S/O HOA Communities

[aprilgail]

Nope, never! I don’t need some power hungry nosey neighbors making rules about what you can and can’t do on your own property.

 

[Julie's Haircut]

I've never lived in a HOA community but I wouldn't rule them out if I was looking to move.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

It really depends on the particular HOA. Some are picky to the point that they're going to tell you how tall your grass should be and analyze it to make sure you are killing off the weeds. Others just really want to approve any addition you do so they can be sure you're not going to violate set-backs or have an ongoing multi-year construction project that never ends.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Nope, never! I don’t need some power hungry nosey neighbors making rules about what you can and can’t do on your own property.

You might have your local and state government making rules about what you can and can't do on your property.

They may not have a rule on house color like an HOA may but they could have a rule on how long a car sits on the street, how long you can park xyz, etc. How many building one can have--for example in my County you cannot have 2 homes on the same plot of land. In order to do that you have to split off the land into completely separate lots deeded separately.

The city where our rental house was located at you needed to get a permit (free) good for up to 2 weeks to park your RV/5th wheel/Camper or boat on your property (unless in your garage) or the street if doing it for more than 3 days.

There are city noise ordinances around here telling you when you can operate your lawn mower.

And so on and so on. HOAs are def. not the only entity that cares about what you may or may not do on your own property.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

After living in a single family home for over 20 years, we moved to a townhome last year. We had been in condo/townhome communities with HOAs in the past, but our last house did not have one. We decided we wanted to downsize and go back to a townhome/HOA for a few reasons.

We don’t like yard work. We had a yard service for our house, but we rarely spent time in the yard. Now we have three small patios to keep clean and that’s it. There are huge trees and a large grass area next to our unit. The HOA manages the landscape company. The leaves magically disappear from the front of our garage! Plus, they came around and cleaned our gutters a few weeks ago. We only had to leave the gates unlocked for one day so they could access the patios.

We now have access to a pool, tennis courts and club house. Our unit was painted shortly after we moved in. We didn’t choose the color since the whole complex is the same, but we did get to choose from seven colors for the front door. Roof repairs are covered, as are patio fences. There are rules, but nothing annoying or intrusive. I don’t mind paying the monthly fee since it covers so many expenses. When we were searching for a townhome, our real estate agents were very careful about researching the HOAs. We really liked one particular house, but the agents said no, the HOA is very poorly funded. There will be rate increases and assessments. The one we chose is very well run.

 

[DLgal]

The lots in my subdivision are .17 (as in 17/100th) of an acre. A pool takes up the entire backyard, but people put them in.

Our lots are probably smaller than that. I have less than 10 feet between my house and the concrete block wall separating me from my neighbors. Most homes are similarly sized.

 

[Colleen27]

You're saying some HOAs don't allow families to have playground equipment/play structures in their backyard???

Yep. A friend lived in one that didn't allow any permanent or semi-permanent kids' toys - no Little Tykes playhouse or sandbox for the toddler, no cedar play structure for the bigger kids, no basketball net for the teens.

 

[mrodgers]

Isn't this the responsibility of your local government, though? My township has a park and recs department. We have nature preserves, parks, pools, etc. All controlled and funding by my local township. Is this something that other states don't do? No public pools? No public parks? I mean, you do pay to get into the municipal pools, but it's only a couple bucks (or get a yearly pass)

I often wondered where all these neighborhood pools and parks are when I read the HOA threads. There is nothing like that around here.

As for would I? Never. I'm not paying that much money to live how other people want me to live.

Unfortunately for the unforeseeable future, I am stuck in a trailer park, so it's worse than an HOA. I am dictated by a single person what I can and can not do, but that is somewhat tolerable since they own the property and not me. I am dying for a garden again. My garden at the house was bigger than my place now (actually it was bigger than the house as well.)

