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2007 National Survey
The Foundation for Community
Association Research commissions a
periodic survey of Americans who live in common-interest communities. These
nationally representative surveys are conducted to assess the perceptions of
those who living in common-interest communities and to identify recent trends.
Below are selected findings from our most recent survey, conducted in November
2007 by Zogby International. Zogby conducted telephone interviews with 709
randomly selected adults residing in homeowners associations, condominiums,
cooperatives and other planned communities—collectively called "community
associations" in this summary. The margin of error is +/- 3.8 percentage points.
Download
the full Zogby report (PDF), which includes data from similar
research conducted in 2005. Totals may not equal 100% due to rounding
Selected Findings
2007 Zogby
International Survey of Community Association Residents
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On a scale of
one to five, with one being very bad and five being very good,
how would you rate your overall experience living in a community
association?? |
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Negative (1 & 2) |
9% |
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Neutral (3) |
19 |
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Positive (4 & 5) |
72 |
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Do the rules in your community protect and enhance property values, harm
them or make no difference? |
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Protect and enhance |
74% |
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Harm |
3 |
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No
difference |
22 |
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Not
sure |
2 |
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Do you think the members of your elected governing board strive to serve
the best interests of the community as a whole? |
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Absolutely |
47% |
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For
the most part |
41 |
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Not
at all |
10 |
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Not
sure |
3 |
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Overall, would you say you are on friendly terms with your current
community association board, or would you say you are on unfriendly
terms with them? |
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Friendly terms |
89% |
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Unfriendly terms |
5 |
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Not
sure |
6 |
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Does the manager provide value and support to residents and the
community as a whole? (1) |
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Yes |
73% |
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No |
21 |
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Not
sure |
6 |
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Asked of those who report having direct interaction with the community
manager: Was your interaction with the manager generally a positive
experience? |
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Yes |
79% |
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No |
20 |
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Not
sure |
2 |
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Considering your overall assessments and the services provided by your
association, how would you describe the return for what you pay in
assessments?* |
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1
Great |
24% |
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2
Good |
53 |
Positive |
(1+
2) |
77% |
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3
Not so good |
15 |
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4
Bad |
5 |
Negative |
(3
+ 4) |
20% |
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5
Not sure |
3 |
*Respondents were asked how
much they pay in monthly assessments. 18% pay less than $25; 20% pay $25-50; 16%
pay $51-100; 22% pay $101-300; 9% pay $301-500; 4% pay $501 or more; 12% don’t
pay dues or could not say how much.
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What do you think your community should do when residents neglect to pay
their assessments? |
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Insist that every homeowner pay the assessments, involving attorneys
only if delinquent accounts are not brought up to date after sufficient
notification |
70% |
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Make up the loss by increasing assessments for paying homeowners |
3 |
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Curtail services and amenities such as reducing pool hours, delaying
improvements and spending less on landscaping |
8 |
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Not
sure |
20 |
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The governance of community associations is subject to differing state
laws and regulations. Would you like to see more government control of
these associations? |
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Yes |
17% |
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No |
80 |
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Not
sure |
4 |
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Did the fact that your current home is in a community association make
you more likely to purchase or rent your home, make you hesitant about
purchasing or renting your home, or have no impact?* |
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More likely |
30% |
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Hesitant |
9 |
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No
impact |
61 |
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Not
sure |
1 |
*89% of respondents knew they
were moving into a community association before they purchased or rented their
homes
NOTE: The following 2007
questions pertaining to energy and environmental issues were not asked in the
August 2005 survey conducted by Zogby International.
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Who should
determine how community association prioritize and address
environmental issues? |
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Association Homeowners through their elected board |
66% |
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Local governments |
20 |
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State government |
5 |
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Federal government |
3 |
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Not
sure |
6 |
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Should community associations, as private organizations, be forced by
government to allow individual residents to hang their laundry on
clotheslines that are visible to their neighbors? |
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Yes |
18% |
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No |
74 |
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Not
sure |
8 |
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Should community associations, as private organizations, have the right
to control the scope and placement of solar panels on individual homes
to maintain architectural standards? |
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Yes |
59% |
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No |
35 |
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Not
sure |
6 |
Founded in 1984, Zogby
International is a respected, independent public opinion research firm based in
Utica, NY, and Washington, DC.
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