[Stylo]

See how restrictive it is. At my old condo, I wasn't able to put anything on my patio or front porch, I wasn't even able to buy the color blinds I wanted. It was terrible. Very restrictive.

There are actually a decent number of HOA's in CT. Some examples that I know of personally are Candlewood Shores in Brookfield and Laurel Beach in Milford. They are not restrictive as to what you do with your home. You just pay a fee every year (under $1000 total) and they maintain common areas, docks, beaches, tennis courts, playgrounds, etc. Something like that would not hurt resale as many people like the community features like that.

A nearby neighborhood by me pays dues for their private beach to be maintained. It's a small fee and well worth it, and people definitely look to neighborhoods like that as the private beach is a nice asset.

[slusher]

Thanks. This one in particular doesn't seem too restrictive, but since i don't know jack about homes or homebuying, but these are most of the restrictions. Please let me know what you think. Thanks.

1) THe biggest is that you have to get approval before making any additions or changes to the home especially those that would change the structure. They can restrict it based on appearance issues alone.
- The current owner was able to add a fence, add an extension (family room), redo the kitchen, without much trouble or at least thats what they claimed.

2) You can't put a clothesline up, or use something else to dry your clothes outside... No poles/lines or other devices. **THIS IS SO DUMB
3) You have to maintain your property - no real specifics but you have to keep it in good condition, and maintain the lawn, etc but again no crazy specifics.
4) You can't put up signs on your lot other than those to sell the house or rent out the house.
5) No animals or poultry besides typical household pets on the lot.
6) No noxious or offensive trade or activity -shall be carriedon uponsaid lot nor shall anything be done thereon which may be or become an annoyance or nuisance to the neighborhood. (VAGUE)
7) No structure of a temporary character such as trailer, tent, shed, garage, barn or other outbuilding erected onsaid lots shall at any time be used as a residence.
8) Vehicles on the lot have to be registered and in working condition to be kept on the lot. If not they must be kept in the garage.
9) Can't leave trash on the property unless its in its enclosed container or trashcan. Can't let trash accumulate on the property (lawn or front yard, etc)
10) All property must be used as private residential lots and shall not be used for no other purpose than one or two story single family dwellings.
11) Only single families can live their. You can't have more than 2 people per bedroom living there. So there are 3 bedrooms so max for a single family is 6 people. *MAKES very little sense to me.

*The person who is going to be purchasing is going to speak with someone at the HOA and ask them how restrictive their policies are and get some more info hopefully today.

[andthentherewere3]

Originally Posted by slusher

Thanks. This one in particular doesn't seem too restrictive, but since i don't know jack about homes or homebuying, but these are most of the restrictions. Please let me know what you think. Thanks.

1) THe biggest is that you have to get approval before making any additions or changes to the home especially those that would change the structure. They can restrict it based on appearance issues alone.
- The current owner was able to add a fence, add an extension (family room), redo the kitchen, without much trouble or at least thats what they claimed.

2) You can't put a clothesline up, or use something else to dry your clothes outside... No poles/lines or other devices. **THIS IS SO DUMB
3) You have to maintain your property - no real specifics but you have to keep it in good condition, and maintain the lawn, etc but again no crazy specifics.
4) You can't put up signs on your lot other than those to sell the house or rent out the house.
5) No animals or poultry besides typical household pets on the lot.
6) No noxious or offensive trade or activity -shall be carriedon uponsaid lot nor shall anything be done thereon which may be or become an annoyance or nuisance to the neighborhood. (VAGUE)
7) No structure of a temporary character such as trailer, tent, shed, garage, barn or other outbuilding erected onsaid lots shall at any time be used as a residence.
8) Vehicles on the lot have to be registered and in working condition to be kept on the lot. If not they must be kept in the garage.
9) Can't leave trash on the property unless its in its enclosed container or trashcan. Can't let trash accumulate on the property (lawn or front yard, etc)
10) All property must be used as private residential lots and shall not be used for no other purpose than one or two story single family dwellings.
11) Only single families can live their. You can't have more than 2 people per bedroom living there. So there are 3 bedrooms so max for a single family is 6 people. *MAKES very little sense to me.

*The person who is going to be purchasing is going to speak with someone at the HOA and ask them how restrictive their policies are and get some more info hopefully today.

A lot of the above is already covered by town ordinances, such as blight, pet restrictions, outbuildings etc. So you're only left with number 1 and 2 as being particularly restrictive. Those are typical requirements of a HOA. You don't find anything wrong with cramming 7 or more people into a 3 bedroom home? That wouldn't go over very well with your neighbors even in a home without a HOA, unless most of the 7 were children.

[LRPct]

Originally Posted by slusher

thanks everyone. ya i'm mainly concerned about resale, as the neighborhood seems nice and most of the rules don't seem to strict. It is a single family home though with a HOA. Its basically described as a PUD. the dues range from $100-200 a year and thats for mantaining the common areas (aka some trees, sidewalks and a small park that basically has a few swings). So far they haven't gone higher then $155 a year but they can fluctuate.
My relative still seems unsure about what to do. I haven't been too helpful in pointing them one way or another.

