What are Real Estate Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions
Extended lockdown periods drove individuals out of the city and into the suburbs. Tight regulations in cities left residents apartment-bound, searching for an escape to freedom. Many suburban neighborhoods have rules and regulations in place to ensure safety and maintain the property value, called covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&R).
Purchasing a home with covenants, conditions, and restrictions comes with responsibility. A homeowners’ association (HOA) requires homeowners to take specific measures to maintain the quality and safety of the neighborhood. The excess cost and maintenance typically pay off when followed correctly.
Covenants, Conditions, and Regulations
CC&Rs are legal terms signifying planned community rules that residents must abide by. The HOA, a non-profit organization, and the law, enforce the regulations. When you purchase a home with CC&Rs, you sign a legally binding contract confirming your commitment to following the rules.
Buyers must understand the CC&Rs before purchasing a property. Every neighborhood’s rules are different, and all require monthly or yearly dues. Maintenance and dues can significantly increase one’s monthly expenses.
Here are some of the benefits and disadvantages of purchasing a property with CC&Rs.
Benefits
When you sign a Declaration of CC&Rs, you agree to abide by the HOA’s rules in exchange for living in the neighborhood. Residents have to pay fees that go towards the maintenance of the communal features. The allowance maintains the walking paths, cleans the pool, preserves outdoor lounge areas, sanitizes the gym, and more.
The CC&Rs also ensure respectful neighbors. Rules and regulations set behavior standards for your community. If your neighbors fail to abide by the agreement, the HOA will charge them a fee. It additionally ensures the aesthetic maintenance of surrounding properties, such as clean-cut lawns and freshly painted houses.
Most HOAs provide neighborhood security. Some communities have code-locked gates, and others utilize a neighborhood watch committee. If you have small children, this may be an appealing feature of the community.
Purchasing a home with real estate CC&Rs grants your family access to the communal amenities. Common features include a fitness facility, sports fields, tennis courts, a clubhouse, walking and biking trails, green areas, and more. Part of your dues pays for the maintenance and upkeep of these amenities.
The most appealing benefit of CC&Rs for homeowners is the property value increase. Rigorous restrictions push more individuals to maintain their property, staying up to date on safety requirements, appliance upgrades, and curb appeal aesthetics. When it comes time to sell your home, you will see the reward of your property maintenance.
A rule-based community takes the stress out of neighbor-to-neighbor confrontation. If the house across the street throws a rowdy party until midnight, you can reach out to the HOA, allowing them to handle the situation. Similarly, if you are trying to sell your home and the yard next door is full of children’s toys, you can send a report and allow designated officials to mediate the situation.
Disadvantages
Unlike general property payments, such as mortgage interest or private mortgage insurance, homeowners may not deduct HOA dues on their income taxes. These dues can also increase over time. The HOA has the power to alter the price of resident fees depending on storms, increased maintenance requirements, and more. Some elderly community members rely on a fixed monthly income and may lack the financial stability to maintain price increases.
CC&Rs may require residents to pay for assessments. Heightened operating costs, unpaid dues by neighbors, and damage not covered by insurance will land on homeowners. The rules place further restrictions on residents.
Some communities require additional costs depending on the type of maintenance they conduct. For example, if pests infest the area, the HOA may hire professionals to spray the area. This would be an additional cost outside the established dues, which the association would require residents to cover.
Many HOAs limit the rentability of properties within the neighborhood. If you plan on leaving your home during certain seasons and wish to rent your vacant property, you will need to check the CC&Rs before making your investment.
Common CC&Rs
All rules and regulations are different from community to community. HOAs evaluate weather patterns, crime rates, locations, and more when setting the CC&Rs. There are seven standard rules that communities follow, ensuring the safety, comfort, and pleasantness of homeowners and their properties.
1. Curb Appeal
Many associations require residents to use certain building materials, keeping the neighborhood aesthetic in order. Homeowners must utilize assigned paint colors, roofing materials, plants, and more to maintain the look. Some neighborhoods have yard workers that come biweekly to mow all lawns, trim hedges, and tend gardens.
2. Interior Design
HOAs also regulate major interior design projects. They may require homeowners to install certain floor types in their kitchens. Interior safety maintenance is additionally needed, like updating your garage door. If the door’s torsion springs are the incorrect size, malfunctions may occur.
3. Fencing
Fencing can symbolize specific community values. In close-knit neighborhoods, the HOA may restrict fence installations, creating a sense of openness. More private communities may allow fencing and tall bushes to divide property lines.
4. Parking
Almost all CC&Rs regulate the number of cars on the street. Depending on the size of the neighborhood, a few cars on each side of the road could quickly restrict passage. HOAs enforce garage parking to limit this issue, permitting the flow o
f traffic.
5. Family Pets
Neighborhoods may allow only certain dog breeds, heights, or weights on a property. The HOA may restrict pitbulls, rottweilers, dalmatians, and other breeds with a background of aggression in the neighborhood. They may also not accept exotic animals in the community.
6. Home Businesses
The pandemic pushed many employees to work from home. Though many transitioned easily into their home offices, CC&Rs restrict some individuals’ office alterations. HOAs regulate the level of business one may conduct on their property.
