Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My husband and I are considering purchasing in Cary, although it has been since both of us were kids that we lived over in that direction. The one thing that concerns us is fanatical HOA neighborhoods...the ones that try to govern what kind of flowers you can plant, forbid childrens toys in the front yards, etc...
We found a couple of houses in the glenkirk and highland oaks subdivisions that might be a possibility, but are unsure what kind of strange 'rules' they might have...
Does anyone have any input on these neighborhoods, or suggestions on other similar neighborhoods that might be a good fit?
My husband and I are considering purchasing in Cary, although it has been since both of us were kids that we lived over in that direction. The one thing that concerns us is fanatical HOA neighborhoods...the ones that try to govern what kind of flowers you can plant, forbid childrens toys in the front yards, etc...
We found a couple of houses in the glenkirk and highland oaks subdivisions that might be a possibility, but are unsure what kind of strange 'rules' they might have...
Does anyone have any input on these neighborhoods, or suggestions on other similar neighborhoods that might be a good fit?
We live in Highland Oaks. Glenkirk is next door. They're both great neighborhoods and the location is fabulous. Obviously you get higher quality in Glenkirk and more value in Highland Oaks. Our association is basically brand new. There are some rules that I think are silly (e.g. the size of bird feeders in the backyard) but they were not enforced last year. The property manager just changed because the old one wasn't doing a good job. I have no idea what the new property manager will do but in my opinion we needed a more active manager because some things were being done without approval that were pretty hideous. I'm not talking about types of flowers. We've lived in an association in Tampa that was very strict (we once got a letter with a picture of our bushes saying they were unruly, unkempt or untidy) and one in Richmond and so far this has been the most lax. Feel free to PM me if you have more questions.
WE live in West Park in West CAry and the HOA are a BUNCH OF NAZIS! My neighbors and I get letters at least once a week about the garbage can showing on the side of the house, weeds, water our lawn, the mailbox, the cross hatch in the windows are crooked, etc. The HOA Secretary is a stay at home mom who lives on our street. SHe is the only native NC so she hates all of us Yankees. Its a beautiful neighborhood, but I wouldnt mind moving out of here due to the HOA. Just a warning LOL
Great comment VickiR. I have doen that a few times to check out neighborhoods. I drive around on a Saturday afternoon and see what the people are like, if they are taking care of homes, out playing in the yards or if its dead.
Most people are very friendly and happy to talk about their home and subdivision. Always read the covenants though, whether they are actively enforced or not... those are the rules and the management could decide to enforce them at any time.
size of the birdfeeder? yeah, not so cool- enforced or not. I'm not a fan of HOA to begin with, and thusfar we've done well to stay far, far away from them, but with the size of house we are looking for, coupled with the fact we want it in a neighborhood for the kids, really points us into that territory....UGH.
One of my concerns (this is silly, i know, but important to me) is that I can have the mailbox I want. A mailbox that is not solid black with that conformist brass decoration garbage. Give me a fun, eclectic, bright happy painted mailbox! If I have to get bills from it, I may as well smile when I see it!
Our neighborhood requires the black metal mailbox and I'd be shocked if Glenkirk didn't too. My guess is their covenants are more restrictive because it is a little more high end, but I don't know--maybe they assume everyone will keep up their property. Highland Oaks is very family friendly and whenever the weather is good there are kids out everywhere you look. I'm guessing Glenkirk is the same way. I'm not sure about the lots in Glenkirk (there seemed to be a lot of houses backing up to other houses which at that price point seems ridiculous to me), but the lots the three story houses on the market in Highland Oaks are on are very nice wooded lots.
one of the houses we have been looking at is a three story on a cul de sac in highland oaks. its actually the front runner at this point in time. stupid black mailboxes
I think each HOA is different (both in terms of the written rules and how they are interpreted by HOA boards with varying levels of tolerance).
That said-
I have lived in two separate Cary neighborhoods with HOAs and generally they do a lot more good than harm.
In one case the neighborhood has a WIDE range of prices for single family homes (under 200K to 1 Million Plus) and in the case of the "cottage homes" many of the original purchasers were young, inexperienced and unprepared to maintain a detached home, and unwilling to either devote the time to maintain their yards or pay a landscaper. Their section of the neighborhood quickly became an eyesore. The HOA stepped in and enforced the written covenants. I had zero sympathy for the homeowners. They KNEW the house had a lawn and landscaping before buying-if they wanted a zero maintenance situation they should have purchased an attached townhome or condo. Although I never complained to the HOA myself, a few of those homeowners asked me what I thought about the situation and they didn't like my answer very much.
In another a homeowner decided to paint their house in a color that was both an extremely bright shade and completely incompatible with adjacent properties. The home was located on the main through road within the neighborhood in a section where the setbacks are very small (resulting in the houses being close to both the road and each other). The HOA stepped in and demanded a repaint. The homeowner responded by refusing to repaint, listing the house for sale and badmouthing the HOA. MANY months later the house sold, but only after the homeowner eventually gave in and repainted the house in a compatible color.
I personally like living in an HOA neighborhood. I believe that it protects my investment. I also knew what I was getting into when I bought into both neighborhoods. If you want to have a large vegetable garden and a dog run, don't buy a house on .19 acres in Cary and expect to be welcomed by your neighbors. I work very hard maintaining my home and I don't think it's an unreasonable expectation ESPECIALLY IN A HOA NEIGHBORHOOD that I KNEW had covenants when I bought the property that those covenants would be enforced.
I'll agree completely that some HOA situations are ridiculous (the above birdhouse size issue is a good example), but there is a simple solution. If you think there is a chance that your lifestyle will be incompatible with a neighborhood's HOA covenants, don't buy in that neighborhood.
An owner should have full rights within city codes.
HOA's are for paranoid folks who feel they must be their brother's keeper.
Bubba can park his truck on his lawn and I care not a rat's patoot.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
