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Silly question (I hope).... Are you allowed to have your own private pool and/or tramplines and swingsets in your own yard? Most of the houses I'm seeing -- most in a subdivison-- don't have pool or such in their yard. Is it not allowed? I actually don't like the idea of a community pool and would prefer to have one in my own private yard. Is that being unrelastic in the area? Here on Long Island, everyone has their own pool and such and there is no "community pool" for the neighborhoods.
One other thing -- what's up with all the HOA's? What are they for? What do they do? Is it better to be part of a community that has one or not? Seems like it's a different world down there and I'm trying to learn as much as possible before relocating. Thank you!
I'm not sure where you are looking, but in the areas I looked (SW Durham, a few spots in Cary and N. Raleigh) I never once in maybe 50 homes seen in person and hundreds of listings online, saw a personal pool.
I occasionally found homes with swingsets, jungle gyms, or trampolines in the back yard but they were rare.
I believe they are allowed, but given the fact that nobody has them here, it has to be a very personal decision, as it will not be seen to improve the value of the home for a majority of buyers. Many communities do have the central pool, and that's enough for a lot of people.
As far as the purpose of HOAs, why, it's to have a pool of course! Funny how that works huh?
Seriously, HOA's serve a purpose and to some they are great and to some they are terrible. Many developments have common areas, greenways, and common facilities, and HOA dues pay for the upkeep on these. They contract gardening services for these common areas, maybe tree trimmers, etc.
HOAs also enforce neighborhood rules regarding appearances, buildings, etc - with a strict HOA, you won't have to worry about your neighbor parking his 1971 Winnebago in front of his house collecting moths and rodents, and he wont have to worry about you one day deciding to paint your house to look like a yellow submarine.
Some people love HOAs and happily pay, some consider them a useful but annoying requirement, and some hate them and curse their authority. I am in the second camp.
I agree that backyard pools are rare, and not considered an asset when selling the house (maintenance and insurance costs would turn me off); but my neighborhood and most we looked in (all over Cary, Apex, Holly Springs, Fuquay Varina, Garner; I'm in Fuquay) is FULL of swingsets and trampolines. Now, we were looking in the mid- to upper- $200s. . . it's possible that higher end communities have more restrictions on these types of things. I had to get my swingset approved by my HOA, but it was mostly a formality. . . the set had to be wood (not metal or plastic if it was permanent), and 10' from all property lines.
Silly question (I hope).... Are you allowed to have your own private pool and/or tramplines and swingsets in your own yard? Most of the houses I'm seeing -- most in a subdivison-- don't have pool or such in their yard. Is it not allowed? I actually don't like the idea of a community pool and would prefer to have one in my own private yard. Is that being unrelastic in the area? Here on Long Island, everyone has their own pool and such and there is no "community pool" for the neighborhoods.
One other thing -- what's up with all the HOA's? What are they for? What do they do? Is it better to be part of a community that has one or not? Seems like it's a different world down there and I'm trying to learn as much as possible before relocating. Thank you!
In my neighborhood you are allowed to have all of the above. We currently have a swingset and trampoline in our yard as do most of my neighbors. You can check the community ACC rules before you purchase a home. Most people don't put pools in their yards because they have a neighborhood pool. We have about 3 families out of 239 that have private pools.
I grew up with a pool in my yard on LI, but I much prefer to go to our neighborhood pool here, where my kids can play with their friends and I don't have the upkeep and expense of a pool in my yard.
HOA are responsible for upkeeping the common grounds in your neighborhood and inforcing the rules of the neighborhood among other things. HOA are responsible for getting homeowners to keep their homes looking nice. Unlike LI, it is rare to see in a HOA neighborhood, broken down cars on the lawn or homes that look like they are falling apart. In LI there is always at least one home in any given neighborhood that the owners don't "keep up with" or I used to refer to them as "Bomb Houses". If a HOA does its job properly, you won't normally see that. We prefer to be in a HOA neighborhood.
Silly question (I hope).... Are you allowed to have your own private pool and/or tramplines and swingsets in your own yard? Most of the houses I'm seeing -- most in a subdivison-- don't have pool or such in their yard. Is it not allowed? I actually don't like the idea of a community pool and would prefer to have one in my own private yard. Is that being unrelastic in the area? Here on Long Island, everyone has their own pool and such and there is no "community pool" for the neighborhoods.
One other thing -- what's up with all the HOA's? What are they for? What do they do? Is it better to be part of a community that has one or not? Seems like it's a different world down there and I'm trying to learn as much as possible before relocating. Thank you!
1. State law says there will be an HOA anytime the developer creates common area.
That may be as simple as a dedicated plot for a sign, tot lot, etc. That organizes the maintenance of the common area, including purchase of liability insurance.
