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.
I guess if thats what your into and ok with.....seems like a prison type environment to me. Idk, maybe I'm just claustrophobic lol. I need space.
Why don't you just accept that people have different preferences and move on with your life, instead of belittling people for the preferences they have?
I have lived in HOA developments and non HOA developments and I prefer the HOAs. My neighborhood is well maintained, the houses are kept up to date, and we don't have car repair business operating in front yards. In past times, I lived in older subdivisions where there was no HOA and it was common to see a neighbor with lots of junk cars in the back yard, unkempt lawns, and an overall lowering of property values. Since my home is a major part of my net worth, I want it to maintain its value.
Condominiums are a different story, the very nature of the living arrangement makes for a more intrusive HOA. The HOA owns the outside of the buildings and you simply own the inside of the walls. I didn't like the old, retired, HOA commandos going around getting into everyone's business. I would not own a condominium again due to that.
\
So instead of assuming everyone has the same opinion as I do...I am going to ask. What is attractive about a house in a development? I am actually genuinely curious. I don't think I could forego my privacy.
For me the main benefit is in not having so much land that taking care of it becomes a burden that sucks all your time. Our last house had land and a long driveway. When it snowed, we had to plow and salt in order to get to work. There were trees that fell and needed to be cut up and removed. The area that was lawn took hours to mow. Since we didn't enjoy those things, we went with a bigger house on a small lot this time, where someone else takes care of all the amenities, except our little postage stamp yard for the dog.
Right! But I just can't stand people in my face all the time. I don't like seeing people all the time....it just bugs me. I dont know why but it does. I'd rather see wildlife and trees and such when I look out my window, not people and things and stuff and cars etc.
If you've already made up your mind to this degree, I don't understand why you even started this thread. If you want to look out your window and see wildlife and trees, why would you even consider living in a development? I'll just assume you can afford to buy land and if that's what you want, by all means get it. Why worry about what attracts people to places that don't have what you seek?
Many of us who purchase in higher-density areas couldn't afford both a nice house and land. Also, some of us appreciate being close to amenities like stores and restaurants and/or we'd like our kids to be able to walk to school or the library. Those are other pluses I missed on my list.
But just for the record, I've seen coyotes, bobcats, big-horned owls, and other wildlife in my development which is in mountain bluffs. That's in addition to the rabbits, quail, lizards, and snakes that are always here (in spite of the block wall that surrounds my back yard) hiding from the bobcats and smaller birds of prey.
Where I live, the trend in new single family developments is to build the houses so close together that you can just about open your window, reach out and touch your neighbor's house.
There are real concerns about building houses so close together. If one house were to catch fire, the neighboring houses are really vulnerable. In fact, a few years back this actually happened in a newer development. One house caught fire on a windy day and spread to about 5 or 6 houses. All the homes were destroyed.
Townhouses share common walls. However, there are laws that say the common walls must be made of fireproof drywall. In my state, the law once said that the common wall must be made of solid concrete. Then the developers started complaining about that and the legislators (especially those who took campaign money from developers) caved and dumbed down the laws.
Several years ago, a townhouse community near us had a house catch fire. While the houses on both sides didn't burn, water still was able to infiltrate into the neighboring houses (there are limits to that fireproof drywall) and the families in the neighboring houses were forced to move out until the water damage was dealt with.
We bought our single family house new in the late 90s. The distance between us and our neighbors is very generous. In fact, we've had people comment about how lucky we are to have such good spacing between the houses.
I DO live in a development.
Houses are not identical as in that photo.
Development is not a plotted grid as in that photo, nor are the houses that close together.
I dont know why but it does. I'd rather see wildlife and trees and such when I look out my window, not people and things and stuff and cars etc.
Exactly what I see living my HOA development.
What exactly was your reason for starting this thread, when it seems your mind is made up (both about hating developments AND having no idea what they CAN be like)?
I grew up in a house my parents built on 1/2 acre of land. As an adult married person I lived in subdivisions for 16 years, until we moved to a house on 3 acres. I now live in a subdivision again, and the houses are really close together.
We chose our home because it had features that we wanted. I think we looked at subdivision homes exclusively. We did not want a big piece of land to care for. We also wanted a flat lot and street and a small yard. We did want some newer amenities. So, the house we found with most of what we wanted is a house in a subdivision which takes up a great deal of the width of the building lot. Things I had to get used to:
streetlights and sirens at night
HOA restrictions
hearing noise from the neighbors, and realizing that our neighbors might be able to hear our TV if our windows were open
feeling exposed when I am in the front room
not having an expansive view out my back window
Things I like:
house in good condition
homes around me kept up nicely
overall this is a quiet place
it is close to services
it is in a pleasant location
I can't say that I know my neighbors. They did not extend themselves when we moved in, and frankly I was so busy, I didn't extend myself either. Several families have moved on our block in the three years since we have moved here. We have become slightly acquainted with some of our neighbors.
I don't wish for more room exactly, but sometimes I wish for more privacy. Overall we made a good choice for ourselves and I can't complain.
I live in a developement and have loved it up until last year. I bought a house with a side by side driveway with the neighbor next door. Biggest mistake of my life. I've gone above and beyond to be a good neighbor only to find out 11 years later, he moved my property marker before I moved in and has been diverting all of his water onto and into my property. I wish I could pick up my house and move where there was at least 75' between houses.
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.
. Idk, maybe I'm just claustrophobic lol. I need space.
