylum are a contentious issue in the United States. Questions about how to seek refuge in the United States are being asked constantly.

So how does one receive asylum in this country?

How exactly does someone seek refuge in the country that has welcomed people from all over the world in order to give them a better life?

This guide will show you how to seek refuge in the country.

The Guide to Seek Refuge in the United States

It is imperative that you understand the rules so that you can properly seek refuge in the United States or help someone else move to the country.

Here is what you need to know:

1. Understand Asylum

First, you need to understand what asylum is. Asylum is a protection given to an individual who wishes to enter the United States. This protection allows them to enter and stay for a duration of time. This duration of time can be extended and can allow the individual to transition to permanent residency and eventual citizenship.

Asylum is granted on the basis of someone fleeing persecution in their native country. This persecution is based on the account of the person’s race, ethnicity, religion, nationality, group association, or political beliefs and affiliation.

If an individual can prove that they are being persecuted on any of the aforementioned factors, they may be granted asylum status in the United States.

2. The Legality of Asylum

Seeking asylum in the United States is completely legal. However, there are certain guidelines and laws that need to be adhered to.

The first rule is that an asylum seeker must enter through an official port of entry whether it is an airport or a land entry port. Entering through an area that is not designated as a port of entry is illegal and will likely disqualify the asylum seeker from receiving asylum.

An individual cannot apply for asylum from their native country or elsewhere. They have to simply show up at the port of entry and request asylum.

3. Considering an Immigration Lawyer

If the individual is able to seek the service of an immigration lawyer, then it is best advised to do so. They can help prepare your case and help fight on your behalf so that you can be granted asylum.

If the individual seeking asylum is detained by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency and kept in a detention center, then they will want to consider an immigration bond to bail them out. You can learn more here about these immigration bonds.

4. What Happens When Someone Shows Up?

So what happens when someone shows up at the port of entry and seeks asylum? Once they present themselves and request asylum, they are placed in immigration court removal proceedings or in expedited removal proceedings.

The first option allows the individual to present their case for asylum before a judge at a later date. The latter option gives the legal right for a border agent to immediately deport an individual without allowing the individual to present their case to a judge.

If an individual receives the latter treatment, they can appeal the decision prior to their deportation. If they can prove that there is a justifiable fear of return to their home country and still wish to receive asylum, then they will be scheduled for an interview in which they have to make the case as to why their fear of return is indeed justifiable.

This interview will be conducted by an asylum officer from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

5. Is Asylum Granted Often?

How often is asylum granted in the America of today? In 2018, slightly over 35,000 individuals were granted asylum in the country. Once asylum is granted, the individual may stay in the United States and will not be forced to return to their home country. They will have freedom of movement within the United States and in some cases, might be allowed to travel abroad and return.

If the individual is at the legal working age, they will be eligible to work and start a business in the United States. They will also be able to request asylum for their spouse and any children who are under the age of 21.

While many individuals may apply for asylum, they may not always be granted. As one can see from the aforementioned number, the number of asylees is relatively small compared to the number of legal immigrants. It takes a lot to be granted asylum and it is because of this that we recommend hiring an immigration lawyer.

6. Where Are Most Asylum Seekers Coming From?

As of the initial publication of this article, Venezuelans and citizens of Central American countries account for the largest number of asylum seekers.

In the case of Venezuela, many citizens are fleeing a failed economy, high rates of crime, and a corrupt government. Naturally, there are many political dissidents in Venezuela who are seeking asylum based on their political views.

In the case of Central America, many asylum seekers are fleeing from grave danger as gang violence has run rampant in many areas of different Central American nations.

7. Is It Becoming Harder?

In short, under the current administration rules have been tightened to make it more difficult for asylum seekers to receive asylum in the United States. The country is seeing unprecedented numbers of asylum seekers.

As a result, there are fewer factors that qualify someone from being considered a refugee. These include victims of domestic violence, those fleeing from gang violence, and members of the LGBTQ community.

One must always be updated with the latest developments. You can also address your concerns to the government if you feel these current requirements are unjust and unfair on those who seek refuge.

Seeking Refuge

Now that you know the laws and guidelines of how to seek refuge in the United States, you may be able to help someone seeking to come to our country and start a new and better life.

Be sure to read more news and our other great posts.

The best tips that you should follow each time you write an essay to ensure that you get the best results and get your message through to the audience.

To some students, writing good essays comes naturally whereas to others, they have to practice more often for them to master the art of good writing. Mastering the art of responding to the requirements of an essay in a proficient way is something that has to be learned as well as practised regularly. The good thing about learning how to write a great essay is that the same skills can be applied in writing any form of academic writing; whether it is a research, dissertation, or a reflective essay. One of the reasons why individuals encounter challenges in writing good essays is because they do it for the sake of external rewards such as scoring good grades or impressing the examiner. The problem is that when an individual pays too much focus on external rewards, it makes writing less fun and more difficult. When you focus too much on the external rewards, your subconscious, which is the source of your creativity, will shut down. It is also essential to understand some critical elements, such as the structure of a good essay. This essay will provide the most useful tips on how to write a good essay.

