Home owners associations and ponds?

[Coinr]

My wife and I currently live in an area in Michigan with no hoa. We have a 1600 gal pond that is about 13 x 20 and 4 ft deep in the middle. We are planing to move and looking for a new home. In the area we are looking almost all of the homes have a hoa. Our real estate agent said they don't usually get a copy of the hoa rules unless you are considering putting in an offer and request a copy then. We are concerned that many hoa's won't allow ponds. I know we'd have to fence it in. We've already ran into hoa's that only allow fences if you have a pool and they only allowed an in the ground pool. I doubt there'd let us have a pond. Has anyone had any experience with this especially on Michigan?

 

[Lisak1]

We have an HOA and our rules state nothing about pools or ponds so the answer depends upon that specific HOA. Local ordinances might be of equal concern though.

And I wouldn't accept that answer from your agent - how can you make an offer on a home until you know the rules you might be agreeing to live under? That seems counterintuitive.

 

[Coinr]

Good point about the local ordinances. I didn't really worry about that at our current house. With have a big yard, neighbors that we get along with and a city that pretty much leaves things like this alone unless someone complains. Also, we know of other people in the area with ponds.

And just to clarify if we were going to make a offer we would be able to get the hoa documents before we did so. Although, it would be nice to know so we didn't waste our time looking at a house we ultimately wouldn't buy because of the hoa rules. I've talked to more than just our agent and this seems to be the norm.

 

[addy1]

Good luck I personally hate hoa's some are like living under a dictatorship. Even with the doc's, not saying anything about ponds, the board could tell you they do not want a pond. Read them carefully see if ANY changes to your yard need to be approved, that is where they get you.

 

[sissy]

Your best bet is word of mouth ,while you are looking at a house look for people out that may be able to give you info .My brother lives in flatrock and he put in a preformed and was turned in .Even the color of your house and even where my brother lives no cars allowed sitting out by the curb at night .No flags and standard black mailbox and no over sized mailboxes and garage doors must match code and so do front doors and blinds in the windows .

 

[MitchM]

What's a home owners association?
Is that like a strata council for townhome complexes?
Do they have those for detached homes in neighbourhoods? Must be a single developer that set it up?
If so, they're local politics at their worst. I used to live in a townhouse.
I would avoid that like the plague.

Move to the country!

 

[SE18]

Had neighbor complain to HOA about my "water garden." So I showed pictures to the HOA's architectural committee (they have all kinds of committees, landscape, you name it, and they ride around in golf carts giving people tickets. They are thinking about getting those tiny helicopters with cameras so they can see your backyard as well).

Anyway, I had success with the architectural committee and they approved it.

I suggest you present your plan to the HOA before building the pond (I did it after).

Even though you don't yet live there, I'd attend a meeting. Then get paperwork from them and keep it. Paperwork tends to get lost when the HOA changes ownerships. Our HOA is headquartered I think in Maryland and they control lots of local HOAs. It's a money making racket and you're guilty until you can prove your innocence.

HOAs are like mini dictatorships. There's I feel better now.

 

[sissy]

There are lots of single family homes that have HOA's and you are paying for the public spaces and swimming pools and playgrounds and even golf courses .So basically you are paying them to tell you what you can and can't do with your own home and you get to pay the mortgage .They even tell you if you can plant flowers in your front yard

 

[MitchM]

Interesting, and I don't like the sounds of it.
Those amenities you mentioned, sissy, are paid for by every ones taxes here, for all to enjoy. (for the most part)
But then, you guys have gated communities. I've never seen one of those here.
We have higher taxes and it is spread around while you have lower taxes and private corporations that kind of do the same thing, just more "targeted"

 

[addy1]

One in arizona friends of mine tried to move out within six months of moving in.

They were fined for leaving some falling leaves more than a day on the gravel front yard (we did not have fall leaf falling like here in the east) Fined for a weed that grew 3 inches tall, fined for not getting their garbage can in quick enough after pickup. The board henchmen walk around with a notebook everyday looking for ways to fine.

 

[WolfStock]

Seems like it would really depend on the size of the pond. I have a very small pond in my backyard (50 gal I believe), along with waterfall and such. I didn't bother asking my HOA. I can't imagine they'd have a problem with it. However it's not the kind of thing that someone could drown in. If you want a big pond (sounds like it), then it is worth checking on.

And it's ludicrous for you to have to make an offer before seeing the HOA rules. The HOA rules are an attribute of what you're looking to buy, and you should be able to check out all attributes of what you're looking to buy before committing to buy it (which is what an offer is - a commitment to buy). You should demand to see the rules, and if they refuse - walk away. That probably means the rules are super-strict, which isn't good.

 

[Tula]

Yuck, is all I can say I like my privacy and nature

 

[MitchM]

Are there fees associated with these home owner associations?

 

[Lisak1]

Our HOA is really not all that bad. We pay $14 a month for maintenance of common areas (three large, natural ponds, the front entrances, two green spaces, street signs) and they pretty much mind their own business as long as you pay your dues. But I have heard of nightmare HOAs that decide what plants you can plant or whether or not you can fly a flag - that would not be my kind of neighborhood.

 

[addy1]

Are there fees associated with these home owner associations?

Yep my late hubby and I bought some land in Colorado, non working hoa, well by the time we build our log cabin the hoa fired up to the tune of 125 a month in fees.