Question About HOAs in Townhome Communities (Phoenix: HOA, condos, how much)

[NanceB]

Hi,

I've already read two threads on here about HOAs, but I'm not certain I understand the type of community being discussed. It sounds like a lot of people are talking about having problems with HOAs in single family home developments.

We're considering purchasing a second home as an investment in a townhome community. We'll be buying one with a small block walled backyard/largish patio area. Our main home will continue to be in Albuquerque or Galveston.

We have a Chocolate lab and two cats. All are basically lazy house dwellers, though the lab gets taken on two walks a day (with poopie bag, we don't leave doo on people's yards). We don't leave her in the yard to bark because we hate it when other people do that. However, if a dog goes by or she hears a loud noise, she'll bark for a few seconds until we tell her to stop. She is a dog, after all.

Here's my question. Is this pet situation one that is likely to present a problem in a townhome/patio home community?

If we were to purchase one, how much freedom would we have to landscape our own walled in back patio/backyard? For instance, if someone else had put down cement to cover the hole thing, would we be allowed to pull up the cement so the dog would have somewhere to "go" when she wasn't on a walk?

Or would this be a situation where we would have to apply for approval? Our ideal backyardish area would have pavers, tidy mulch or pea gravel, potted plants and a small container tree or two, so there is neither bare ground or cement.

Just don't know how hyper HOAs get in the Phoenix area. We're perfectly happy to let the HOA decide what color the place should be, take care of the front maintenance (if applicable), and don't need to personalize the front at all (maybe a pot of flowers on the front stoop, if allowed?). We always take in our trash can within an hour or two of pickup. We would prefer to be able to park our car in the driveway, however, saving the garage for storage instead.

Thank you!

[AZJoeD]

It is impossible to answer this question, as each HOA is different.

In general HOAs in communities with townhomes and condos are stricter than those with Single Family homes, but it depends.

If you have a particular community in mind, you can get a copy of the Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CC&Rs) for the community which are public record. Ask your agent to get you a copy.

Even if you read the CC&Rs, you will not know how rigidly they are enforced. You will likely need to speak with a few owners in the community. One place to start would be to get the names of the officers of the HOA and speak with them about your concerns.

Again, each community is different. I have seen communities that cite you for sneezing, and communities where you can park junk cars in your yard with no complaints. Most will be some where in between. You just need to do your research

[rational1]

In Arizona the HOA is required to give the documents to you. Then you have a few days to sign saying that you have read, understood and accept them. If you don't sign your purchase doesn't go through.

You also have the inspection period to ask questions of present residents to get a sense of the community.

[Captain Bill]

You can telephone the management company and get the CC&R's ahead of time. You may have to go pick them up because usually there are too many pages to email. Some communities have them on their web site so you can download them.

The property manager for that community can answer a lot of your questions. But you want to see the CC&R's AND the Rules and Regulations, which clarify the CC&R's.

[NanceB]

Thank you for the knowledgeable answers about CC&Rs. Much appreciated! I will definitely check these out in the various developments.

I guess what I was hoping for, though, was a general feeling about how strict the average HOA can be in Phoenix as opposed to other cities. For instance, a ballpark percentage that have dog/cat restrictions. Or whether or not a walled-in area at the back of your unit is yours to landscape as you wish.

It would seem pretty weird to me if you couldn't landscape it the way you wanted--ultra tall, garish, or totally bizarre designs elements, plus restricted plants excluded, of course. Since the interior of a fenced-in backyard or six-foot solid walled patio is presumed to be private, it feels like it should be part of what you've purchased, your property vs. the building's exterior elevation.

Maybe it's just that I've never owned in an HOA community before, but to me, it would be like having to ask permission to paint my living room cream instead of Navajo white. Sigh.

[Jkgourmet]

There is no average strictness. Really - they are all over the scale.

Gett the cc&r's. Go to the forum here at city-search and start a new thread with the name of the community in the subject line.

You must look at the community - drive around and look. Do you see dogs off leash, junk cars in the driveway, weeds? Talk to the residents, but remember that one guy who had a nasty-gram from the HOA because he left his garbage can out past 5pm may be pissy - so gather multiple opinions and take them with a grain of salt.

I've not found that asking prop mgt companies or board members for anything beyond the rules helps much. They are all going to claim they are doing a great job - they can't help but be subjective.

MOST will allow you to landscape what you wan behind your wall, as long as it is below the wall. If your neighbors can see it, there may be restrictions. For example, a tall storage shed or adding a patio cover is going to require approval of the board.

BIG WARNING: many townhouse communities limit the size of your dog!!!! The lab is definately too big for some of them. Virtually all HOA's limit the number of pets you can have, and a total of three is over the max for a few places. (but I suspect that many folks would slide on two cats. It's mutiple dogs, animal boarders, and those that take in too many foster/rescue dogs that want to keep out.)

also- google the name of the community - in quotes. Surprising stuff sometimes comes up.