1. House Numbers Not Visible From Street
We were hesitant to purchase a home in an HOA, but decided to move forward given the low price point and HOA dues at Meritage's Live Oak development in Redlands, CA which aligned with our imminent retirement plans. Having resided in several HOA communities in the past, we had a full understanding of what this would entail and, accordingly, set aside a budget for any possible legal expenses. In general, however, we would dissuade our friends and family from purchasing a home in an HOA community given enforcement issues- draconian, monetizing, selective, lax, etc., as well as the fact that homeowners who reside in communities governed by an HOA do not have full control of their own homes.
Case in point, we had not yet been in our new home a month when we received a Courtesy Notice of Violation from the HOA. I recall my husband's face when he approached to tell me about it. He was in shock and had turned pale as he does when his fight-or-flight instinct is triggered. We have lived in and fought some very hostile HOAs in the past, so my husband and I definitely have a certain level of PTSD when it comes to HOAs and their property management companies. Anyway, I read the notice and was actually relieved to see that the property management company was doing it job (or so I thought). From my perspective, if I have to have an HOA, I prefer that this be a strict (but fair) one that will keep the community from falling into disarray.
We signed a purchase agreement for a brand new, all-electric home with window coverings, all appliances and solar-generated energy in December 2024, though we did walk away once prior to signing given our experience with Meritage's preferred lender who we found to be gimmicky. I should note that this is our third purchase of a brand new home and that we did not expect issues given that our previous two purchases were excellent experiences from start to finish-- as one would naturally expect with the purchase of a brand new home, right?
We moved-in to our new Meritage home in late February 2025 and immediately encountered problems. For starters, we took possession of our new home only to discover that there was no dryer in the laundry room. Evidently, someone at Meritage had erroneously ordered a GAS dryer for our all-electric home. We were provided with a "loaner" from one of the model homes and did receive an electric dryer within the week, but were, nevertheless, a bit annoyed. Meritage touts its all-electric homes, but drops the ball with a gas dryer?! How does something so rudimentary slip through the cracks?
The next problem we ran into relates to house numbers that are not visible from the street. For this point, I need to provide a bit of context: Meritage's Live Oak development in Redlands, CA has three different communities - Sycamore, Alder, and Willow - which are priced in the $800K+, $600K+, and $550K+ range, respectively. We purchased a home in the entry-level Willow community in which six 2-story homes (3 on each side) revolve around shared driveways which Meritage calls "motor courts". It is not possible to see Willow house numbers from the street, so a visitor unfamiliar with the community would have to drive approximately 1/3rd of the way into a given motor court to be able to see the house numbers of the properties closest to the street. Our property is located at the end of our court (furthest away from the street), so it is quite challenging to locate it unless we provide our guests with detailed directions aside from our address.
We did not get a grasp regarding the full breadth of this issue until a few weeks after our move-in when a Facebook Marketplace buyer came by for some items. The first thing he said when I stepped out to greet him was "... Good luck with this set-up! I had a hard time finding your place and was ready to turn around!" Shortly after that incident, we started noticing the house numbers and decals that other homeowners were installing on their respective properties. So, we, too, installed address numbers on our property, but subsequently received an HOA Courtesy Violation Notice that required us to pay a retroactive $75 Architectural Review Fee in order to keep the numbers. We decided to take down our numbers because we refuse to, effectively, be held financially responsible for Meritage's design and planning shortcomings.
I learned from Keystone, the community's property management company, that the fire department did not require that Meritage install house numbers that are visible from the street, so the builder did not take that added step- i.e., Meritage complied with the minimum requirements and, effectively, passed the buck to Willow homeowners and residents who struggle daily with having to provide detailed directions to our respective homes... and then have to ask for permission and pay a "review" fee to the HOA in order to be able to install house numbers on our respective properties.
UPDATE: In late June/ early July 2025, the HOA sent out a communication regarding its intent to allow Homeowners to install house numbers without a $75 fee nor Architectural Review, subject to design guidelines. This issue is to be addressed later in July 2025 during the next HOA meeting. We have argued, by way of Written Comments, that we are opposed to having to pay for house numbers on the basis that, as one of the most fundamental aspects of the purchase of a home, we believe that the builder, Meritage, bears responsibility for these. Anyway, there are many versions of house numbers (some really cool ones!) that have sprung up around the community and it'll be interesting to see how the HOA enforces its design guidelines. The Whack-a-Groundhog game suddenly comes to mind. 😆
Anyway, to help our visitors locate our property, I have to instruct them that our home is located at the end of the 7th driveway on the left hand side of Bergamot Street because they would, otherwise, have to drive into several motor courts to get a sense as to house numbers in order to locate our property through a process of elimination. In speaking to Meritage's Customer Service representative, Hector Estrada- who is a new homeowner's only contact with the builder as of the close of escrow- Meritage has received numerous complaints from Willow homeowners regarding this matter.
It is such an easy fix to slap some signage onto the properties closest to the street. Oh, but no- that would require an effort and financial investment on Meritage's part... and my sense is that Meritage will probably not budge without pressure from the community (see UPDATE above)... or worse - unless there's a catastrophe. And, that's really how we see Meritage - reactive (and sometimes not even that!), at best. From our perspective, this builder has been a surprising disappointment compared to the two others we have worked with in Los Angeles. We have had a series of issues - ranging from construction debris in the HVAC vents to pre-existing (and unabated) pest infestations to defective solar panels- in the 3 months or so that we have owned our home.
If you've recently purchased a home with Meritage (or any other builder, for that matter) you would be keenly aware of Meritage's aggressive solicitation of a high AVID rating. This is one of the few parts of the orientation tour that stood out for us. Based on its aggressive solicitation efforts, an excellent homeowner review is clearly of utmost significance to Meritage, presumably, because this forms part of its cumulative score which, in turn, becomes its "grade" in AVID, the largest and most comprehensive homebuyer experience database in North America. We gave serious thought to the survey and rated Meritage accordingly. Our After-Sales Customer Service rep, Hector Estrada, who informed us that his role is that of a Meritage's safety net (whatever that means!), was not very happy with our assessment.
