A home owners association (HOA) is something that is becoming more and more familiar to new home owners who are moving into new communities in North Carolina, especially if those communities consist of townhomes or condominiums.  An HOA is an association of homeowners that enforce certain rules and restrictions within a community.  In order to do this, an HOA will charge certain fees each month (or however it is worked out in that particular community) in order to maintain certain policies that are in place.  For instance, if you live in a townhome community, you’ll probably pay an HOA fee that will cover such things as: lawn service, pool service and maintenance, street lights, road repairs, any exterior problems with the maintenance of your home, and the installation of playgrounds, etc.  If you are thinking of buying a new home, make sure you find out if the neighborhood has any HOA fees and how they are used.