I don't like being in a neighborhood let alone an HOA neighborhood. I don't know how you folk can stand living on top of each other. I use to drive into my mother's neighborhood and it felt so claustrophobic. I can't be far enough away from people. Then again, I'm glad you all like living like sardines in a can. Leaves the countryside for me.

 

[mrodgers]

For a house, absolutely not. Even if I was ok with the HOA rules dues at the point of purchase, nothing prevents the rules from changing later.

ETA: We bought a house last year. We almost automatically eliminated every house with an HOA. There was only one we half-considered, but then we saw that every single house in the neighborhood was identical, and we did not like the cloned aesthetic.

I've never seen a neighborhood that the houses are not identical.

 

[sam_gordon]

I've never seen a neighborhood that the houses are not identical.

You must not get around much. Even our "starter" home neighborhood had ~5 house designs to choose from. In fact, I think the only place I've gone where the houses look the same is a mobile home park.

 

[nkereina]

IMO, its difficult to make a blanket statement to say no to an HOA because all HOAs are very different. Some are run loosely with very loose, normal rules. My parents live in one now that has about 30 patio homes. The builder "runs" the HOA and basically lets them do what they want within reason, but the biggest reason for the HOA dues is to cover the cost of landscaping, grass cutting and snow removal. They like that it has flexibility.

I live in one that is more formalized with a board, votes, annual meetings, etc. We reviewed the bylaws before moving in and thought they were all normal and reasonable - things we would do/not do anyway, if we didn't live there. The only time we've had communication with the HOA board in the 9 years we've lived there is when we sent them a copy of our dog license for our dog. Aside from the rules, we do like that it promotes a sense of community. We do a Turkey Trot, neighborhood cookouts, etc. We have an active online community where neighbors frequently post about anything suspicious, coyote sightings (or rabid racoons!), ask for someone to babysit or get their kid off the bus, ask for recommendations for roof repair or pizza delivery. Its nice to have the resource where we're all like-minded in the same boat.

I also like that I don't have to worry about my neighbor parking a Winnebago in the yard or painting their house purple.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I've never seen a neighborhood that the houses are not identical.

My family home growing up was in an area of town laid out in the early 1900's. All twins. There were a good number of them that were identical, but not all of them. The houses for the next few blocks were all unique.

The subdivision I live in now was built in the late 60's to early 70's. It seems like the developer had maybe a half dozen houses to choose from, so they aren't all identical, but you see repeating patterns, with occasional variations. For example, there is a house two blocks away that looks like mine except the garage is facing a different direction (front instead of to the side). All of the houses in my cul-de-sac are different. But you might find a matching one a few cul-de-sacs away.

 

[aprilchem]

I've never seen a neighborhood that the houses are not identical.

Really? Where do you live?

We don't have an HOA at our primary home, mostly because DH and I both hate subdivisions where all the houses are the same/a few styles, so we purposely chose to live in a neighborhood of older houses where all the houses are different. We have a Dutch Colonial built in 1939, and it definitely has character.

At our vacation home we have an HOA, though, and I like it. It's at a ski resort, and the HOA fee takes care of snow clearing, maintaining the roads, doing plantings in the summer, maintaining common areas, and pays for the community pools. There are some rules, but I generally don't have a problem with them - for example, you can't burn a fire pit in the open and you can't keep trashcans outside (safety for the first one, bears for the second). I feel like as long as the rules are reasonable and are about safety or keeping our property values up, they're ok with me.

 

[lovemygoofy]

I live in total suburbia and the stereotypical all the houses match neighborhood. It has a HOA and we do have two play grounds, two swimming pools, a dog park and walking trails. I personally love it. Yes, it reminds me of Stepford Wives Americana in the spring and summer when everyone out mowing the yards and planting flowers and the kids playing. But I love it. It's beautiful to see for someone that never expected to own such a house in such a neighborhood. We live in the cul de sac (I call it cult de sac) and get along great. We have several street grill outs. Everyone takes turns shoveling or snow blowing the drives and people look out for each other.

