[Luvvarkansas]

I know that you actually buy the condo and own it and can remodel the inside any way you wish. But I wonder about the outside, how much you are actually allowed to change it. One of the condos I've been considering renting is painted blue with red trim and seems to be markedly different from the others. Is this allowed? And then I've seen others that all have the same "face"....say, vinyl and stone....do these have to be left as is?

Also, who is responsible for the outside maintenance, both of the condo and the "yard"? It seems like it would be hard to split responsibility for that, unless the rooflines are all different, as I've seen in some of them.

I just don't know how all that works, and anything anyone can tell me about condo living would be appreciated.

Oh, and I wonder about the noise from the condo next to you (or on both sides, in some cases). Is it troublesome, or did they insulate those walls well? If not, would an owner be allowed to do that?

[latunafish]

property owner associations (poa) are governed by a set of by-laws (rules) and the poa is usually responsible from the sheet rock out. i am involved with 3 different poa rules at the present time and they do differ from one association to another. however, you usually can't make any changes to the exterior, without poa approval. this includes plants, flags, doors, window and such. actually, the more strict a poa is, the better off you are protected from changes that you might not like your neighbor to make. the poa does take care of all outside maintenance, including mowing, leaves and general appearance upkeep.

noise is usually determined by how the structure is built, but you can always make a complaint to the poa if you do have an issue of any kind.

[Luvvarkansas]

Originally Posted by latunafish

the poa does take care of all outside maintenance, including mowing, leaves and general appearance upkeep.

Wow, that sounds great, after living 10 years in a 2700 sq. ft. house that was built in the late 20s and covered with wood! Not to mention almost an acre of yard.

But in Hot Springs Village, they say the POA fees are only around $37 a month. Are there separate POA fees for each subdivision, in addition to the general ones? Seems like $37 a month wouldn't be enough to keep up the outside of a bunch of condos.

And would they take care of roofing also?

[Old Fossil]

Noise - In our early marriage (over 60 years ago ) we lived in apartments. Some were apartment buildings and some were converted homes/houses and in some it was like living in a cheap motel. Our son lived in a big apartment complex in St Louis and when we visited we were pleasantly surprised to find that the only way we knew there were over 300 people in the complex was when we met someone in the hall. So, obviously, the noise level depends on the quality of the facility.

[latunafish]

Sorry, I don't really know any info on hsv or it's poa structure.

My lake Hamilton condo is 1000 sqft with 34 units and $200 a month poa, which is water, sewer, sheet rock out maintenance, insurance, pool & tennis court upkeep, all mowing, leaf removal, parking lot upkeep, all trees, shrubs and flower bed maintenance.

Little rock condo is 1456 sqft with $205 poa monthly fee, less water and sewer. About 100 units involved.


My other condo is 1100 sqft with $100 poa and no water or sewer.

It is advisable to check the solvency of any poa before a purchase, also check their frequency of assessments. Assessments are usually levied for big repairs or additions like pools, roofs, siding or adding something like a private gate. Some older poa will have surplus for these items others will be broke.

Bottom line, poa takes all the worry out of where you live especially if you don't have the time or energy to do these things.

Hope this helps.

[Luvvarkansas]

Wow, latunafish....now I see why some of the condos in HSV are relatively inexpensive....I'll bet they have subdivision POA fees in addition to the general HSV one.

Slim, you are probably right about the noise. Seems like if there were a big problem, though, you could blow some insulation in the walls and cut most of it out. The great thing about the retirement village would be that it would probably be older, quieter people surrounding you. One bad thing I see is that a lot of people rent out their condos by the night, and the renters may not all be clean, quiet people like my family.

[Luvvarkansas]

Something else I just thought of as I was looking at a nice little condo on a golf course....if you live in one on a golf course, would you be allowed to take walks on it? I notice the little golf cart "road" on the one behind the condo I was looking at follows a creek, which would be nice. There doesn't appear to be any fence on the edge of the course. I know you have to pay to play, but I just wonder if anyone ever uses them just for walks. (I find golf courses to be very peaceful and calming, with all the perfectly maincured grass, rolling hills, ponds, etc., but I have no interest in playing golf!)

[btoverdrive]

Originally Posted by Luvvarkansas

Something else I just thought of as I was looking at a nice little condo on a golf course....if you live in one on a golf course, would you be allowed to take walks on it? I notice the little golf cart "road" on the one behind the condo I was looking at follows a creek, which would be nice. There doesn't appear to be any fence on the edge of the course. I know you have to pay to play, but I just wonder if anyone ever uses them just for walks. (I find golf courses to be very peaceful and calming, with all the perfectly maincured grass, rolling hills, ponds, etc., but I have no interest in playing golf!)

You are allowed to walk the golf course but only before and after play. Being a golfer and playing with some I have seen, you would not WANT to walk during play unless you were wearing a hard hat.

[Luvvarkansas]

Originally Posted by btoverdrive

You are allowed to walk the golf course but only before and after play. .

Wow, that would be great....can you imagine talking a walk on one of those beautiful golf courses at dusk? I've seen pictures of the DeSoto course, and it's beautiful. That's the one the little condo I was looking at backs up to.

The possibility of additional POA fees for each condo subdivision worries me, though. The condos themselves are affodable, but with the HSV fees and more fees on top of that, they could wind up being pretty expensive per month, it seems.