What exactly does "no deed restrictions" mean? (sales, real estate)

[=^..^=]

Surely it can't mean someone can open a smelly noisy dog kennel or start raising pigs in their back yards - or have loads of car bodies and other trash on their property. Can someone explain that this "no-deed-restrictions" actually means?

[davery5872]

Originally Posted by =^..^=

Surely it can't mean someone can open a smelly noisy dog kennel or start raising pigs in their back yards - or have loads of car bodies and other trash on their property. Can someone explain that this "no-deed-restrictions" actually means?

I'm no expert, but I would think a house with "no deed restrictions" would NOT mean no rules apply(sorry for the double negative). They would still be required to follow city, county, and /or state ordinances.

[SoFLGal]

Originally Posted by =^..^=

Surely it can't mean someone can open a smelly noisy dog kennel or start raising pigs in their back yards - or have loads of car bodies and other trash on their property. Can someone explain that this "no-deed-restrictions" actually means?

You would have to look up the restrictions for your county/city. The things you mentioned would probably fall under several different things.

The pig issue would fall under zoning. In order to have farm animals the property would need to be zoned agriculturally. The cars and trash would probably be a code enforcement issue.

I have seen some neighborhood battles in non-deed restricted (and in deed restricted) areas. If you are worried about the upkeep of the neighborhood you might want to look into a neighborhood with some restrictions.

[Racelady88]

It means that the property is not subject to HOA or other community rules. You would be free to paint the house any color you like, put in whatever landscaping you would like, actually park in your driveway for more than 10 minutes at a time, etc.

[HenryHelmhazzard]

Originally Posted by =^..^=

Surely it can't mean someone can open a smelly noisy dog kennel or start raising pigs in their back yards - or have loads of car bodies and other trash on their property. Can someone explain that this "no-deed-restrictions" actually means?

Fire, brimstone, dogs and cats living together in sin .... madness!

Actually, so many folks paint such a dire picture of HOAs. Some are more restrictive than others, but on the whole I've seen more good than harm come from them.

To a certain extent, with HOAs you know what to expect up front when you read the deed restrictions before you ever commit to buy in a neighborhood. Yes, some associations are ridiculous, but many are pretty relaxed, I should know, I've lived in a few of the laid back ones.

In any case, they give owners recourse when the tin-foil hat brigade moves in next door and paints their home lime with pink stripes, park multiple derelict cars in the yard for months on end, let the weeds choke out the yard etc. (hyperbole, but you get the idea ... it happens, and it has a marked effect on your property values) I've met the foil hat folks, and sometimes there's no rational discussion with them... in fact, asking them to do something has (in my personal experience) involved not-so petty retribution.

Waiting for the city to do something about it can be fruitless, as they don't police eyesores, just ordinances, and have better things to do. Things usually have to be pretty darn bad before the city/county step in.


HHH

[RUGoofy38]

I know many people don't like the cost of an HOA or the restrictions of living in a deed restricted community, but I think they are actually a good thing. When I lived up north, I lived in a nice neighborhood, but there were no restrictions, and of course, I had to live next door to one of the 'strange' ones in the neighborhood.....loved to park one of his 4 cars in the front lawn. Every fall, he would hang dead deer from the trees in the front yard....bleeding them out. Nice guy but wacked. In FL, with the larger group of crazies, I wouldn't live anywhere but in a deed restricted neighborhood or with a HOA.

[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

[=^..^=]

My concern is if we move where there are deed restrictions we will not be allowed to add a small hobby greenhouse to the property and keep our Zinger RV on the property. Our interests seem to be a little different then those of most retirees in FL. I'm very much into gardening and we both do a lot of camping and traveling in our RV. Storing the RV somewhere away from the house would not work for us for several reasons.

As for bad neighbors. The worst we ever had was a couple with several yappy little dogs with the shrillest bark. They about drove me crazy since they barked on and off day and night. I was getting blue bags under my eyes from lack of sleep. And no one picked up the feces so the when the wind was right.... I gagged. Fortunately they divorced and moved away at the time I was going to file a noise complaint against them.

