Home Owners Association...HATE Them...

Or Love them? After our annual Home Owners Association meeting, I needed to write something about this in the home buying process. Most buyers look at the fine print of the loan and the contract offer for the home. The HOA Covenants and Restrictions of the neighborhood is the fine print of the neighborhood that gets most overlooked. These restrictions are there to protect the residents and the value of the homes in the neighborhood even how un-American they are. They keep your neighbors from putting fake deer decoys on the front lawn (we are in the South not pink flamingos like Florida) along side the fake wishing well, keep Santa and Christmas celebrated 365 days a year, or farm animals as pets. I am sure there is crazier stuff out there but these rules protect the biggest investment you have. If you need your creativity displayed, then stay out of a neighborhood and move out to the country.
The restrictions you need to be looking out for are the ones that affect your daily life. If you have a family pet, certain breeds may not be allowed in the neighborhood. If you love playing basketball in the driveway, some don’t allow goal posts in the front yard. Workshops and sheds need to be approved by the ARC Architectural Review Committee along with any other exterior changes to the home. As a past president of an HOA, there are a lot of rules homeowners are not aware of before moving in.

As you can see, read the fine print to the neighborhood before falling in love with a home. Ask your real estate agent for a copy to review before you make an offer on a home to keep you from any later regrets. A home is an emotional purchase so love can blind the details.

FREE HOME with 52” LCD Flat Panel TV

Like any other guy, I love gadgets and electronics. On Sunday mornings, I look forward to the Sunday paper not for the cartoons but for the Best Buy and Circuit City Ads. Looking for the deals. Unfortunately, I get mad when I see how much flat panels have gotten so much better and cost less than when I bought mine last year. With technology advancing at a fast rate, the consuming public can’t keep up with all the new stuff out there. Prices of Flat Panels are going down every month, no sense getting attached to them. Especially when you mounted it and ran wires behind the wall. Taking them out will be a bigger chore and patching up the wall is another project on your list.

With the current homebuyers market, buyers are getting SUPER DEALS on homes. After slashing the sales price, buyers are ending with extras like stainless steel kitchen appliances, front load washer and dryers, 52” TVS, and more. Basically, buyers are getting another $5,000 to $10,000 in incentives. NOW that is a buyers market!

TIP: Sellers, if you can’t lower the price anymore look around the house that you can include with it. Discuss negotiation tactics with your listing agent to get the contract. The cool part is when you sell the house and the old TV; you get the newer model to console you later.

Tip: Buyers, you are upgrading on the house might as well check out what appliances or window treatments can stay. (Curtains are not as exciting as a flat panel TV but the neighbors don’t want to see you in your boxers watching TV either.) Only ask for items that are replaceable and with no personal sentiment. Don’t ask for the family dog or a gun case unless you want to be test driving the inside of the freezer you also asked for.