Houses without Homeowners Associations (Raleigh, Durham: townhouse, neighborhoods, construction)

[GatorMeg22]

Hi!

I am looking to relocate to the Raleigh-Durham area but it seems like all the houses are in subdivisions with HOAs. Are there any family-friendly areas that just have houses that aren't part of an HOA or in a subdivision? Thanks!

-Meghan

[MikeJaquish]

Meghan,

Yes, there are plenty.
You will need to consider 11+ year old homes, or homes that are outside a subdivision.

I live in a subdivision that was built from 1992-1995 and we have no HOA.

[savage71chevelless]

Meghan, The above poster is incorrect. I live in a subdivision in Holly Springs, with plenty of nice homes built in 2004 & 2005 with no HOA. You do not need to consider 11+ year old homes. Make sure you look around, there are plenty of homes that are new or within 5 years old without HOA dues and in a subdivision

[J_Lurk]

There's a reason you see so many HOAs, and the reason is that any community built after January 1, 1999 that has community property has to have an HOA (NC Planned Communities Act. Chapter 47F ) The poster in a newer house is probably in a subdivision with no community property.

However, if you are looking for newer construction you should know that not all HOAs are created equal. I live in a subdivision with very low dues and a volunteer-run HOA, and everyone is very pleasant. Even though my subdivision was built pre-1999, we have a community pond and it's easier to have a group structure to manage it.

It's my personal feeling that HOAs get more problematic when they are run by a professional service, as the service tries to earn their money (by doing things like cruising the neighborhood looking for violations), but even that can vary by HOA. So I'd ask questions about the HOA itself, what the board consists of, and how it is run. The dues should be on any listing.

[Slygo]

I hate HOA's, so I hope people can answer the OP with specific locations and subdivisions. It is so hard to find anything good without an HOA.

[MikeJaquish]

Originally Posted by J_Lurk

There's a reason you see so many HOAs, and the reason is that any community built after January 1, 1999 that has community property has to have an HOA (NC Planned Communities Act. Chapter 47F ) The poster in a newer house is probably in a subdivision with no community property.

However, if you are looking for newer construction you should know that not all HOAs are created equal. I live in a subdivision with very low dues and a volunteer-run HOA, and everyone is very pleasant. Even though my subdivision was built pre-1999, we have a community pond and it's easier to have a group structure to manage it.

It's my personal feeling that HOAs get more problematic when they are run by a professional service, as the service tries to earn their money (by doing things like cruising the neighborhood looking for violations), but even that can vary by HOA. So I'd ask questions about the HOA itself, what the board consists of, and how it is run. The dues should be on any listing.

I often overlook the exceptions in the Act, that it applies to subdivisions with over 20 lots, or those planned after the effective date of the Act.
So, a smaller subdivision or one planned after the effective date may be excluded.

I bet there was a rush of submissions and approvals in late 1998.

[North_Raleigh_Guy]

Originally Posted by savage71chevelless

Meghan, The above poster is incorrect. I live in a subdivision in Holly Springs, with plenty of nice homes built in 2004 & 2005 with no HOA. You do not need to consider 11+ year old homes. Make sure you look around, there are plenty of homes that are new or within 5 years old without HOA dues and in a subdivision

Define "plenty"

I'm sure there are some. But they are few and far between. Any neighborhood built since 2002 with multiple homes that disturbs more than 1 acre to be built would need at least one stormwater BMP (best management practice) to treat runoff. The neighborhood would need an HOA since most towns in the Triangle fall within the Neuse River Basin which requires onsite stormwater treatment and the towns require an HOA to be responsible for the maintenacne of the BMP. Of course there are neighborhoods that were approved before the rule went into effect and are "grandfathered" in but their numbers are not that great.

I think you can find a few newer homes without HOAs, but it is not very common. More the exception than the rule.

[lottamoxie]

I too am in an older neighborhood (homes are now 20 yrs old) and no HOA...in Cary, no less! I'm very happy to not have a HOA; I rented a townhouse in Raleigh for a few yrs and my neighbor was on the board of the HOA and that was a P.I.A. I was determined, when I purchased, to not have to deal with a HOA again. ;-)

[sll3454]

North Durham:

across from Eno Valley Elem. Sch. and Northern HS (the area east of Roxboro)

off of Guess Road, Terry and connecting streets (west of G), Prologue and connecting (east), and probably some of the roads south of those

off of Russell Rd, which branches off of Guess

There are others. I sent you a dm saying how you can find them.

[CHTransplant]

I really wonder whether it's HOA's that the OP dislikes, or the covenants (usually put in place by the developer) that apply to the property. While the two often go hand in hand, they are not synonymous. For example, some neighborhoods have an HOA (to manage common property or required stormwater facilities) but have very few restrictive covenants.

To simply rule out all HOAs seems a little narrow minded to me.