Matthews NC HOA Fees: Your Dues and the Town’s Own Services

If you’re house hunting in Matthews from another state, there’s a good chance someone has already told you to budget for a homeowners association. It’s fair advice as far as it goes, and on a townhouse here it’s almost always right. It just isn’t the whole picture. Across the 262 homes listed for sale in Matthews NC on September 28, 2026, only 144 carry a monthly association fee. The other 118 carry none at all, and the median among the ones that do charge is $120 a month (Redfin active listings, pulled September 28, 2026).

Matthews NC HOA fees run from $4 a month to $474 a month depending on what you buy, and the dues at one end of that range buy something very different from the dues at the other. Matthews is a town in Mecklenburg County, southeast of Uptown Charlotte, and it runs its own trash, recycling and yard waste service, which changes what an association fee here is paying for.

15 min read | By Steve Jarrell, The Longleaf Group at eXp Realty | Updated September 2026

What This Guide Covers

• So what do Matthews NC HOA fees cost?
• Nearly half the homes for sale here have no HOA at all
• What Matthews NC HOA fees buy, and what the town already covers
• Where the money goes when you fall behind
• The budget vote that passes whether you show up or not
• What to read before you sign anything
• Frequently asked questions

So what do Matthews NC HOA fees cost?

It depends almost entirely on what kind of home you buy, and the gap between the types is large. If you’re buying a detached house in Matthews, the median association fee is $55.50 a month. A townhouse runs you $249. The four condos on the market are between $405 and $474. Those medians count only the listings of each type that charge a fee, taken across every active listing in town on September 28, 2026, and the property type does more to set your fee than the neighborhood does.

Two limits on those numbers before you lean on them. They describe homes currently for sale, not every home in Matthews, so a neighborhood where nothing happens to be listed this month isn’t in the count. And the condo figure rests on four listings, which is too thin to treat as a rule. The house and townhouse medians rest on 100 and 40 fee-charging listings, and those you can plan around.

One thing catches people moving in from out of state: an association is not a given in Matthews. Of the 262 homes on the market as I write this, 118 carry no fee at all, and nearly all of those are detached houses. If a monthly dues payment is something you’d rather not carry, that’s a filter you can apply here without cutting your list down to nothing. It’s worth confirming town by town as you narrow the search, because the split isn’t the same everywhere.

Nearly half the homes for sale here have no HOA at all

118 of the 262 homes listed in Matthews on September 28, 2026 carry no association fee. Almost all of them are detached: 107 of the 118 no-fee listings are single family rather than townhouse or condo.

Which makes a no-HOA search a real option here, not a wish.

Where to look follows from the split by type. Of 207 detached houses on the market, 107 have no fee and 100 do. Townhouses go the other way: 40 of 51 carry one, and all four condos do. So if avoiding dues is a priority, you’re shopping detached, and accepting that you’ll handle your own siding, roof and yard.

Both sides of that deserve stating plainly rather than being sold one way. A no-fee house saves you the $666 a year the median Matthews house fee works out to, and it hands you every exterior decision and every exterior bill. An association at the $249 townhouse median takes the yard and often the roof off your list, and takes your vote on the paint color with it. Neither one is the right answer. They’re different products, and the exterior cost turns up either as dues or as bills you pay yourself.

Monthly HOA fees by property type, Matthews NC, across 262 active listings on September 28, 2026. Median and range cover only the listings of each type that charge a fee (source: Redfin).

Property type	Listings	Carry a fee	No fee	Median a month	Range
Detached house	207	100	107	$55.50	$4 to $302
Townhouse	51	40	11	$249	$155 to $474
Condo	4	4	0	$450	$405 to $474
All residential	262	144	118	$120	$4 to $474

For context on what those dues sit alongside, the median sale price in Matthews was $494,673 over the three months ending August 2026, down 3.9% from the same period a year earlier, with homes going under contract after a median 44 days on the market against 36 days last year (Redfin market data for Matthews). A $249 townhouse fee comes to $2,988 a year, or about 0.6% of that median sale price annually, which is real money over a decade of ownership and belongs in the spreadsheet next to the tax bill rather than turning up at closing.

What Matthews NC HOA fees buy, and what the town already covers

If you’re coming from a metro area where the association bill included the trash bill, drop that assumption at the state line. In Matthews your trash, your recycling and your yard waste are handled by the town, not by your association. Mecklenburg County states plainly that it does not collect curbside trash or recycling anywhere in the county, and that collection is performed by the City of Charlotte or by one of the towns. For Matthews, the county lists the town as providing garbage and yard waste collection with curbside recycling supplied free of charge (Mecklenburg County municipal curbside collection).