If i'm basing things on the attitudes to HOA from the posts here though I guess I'd lean against them as it seems most people in CT have options w/o a HOA and don't really like them. I'm not a big fan of them myself but the property is nice, fairly new - build in 1994, and is in a good neighbordhood with berlin turnpike a close drive away for easy access to stores/shopping/gyms/etc...

Just wait till the big $$$ "assesment" comes around for that major repair that needs to be done that most these hoa's don't have the reserve funds for from those "inexpensive" fees. What a nightmare that starts for the whole hoa then.

[slusher]

Originally Posted by andthentherewere3

A lot of the above is already covered by town ordinances, such as blight, pet restrictions, outbuildings etc. So you're only left with number 1 and 2 as being particularly restrictive. Those are typical requirements of a HOA. You don't find anything wrong with cramming 7 or more people into a 3 bedroom home? That wouldn't go over very well with your neighbors even in a home without a HOA, unless most of the 7 were children.

Oh okay that sounds reasonable then. The person purchasing spoke with the HOA and 1 isn't as restrictive as we thought. Basically they said that its okay to make any changes without permission from them for the inside of the house. Only things that would effect the outside like expansions you'd have to ask permission. They also said they have never said NO to any projects in the past 18 years.

For the 6 people thing, i thought it also applied to guests/visitors staying overnight type thing for a few days. My relative will be having guests over from time to time and they'd exceed the 6 person limit, but again based on the conversation it seems that it wouldn't be an issue.

[Uconn97]

I see them having pros and cons....they exist here, but they are rare for single family homes....

Balmoral - About Us

[2011ct]

Originally Posted by slusher

Would you a buy a home with a Home owner's association? Does it help or hurt the resell ability of a home? Do people in CT prefer homes with HOA or without?

Thanks.

Last year when I was looking for a house I specifically avoided any homes with HOA.
I saw four nice houses in HOA association and I refused to buy them. I can tell you this, there is a reason why they are goodloking and not as expensive as stand alone individual homes. (HOA regulations)
My friends own a house that they are selling now because they are tired of HOA.
Please note this: HOA board of directors might be ok now but it might change over the years, same with your neighbor next door. You might have a nice one now. If they sell it and you get a bad one that complains to HOA it will be a disaster for you; fines; meetings; inspections.
Remember you ask for opinion and I am against homes with HOA.
To maintain your property you can hire a private company for approx. $35 a week to mow you lawn.

[jane_sm1th73]

My observation about HOAs: people who were denied rank and promotion, but who hunger for power, finally find their niche by being board members in HOAs. They will exercise all of the authority they were denied in real life, but with a VENGEANCE, since they have so many years to make up.

Therefore, you will find lawn Nazis. Front door color Nazis. Lawn planting Nazis. Bush height Nazis.
And for each of these findings, you will be assessed a penalty.

When you are in a HOA, you have given up what you might previously have thought were your "rights" as a debtowner. Some people are fine with this - they like to be told what to do, and find comfort in being absolutely up on the rules. Personally, I tried one once, and it was a PITA. No barbecues after 7 PM kind of thing.

BTW - HOAs are builder/developer constructs. They enable builders to pass off the warranty liabilities quicker, on average, than without HOAs. The idea being that HOA developments are built in modular, independent phases. As soon as the first phase is built and under the governance of the HOA, the clock starts ticking on those houses. Allows builders to shed warranty costs in smaller increments, therefore faster. Therefore, they can built to a lower standard than if the first house had to be error free until the builder could get out from under the whole lot of them.

People who have gotten suckered into HOAs bleat that they keep up house asking prices. Baloney. What determines house prices over the long haul (not that you'd know it from the bubble that started in 1998) is the fundamental ratio of median income to median house price in the area.

[AmyBergquist]

The restrictions you posted seem normal to me for HOAs on single family homes in the area. Also, as others have pointed out, many of the rules are covered by town code as well.

Do you own the land with this property? If you don't own the land, I would think long and hard about the purchase. That will definitely turn off people for resale. Everything else seemed fairly standard for an HOA that only maintains common areas for a yearly fee of a few hundred dollars.

These types of HOAs have become more common recently with new construction developments. I don't see them as a huge barrier to resale, as long as the yearly common fees remain low.

[tablemtn]

Before you purchase in an HOA area, it is very important to not only read, but SCRUTINIZE all of the HOA paperwork - not only the "CC&Rs" (covenants, conditions, and restrictions), but also all of the HOA's charter documents describing its leadership structure, elections, and the process by which those elections are held and the leadership positions determined.

The important question is not only "how much does the HOA cost right now," but also, "how quickly could the amounts change in the future?" and "how easily might the existing rules be changed?"

Many HOAs make it relatively easy for changes to be made to the rules, or for fees to be raised. Those are both warning signs.