HOA-free neighborhoods? (for sale, to rent, home)

[LisaCACO]

Originally Posted by 2bindenver

I have owned 4 personal residences all in a HOA for all the 19 years I have lived in Denver. I would never consider a single family residence if there wasn't a good one in place.

I read the CC&R's prior to closing.

I read the meeting minutes.

I read the financial.

I attended HOA meetings for the first 9 years.

I have gotten a four letters from the HOA. Two were to remind me to install landscaping by the deadline. One was to remind me to paint the trim, and to submit the colors to the Architectural Control Committee, one was to remove two bikes and the lawn mower from the side yard.

Don't get yourself worked up over an unknown. It could very well be a non-issue.

awesome advice. we just bought in The Farm at Arapahoe County and we're still laughing at the HOA "book". they regulate the shrubbery (kind and number per sq foot), min number and size of trees, the gardens, the birdbaths, the bird houses, you name it. thank god we have a sense of humor. we did know what we were getting into though (read the "book" before making an offer) and didn't mind. what we'll do if our daughter comes home from class with a birdhouse she made that isn't regulation Design review board colors I dunno-she may be unwilling to wait the requisite 60 or so days for submission and approval and then petitioning again to place it out back. you know those 3.5 year olds .

as a bit of a rebel, this may just be fun living here .

[Maltose]

Originally Posted by LisaCACO

we just bought in The Farm at Arapahoe County and we're still laughing at the HOA "book". they regulate the shrubbery (kind and number per sq foot), min number and size of trees, the gardens, the birdbaths, the bird houses, you name it. thank god we have a sense of humor. this may just be fun living here .

Hope your new residence is exactly what you are looking for. I am curious to know however if you still have such a good sense of humor about your HOA down the road.

[Maltose]

Originally Posted by 2bindenver

one was to remove two bikes and the lawn mower from the side yard.

Jeez. This kind of thing would drive me nuts.

[LisaCACO]

Originally Posted by Maltose

Hope your new residence is exactly what you are looking for. I am curious to know however if you still have such a good sense of humor about your HOA down the road.

it's not exactly what we're looking for, no house is, but it's the closest we could find here . I think we'll be happy enough, assuming our immediate neighbors aren't insane, lol. we've lived in HOAs before, including now in Highlands Ranch.

[Noahma]

Originally Posted by rebagirl

I know this is an old thread, but I just looked up a couple of PDF files of HOA guidelines. (One in Highlands Ranch and one in Parker) I can understand paint color approval, keeping lawns mowed, etc., but some things that seem ridiculous include:

1. No above ground pool--we currently put up one of those easy-up pools every summer in our backyard, and the kids have a blast. My husband jumps in after a day of yardwork, too! It's not an eyesore--plus it's in the backyard.

2. No birdfeeder in front yards--We must train all birds to eat in the appropriate area. Ha!

3. Approval required for fences, trees, decks, driveways, paint, windows, xeriscaping, location of dish network, parking of cars, motorcycles, play sets, hot tubs, etc.

I can't remember them all, but the list had at least 75 regulations.

This would be a major adjustment for us--one that would not make us happy campers. Too bad people can't be trusted to show "pride of ownership". The HOAs assume that everyone will trash their property without rules in place.

the federal communications act of 1993 i belive it is, an HOA cannot tell you where to install, or if you can have / not have any form of communications equipment. They can suggest where to put it, but cannot fine you for placing it in an area they do not like. you can look up and get a copy of the FCC act if you get fined to fight them.