Specifics come from the hauler the town contracts with. Matthews Town Council voted unanimously to move solid waste, recycling and yard waste collection to Waste Pro, and since July 1, 2023 residential service has meant a 96 gallon cart with once a week garbage pickup, single stream recycling every other week in a second 96 gallon cart, weekly curbside yard waste removal, and bulk pickup on call and scheduled in advance (Waste Pro, Town of Matthews).

That matters because in plenty of metro areas an association fee is partly a trash bill. So when you look at a $249 townhouse fee here, you should be able to point at what it’s paying for, and pickup is generally not on the list.

So what are you paying for? In ascending order of cost, it’s a fairly predictable ladder. At the bottom, well below the $55.50 house median, you’re usually funding a neighborhood entrance, a strip of common landscaping, a little liability insurance and the cost of having an association exist at all. Move up toward the $120 town median and you’re usually also paying for real common area maintenance, often a pool or a clubhouse with a maintenance schedule behind it.

Higher up, the association starts taking work off your hands. At the townhouse level near $249, it typically absorbs exterior items that would otherwise be yours: lawn care on your own lot, sometimes siding and roof reserves, sometimes the master insurance policy on the structure. At the condo level, the fee is close to a full exterior and common element budget plus insurance.

The Planned Community Act gives an owners’ association the powers behind all of that. It may adopt budgets and collect assessments for common expenses, hire and discharge managing agents, regulate the maintenance and repair of common elements, and impose charges for their use. What the statute does not do is guarantee any particular service is included. Your declaration decides that, which is why the documents matter more than the dollar figure.

In most of Matthews you’re not paying an association to take your garbage, because the town already does. On a private street an association may still contract its own pickup, so ask. Either way, everything above the entrance sign and the common lawn has to be justified by something else in the budget.

Where the money goes when you fall behind

North Carolina gives associations real teeth, and the numbers are set in statute rather than by your board, which is better news than it sounds. Knowing the ceilings tells you when a management company is quoting you something it cannot charge.

A late charge on an unpaid assessment cannot exceed the greater of $20 a month or 10% of the unpaid installment. Interest on a past due assessment is capped at 18% a year, and for communities created before January 1, 1999 interest can only be charged at all if the declaration provides for it. After 30 days unpaid, the association may also suspend privileges and services, though never your right of access to your own lot, so the pool key can go before anything else does.

Then comes the lien. Any assessment that stays unpaid for 30 days or longer becomes a lien on your lot once the association files a claim of lien with the clerk of superior court. Before it files, the association has to mail you a statement of what’s owed, by first class mail, no fewer than 15 days ahead, to the property address and to your address of record (N.C.G.S. 47F-3-116).

Foreclosure is the end of that road and it is a real one. Once an assessment has gone unpaid for 90 days or more, the association may foreclose the claim of lien under power of sale, the same way a mortgage or deed of trust is foreclosed. It cannot do that automatically: the executive board has to vote to begin the proceeding against your specific lot. The association is also entitled to recover its reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs of collection, which is how a few hundred dollars of missed dues turns into a few thousand.

None of this should keep you out of an association.

It should change one thing: how you treat the autopay setup on closing day. The gap between a $249 payment you forgot and a lien on your house is 30 days, a mailed statement and a filing. Foreclosure comes into play at 90 days unpaid, which is two more missed payments after that.

The budget vote that passes whether you show up or not

The mechanism that decides what you’ll pay next year works backwards from how most buyers assume it does. In a North Carolina planned community, the executive board adopts a proposed budget and then, within 30 days, sends every owner a summary of it and a notice of the meeting to consider ratifying it. That meeting has to happen between 10 and 60 days after the summary goes out.

The part people miss is what happens at that meeting. There is no quorum requirement for that meeting, and the budget is ratified unless a majority of all the owners in the association votes it down (N.C.G.S. 47F-3-103). Not a majority of those attending. A majority of everyone. In a 200 home community, that’s 101 owners who have to turn up and vote no, and if 12 show up and all 12 object, the budget passes anyway. If the owners do reject it, the last ratified budget simply continues until the board proposes one that survives.

One limit on that, and it’s the kind of thing to check on an older street. The ratification rule sits in a part of the Act that governs planned communities created on or after January 1, 1999. An association older than that follows its own declaration on how budgets get adopted, while the assessment, lien and records rules further up this page do reach those older communities unless their articles of incorporation or declaration expressly say otherwise (N.C.G.S. 47F-1-102). Matthews has housing stock on both sides of that date, so ask which one you’re buying into.

So when you ask whether they can raise your dues without a vote, the accurate answer is that there’s a vote, and its default outcome is yes. Know that before you buy into a community carrying deferred maintenance, because the increase that pays for it won’t need anyone’s enthusiasm to pass.

What to read before you sign anything

North Carolina gives you two documents you can demand before closing, and it caps what they cost. Both are worth the price.

