What's the Difference Between an HOA and a Master-Planned Community in Scottsdale?

A homeowners association, or HOA, governs a single subdivision. A master-planned community is a larger development, often made up of several subdivisions, each with its own HOA, sitting under one master association that manages the community's shared amenities and infrastructure. Buy a home in a Scottsdale master-planned community and you may be paying dues to two associations at once, not one, and each carries its own set of rules.

This is common in Scottsdale, where many neighborhoods are organized around golf courses, guard gates, resort-style amenities, and shared open space that no single subdivision HOA could fund or maintain on its own.

Stephanie Pondevie is a Realtor in Scottsdale, Arizona, helping move-up families sell their current home and buy the next one as one coordinated plan.

A single-subdivision HOA typically manages the things close to your lot line. Front yard landscaping standards, exterior paint and roofing rules, fence and wall guidelines, and enforcement of the community's Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions, usually shortened to the CC&Rs. Dues fund things like common-area landscaping within the subdivision, a neighborhood entry monument, and reserves for eventual repairs to shared elements.

The board is typically made up of homeowners from that subdivision, and the decisions tend to be fairly local, your street, your entrance, your specific set of shared spaces.

In a master-planned community, the master association manages the larger shared infrastructure across the entire development. That can include a clubhouse, community pools separate from any private ones, a golf course if the community is built around one, major roadways and gates, parks, walking trails, and larger landscaped common areas that span multiple subdivisions.

Your monthly or quarterly dues in this structure often break into two lines, a sub-association fee for your specific subdivision and a master association fee for the larger community. Some Scottsdale communities add a third layer for exclusive amenities, such as a golf or social membership that is separate from the mandatory HOA dues entirely.

Because the combined dues in a layered structure can be meaningfully higher than a single HOA fee, and a listing that only shows one number may not be showing you the full picture.

Ask specifically for the total of every mandatory association fee tied to the property, not just the subdivision HOA. Ask whether any club or golf membership is mandatory as a condition of ownership, since some Scottsdale communities require it and others make it optional. Then ask how often each fee has increased over the past several years, since a community with aging shared infrastructure, a golf course, extensive common landscaping, resort-style pools, tends to see dues rise faster than a simpler subdivision.

Arizona law gives buyers a real window to review HOA information before they are locked in, and it is worth using fully.

Request the CC&Rs and bylaws for every association tied to the property, subdivision and master, if there are two. Request the most recent financial statements and, if available, the reserve study, which shows whether the association has set aside enough money for future major repairs or is likely to hit homeowners with a special assessment.

Request recent board meeting minutes, which often reveal what is actually being discussed, a pending dues increase, ongoing litigation, or a disputed repair, well before it shows up in an official notice. And ask directly whether there is any pending or threatened litigation involving the association, since that can affect both cost and your ability to get insurance or financing in some cases.

Here is what I'd do if this were my house. I would read the reserve study before I read almost anything else in the packet, because an association with underfunded reserves is one that is more likely to hit owners with a surprise assessment down the road, and that number matters as much as the monthly dues themselves.

When you buy into an HOA-governed property in Arizona, the seller is required to provide a resale disclosure package from the association, which includes many of the documents above along with a statement of the property's account status with the association. Sellers typically have a set number of days to deliver this after a request is made, and there is often a transfer or disclosure fee, paid at closing, that varies by association.

Review this package carefully during your inspection period. If something in it changes your view of the property, whether that is a large pending assessment, a rental restriction that does not fit your plans, or ongoing litigation, this is your window to raise it or reconsider.

Budgeting only for the number shown on the listing, which sometimes only reflects the subdivision HOA and not the master association fee.

Assuming amenities are included when a separate membership is actually required. Some Scottsdale golf communities require you to join the golf or social club as a mandatory condition of ownership, at a real additional cost.

Skipping the reserve study because the packet is long. This document is one of the best early warnings for future special assessments.

Not asking about rental restrictions if you might ever want to lease the home out. Some communities, particularly guard-gated master-planned developments, limit short-term rentals or cap the number of leased homes in a given year.

A master-planned community in Scottsdale often means two sets of dues, two sets of rules, and shared amenities that a single subdivision could not support on its own. Ask for the total of every mandatory fee before you fall in love with the amenities, read the reserve study before anything else in the disclosure package, and use your inspection period to raise anything that concerns you. The lifestyle these communities offer is real. So is the cost of not knowing the full structure going in.

Do I have to pay two HOA fees if I buy in a Scottsdale master-planned community?

Often, yes. Many master-planned communities charge a subdivision-level HOA fee and a separate master association fee. Ask for the total of both, plus any mandatory club or membership fee, before you budget for the home.

How do I find out if an HOA has enough money set aside for repairs?

Request the association's reserve study, a document that shows the condition of shared assets and whether current reserves are adequate to fund future major repairs without a special assessment. Your Realtor or the seller can request this as part of the resale disclosure package.

Can an HOA restrict me from renting out my Scottsdale home?

Some can. Rental restrictions, including caps on short-term rentals or a minimum lease length, are set in the CC&Rs and vary significantly by community. Review this specifically if leasing the home, now or in the future, is part of your plan.

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