The primary thing that students forget when coming up with their essays is the fact that they need to communicate with their audience in a way that makes sense. They also need to ensure that they answer all the questions or prompts that may be provided in the instructions while remaining relevant to the topic. They also need to conduct proper research and use good references that show their readers that they actually took time to investigate the topic. When all this is done, the writer needs to find a way to write the essay and also a way to guide the audience by coming up with a good thesis statement for their work. This can be extremely challenging, especially to individuals that do not have experience. Another challenge is how to structure an essay properly based on the required format. Let us discuss some of the steps that you can follow when attempting to write a good essay.

Understand the requirements of the question

Although this may sound like a piece of general advice, the fact of the matter is that failure to have a good understanding of the question may result in disappointing grades. It is essential that you understand whether you are required to critically analyse, compare and contrast, or write about the importance of a given topic. When it comes to writing an essay, there are a given set of expectations, which are based on typical phrases found in the essay questions. When you are asked to provide the usefulness of something, you do not necessarily have to go so much deeper into the topic. Although you may comment on the weaknesses and the strengths, most of the essay should be devoted to the mentioning the usefulness.

Write a powerful thesis statement

As a student, it is important to conduct your research on how to come up with a good thesis statement or hypothesis from your essays. Not only does this powerful statement direct your writing, but it also helps the readers understand your main arguments early on in the paper, therefore, preparing them for what to expect in your writing. After you have a great thesis statement, it becomes easier to write your essay since you will work towards defending that thesis and showing your audience why your point of view is relevant. Always ensure that you can easily defend your position using research whenever you choose your hypothesis. Ensure that you write it our using proper language and write it at the beginning parts of your paper (opening paragraph). The reader should have an idea of what you want to show and hence the importance of doing it early.

Plan and schedule

The first step of writing a good essay is developing a good understanding of what the essay entails. The second important thing is making good use of the available time. It is unfortunate that most students underestimate the amount of time that is required to write a good essay. As a result, such students result in either spending late nights in the library or scoring disappointing marks. If you want to write a good essay, you should begin planning for the essay from the time you receive the instructions. Through developing deadlines, you will be determined to abide by them hence ensuring that most of the tasks are completed in time.

Read widely

Although writing is the main task, reading widely is also essential. You should ensure that you read different sources of information before you start writing your essay. One of the most important academic skills is learning to sift through a large volume of information. One of the tools that can be used to perform such activity is Google scholar since it can be used to search for information using keywords. Rather than spending too much time reading an entire article, one can simply go through the abstract. If the abstract is not providing sufficient information, one can go through the conclusion as it contains the summary of the article. A student would not want to spend too much of their time going through an endless number of articles only to find out they are not relevant.

Learn how to reference properly

When you are writing, you are most likely going to borrow ideas from other people or even use some of their work to defend your main arguments. Although time-consuming, it is imperative to learn the different styles of referencing academic articles, books, texts, websites, and other important sources. There are many styles, including APA, MLA, Chicago, and Harvard, to mention but a few. All these styles using different arrangements of information, and it is always expected that you will use the demanded technique. When you are able to reference your work well, you show your audience that you actually conducted good research and allow them the opportunity to verify your information. This is very important in all good essays, and you should ensure that you properly structure and reference all your essays for good results. Always try and look up the various structures and formats for each style each time you attempt to write an academic essay to avoid errors and inconsistency as you reference

Think critically

It isn’t easy to come across an article or theories that are perfectly written. Most of the theories, concepts, and articles have flaws. Although it is okay to be descriptive, it is important to show that you are able to make logical and critical reasoning when writing academic content. Your essay will be unique because of critical reasoning. It will show the examiner that you are not reiterating what has already been published but using the ideas presented academically. You can learn how to be critical by reading other published literature reviews where you will find that instead of the authors summarising the previous studies, they presented a critique to identify the gap, which they would fill.

Plagiarism and paraphrasing

Every time you use borrowed information, it is important that you give credit to the authors through citing where the information was retrieved. Students need to understand the difference between paraphrasing and quoting. The general rule of thumb when it comes to academic writing is to paraphrase whenever it is possible and using quotes only when an individual is clarifying the point they are making. Most students have difficulties in paraphrasing the words of the author without losing the intended meaning. Proper citation of sources will not only aid in proving the legitimacy of your content but will also assist in ensuring that you are not accused of cases of plagiarism. It is important to note that most learning institutions do not tolerate incidents of academic dishonesty. Therefore, to come up with a good essay, you must paraphrase well and evade from incidents of plagiarism.

Always edit and proofread your work

After you have conducted all your research, written the paper and ensured that you had included the proper references, you will most likely be very excited and want to submit your work as fast as possible. This is a wrong approach that has led to many students scoring lower grades than they expected. We are all human and human is to error. You will most likely make some mistakes that you will not easily notice in your paper unless you proofread and edit your paper. Ensure that you take your time to read the paper again and look out for any mistakes that you may have unintentionally made in your work and correct them as well as possible. Also, try and get the opinion of an independent individual by letting them read over your work. Once you have their comments, ensure that you go through your work again and perform all relevant edits. Remember to use great online tools like plagiarism and grammar checkers before you finally submit your essays to the relevant parties.