First, the statement of unpaid assessments. On written request, the association has to tell an owner or their agent what’s owed on a lot, and it has to do so within 10 business days. The statement is binding on the association, the board and every owner, which is what makes it useful at closing. The fee is capped at $200 per statement, with an additional expedite fee of up to $100 if you ask within 48 hours of closing (N.C.G.S. 47F-3-118). Budget the $200 and request it early rather than paying the rush premium.

Second, ask for the annual financial picture. The association must make an annual income and expense statement and a balance sheet available to every owner at no charge, within 75 days of the close of its fiscal year. Owners can also vote at an annual or special meeting to require a fuller compilation, review or audit of the books. That balance sheet is where the reserve sits, and the reserve tells you whether today’s dues are the real cost of the place or a number being held down.

The figure on the listing is the smallest part of what you’re agreeing to. A low fee next to a thin reserve is not a bargain, it’s a special assessment you haven’t been handed yet, and I’d rather buy into a townhouse community at the $249 median with money in the bank than one well under it with a roof cycle coming and nothing set aside. Ask for the budget and that balance sheet while you’re still in due diligence and have room to walk. Any association that’s run well will hand them over without a fuss, and the ones that hesitate have told you something.

Frequently Asked Questions About Matthews NC HOA Fees

What are the average HOA fees in Matthews NC?

Across the 262 homes listed for sale in Matthews NC on September 28, 2026, 144 carried a monthly association fee and the median among them was $120 a month. It splits sharply by property type: a median of $55.50 a month for detached houses, $249 for townhouses and $450 for condos. The full range across town runs from $4 to $474 a month (Redfin active listings, September 28, 2026).

What do HOA fees cover in Matthews NC?

It varies by community, because your recorded declaration decides it rather than state law. Typically the dues fund common area landscaping, the neighborhood entrance, liability insurance and any shared amenity such as a pool. At the townhouse level, near the $249 a month median, the association often takes on lawn care, exterior reserves and sometimes a master insurance policy. One thing they generally do not cover in Matthews: garbage, recycling and yard waste, which the town itself contracts and provides.

Can you opt out of an HOA in North Carolina?

No. North Carolina defines a planned community as real estate where an owner, by virtue of owning a lot, is expressly obligated by a recorded declaration to pay for the upkeep of other lots or common property. The obligation attaches to the lot rather than to you, so it transfers with the deed and cannot be declined after closing. If you do not want dues, buy a home that is not in an association. In Matthews, as of September 28, 2026, 118 of the 262 listed homes were not.

What happens if you don’t pay HOA fees in North Carolina?

First a late charge, capped at the greater of $20 a month or 10% of the unpaid installment, plus interest of up to 18% a year. After 30 days unpaid, the association can also suspend privileges and services, though never your access to your own lot. Any assessment unpaid for 30 days or longer can become a lien on the property once the association files a claim of lien, and it must first mail you a statement of what is owed at least 15 days before filing (N.C.G.S. 47F-3-116).

Can an HOA foreclose on your home in North Carolina?

Yes, once an assessment has been unpaid for 90 days or more. The association may then foreclose its claim of lien under power of sale, the same procedure used for a mortgage or deed of trust, and the executive board must vote to begin the proceeding against that specific lot. The association can also recover its reasonable attorneys’ fees and the costs of collection, which is how a small unpaid balance grows quickly (N.C.G.S. 47F-3-116, verified September 2026).

How can I see an HOA budget before buying in North Carolina?

Ask for two things during due diligence. The association must make an annual income and expense statement and a balance sheet available to owners at no charge within 75 days of the close of its fiscal year. Separately, on written request it must furnish a statement of unpaid assessments on a lot within 10 business days, for a fee capped at $200, plus up to $100 more if you request it within 48 hours of closing (N.C.G.S. 47F-3-118).

About the Author

I’m a licensed North Carolina and South Carolina broker and the team lead of The Longleaf Group at eXp Realty, which I co-lead with my wife Amanda. Before real estate, I joined VisualTour as President, led its rebrand to Paradym, and led the company to its acquisition by Constellation Software in 2020. I hold an MBA from the University of Tennessee with concentrations in Marketing and Innovation. The Longleaf Group is an eXp ICON Team and a RealTrends Verified Top Team by Volume for 2026, with 140+ five-star reviews.

Amanda and I live in Weddington and we sell across Matthews and the rest of South Charlotte every week. If you want the fee and the documents on a specific Matthews listing, that’s a short phone call: 704-774-7170.

More on this area: the Matthews community page covers the town itself, and our South Charlotte market data hub tracks prices across all thirteen areas we serve. We’ve run the same numbers for two nearby towns, if you’re comparing: what associations charge in Monroe and the dues picture across the state line in Fort Mill.