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Old 12-27-2014, 01:20 PM
 
Location: Georgia
4 posts, read 7,511 times
Reputation: 15

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I'm sure this question has been asked before, but I'm having a difficult time navigating through this incredible forum -- So, I apologize in advance for any repetition.

We are considering moving BACK to Arizona to be near daughter and grandkids....my husband and I are in our late 60's and want to get another new build (this would be our 4th and last!!). Plus, this would be a move to West Valley, where we've not lived before. In looking over some of the horror stories about HOAs & CC&Rs, and the various fines people have to pay because of certain "violations", we're rather puzzled about a couple things:

Most of the lots in these lovely new subdivisions in Surprise, Goodyear, Buckeye, etc. are very small (average 6000 sq. ft.??), and once you put the house on it, there's not much room for anything else. Most homes in our price range allow for only a 2-car garage.

Now: the HOAs tell you that you cannot park on the street or in the driveway for any length of time, so what are you to do if you have overnight guests come for a visit and you don't want them staying in a hotel??

When we lived in Pima County we had a large lot, so parking was never a problem, + our HOAs allowed for overnight parking, if it were necessary. We lived in a subdivision of 185 homes.

Currently we live in a community where (again) overnight parking is allowed, if it's ONE night. Everyone seems to go along with these rules and homeowners do not abuse the luxury of overnight parking. Most of us have approx. 1/3 acre, which by West Valley standards is huge, I guess; huh??

Bottom line: Are all the HOAs "cut from the same mold" and are this unreasonable as to give a homeowner a hefty fine because someone doesn't garage their vehicle once or twice? Seems a little outrageous, and rather discouraging at this time in our life. We've always lived in an HOA community, but never this stringent!
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Old 12-27-2014, 01:58 PM
 
Location: Hard aground in the Sonoran Desert
4,866 posts, read 11,159,863 times
Reputation: 7123
I have a three car garage and our HOA doesn't allow overnight street parking though everyone does it. The times I've had overnight guests I've emailed the community manager and she's given me permission for my guests to park in the street. You're supposed to park in the garage, the driveway and the street as a last resort.

Our community manager is very forgiving and lets people correct issues before they are fined. It is the habitual offenders that they target which I don't mind a bit.
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Old 12-27-2014, 02:38 PM
 
Location: Amongst the AZ Cactus
7,068 posts, read 6,420,438 times
Reputation: 7729
I've found HOA's are often more lenient than the rules indicate and I think this has positive/negative sides to it. In my view if an HOA has rules, and one is paying dues to enforce those rules and they aren't, I'd prefer to get some money back instead of them playing a false game of "we enforce the rules and will charge you X dollars a month to do so".

A suggestion....find a subdivision/HOA you want to live in and talk to a few people in the subdivision to get their opinions on what their experience is of the HOA. I would suggest talking to several people to get an average consensus on how it's managed/how the rules are enforced.
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Old 12-27-2014, 02:41 PM
 
Location: Sonoran Desert
38,957 posts, read 50,883,019 times
Reputation: 28135
We don't have to garage our cars in my development. Street parking is a no-no, though. If you have overnight guests who have to park on the street or some other reason you can't put the car in the driveway, you just call the HOA security and let them know.
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Old 12-27-2014, 03:33 PM
 
269 posts, read 531,145 times
Reputation: 335
I'm in Estrella Mountain Ranch in "The Retreat" community. Not all are the same. We have close to 1/2 acre lots and min garage is 3 car. We must park in driveway and it can hold all my potential guests.
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Old 12-27-2014, 04:08 PM
 
Location: Georgia
4 posts, read 7,511 times
Reputation: 15
Thank you all for your suggestions and comments. They're very much appreciated.

Talking to current residents will give us some insight into the community, I'm sure. We're really looking forward to moving back to the desert.

Thanks again.
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Old 12-27-2014, 04:22 PM
 
14,250 posts, read 17,849,693 times
Reputation: 13807
The first thing to look at is whether the roads are public or private. In gated communities, the roads are often private and owned by the community. That pretty much lets the HOA impose its own rules. In our community, the roads are not owned by the HOA but by the city. That means that city rules apply and not HOA rules. So if the city allows parking then the HOA can do nothing. And, I would add, far better to have city owned streets than HOA ones as the cost of maintenance can lead to big assessments.
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Old 12-27-2014, 05:44 PM
 
Location: Sonoran Desert
38,957 posts, read 50,883,019 times
Reputation: 28135
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jaggy001 View Post
The first thing to look at is whether the roads are public or private. In gated communities, the roads are often private and owned by the community. That pretty much lets the HOA impose its own rules. In our community, the roads are not owned by the HOA but by the city. That means that city rules apply and not HOA rules. So if the city allows parking then the HOA can do nothing. And, I would add, far better to have city owned streets than HOA ones as the cost of maintenance can lead to big assessments.
When residents buy they agree to abide by the HOA rules and those rules can and do apply to parking on the public streets of the development. There have been a couple of attempts to change this with respect to parking at the state legislature, but those attempts have failed. The city won't enforce the HOA rules, of course, but the HOA will ticket violators and fine the homeowner if they can figure out who the car "belongs" to. In my development, you get a notice stuck on the window first and you get fined only if you continue to ignore the rules.
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Old 12-27-2014, 06:00 PM
 
14,250 posts, read 17,849,693 times
Reputation: 13807
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ponderosa View Post
When residents buy they agree to abide by the HOA rules and those rules can and do apply to parking on the public streets of the development. There have been a couple of attempts to change this with respect to parking at the state legislature, but those attempts have failed. The city won't enforce the HOA rules, of course, but the HOA will ticket violators and fine the homeowner if they can figure out who the car "belongs" to. In my development, you get a notice stuck on the window first and you get fined only if you continue to ignore the rules.
There are a couple of aspects to this. The first is the wording of the CC&Rs and other rules as it applies to visitors as opposed to residents. The HOA has no power to prevent visitors from parking on public streets so they can only go after the resident who is being visited if they can prove who that is and if the wording is specific about visitors.

Second, Senate Bill 1278-Parking on Public Streets forbids HOA’s that are formed after January 1, 2014 from regulating the public streets within a neighborhood. However, this would only help the OP if she was buying in a recently formed HOA.
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Old 12-27-2014, 06:12 PM
 
2,767 posts, read 5,682,346 times
Reputation: 5079
Never heard of "no driveway parking."
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