7. Gatherings
The rules and regulations place residential safety at the forefront of the CC&Rs. Restricting the number of visitors one may have at a time can alter their party potential. The association may also limit the time and duration of gatherings within the community.
Violation Penalties
After reading the CC&Rs listed above, you may ask yourself, “What happens when I break the rules?” Violation penalties are real and may cause severe financial devastation. When you break your community’s CC&Rs, you may experience fines, lawsuits, or foreclosure.
If your community’s regulations prevent you from installing a fence and you do so anyway, your HOA may take the following steps. They may:
Present you with a daily fine until you remove the fence.
Hire a company to remove the fence and charge you a maintenance fee.
Suspend your amenity privileges, like using the pool or gym.
When the association takes less invasive measures, like those listed above, and the homeowner continues to break their agreement, they may file a lawsuit. The association will present the court with the CC&Rs and ask them to order the homeowner to abide by the rules. If you fail to pay the HOA’s fines, the court may ask you to do so.
If the court issues a money judgment, the association may access the fees straight from your bank account. When homeowners have insufficient funds to cover the dues, the HOA can place a lien on your house. This may lead to foreclosure.
Before placing a lien on your home, the association must bring the homeowner to court. An unpaid fine or two will not lead to this drastic outcome. For significant violations and outstanding debts, a judge may allow the association to utilize a lien.
After placing the lien, the holder has the power to foreclose the home. They must first allow the owner a chance to pay off their debts before initiating the final consequence. The HOA can settle the owner’s unpaid fines with the home’s sale profit. Certain states present the owner with a letter when initiating foreclosure and others post a notice in the newspaper.
Pre-Purchase Considerations
Breaking your agreement to the HOA has consequences, and following the rules can make for a wonderful living experience. Considering certain aspects of the CC&Rs is essential before buying a home.
If you enjoy living in a structured environment with adequate security and maintenance, investing in real estate with CC&Rs may be right for you. For residents that dislike feeling controlled and regulated, you may want to avoid purchasing a home in these communities. The legally binding document places residents in serious trouble when they try and test their luck.
Rebellious homeowners may also want to stay away from HOA-regulated neighborhoods. Violating the CC&Rs can lead to financial debt and property loss. Paying for rule enforcement is another turnoff for regulation-opposed individuals. You can make the most of your residential experience by evaluating the rules and regulations.
How to Evaluate CC&Rs
When you receive the CC&Rs from the seller, you can begin by reviewing the bylaws. This will acquaint you with the association leaders and their set rules and restrictions. The bylaws typically explain voting rights, meeting requirements, and set dues procedures.
It will also help to identify who controls the board. If the developer holds this power, residents may experience unpleasant difficulties. The developer may place their interests over the community guidelines.
For example, the controller may only address residential problems rather than tending to amenity maintenance. A developer may take six months to fix the community pool because they put home installations first. This leaves the common areas unmaintained and unsafe.
When looking to purchase a regulated property, you should review its financial records. Through the records, you can determine whether the HOA keeps organization in the community. You may also evaluate the association’s ability to collect sufficient funds to meet the budget requirements.
Potential buyers can also determine whether the community has adequate reserve funds. If they fail to meet their budget, the amenities will likely be unkept. This may also signify unmaintained homes.
Eventually, the buyer will pay the previous owner’s price for missing fee payments. When homeowners fail to fix severe housing issues, the buyer will pay a higher assessment fee. The property may also contain severe damage, requiring costly repairs.
You may also assess the length of meetings in the CC&Rs. Potential buyers can unveil specific information from the length of gatherings. Extended meetings may signify long arguments between neighbors, displaying the association’s lack of efficiency. Short gatherings can represent a lack of care or sophistication by the HOA.
If you have trouble deciphering the CC&Rs, you can reach out to a trusted attorney. The professional can answer any questions you may have before investing in the property. They may also point out questionable rules and regulations, protecting you against future disputes.
Price of Dues
Many factors determine the price of residential dues. Less-uniform neighborhoods with minimal security may require low fees. Larger communities with various amenities and all-hour security will ask for higher dues.
The fees can also vary from between properties. Depending on the square footage, orientation, and location of your home, your dues may differ from your neighbors. Smaller properties require less upkeep, thus affecting the cost of maintenance.
Potential buyers should evaluate the increase in dues over time. The community should allow you to access the history of HOA fees over the past decade. If the fees increase by $50.00 every year, that may be a red flag. Before investing in a regulated property, you must ensure your ability to pay increasing fees.
Final Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions Steps
If you are about to purchase a home with Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions, you may want to make a pros and cons list to evaluate the external financial demands of your potential property. For those selling a home regulated by a HOA, you should keep an up-to-date document listing the rules and regulations. You can present this to potential buyers to provide transparency.
Many buyers trust honest sellers and are more likely to do business with them. You can also have the HOA’s financial records and meeting times printed out for buyers to increase the ease of their purchase. Although CC&Rs contain benefits and disadvantages, many residents maintain interest due to their increased safety and comfort.
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