We did add on a deck two years ago and had to get the paperwork straight with HOA but I didn't see it as a problem. This likely one the biggest purchases I'll ever make and I want to keep the value and I want people around me who want to keep the value. Our neighborhood is pretty sought after now and the value has went up so much and I believe because it is so well kept and maintained.

 

[tvguy]

Our lots are probably smaller than that. I have less than 10 feet between my house and the concrete block wall separating me from my neighbors. Most homes are similarly sized.

We had about 30 feet between the back of our house and the property line. I added on a 16 foot room on one side so now there is about 24 feet between that part of the house and the property line. I seem to recall the minimum setback is 20 feet. But I have a single story 2,000 square foot house, between two two story houses that are also about 2,000 square feet but take up half as much of the lot because they are two story.

 

[DLgal]

We had about 30 feet between the back of our house and the property line. I added on a 16 foot room on one side so now there is about 24 feet between that part of the house and the property line. I seem to recall the minimum setback is 20 feet. But I have a single story 2,000 square foot house, between two two story houses that are also about 2,000 square feet but take up half as much of the lot because they are two story.

I think it might be 20 feet from the outer wall of our house to my neighbor's, but possibly not. We are technically classified as a condo, though. Like, we are so close that we have outside mounted fire alarm bells so that if the indoor sprinklers activate, there is a sound to warn the neighbors to call 911 and get out of their homes as well. I guess there is a high risk of spread since the homes are so close.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

You must not get around much. Even our "starter" home neighborhood had ~5 house designs to choose from. In fact, I think the only place I've gone where the houses look the same is a mobile home park.

Our house plan, like many other house plans, had different "elevations" to choose from that change the outward appearance of a home.

Craftsman style is a big style around here though.

Ours was called a craftsman style with a porch. But there was also French, Prairie, and a few others that I can't remember that you could choose from. This is the same for basically all builders who may have dozens of different house plans. There's usually different elevations to choose from. In my neighborhood there's a variety of builders to choose from though there are neighborhoods here and there that a builder has bought and thus all the homes in it are of their own plans (even then still different elevations to choose from).

Now I will say brown, beige, tan were quite common exterior colors for a while and that can make homes look too similar. Thankfully the trend is straying from that and grey is becoming more popular.

 

[DopeyDame]

Some of you would have a heart attack driving through my neighborhood. On our block we have a boat parked on the street all winter, an electrician who parks his car in the driveway, tons of kids' equipment in yards, and houses that don't match one another at all.
We also have amazing friendships and festivals and beaches and parks, all without Gladys Kravetz getting involved

Man, I love my neighborhood so much.

 

[soccerdad72]

I live in total suburbia and the stereotypical all the houses match neighborhood. It has a HOA and we do have two play grounds, two swimming pools, a dog park and walking trails. I personally love it. Yes, it reminds me of Stepford Wives Americana in the spring and summer when everyone out mowing the yards and planting flowers and the kids playing. But I love it. It's beautiful to see for someone that never expected to own such a house in such a neighborhood. We live in the cul de sac (I call it cult de sac) and get along great. We have several street grill outs. Everyone takes turns shoveling or snow blowing the drives and people look out for each other.

We did add on a deck two years ago and had to get the paperwork straight with HOA but I didn't see it as a problem. This likely one the biggest purchases I'll ever make and I want to keep the value and I want people around me who want to keep the value. Our neighborhood is pretty sought after now and the value has went up so much and I believe because it is so well kept and maintained.

My guess is your experience is more the norm than the stories of all the crazy HOAs that supposedly exist.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Some of you would have a heart attack driving through my neighborhood. On our block we have a boat parked on the street all winter, an electrician who parks his car in the driveway, tons of kids' equipment in yards, and houses that don't match one another at all.
We also have amazing friendships and festivals and beaches and parks, all without Gladys Kravetz getting involved

Man, I love my neighborhood so much.

Who is that?
I know there are HOAs that are built to accommodate RVs and pleasure crafts most definitely.