has anyone had a good experience w a gated community (renting, house)

[DavidWebb]

Originally Posted by okaydorothy

Then he said he couldn't do anything because it was price property and basically I was on my own.

Price property????

[mathjak107]

Originally Posted by okaydorothy

We bought in a gated community 11 years ago. Never had a problem until recently. The reason ; the lot across from ours flooded badly in the fall and a lot of the water ran into our property. After three months, I called the office and initially they said it was our own problem, but they wouldn't give me the property owners name and phone number. Then the GM came over to look at it. The first thing he said was that the house should never have been built here. And then of course I didn't do my homework. Well, the house was built by a builder and we bought it new from him, he is dead now. When I asked who gave the permits, he said it was the town. You can't fart here without a permit, so they had to issue some permit. He also said that he lived here 30 years, and said the house must have been built before he arrived ; the house is 11 years old!!!
Then he said he couldn't do anything because it was price property and basically I was on my own.
Can you tell how annoyed I was. So eventually he agreed to look at the issue with a asphalt guy and see what could be done. I suggested trying to steer the water over to the neighboring campground (which is owned by the community) and he said that could not be done. Then he started saying our property was not very tidy ; I bought a new shed two weeks before and have not gotten a chance to put some outside stuff in it because I am working between 40-50 hours a week at nights.
I alerted him to the fact that our conversion van is stuck in the mud because of the water problem and he said nothing.
Well yesterday I got a summons because that van has its registration expired by 12 days. It is registered and insured but now its stuck in the ice so we cannot remove it until the damn water issue is fixed. Yes, we could get AAA to tow it I suppose.
Funny thing, my car had its inspection expired by 2 months and they never looked at that. I got it inspected last week.

I emailed the GM last week to see what the updates are on the water situation and he said that they will put a culvert across the road and steer the water towards...the campgrounds.

If I wasn't so against moving again, I would do it in a heartbeat. We moved twice in 7 years.

I think we looked at that community before buying at tanglwood north .. glad we didn’t buy there if it is the same one I am thinking of .

[fisheye]

Originally Posted by okaydorothy

If I wasn't so against moving again, I would do it in a heartbeat. We moved twice in 7 years.

Sorry to hear about your problems! That is why we never bought in a development. Of course we were always on our own - but we knew that. I hope they quickly resolve your water issue; but it sounds as if they are real loggerheads.

[in_newengland]

So many problems here are about HOA's and gated communities. New construction too with houses that were very poorly built and then you are stuck.

I've always bought an older house. That way you can see how well it stood the test of time, you can benefit from improvements made by the former owner too. I buy in a good town that has fair laws and buy a used house. Never a problem and no HOA fees and fights either. It there's a problem, take it to the town and they will probably be more fair about dealing with it than a potentially biased HOA.

[okaydorothy]

Originally Posted by DavidWebb

Price property????

Private property I meant to say

[okaydorothy]

Originally Posted by in_newengland

So many problems here are about HOA's and gated communities. New construction too with houses that were very poorly built and then you are stuck.

I've always bought an older house. That way you can see how well it stood the test of time, you can benefit from improvements made by the former owner too. I buy in a good town that has fair laws and buy a used house. Never a problem and no HOA fees and fights either. It there's a problem, take it to the town and they will probably be more fair about dealing with it than a potentially biased HOA.

Always bought a used house. Until this one. It was built very well and we have no issues with the house at all. The builder did the right thing definitely.

We were really happy with this community until this happened. Their attitude really irks me.

[okaydorothy]

Originally Posted by fisheye

Sorry to hear about your problems! That is why we never bought in a development. Of course we were always on our own - but we knew that. I hope they quickly resolve your water issue; but it sounds as if they are real loggerheads.

The GM really irked me. He could clearly see the water flowing from the lot across the road and I asked was it the elevation of the street, maybe the water could be directed into the campground that is only used 5 months of the year. Luckily the water never came into the house as we have a french drain. Now of course they will do an elevation check, culvert and direct the water to the campground. Of course the GM had to tell me about his trips to florida, Ireland etc. I even explained to him about the van being stuck in the mud at that time and nothing was said.
They are also re doing a pool at the moment that they are going crazy with; water slide etc. No need for all that.

[fisheye]

Originally Posted by okaydorothy

The GM really irked me. He could clearly see the water flowing from the lot across the road and I asked was it the elevation of the street, maybe the water could be directed into the campground that is only used 5 months of the year. Luckily the water never came into the house as we have a french drain. Now of course they will do an elevation check, culvert and direct the water to the campground. Of course the GM had to tell me about his trips to florida, Ireland etc. I even explained to him about the van being stuck in the mud at that time and nothing was said.
They are also re doing a pool at the moment that they are going crazy with; water slide etc. No need for all that.

Depending on how thick the foliage was when they took the picture Google 'Earth' could help you do your own "elevation check". The last picture of my house was taken last June and the trees had plenty of leaves. But I can still map the elevation of most of my driveway. It is a great tool to determine how high your house is compared to other low land/water/ or rivers.

It sounds as if your GM used your own information against you; I know that I would not be happy!

[MaverickDD]

Originally Posted by tmunch250

we are thinking of moving to PA and commute to NY for work. We noticed the great prices for homes but most are inside gated communities. I am hearing horror stories about them and the gangs and rules. Has anyone had a good experience they can share?

I live in a gated community and I love it. No gangs that I'm aware of but sure we have rules.

I've found our community rules to be reasonable, nothing like the micromanagement that others have implied. Most of our members who complain about rules are those who haven't read them or choose to break them.

Yes, there are some communities with poor reputations. My opinion is that they're the exception and not the rule.

Is my community problem-free? Of course not! Like any large group of people, we have issues to work on. But the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks. Were I to spend twice the money outside the gates, I could not match my community benefits.

Regarding that proposed commute, be cautioned. Regardless of what ANYONE tells you, the commute from PA to NY (assuming you mean NYC) is a BEAR! It gets old, tiresome, and expensive very quickly.

Good luck in your search!

[tmunch250]

Thank you all for your advice and input. We have a lot to think about. I noticed nobody said the names of the communities they talked about , is this not allowed? If it is allowed I would loves some names so I know where to look. Thanks again