If You Want to Avoid HOAs In Greenville... Good Luck

Some homebuyers arrive in Greenville with a plan: find a house, skip the HOA, keep freedom intact. The reality? As this episode of Selling Greenville makes clear, avoiding HOAs in the Upstate can feel like a full-time job—especially if you want to stay near shops, schools, and the places you actually live your life. The host lays out what HOAs offer, what frustrates people about them, and—most importantly—what the numbers say about how often (and where) you can realistically dodge them.

Along the way, he shares a personal catalyst: moving out of an HOA community himself. That decision, plus dozens of client conversations, shaped a candid breakdown of why so many buyers want out—and why the market often has other plans.

The Uphill Quest to Avoid HOAs in Greenville

“Avoid HOAs in Greenville” isn’t just a wish list line item; it’s a competitive sport. In the Upstate’s urban and suburban areas, HOAs dominate. The host pulled a year of Greenville MLS sales (14,196 total as of August 17) and found 54.8% of sold homes were in HOAs and 45.82% were not. That tilt toward HOA communities grows stronger the closer you stick to population centers—and the higher you climb in price.

The kicker: buyers who won’t consider an HOA are often competing over a smaller, scattered pool of properties, many of them rural, older, or in need of updates. Translation—more demand, fewer options, tougher trade-offs.

Why people choose HOAs (even when they grumble)

Not everyone dislikes HOAs. When residents do like them, it usually comes down to benefits that would be impractical—or wildly expensive—to replicate on a single property:

• Amenities that spread the cost: Community pools, playgrounds, trails, lakes/ponds, and shared common areas are frequent draws.

• Lower-maintenance living: Depending on the community, HOAs may handle yard care for the neighborhood, and in townhomes/condos, they typically take care of exterior maintenance.

• Lifestyle packages in specific niches: Some retirement communities include on-site services (like nurses or meal support). At the other end of the spectrum, high-end neighborhoods may fold golf or country club access and exterior/yard maintenance into premium dues.

• Neighborhood standards: Rules can curb neglected yards, deteriorating fences, ad-hoc add-ons, and driveway storage that affects curb appeal.

For those who value convenience, shared spaces, and predictability, those trade-offs can feel worth it.

Why so many want out of HOAs

On the flip side, the most common complaints are just as consistent:

• Cost (and surprises): Dues are an ongoing line item, and owners don’t control the knob. Worse, special assessments happen. Real examples from the episode:

  • A condo building (elsewhere in South Carolina) with failing elevators required owners to pay thousands on top of already high dues.

  • The host’s current community was once assessed for retention pond work; pools needing major repairs can trigger assessments, too.

• Boards that feel off-balance: Boards can be too lax where residents want strictness, and too strict where residents expect flexibility. A few strong personalities often steer decisions—sometimes for years—while others become “yes” votes.

• Broad rules with odd outcomes: Want to tuck a small, pristine RV in the driveway for a weekend? A blanket “no RVs” rule may block it—while a rusty truck of similar size can sit indefinitely because it’s technically a vehicle.

• No homesteading: Most HOAs restrict poultry and other animals (pigs, horses, cows), which clashes with the post-COVID rise of homesteading and mini-farms.

• Cookie-cutter feel: Especially at lower price points, HOA subdivisions often read as “same-same,” a function of how many modern developments have been built.

The host captures a common refrain: when people do want an HOA, it’s usually for the pool. Otherwise, many would prefer to skip the rules—and the invoices.

The data: where HOAs are (and aren’t)

To ground the debate, the episode digs into a 12-month MLS snapshot (as of August 17):

• All sales (14,196 total):

  • 54.8% in HOAs

  • 45.82% not in HOAs

• Under $200,000:

  • 80% not in HOAs.

  • Why? The host didn’t filter out mobile homes or very rural stock; the bulk of this bracket sits outside subdivisions, where HOAs are rare.

• $200,000–$350,000 (7,240 sales):

  • 55.1% in HOAs

  • 44.82% not in HOAs

  • Of the non-HOA homes here, the vast majority are still in rural areas. He estimates only about 20% of non-HOA options in this band are in the suburban parts of Greenville—thin pickings if you’re trying to be close-in without an HOA.

• Above $350,000:

  • 68.32% in HOAs

  • 31.6% not in HOAs

  • This ratio holds as you climb into the millions; many of the most expensive neighborhoods rely on strict HOAs to stay exclusive.

He also notes: if you exclude the sub-$200K bracket entirely (2,290 of the total 14,196 sales), the share of homes in HOAs across the remaining price points would likely land around the 60–65% range. In other words, once you’re above entry level, the odds tilt even harder toward HOA land.

Geography: where non-HOA hides

If you truly want to avoid HOAs in Greenville, odds are you’ll be driving farther. The episode repeatedly ties non-HOA inventory to rural locations. There are pockets that offer a compromise—think rural edges near downtown Travelers Rest, Easley, or Simpsonville—but trying to be close to downtown Greenville and non-HOA at the same time is “really hard to find.”

Another hard boundary: condos and townhomes. With very few exceptions (he estimates 1–2%), they do come with an HOA. If you’re being pushed into attached housing for budget reasons, plan on HOA dues.

One nuance worth remembering: some neighborhoods sell outside memberships to their pools. That means you could live in a non-HOA home and still join a nearby pool—no covenant bundle required.

The market pressure on non-HOA homes

Because so many buyers want to ditch HOAs, non-HOA homes draw more competition. That demand bleeds into the kinds of compromises buyers end up making:

• Older homes and quirkier floor plans

• More updates needed

• Rural or “rural-adjacent” settings

From a seller's perspective, being non-HOA is a market value add—even if appraisers don’t formally credit it on a report, the market often will. That preference shows up in bidding and speed when the right non-HOA home appears.

Boards, power, and the “People Problem”

The episode doesn’t shy away from the social dynamics inside many HOAs. Having served on multiple boards, the host points to a pattern: one or two personalities often dominate discussion and outcomes, regardless of board size. That can lead to uneven enforcement—strict on front-yard landscaping, lenient where some residents wish rules were tighter—and a general sense that policy flows from whoever has the time and appetite to push it.

It’s not universal, but it’s common enough that it comes up again and again in client conversations—and it’s one more reason some owners decide to move.

Practical takeaways from the episode

• If you’re dead set on skipping HOAs, expect rural or rural-adjacent options—and know you’ll be competing with other buyers who feel the same way.

• The closer you want to be to Greenville’s urban core (and the higher your budget), the more you’ll run into HOAs.

• If you can live with an HOA for one specific benefit (say, a pool), consider whether a neighborhood offering outside pool memberships can give you the same lifestyle without the full rules package.

• Condos/townhomes almost always include HOAs—plan accordingly.

• For owners of non-HOA properties, that attribute is a market advantage—especially given how thin the non-HOA supply is in close-in areas.

The host also notes he regularly sets up non-HOA searches inside the local MLS; those internal tools surface options that third-party portals often miss. (His contact info is listed in the show notes of the episode.)

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Bottom Line

The Upstate was built for HOAs—especially over the last 20–30 years—and the sales data proves it. More than half of recent closings landed inside HOA communities, a share that jumps as budgets rise and commutes shorten. Want to avoid HOAs in Greenville? It’s possible, but it usually means going farther out, competing harder, and compromising on age, updates, or layout. For many, the math still pencils out. For others, a well-run HOA with the right amenities makes the rules (and the dues) tolerable. Either way, understanding how the inventory actually breaks down is the difference between wishful thinking and a plan that works.

Ien Araneta

Journal & Podcast Editor | Selling Greenville