Among Friends

[Veridoc]

Check the Restrictive Covenants. They are very detailed to what is and is not acceptable. I would never want to live anywhere that gives someone else power and authority to tell me what I can and cannot do to a home I am paying for. Several subdivisions in my area prohibit the display of the American flag. Yes, you read that right. I like being the keeper of my own home and not have to worry about looking like and keeping up with the Joneses. It is possible to live in a nice neighborhood without constantly looking over your shoulder because the rule says garbage cans have to be put back by 5:00pm and you don't get home from work until 6:00pm. Oh, the horror.

[ID2]

HOA???? Run! Run away as fast as you can! Our last home was in a neighborhood with a HOA. The dues were very minimal and were paid yearly. BUT their strict guidelines were ridiculous. Glad to have left all of that bureaucracy behind.

[CelticCrafter]

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@Meowingkitty wrote:

Several years ago we almost bought a home in an HOA and after we read the rules we backed out. One rule was we could not bbq meat in the back yard. Why? Because if someone in the area was a vegetarian the smell might offend them. We would have had to go to the community park for a burger. Another reason was they could regulated how many cats or dogs you could have in your house. (And they said they have the right to come into my house if they deemed necessary) At they time we had 7 all indoor kitties and that was above the limit. The sales agent told us to just put a couple of them to sleep. Of course, it didn’t matter if you had 7 kids. That was the straw that broke the camels back. When we backed out the sales agent was none to pleased and thought we were being to picky. Also, no water features in the front, back or side yard, only HOA approved plants, colors etc. If there was to be a storm, the yard had to be perfect within 24 hours. If trees shedded their leaves, all leaves had to be picked up daily. No cars parked outside of garage. They must be in garage at all times.  If you had visitors they could not park on the street and that included vendors. And the list went on. We decided to stay in our non HOA home. HOA’s have some good points but I don’t like paying my hard earned money for people to nit pick. 

I read that that there is a HOA in Scottsdale or Paradise Valley that even tells you what kind of car they will also inside the subdivision. No Honda’s, Fords, Chevys etc. only BMW, Mercedes and the like. That is just carrying things to far. 

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I don't believe this at all.

[missy1]

HOA

[riley1]

@QVCkitty1 - Where I live, there is no active code enforcer. That is why an HOA is a good thing. At least I don't have someone parking their big RV, car, boat or truck in their driveway - or better yet on their front lawn.

No, in an HOA you can't do that sort of thing - but you can have an RV or boat for 24 hours to set up/break down & clean before storing. People who have these items complain about that and my answer is the same - you signed up for those regulations so live with it or move.

Our HOA regulations aren't that difficult to follow - its basic stuff you would do to keep your property up and common courtesy for your neighbor.

[riley1]

@Meowingkitty - Sorry, I don't believe an HOA sets rules on what type vehicle you can own in your community. 

[tends2dogs]

@CelticCrafter and @riley1  Our HOA doesn't mandate the make of your car, however, you can't park a $50,000 pickup outside of your garage, but you can a junky car (as long as it runs).  You also can't park a vehicle outside that has the name of a company printed on it, for example, a work vehicle. 

We have been written up for leaving our garage door up too long without activity going on (what???) and not bringing our trash receptacles in, in a timely manner.  We had left for the summer and assumed our house checker would just bring them in the next day. Oh well.....

We were also written up that our mailbox needed to be replaced.  DH took a picture of it to the office.  The girl couldn't find any paperwork on it and said to just disregard the notice.  I think there are people in the community that have nothing better to do than drive around looking for "infractions".  I would like to tell them to make better use of their time and go volunteer someplace.

[Marp]

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@lovesrecess wrote:

DH and I are considering buying a home in a large community about 2 hrs from our current home. It does have what they call an "active homeowners association board"....and the monthly fee is quite high....have you had any problems with overbearing HOA boards or nit-picking rules or regulations? We are ready to buy but this one issue is giving us second thoughts.....

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While doing your due diligence about the rules and regulations don't forget to investigate how often and by how much monthly fees are increased and how often special assessments are instituted.

For me, being handed a 4 inch thick book of rules and regulations would immediately tell me that wasn't the location for me.

[henderson]

Please read the CC&R's carefully and beware that the HOA fees can increase yearly depending on the budget.  We live in a gated community of 120 homes and we were assessed a special assessment of about $500 to pay for the backflow that the city required because we did not have enough money in reserves.

In our gated community the HOA is responsible for paving streets, light poles, sewers, broken water pipes under the street, etc.  Our sewer backed up into our master bath -- even into the shower & tub.  Our front yard was dug up to replace a pipe in the sewer and it cost the HOA (which we as owners pay for) about $5,000.

I've been on the board for over 10 years so I can make decisions that I feel best for the community.  We have such a low turnout at our meetings, but many complaints about lawn maintenence (no one owns their property in the front or backyards) and that fact that our water bills are so high we've done a lot of sod conversions which people complain about.  I live in the Las Vegas area and most of the homes have some type of HOA. 

We pay $180 a month and that includes water, sewer and lawn maintenance.  We also share a pool, 2 spas, gates, and clubhouse with another HOA and that costs $38 a month and then $55 a month for our master planned community.

[lovesrecess]

We are going a k out to the property this afternoon and I hope to find some residents to speak to if I can get away from the real estate agent.