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My wife and I are planning a move to Durham in spring 2008, and we're thinking Woodcroft is where we'll buy. Although we have own three different houses over the years, we've never been in a neighborhood with a Homeowner's Association.
I can see the positives, but I find myself nervous about negative HOA stories (not woodcroft specifically, just HOAs in general).
So, I'm wondering if those of you who might live there would be willing to share your thoughts on any dealings with the HOA and if you know of any negative experiences that have occurred.
My wife and I are planning a move to Durham in spring 2008, and we're thinking Woodcroft is where we'll buy. Although we have own three different houses over the years, we've never been in a neighborhood with a Homeowner's Association.
I can see the positives, but I find myself nervous about negative HOA stories (not woodcroft specifically, just HOAs in general).
So, I'm wondering if those of you who might live there would be willing to share your thoughts on any dealings with the HOA and if you know of any negative experiences that have occurred.
Thanks in advance!
Gary
Check out Mrs Steel's posts on this forum. She posted Woodcroft's HOA
agreement at one time. IMHO, Woodcroft is a beautiful area.
Thanks. I had seen her photos, but not the HOA thread. I'll dig for it. I've seen their documents online. So, I'm hoping more for personal experience stories.
As for walking the neighborhood, that'll be difficult, as I'm in Seattle. We're hoping to buy before we move so we can go house-to-house.
I live just across the street in Woodlake. You should certainly look there too, as it's very similar and, like I said, literally across Fayetteville Road. Also, our pool is free whereas Woodcroft's pool membership is shockingly expensive. LOL.
Have you checked out the Woodcroft HOA website? I know they have one because I looked into their pool fees once. They probably have the HOA covenants posted there as well.
I can't speak to Woodcroft, but the WoodLAKE HOA is pretty unobtrusive, in my experience. In fact, I can only say positive things about it. Our HOA (with the help of Woodcroft's HOA and several other nearby neighborhoods) successfully defeated a developer and a proposed zoning change that might have put a big, ugly 24-hr grocery right in our back yard (when there are already countless stores within a 1-mile radius). Other than that, the only HOA experience I have is with HOA-sponsored Easter egg hunts, newcomers' brunches, and catered neighborhood BBQ's. I had to get their approval when I painted my house too... but since I wasn't going with fuscia or anything, it wasn't a problem.
Good luck with your searching and welcome to Durham!
Gary, I think I'm the only active poster on the boards right now who lives in Woodcroft. I've only lived here since the spring, but based on my experience & based on conversations I've had with others, the HOA here is very reasonable. The houses here are very colorful so if you want to paint your house a different color, you probably won't come across much opposition (they discourage people from using the exact same color scheme as neighboring houses, but they can be close). The HOA has some rules about new sheds & fences (you must apply to the architectural review board before building them), but if you just drive around & see what people already have, you'll know what is expected. I think the biggest restriction is the mailboxes, which are all identical.
As for landscaping, they are not horrendously strict. The covenants only say that yards should be kept in "acceptable condition". I'm not sure at what point people may have a right to complain, but I know that our yard is suffering from brown patches because of the drought & we haven't gotten in trouble. As I said, people are pretty reasonable here.
Here's a link to a thread where I posted tons of info about Woodcroft. //www.city-data.com/forum/ralei...ft-durham.html
Check out the links & look at the pictures. If you have any other questions, just let me know.
I live just across the street in Woodlake. You should certainly look there too, as it's very similar and, like I said, literally across Fayetteville Road. Also, our pool is free whereas Woodcroft's pool membership is shockingly expensive. LOL.
First of all, the annual HOA payment for Woodcroft are $189 a year. That does not include the community center & pool, but we found that the costs are comaprable to other neighborhoods. For instance, if my husband and I want to have a full membership to the Woodcroft Club (which includes the pool, tennis courts, social events and the like), it would cost us $672 a year. However, joining is a choice and that's what we love about Woodcroft. If we lived in one of the surrounding neighborhoods, we'd have to pay those extra fees. Since we don't like swimming in community pools & don't play tennis, we're fine with what we get with just the basic HOA fees (miles of walking trails, playground). Sadly, I know of another community in southern Durham where they are charged more than us, but they don't have any ammenities (which makes no sense to me!).
But yes, Woodlake's HOA fees are pretty reasonable (less than $400 a year I think!) and use of the pool is included, so it may be a good option.
That's good to hear that they seem reasonable (and ditto with Woodlake, and we are considering both -- although woodlake seems to have a bigger split in house sizes. Everything I see online is either 1500 sq ft or 2500 sq ft. )
I appreciate the insight.
Mrssteel, I love your photos. We had already visited the neighborhood before I saw them. But, it was a nice reminder of our time there (we drove around for probably 2 hours, hitting every street, as well as having walked some trails and walked around the clubhouse area). Your photos were a great way for me to show my mother and sister what the area is like, since they live in other states.
Gary
p.s. mrssteel, I'll stay in touch as our move draws nearer and, if okay, might ping you with other questions!
p.s. mrssteel, I'll stay in touch as our move draws nearer and, if okay, might ping you with other questions!
Please do! I get lots of DMs from people who have questions about the area & I'm always happy to help. I try my best to give an honest opinion on these forums. I have no desire to "steer" people towards moving to Woodcroft just because I live here. Just don't be surprised if I know more about it than other neighborhoods since, ya know, I live here!
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We're hoping to buy before we move so we can go house-to-house.
whereas Woodcroft's pool membership is shockingly expensive. LOL. 
As I said, people are pretty reasonable here.
