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W H AT M I G HT B E T H E F I R S T H OA
According to many, the first HOA was formed in the late 1940s. At the time, suburban
housing developments were becoming popular, and soldiers returning to the U.S. after
fighting in World War II were trying to find housing. Veteran Bill Levitt recognized this
and, with his brother Alfred and father Abraham, invested in more than 4,000 acres of
land on Long Island, New York, to address it. There, affordable housing was built using
innovative construction techniques, and by 1947, the community known as Levittown
was ready for residents.
Although Levittown didn't have a formal association—there wasn't a board of directors
or governing documents—the community had similar designs for home exteriors and
interiors, as well as rules and regulations for what you could do in the community and to
your home.
After starting Levittown, the Levitt family built more planned communities. Their
blueprint for success gained traction, and soon, other developers replicated similar
housing models: building communities of single-family dwellings governed by a set of
community standards. This was the foundation for the common living environments we
now know as HOAs.
Sources: Levittown Public Library, levittownpl.org/levittown-history
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