The life of a student can be challenging since an individual has to balance between working and school. The fact that an individual has tones of essays, which they are supposed to hand in, within a limited timeframe makes the student’s life more difficult. Most scholars who have enough time claim that they do not have enough skills to come up with high-quality essays. Some of them even add on by stating that writing essays are boring and that they do not have a clue of where to start. However, with the above tips, it is easier for students to write good essays. Writing a top-notch essay should not so difficult for a student.

The summer officially starts in the United States on June 20th, and that typically means barbecue. However, if you’ve never barbecued before or you’re looking for new inspiration, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer number of recipes you can find online!

We’re here to help you out. Whether you’re looking for salty or sweet, sides, or main dishes, we have all the necessities listed below.

Read on for our top five smoker recipes for you to try out this summer!

1. Sweet Smoked Pork Ribs 

The summer isn’t complete without some smoked pork ribs, and if you’re a fan of a little sweet with your salty, then this is the recipe for you.

The sweetness of these ribs comes from the brown sugar and white sugar that the recipe calls for. There’s also the surprising element of tanginess that the apple juice ends.

This is balanced out with onion, garlic, and chili powder, followed by some ground paprika and cumin. The rub balances out all of that sweetness and creates an extra layer of suprising flavor.

This recipe receives 4.5 stars out of 138 ratings. Users stated that the aroma and look of the ribs are just as good as the taste, and the rub can even be used with chicken or fish.

2. Smoked Mac and Cheese

No barbeque is really complete without great sides, and mac and cheese will always take the top spot as the ultimate comfort food. Cutsandcrumbles.com posted a great foundational recipe because you can add as many different toppings as you want.

The trick is to create a smooth roux, or a mixture of flour and butter, before you add cheese to the saucepan. They recommend a full 24 ounces of grated cheese for the cheesiest, creamiest result. In the recipe, they used 12 ounces of Colby Jack and 12 ounces of Sharp Cheddar, but it all depends on you.

Once the elbow macaroni and cheese has been prepped, they recommend adding them to an aluminum tray and cooking on indirect heat at 225 degrees Fahrenheit for about two hours.

Here are a few toppings ideas once your mac and cheese are all cooked:

• Hot sauce
• Grilled chicken
• Green onions
• Bread crumbs
• Crumbled bacon
• Lobster

3. Smoked Salmon

If you’re a pescatarian or you simply want a change of pace from the usual chicken, pork, and beef dishes, then this recipe from Honest-food.net is for you. It has a delicious sweet and savory flavor profile due to the addition of birch or maple syrup to baste your salmon.

It’s important that you plan ahead for four to eight hours to brine your salmon, but don’t exceed 48 hours or your fish will taste too salty. Once it’s out of the brine, you’ll want to dry your fish in a cool, breezy place for up to two hours. Next, you’ll use oil to peel off the skin.

Once you start cooking the fish, you’ll want it in the smoker for about an hour at 140 to 150 degrees Fahrenheit. If the heat is too high, your fish will dry out.

We like this recipe because it shares the foundational knowledge you need in order to properly smoke a fish. Users that had never smoked a fish before were happily surprised by how well their fish turned out after following the recipe.

4. Smoked Veggies

Smoked vegetables may not be as exciting as your main meat dish, but they make a healthier barbecue while also adding a burst of variety that makes your barbeque taste all the better. We liked this recipe from Gimmesomegrilling.com because of how easy it is to prepare the ingredients.

Prep and toss all your veggies in a bowl, then add some balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic, sea salt, and black pepper. Then, it’s as simple as tossing your veggies in a grilling basket and keeping them on the smoker for about 30 to 45 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Here are some veggies you can use:

• Red onion
• Red pepper
• Zucchini
• Yellow squash
• Eggplant
• Carrots
• Mushrooms
• Brussels sprouts

5. Semi-Smoked Apple Crumble Crisp

A barbeque without a little dessert just isn’t complete, and this smoked apple crumble will go well with a big scoop of cold ice cream on a warm summer day. This recipe of perfect for people who own a grill but not a smoker but still want that slight smokey flavor. If you’re looking to invest in a smoker, you can use a Masterbuilt electric smoker.

It’s recommended to use a cast iron pan for this and to place it over indirect heat. They recommend cast iron since it can hold up to extremely high heat, which is necessary on a grill or smoker where you don’t have complete control over the temperature.

If you notice the fire going down, add more wood chips. However, you should always have a grill thermometer on hand so you can keep track.

Keep the dish covered for the first fifteen minutes, then uncover it and finish it up. The topping contains delicious oatmeal and brown sugar, while the filling has apples, orange zest, lemon zest, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

The addition of citrus ingredients adds a nice acidic balance to all the sweetness.

Smoker Recipes: The Key is Variety

You may have noticed that these smoker recipes all have variety. Having a great barbeque is more than just cooking the best meat dish and calling it a day; they also come with great sides and desserts.

No matter if you have a grill or a smoker, these recipes are also flexible enough to adapt to the tools you have on hand. Want more barbeque tips for this summer? Keep reading our blog for more tips and tricks!