HOA experiences (Denver, Colorado Springs, Woodland Park: HOA fees, mortgage, new home)

[MrGuy]

I have been looking at houses in the North Springs/S. Monument area. HOAs abound. I have never lived in a functioning HOA and find the rules onerous, intrusive and burdensome. I am wondering if anyone can enlighten me as to whether their bite is as bad as their bark. For example, many covenants here limit the amount of indoor pets, like cats, you can have. Many even state that you cannot park in your own driveway overnight.

Not to get all freedom-y, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to let some unaccountable busy body into my house to count how many cats I have. I can’t imagine why anyone would want to live under such oppressive rule.

That said I drove around these neighborhood at night, and HORRORS! - there were cars parked in the driveways. Does this mean that people might also be living dangerously by having - dare I say it - 3 cats (or 2 cats and a dog) in these neighborhoods as well???

If you live in one of these quasi fascist/totalitarian areas I would be interested to know if life under such regimes is as oppressive and horrible as it appears.

Thanks

[otowi]

I am guessing it depends on who is running the HOA and how seriously they take it. I've heard horror stories of enforcement before, and I've also heard of stories where people keep collecting HOA fees but do absolutely nothing at all about anything ever. I personally would really prefer not to live in an HOA - it saves money and gives you more flexibility to just live your life!

[MrGuy]

Me either. However I have kids and the best schools in the springs are in this area. There is very little in this area that does not have active HOAs.

If it were up to me I’d pull a camper up to Hartsel, fire up the still, and get my freedom on. Unfortunately the loin monkeys need their edumacation.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Usually HOAs have some kind of website and post their meeting minutes on-line. Or you could contact their office and request copies of recent minutes. Either way, looking at what goes on in their meetings will give you an idea of what the Board finds important and what the issues are in the community.

[adjusterjack]

Originally Posted by MrGuy

If you live in one of these quasi fascist/totalitarian areas I would be interested to know if life under such regimes is as oppressive and horrible as it appears.

It is.

I've read thousands of horror stories about HOAs.

I wouldn't be caught dead living in one.

[Vision67]

OP: I think most new home areas have HOAs. Evidently either the homeowners or the mortgage companies must like them.

Perhaps it's due to the fact that most new areas have tiny "trailer lots", i.e. houses spaced at 10 foot minimums and long narrow lots. People living that close together can easily annoy each other. The rules lessen conflict.

Make sure you are OK with the rules and prepare to follow them exactly. If you don't like that, don't move in.

If I were you, I'd look at older areas. Find a neighborhood where people park RVs in their drive ways. That's a sign of a non-HOA neighborhood.

[TCHP]

As has been pointed out in some of your previous post requests, there are some very good school districts throughout the state that will allow you to live in more remote areas with a much different set of legal limitations that will be placed on your home and property than what will be found along the Front Range, some of which that have very rich local cultures. Additionally, north COS and the proximity to the Palmer Divide will bring you not only into a wide spread set of differing intensity HOAs developments and local busy bodies, but will also plop you right into the more conservative, evangelical Christian areas with more widely divergent weather including somewhat regular snow, rain, wind and hail, actually not much different than Woodland Park except you may have broader views of the mountains and plains.

Central and western Cos with it more liberal leanings, older neighborhoods with fewer limitations, wider architectural diversity, and more central location to schools may be a better fit if you are considering staying in Cos. It also tends to have milder weather, although not FL or NM mild, but certainly more muted than Woodland Park and Monument. Choice permitting into D12 can get you into a great district overall, although the D14 Manitou district and D11 Steele, Holmes, Coronado progression are also all very good schools, despite online rankings. But you will still be left with the vacuous, widespread, boring cultural wasteland that is Colorado Springs.

[MrGuy]

TCHP - I don’t know why Manitou dropped off my radar. Homes are older, which the Mrs. isn’t crazy about, but there seem to be some reasonably nice places for not outrageous sums of money.

Unfortunately various life events have conspired against my plans to move out of state, so I’m stuck in the cultural wasteland for the foreseeable future and I cannot afford to live in the Denver metro area. But Manitou is funky enough for me to deal with.

[abcdefg567]

Our last HOA was very hands off and basically just collected money. It was a large company.

They weren't even enforcing paint colors or yard maintenance, just no street parking at night.

One lady had 8 cats, others had multiple dogs, etc. This was over in Springs Ranch, probably too far East for you, but I don't think they are all so militant.

Our new HOA however is newer and evidently sends out angry notices for un pulled weeds.

[Vision67]

When I lived in a previous house in an HOA area, I received a notice that my lawn had too many dandelions.

So I fertilized it.