Home Owner Association Restrictions - Read Before Buying
By Raynor James, Fri Dec 9th

Many communities have associations for homeowners, propertyowners, condo owners, or similar associations. The presence of ahomeowners association, also known as "HOA", introduces anotherlayer of rules and regulations to consider when buying a home.Some people love these associations and some hate them.

Homeowners' Associations

Some associations have very simple rules such as no abandoned,non-working motor vehicles and no grass above ten inches tallare allowed. Others have architectural review boards that mustapprove your paint scheme before you can repaint your house. I'mserious.

I was once looking at a townhouse with a potential

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buyer, and aneighbor knocked on the door to hand deliver a notice that thedoor had been painted without permission (it was a deep, winered). The notice went on to state that the door would have to bereturned to its original dark green color or an exceptionapplied for within ten days. Although she liked the townhouse,the potential buyer decided she did not want to live with thissort of micromanagement.

Some associations add a significant amount of cost to the homepurchase via high monthly, quarterly or annual dues payments. Anaggressive association may also attempt to issue levies onhomeowners for improvement projects. My husband and I oncelooked at a penthouse condo on the outer banks of NorthCarolina. I was reviewing the annual budget for the condoassociation, and noticed a twelve thousand dollar per unit levymade during the prior year. I asked about it and was told thatit "depends upon the 'beach push' situation." Furtherquestioning elicited the information that when hurricanes orsevere storms eroded the beach, fresh sand had to be brought in.Not only did it have to be brought in, it had to be pushed upinto dunes and the dunes planted with sea oats and grasses! I amall for preserving the environment, but the twelve thousanddollar levy certainly made me nervous.

If you are considering a property controlled by an association,watch out for the following:

1. Sometimes associations limit what pets owners may have

2. If the association allows pets, it may limit the hours theycan be outside.

3. Parking places may be assigned coupled with an aggressivetowing policy.

Some associations maintain pools, tennis courts, elevators,trash collection, snow removal, grounds maintenance, provide busor limo service, concierge service, and in general make lifepleasant and trouble free. While these are nice benefits, makesure you are comfortable with the costs associated with them.

Look Before You Leap

So, as you can see, whether your concern is protecting the valueof your investment (no junk cars), maintaining your freedom tochoose (you want an eggplant door, a place to park the companytruck, and/or to build an addition with a family room and a newkitchen), it's very wise to check out those things which canlimit your control and increase the cost of home ownershipbefore you buy.

About the author:Raynor James is with http://www.fsboamerica.org - providing FSBOhomes For Sale By Owner. Visit our "sell my home" page athttp://www.fsboamerica.org/seller.cfm to list and sell your homefor free for one month. Visithttp://www.fsboamerica.org/buyer.cfm to see homes for sale byowner.

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