Or it could be the stormwater retention and control features that need to be maintained to perform properly. They become common area and community responsibility, and dues cover that maintenance.
Prior to the law, it was possible for community features to fall to individual homeowners to maintain as they cared to, or to ignore.
Almost all subdivision plans of lots under 10 acres include some sort of stormwater management features, and automatically trip the law that requires an HOA.
2. Yes, you can have a private pool. Community pools are a benefit for folks who want to have the pool for the kids, and keep them at home, but do not want the ongoing expense after the kids stop using it.
With the small lots that are popular now, it is more difficult to fit a pool into the back yard of many homes, and you may have to check with the HOA before installing one.
But, yes, if room exists, it can be done in most neighborhoods, if not all.
3. I purposely chose a neighborhood without an HOA. No regrets. Many people feel differently. It is a personal choice which is a better living arrangement, but the choice exists, albeit with a little searching.
4. There are also homes without subdivision covenants, if you look for them. Might be worthwhile, if they fit your needs better.
1. State law says there will be an HOA anytime the developer creates common area.
That may be as simple as a dedicated plot for a sign, tot lot, etc. That organizes the maintenance of the common area, including purchase of liability insurance.
Or it could be the stormwater retention and control features that need to be maintained to perform properly. They become common area and community responsibility, and dues cover that maintenance.
Prior to the law, it was possible for community features to fall to individual homeowners to maintain as they cared to, or to ignore.
Almost all subdivision plans of lots under 10 acres include some sort of stormwater management features, and automatically trip the law that requires an HOA.
2. Yes, you can have a private pool. Community pools are a benefit for folks who want to have the pool for the kids, and keep them at home, but do not want the ongoing expense after the kids stop using it.
With the small lots that are popular now, it is more difficult to fit a pool into the back yard of many homes, and you may have to check with the HOA before installing one.
But, yes, if room exists, it can be done in most neighborhoods, if not all.
3. I purposely chose a neighborhood without an HOA. No regrets. Many people feel differently. It is a personal choice which is a better living arrangement, but the choice exists, albeit with a little searching.
4. There are also homes without subdivision covenants, if you look for them. Might be worthwhile, if they fit your needs better.
Thanks so much everyone for all the quick responses. I just want to clarify one thing -- if you even know--- if your subdivision or neighborhood, has a community pool you are still allowed to have a private one if you have the room for it? A pool is not mandatory for me, but I would like the option and for it to be my decision if I want one or not, not an HOA.
Thanks
I believe that is something you have to check in each HOA's bylaws.
The only one I know for sure (because it came up on this board) is Woodcroft, which is a very large development in Durham, and they have a great central facility, the Woodcroft Club, with pools, fields, etc.
In Woodcroft, you ARE allowed to have your own pool.
(However, this may be slightly different than other communities because the Woodcroft Club is a separate membership fee from the HOA dues, unlike most other communities where that is included)
A subdivision having a community pool has no bearing on whether you can have a private pool. You just need to check the HOA convenants. If they don't allow it having a community pool already is not the reason.
Very interesting about LI having a lot of pools! Just affluent areas? In MA I did not see many inground pools. But a lot of above ground pools. I hate those! LOL!
I'm fine with a community pool. It's not FL here. Up North you would use it in June, July, and August. Here you get two extra months: May & September.
I like not having to deal with the liability of my kids' friends and extra sets of eyes on my kids at the community pool.
Quote:
Originally Posted by squeezed out
Thanks so much everyone for all the ! quick responses. I just want to clarify one thing -- if you even know--- if your subdivision or neighborhood, has a community pool you are still allowed to have a private one if you have the room for it? A pool is not mandatory for me, but I would like the option and for it to be my decision if I want one or not, not an HOA.
Thanks
Even if our neighborhood has a pool, building a pool on your lot will depend on the neighborhood's covenants. Everyone will be different, so you will have to check each individual one. Also, there are probably city ordiances on how big your lot has to be in order to put in a pool. You may also want to think about your water supply. City water might be costly to maintain a pool. Some HOAs do not allow private wells. Some HOAs have shared water wells. And some citys & countys have restrictions on how big your lot has to be to put in a well. Keep in mind if you use city or county water you will be required to follow their restrictions. The drought has taught us that we don't always get to use water when we want to.
Lastly, as others have mentioned, private pools do not tend to be assets here when selling a home. You might want to discuss this with your realtor.
If you do buy and plan to build a pool later, make sure to talk to your Realtor(R) first. They can help you understand the effect a pool will have on your home's desirability and how much, if any, return you should expect on that investment. As someone else said, a pool is seen by many as a negative - something that cost lots of money to maintain.
Last edited by Dire Wolf; 05-23-2008 at 04:02 PM..
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