[SoFLGal]

Here's one of my blogs that explains CDD fees and HOA's:

CDDs are boards that levy fees on homeowners in certain developments in order to build amenities such as pools, golf courses, club houses, etc, without having to raise the local tax rate. They are also used to construct roads and lay in utility lines that serve the homeowners who pay the CDD fees.

Homeowners pay a certain amount every year, rather than being assessed for the entire fee up front. CDD fees are also tax deductible for the property owner, as opposed to HOA fees, which are not. They also enable builders to create upscale communities that wouldn’t be possible without the CDD fees

Buyers often don’t know the risks and aren’t told about all the things that can happen, such as fees going up or paying for amenities that don’t directly benefit the homeowners. Currently, Florida law only requires a sales contract to include a disclaimer stating that CDDs may be imposed on the property. Homeowners are often surprised to learn that the CDD fees may increase at the developer’s discretion, with no recourse available to them. This is because CDD boards are initially comprised of the developer’s associates and are not required to have any homeowner representation for up to the first six years of their existence.

My advice: if you’re purchasing a home in a self-contained community, be sure to ask your real estate agent, or the developer, if there is a CDD clause in the contract.

Homeowners' associations, or HOAs, are formal legal entities created to maintain common areas; they have the authority to enforce deed restrictions. Most condominium and townhome developments, and many newer single-family subdivisions have HOAs, which are usually created when the development is built. Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions (CC&R's) are issued to each homeowner, and HOAs are established to ensure that they are adhered to in order to maintain the quality and value of the properties involved.

HOA's can be charged monthly, quarterly or yearly. If the community was maintenance free then you might have fees associated with that. Also some communities include certain things like: cable, water, etc

Features of a Homeowners' Association:
•Membership is mandatory for all property owners within the development

•Members are usually charged mandatory fees

•Homeowners associations have the authority to enact and enforce maintenance and design standards in addition to those established by City ordinances

•Homeowners' associations are corporations with formal bylaws - there is usually a governing board which hires a property management company to handle maintenance and enforcement issues

•Many homeowners' associations publish a newsletter

Other restrictions that may be enforced by an HOA: parking on street, landscaping approval or types of plants, garage door being open, fence restrictions, pool restrictions, erection of basketball hoops or tree houses, storage of boats and RVs, number of pets, age requirements of residents. There can be more.

If you want to start a discussion on a controversial topic, start talking about Homeowners' Associations. You are bound to find people who appreciate them, people who despise them, and people who are somewhere in the middle. Those who like Homeowners' Associations say that they protect the value of their homes and neighborhoods. They do this by keeping the area looking attractive, and making sure no one does anything wild, like painting their house gold and pink, parking an 18-wheel truck on their front lawn, leaving dismantled vehicles in the street, or running a flea market in the driveway. Opponents of HOAs point to overzealous and unscrupulous HOA boards, fee increases that can't be declined, and rules that are far too restrictive, from what kind of shrubs to plant, to placement of a clothesline, to preventing the displaying of the American flag. Anti-HOA organizations believe that the HOA are private governments that set themselves above the law.

Whether or not to live in a development governed by CC&R's and an HOA is an individual choice. Prospective home buyers should:
•Read any CC&R's recorded against the home and make sure they can live with the conditions and restrictions contained in the document prior to close of escrow.

•Find out what the current dues are. Once you buy the home, you can't decline to pay the dues. If you do, you could be evicted and your home could be sold to liquidate the debt. HOA dues can range from $20 per month to hundreds per month, depending on the property and the amenities provided by the community.

•Find out how often the dues have been raised during the history of the HOA. Will you be able to withstand future increases or will you have to move? Find out if the HOA has cash reserves.

•Determine if there are term limits for the Board, and if Board members have attended training sessions in efficient HOA management

•Determine if there is litigation pending involving the HOA

[Big House]

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

Mikey,

That and the other story are really funny! If you start a new thread called "Crazy Bad Neighbors" I have a few funny stories about how bad some of my old neighbors have been. I just don't want to high-jack this thread.