[jkcoop]

Our HOA is what I would call, pretty lax.
Even though it states in the covenants you must get approval for landscaping, etc.... I don't believe anyone does and I'm not aware of anyone getting in trouble for what they have done. I have never asked permission to do any sort of planting.
As far as house colors go...
A couple of years after we moved into the house, we wanted to repaint our shutters and porch rail. We wanted to slightly change the color to a hunter green instead of the blueish green it was. We got turned down. Really ticked me off, but they needed to be repainted since the sun does such a number on everything here, so we repainted the original color.
Not ONE month later, the people behind us painted their house a powder blue! Furious, I wrote the HOA.
They apologized, said they needed more on the architecture committee and they were wanting to allow more freedom with the colors so the neighborhood didn't look the same.
I joined the committee.
I don't think we've ever turned someone down regarding their color choice. Some colors have been a bit out there, but it's adding variety to the neighborhood and frankly, we're just happy that people are wanting to keep their houses up and keep them painted. A color that is a bit bright and might seem a little "different" is better than a faded, peeling house in my book any day.
We are a pretty small subdivision. The HOA was actually formed after some of the building began, there was some sort of mess up with the builder, so there are even homes within the subdivision that are not part of the HOA.
As far as issues with grass not being cut....people are far better off going to the city, who has a lot more bite than the HOA. We had a neighbor behind us who never even put grass in. So weeds grew. One year they were up to the fence (it was the year of horrible fires, etc so it was a dangerous situation). It wasn't until we called the city that she finally did something. What they threatened to do was come in and cut it then send her the bill.

[abatardi]

Just listen to that Montgomery Gentry "What Do You Think About That?" song. Case and point for an HOA right there.. ;-)

- aba

[enigmakairos]

I'm wholeheartedly with the HOA-haters. I understand the concept, it's just that it's entirely too easy for the process to err on the side of ..well... despotism.

It would agitate the h*ll out of me to get a letter about bikes on my lawn. On the other hand, I just had a neighbor recently that allowed their children to leave their bikes and trikes on the front lawn (and sometimes sidewalk, blocking the path for everyone else). Seriously annoying.
Additionally, their dogs would find their way under the fences into my backyard where they would promptly dig enough to escape out into the neighborhood. During the first incident, I ran outside in 15 degrees and snow to coax the dogs into my house. Then I knocked door to door at 10pm to find out whom they belonged to. The third time it happened earned them a scolding lecture. I never reported them to the gestapo...er HOA though. If the dog issue had kept up I would reported/ asked the county remove their pets. But the bike thing, though annoying, I let go because of two reasons: 1: I recognize that it's their property. 2: I figured that their behavior was indicative of people who have no clue how to take care of their own property... and that their ignorance would take care of my problem. It did. They lost the house due to foreclosure a few months ago. I know it doesn't always 'work out' like that, but that was one neighbor out of my whole neighborhood, and I still rather err on the side of being able to plant my begonias without having to get permission.

That having been said, I've kind of fallen in love with The Meadows in Castle Rock. Given the things we're looking for in a house right now, we're probably going to end up with new construction, so I may have to accept the inevitable. *sigh* Anyone know where I can find CC&R docs online for their two associations?

[IHateHOAs]

Originally Posted by LisaCACO

awesome advice. we just bought in The Farm at Arapahoe County and we're still laughing at the HOA "book". they regulate the shrubbery (kind and number per sq foot), min number and size of trees, the gardens, the birdbaths, the bird houses, you name it. thank god we have a sense of humor. we did know what we were getting into though (read the "book" before making an offer) and didn't mind. what we'll do if our daughter comes home from class with a birdhouse she made that isn't regulation Design review board colors I dunno-she may be unwilling to wait the requisite 60 or so days for submission and approval and then petitioning again to place it out back. you know those 3.5 year olds .

as a bit of a rebel, this may just be fun living here .

They don't enforce the rules at this particular HOA so you don't have to worry. People park there business cars on the street, paint there whole house a really green green and the whole place is riddled with violations because the HOA doesn't have the man power to do anything. You should see all the garbage cans out the day before and the day after garbage pickup. I think this one is losing power because of all the foreclosures.

[Maltose]

Originally Posted by IHateHOAs

They don't enforce the rules at this particular HOA so you don't have to worry. People park there business cars on the street, paint there whole house a really green green and the whole place is riddled with violations because the HOA doesn't have the man power to do anything. You should see all the garbage cans out the day before and the day after garbage pickup. I think this one is losing power because of all the foreclosures.

So what are you getting for your HOA fee you pay every month if the HOA isn't enforcing its regulations and the community isn't "benefiting"?