What exactly does "no deed restrictions" mean?

[justNancy]

Originally Posted by mikey2

Not to compare "war stories" but my neighbor up North was a biker who like to invite other noisy biker friends over at various times of the day or night.

He had curtains in one room that consisted of a "sponge Bob" towel and X-movies could clearly be seen playing through the gaps in the towel (I'm not exaggerating here).

He also would drape "NASCAR" banners across the front of the house...one time was when I just put my house on the market and the agent was trying to show it.

And lastly (but not leastly) he had a big Rotweiler (I nicknamed him "snots") who he claimed never left the yard and was not vicious. He must have meant never left MY yard cause every time I looked he was in my yard taking a crap or something.

So......now I live in a Deed restricted community and love it.

Mikey

Ah - a man who understands why I'm nervous about buying a home!

To me, not having deed restrictions means you only have to follow the laws of the county or city, not your neighborhood. I'm not sure I want to live in a community with an HOA, but I agree it can be a great solution to the continuous headaches from noisy neighbors and barking dogs.

[mikey2]

....and the thing that freaks me out about the whole thing is that you can check out the neighborhood (or even live there for years) and everything is fine.

Then.....your neighbors house is sold and Pooof!...your new neighbors are the Clampets, the Cheaplaugh's, or the Crackhead family and you're screwed.

Mikey

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by mikey2

....and the thing that freaks me out about the whole thing is that you can check out the neighborhood (or even live there for years) and everything is fine.

Then.....your neighbors house is sold and Pooof!...your new neighbors are the Clampets, the Cheaplaugh's, or the Crackhead family and you're screwed.

Mikey

Unfortunately, you can never have a 100% guarantee. Right now we are lucky, we have GREAT neighbors all around us, in fact, our whole neighborhood is pretty great. But we have had our share of living around undesirables, believe me. The worst experience was many years ago when we lived in Laurel Park (Sarasota) and surrounded by rentals, and landlords did not care who they rented to. It was an endless parade of losers, jailbirds, druggies, wife-beaters, you-name-it making our lives a constant hell. When we moved out of that neighborhood it literally took me YEARS to decompress. I never once got a full night's sleep there in the whole 12 years we lived in that neighborhood.

After that I became VIGILANT about selecting anyplace else I was going to live. I have to say, our house now is the best place I ever lived in that regard, despite being close to the airport. I love it here. Knock on wood, may it stay that way!

[justNancy]

Originally Posted by mikey2

....and the thing that freaks me out about the whole thing is that you can check out the neighborhood (or even live there for years) and everything is fine.

Then.....your neighbors house is sold and Pooof!...your new neighbors are the Clampets, the Cheaplaugh's, or the Crackhead family and you're screwed.

Mikey

That's exactly what happened to me in Bonita Springs. 13 years and then the above people moved in, a combination of all 3. They had 5 dogs that never saw the inside of a house. The poor babies were out in the weather 24/7 and barked continuously. Not sure the people were smoking crack, but they dug a big hole in the backyard and would sit around a bonfire and drink beer at all hours. Nothing like waking up to "Yahoooo" at 3 in the morning, along with dogs howling, looking out your window and seeing flames in March during a bad drought. I felt as if I had traveled to a different place in time in my sleep and was having a bad nightmare.

[=^..^=]

Originally Posted by SoFLGal

Well, for instance, in North Port you could type in North Port City Hall and come up with this website: North Port, FL : Building Then you would go to building and it has all about code enforcement, building codes, etc.

Then you could call the number at the bottom for more info.

This of course just an example

Ahhh, gotcha!

[=^..^=]

Originally Posted by Skunk Workz

Basically your hierarchy is going to be State / County / City / then HOA or whatever body manages and enforces the Deed Restriction. Each able to add to the rules of the body above it. So you'd have to start with the HOA / Deed restriction and make sure that it's allowed there, then go up to the city (or county if you are not in the city limits). RV's and boats would only be restricted by deed restriction, although some cities may have a limit on where you can park them (it was illegal to park on the grass in your front yard when we lived in St Pete many years ago), or how many you can have.

Depending upon the county, or city, you will have to have permits for far more here than you are probably used to. Generally it's about wind code. You'll have to have permits for fences, sheds, pretty much anything that can fly away under heavy winds.

You'll find that most of the time the city or county will have information on permits on their web page, or at least contact information for the department that issues them.

Thanks. I hope, because of our lifestyle, we're not biting off more than we can chew by moving to your area. There are so many things there to consider that don't exist here where we are now. Chinese ballboard, floodzones, Hurricane codes, older homes with no insulation...and we're learning the taxes and Ins are also higher in FL than in TN.

[Skunk Workz]

Originally Posted by =^..^=

Thanks. I hope, because of our lifestyle, we're not biting off more than we can chew by moving to your area. There are so many things there to consider that don't exist here where we are now. Chinese ballboard, floodzones, Hurricane codes, older homes with no insulation...and we're learning the taxes and Ins are also higher in FL than in TN.

Add 9 months of unrelenting swelter, and you've summed up our list of reasons for moving to Greenville SC next summer (after 19 years here).

Realistically though, if you can stand the heat, afford the insurance, and spend the time researching a place to avoid the pitfalls you are aware of, then you can certainly find an area here that you'll like. There won't be any difference in an area without deed restrictions here and one there. If you prefer a more rural area where people tend to not be as worried about what their neighbors are doing, then you can certainly find it here.

[=^..^=]

Originally Posted by Skunk Workz

Add 9 months of unrelenting swelter, and you've summed up our list of reasons for moving to Greenville SC next summer (after 19 years here).

Realistically though, if you can stand the heat, afford the insurance, and spend the time researching a place to avoid the pitfalls you are aware of, then you can certainly find an area here that you'll like. There won't be any difference in an area without deed restrictions here and one there. If you prefer a more rural area where people tend to not be as worried about what their neighbors are doing, then you can certainly find it here.

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We're researching everything we can think of. I had hoped to avoid more rural areas because of the social isolation and no public transportation at all. That's what we have here in TN 5 miles from town. The neighbors keep to themselves. You can't walk anywhere but yes, we appreciate the fact that away from the gated communities and some neighborhoods, no one worries about what the neighbors are doing. We can barely see our neighbor's homes. I think until we actually get down there in person we've researched most of the important things and have some idea.........