Our road was thought to be a public road, but after lots of research, we actually found a deed as to who owned it...a private person, not the town. A HOA is a good idea. The one thing that has not been mentioned here but is the biggest worry is liability if someone is hurt/injured on the private road that YOU are now maintaining. The lawyers will look to you for negligence in maintaining a safe roadway if someone gets hurt. Your homeowners insurance does not cover you unless the road cuts through your deeded lot, as insurance usually stops at your property lines. We did find that by having a HOA, we could then purchase a comprehensive general liability policy to cover us. Costs are not huge for $1M of coverage. Without a HOA, you cannot get the insurance, as individuals cannot insure something they do not own. There are lots and lots of HOA in NH. Go to the State of NH Web site or the NH Secretary of State home page and you can search for Non Profit corporations. Their By-laws and articles of incorporation are all there to see and use. Costs are fairly low to incorporate. Read through a number of them...some are simple and others more complex. It's all about liability that you need to protect yourself from. This is a big deal !
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