Deed restrictions (Austin, Canyon, Lakehills: sale, HOA, lawyer)

[Minier]

I'm full of questions

What kind of deed restrictions are in place where you live? Reading another thread, my mouth dropped when I read that in some places you can't leave your garage door open? Is this the kind of stuff that's restricted? What else? Do you find these rules make life better or just become a PITA for you?)

How does one look specifically for non-restricted vs. restricted places?

Seems most online searches give out 99% deed restricted homes and I'm trying to keep all options open and, being who we are, we worry that we might not do well with "deed restrictions" ... we just know we'd be those people getting fines all the time for infractions LOL. This summer we mowed our lawn just once and it was almost a forest by fall; we keep the kids' toys in the yard (why lug them back and forth every day?) and have been known to leave totally random objects on our driveway for like three months at a time. But, around here, that's not unusual and nobody cares and everything is so wooded that no one can see the stuff driving by anyway. It's actually an expensive, sought-after neighborhood, though sadly, we have a couple of Joneses that have moved in and they mow their lawn all.the.time LOL

[Trainwreck20]

Probably look for a non-HOA area, they are out there...probably will be an older home, though, not a 10 (or even 15) year old home.

The HOA we are in is not a big deal, but there are ones that have many more restrictions.

[iceshots]

Originally Posted by Minier

I'm full of questions

What kind of deed restrictions are in place where you live? Reading another thread, my mouth dropped when I read that in some places you can't leave your garage door open? Is this the kind of stuff that's restricted? What else? Do you find these rules make life better or just become a PITA for you?)

How does one look specifically for non-restricted vs. restricted places?

Seems most online searches give out 99% deed restricted homes and I'm trying to keep all options open and, being who we are, we worry that we might not do well with "deed restrictions" ... we just know we'd be those people getting fines all the time for infractions LOL. This summer we mowed our lawn just once and it was almost a forest by fall; we keep the kids' toys in the yard (why lug them back and forth every day?) and have been known to leave totally random objects on our driveway for like three months at a time. But, around here, that's not unusual and nobody cares and everything is so wooded that no one can see the stuff driving by anyway. It's actually an expensive, sought-after neighborhood, though sadly, we have a couple of Joneses that have moved in and they mow their lawn all.the.time LOL

In many of the master planned HOA communities this would end up in fines, especially the grass. One colleague at work found a guy measuring his grass with a ruler one day and ended up with a fine!

Unless you are buying a much older house, or are way out in the woods, you will probably have deed restrictions. It seems that any area that was planned by a developer has restrictions. They key is on how stringent they are. Our area has restrictions but they are more along the lines of "no swine on the property", than "all outbuildings must be faced in the same material as the main structure".

Your Realtor should be able to get you the restrictions for whatever house you are interested in. You can also search the HOA on the web. Many have web sites that MAY include the HOA agreement. You may also be able to find complaints or opinions posted by people that live in the area. This forum is a great place to start.

Search posts by IC_Delight is you want to learn about the dark side of HOAs. Read and form your own opinion.

Our HOA (Sunset Canyon) is basically a social club for the neighborhood. They also work with the country to try influence local improvements. No fining mechanisms are in place.



Good Luck

[centralaustinite]

Garage door open? That seems more like a HOA restriction (CC&R) than a deed restriction. Deed restriction are restrictions on the title. Example: some lots in Allandale have deed restrictions prohibiting the construction of a second story. Horribly, historically deed restrictions were used to create/maintain segregation by forbidding the sale of property to non-whites (those restrictions are no longer valid). A deed restriction could also forbid the division of a lot or the construction of a duplex.

HOA have "Convanents and Restrictions" that apply to a property and can involve needing approval for paint color, fence construction, etc. as well as restrict the size or breed of dog (or number of animals), restrict the number of cars that can be parked, what kind of plantings in the yard etc. These may or may not be enforced by the HOA, definitely ask your agent about the existence of an HOA, read the CC&Rs of the HOA and the bylaws and try to talk to an officer of the HOA too.

[achtungpv]

Originally Posted by iceshots

One colleague at work found a guy measuring his grass with a ruler one day and ended up with a fine!

Maybe he should've put a sign in his yard stating his willingness to carry out the Castle Domain Law. That'd keep rulers out of his yard.

[iceshots]

Originally Posted by achtungpv

Maybe he should've put a sign in his yard stating his willingness to carry out the Castle Domain Law. That'd keep rulers out of his yard.

Yeah, but if he had to enforce it, then he would probably be fined because his grass was no longer green.

[Trainwreck20]

Actaully, COA has some restrictions to length of grass (6 inches, maybe?).

[Moonlady]

I live in this neighborhood that is often scoffed at, but really it's a well kept secret IMO. It's off Bee Cave Rd (about 20 minutes from downtown in non-rush hour), it's in the Eanes school district and the lots are big. Mine is .39 acres. It's an older neighborhood, with some newer development, but cookie cutter it's not! Anyway, our HOA is voluntary and really just gets you access to the Lake Austin waterfront park and the social activities. There are no rules and no fines. Anything goes (including chickens).

Obviously, this is not for everyone, but if you're a little concerned about being able to do what you want, you should check out this neighborhood. The area is called Lakehills or Austin Lake Estates and it's marked by the main road of Cuernavaca off Bee Cave. DM me if you want more info.

[rogramjet]

For what it's worth, I have learned by experience, at least in Central Austin, the Austin authorities and the City Council will not enforce deed restrictions (e.g. zoning restrictions in older neighborhoods). You will have to hire a lawyer and sue to get property owners to honor deed restrictions.

[BJB817]

Like I stated in my other post where this came up, it's really critical that you research the restrictions yourself and if in doubt, perhaps even contact the president of the HOA in that particular neighborhood.

The important thing to remember is the primary purpose of HOA's is to protect property values. I'll be honest, some of the things you get away with in your neighborhood would get you in trouble here as well and we're a pretty laid back bunch. Granted, we're not in the woods, just normal sized city lots, so the toys and tall grass would be right out there for all to see. Sorry to say, call me anal or what have you, but I'd probably get a little uptight about that if you were my neighbor.

As far as the garage doors and such, that just depends on the HOA. Probably the most restrictive one I'm aware of in my area is Sun City, which is a 55+ community. Yes, there they'll fine you for things like leaving your garage door up, having figurines in your lawn, I'm not sure what else. Everything I've ever heard is that they can be quite the Nazi's with enforcement, but I have to admit, the neighborhood is darn attractive. I'm sure there's plenty of other neighborhoods out there with similar restrictions though.

In our neighborhood, basically as long as you keep your lawn and landscaping reasonably alive and trimmed, we're happy for the most part. Leave your garage door up if you like... Oh yeah, and don't paint your house bright pink or anything like that. We'll leave that to the "Austin Weird" neighborhoods.

It sounds like your best bet would be to find something with a larger lot that has no HOA or one that has minimal restrictions. As someone that serves on an HOA Board, one of my biggest pet peeves is people that knowingly move into our HOA neighborhood and then flaunt the rules-it doesn't apply to them! They apparently liked the neighborhood, but don't want to play by the rules that came with it.

So, please don't take my response as bashing you for your yard or anything, I'm just trying to steer you in a direction that'll keep yourselves and your neighbors happy!