Know Neighborhood Restrictions BEFORE Buying a Home There

If you’re buying a home, whether new or previously lived-in, chances are good that your neighborhood has a homeowners’ association and its accompanying Covenants Conditions andRestrictions (CC&Rs). In other words, you’ll become a member of an exclusive club, – one that can dictate quite a bit about how you’ll live within that neighborhood.

Wikipedia.org defines a homeowners’ association as a non-for-profit entity originally created by a real estate developer for the purpose of developing, managing and selling a community of homes. The HOA is given the authority to enforce the rules that have been put into place (CC&Rs) to manage the common areas of the development. Then the developer is permitted to end its responsibility over the community, usually transferring ownership of the association to the homeowners themselves (after selling a predetermined number of home sites).

Once the association is handed over to residents, that governing committee can be as strict (Gestapo-like) or as loose (fix it as soon as you find the time) as they deem necessary to interpret as well as enforce the CC&Rs.

For example, there may be a ban on permanently affixed visible basketball goals. Some even ask that homeowners roll portable basketball goals into the garage each night. This is one of literally dozens of rules made to keep the neighborhood looking as new, safe, and uncluttered as possible, oftentimes designed to demonstrate a collective pride of ownership.

Many HOAs who have monthly dues have the ability to penalize you for violating the rules. And if you decide to ignore them, they have other mechanisms in place (such as placing liens on your property that must be paid before you sell) to deal with the problem. In these days of heavy foreclosures, where many people are literally walking away from their homes, however, it is not an exact science, frustrating many a homeowners’ association.

CC&Rs can dictate whether cars are routinely parked in garages, prohibit yard sales, make you keep your garage door closed, tell you what color blinds or draperies are acceptable to be seen from the home’s exterior, designate what types of trees cannot be planted, and make it necessary to have any and all exterior changes or remodeling plans approved by the association. They can tell you how many dogs can be contained within your backyard and even the maximum amount they can weigh. These are only a few of the restrictions you may have to live with, especially in newer subdivisions.

What homebuyers need to understand, however, is that when they buy a home, they are also buying the neighborhood rules – kind of like marrying not just the person, but the entire family. If you are seriously considering the purchase of a home, it’s wise to have your Realtor get a hold of the neighborhood’s rules so that you are aware of just what you may be getting into.

The key here is not to purchase a home in a neighborhood where your intention is to violate the rules. You are doing yourself and the neighborhood a favor by taking CC&Rs seriously.

A postscript: It is not my intention to dissuade homebuyers from purchasing homes neighborhoods whose restrictions include many of the ones listed above. It is just as true that individuals and families buy homes in neighborhoods like these because of the rules there, and not in spite of them.

Therefore, consider this essay one that encourages consumers to purchase in any neighborhood armed with eyes wide open, information and confidence.