Association living and lifestyle can be traced back to an origin of the late 17th century England when shared ownership and responsibility in common areas was necessary.
Beginning somewhere in the 1840’s, one of the first U.S. homeowners associations was organized to manage and protect Louisbury Square, located in Boston’s Beacon Hill.
Fast forward to the late 1970’s and early 1980’s and condominiums and homeowner associations began cropping up everywhere.
Associations were formed on the basis that when a developer or builder was holding title to private land – he/she held and maintained title until such a time all homes were sold and the developer/builder moved on. Individual homeowners then found themselves responsible for care and routine maintenance of these vast open spaces. Because this was private ground, local government or municipalities bore no responsibility for these areas. Thus the idea of an association was again conceived, whereby all the owners became members of an association, and in that regard would be assessed for necessary care and upkeep of these types of areas.
Today, CAI (Community Associations Institute reports that one in every six Americans, or 80% of all United States homeowners live in a community association.
