NC14GT

Mustang Mama, I'm starting to get concerned as I read more and more. Dogs barking at night, cars parked in the street. You may be a prime candidate for getting complaints.
There are some HOAs that don't permit cars parked overnight in their driveways. They must be garaged. My late father in law even received a letter about leaving his garage door open one night! I'm talking Florida now. I don't know about Texas. You really will have to look into your particular neighborhood's restrictions. While the president or association may not have any legal teeth, do you really want phone calls and letters making you feel like an outsider? Be careful!!
I lived in those type environments because we could abide by the rules, not looking for exceptions to the rules. Before we moved into one tough HOA I had to get permission to park my take home patrol car out in the driveway. I could, but not my regular cars. They had to be in a garage. Remember you are moving into their rules and regulations. Don't look for favors or complain afterwards. You are very smart to look into it ahead of time, not at closing time when handed the restrictions. Best of luck!

Mustang Mama

Le sigh. That sounds horrible. I'm really HOPING to find something nice in a non hoa. Wish me luck. I'm off this morning on a 6hr road trip. Looking at houses. Most of which are hoa. Seems like all the newer houses have that.

stupidgenius36

Welcome to the area. I've lived in and around Denton for the last 7 years, and I go to UNT as well. Unfortunately, I don't have any experience with HOA's, since I've lived in apartments.

Perhaps another thing to consider, since you'll have 2 daughters in college...if you don't live IN Denton, you might look for a place near I-35E and near a train stop just to make travel easier.

tbear853

I wasn't slamming HOAs. Y'all may find a HOA that's just your cup of tea. I'm just happy that I don't have to live life to suit one. I have read or heard about them in news or other stories and I long ago came to realize I could not give up the freedom I enjoy for that convenience. But yeah, I know that there are people who prefer them to more traditional neighborhoods and there are those who will make the trade out of desperation. Besides, Audie Leon Murphy got his start in that area so you know there's good stock there somewhere (I got my start a good bit south and west of there, but still in Texas).

But since .... I don't have 2 daughters in college & I am not moving to Denton & the "Wife Unit" and I built our home & our idea of "action" (never really applied that word in this way myself) usually involves "us time" or wheels (two, three, or four usually ... and lasting hours or days, and occasionally weeks) .... pay me no mind.

I do hope that you and your hubby find the idea home to suit your family for a long time, even well past the college years that will literally "fly by".

Jazzman442

I live in a Gated community in Florida. The HOA has allot of restrictions. But they can not have restrictions on Noise. The City, County and state can have a noise ordinance but not the HOA. I ws the president in my HOA for 10 Years.. I always told everyone Be thoughtful as all of these people are your neighbors. We have never had a pronlem here and a few of us have sports and race cars...

kcoTiger

I never have and never will live in a HOA. Going to have a house built in the middle of nowhere (once some hurdles are cleared). There is absolutely no one who is going to tell me what I can do/build/place on MY LAND.

Xplosiv

HOA cant really do anything about a loud car as its not in their "jurisdiction".However if you **** off the people on the comittee you'll be dealing with BS crap like getting notices for leaving your trash cans out. We had a very chill HOA in TX. Our HOA in okc was a bunch of neighborhood=*****.

Noilly Pratt

I think it's all down to a few individuals in the HOA that make it bad for the rest. NIMBYs my dad used to call them (Not In My Back Yard).

I live in a strata townhouse, which is kind of like a HOA - I had a tent trailer in my carport and there were rumblings that people didn't like it. So the next year that was added in our Annual General Meeting. And they're down on people with cars on blocks and cars without plates, which is understandable. But as for cars - nobody's been hassled.

My next door neighbour has a Subaru WRX STi and has not been hassled at all - he keeps the revs down and then there's no problem. If your car is street-legal, I don't see a problem.

2k7gtcs

HOAs have their purpose of course.

If you don't want to live next door to a trailer home and a washing machine in the front yard and pit bull breeding farm next door HOAs are your only protection.

I'm a director of an HOA and they are nothing but a nightmare for everyone involved. People are supposed to read the deed restrictions before they buy a home but almost nobody ever does. Read them! Know them.

Usually two things happen to HOAs. Either no one wants to mess with it and they become lax with nobody following the rules or a handful of people bother with it and since nobody else wants to they gain control and rule with an iron fist. Both can hurt you in selling your property.

It's a pain for sure. The purpose is to maintain property values and ensure you don't get stuck next door to an eye sore that makes it impossible to sell your own home.

With that being said I live a couple of acres in the country with no HOA because I don't want anybody telling me what I can and can't do. Even if it's me.

2k7gtcs

I would add that no they can't regulate noise. They also can't regulate the streets. Your city owns the ROW and while they can tell you now to park on the driveway or leave your garage door open they can't control the street as those are under city control.

However this doesn't stop them from trying.

NC14GT

Unfortunately some of the streets are actually 'privately owned' and the communities can police them, even have a car towed. The paving and upkeep are all done by the community. Also law enforcement can't write tickets in these private communities which is why many have speed bumps every 100 feet or so.
The noise ordinances vary from city to city or county to county. We had a device that measured the decibel reading so that it could be upheld in court when we issued a summons. Dirt bikes were the biggest offenders. Each Christmas some knucklehead resident would buy his kid a dirt bike. Guess where they rode it? Up and down the community streets. Unreal! Again I'm talking FL so may not apply to TX. Even here in NC, I actually live in a private community in the mountains. Our own paved roads and upkeep. No right of way for the county. The only thing mandated was that the roads be wide enough for ambulance and emergency vehicles.

2k7gtcs

No you're right privately owned streets maintained by the community are as you say. In out area we only have one community like that and I've never lived there but the HOA dues are astronomical because of the street maintenance.

Plus they pay city property taxes anyway and sales taxes. But they get to live behind a gate so I guess if that's what they want.

Mustang Mama

Thanks everyone for your advice. We found a house and got it. Unfortunately it is hoa. Read through the deed restrictions, seems okay and nothing too outrageous. The house we found has everything we wanted. We had to go out of Denton to Justin/Ft. Worth. Got more bang for our buck. It's a great location for my husband's work and only a little commute to the college. We think the house is worth putting up with hoa. My husband wanted a room for a pool table and that house had one along with the pool table which we negotiated and got. The house is just minutes away from the Texas Motor Speedway. It's not a corner lot I had hoped for, but the house is much bigger than we thought we would get. It looks like a nice community. We actually snagged this house before it officially went on the market the next week. It was a fast move finding a house and putting in an offer all in one day, but we don't time to go about it leisurely. We do have a 7 day opt out period if something else comes along we like better, but we don't think that will happen. The people selling the house are in the same situation we are in. Her husband was transferred for work and is living away working as my husband is doing. It feels like this is meant to be.

stupidgenius36

Glad you found a place that y'all like so quickly. Again, welcome to the area.

Mustang Mama

Thanks.

Im bored now. Husband had to go to work in ft worth. Daughter went home to seminole. I had two hours to kill until I have to sign some papers. Dont know what to do with myself. Thinking about chilling at Vittys sports bar. Lol.

stupidgenius36

Hang on...Seminole, TX?

Mustang Mama

We currently live in seminol texas. My husband got a new job working in ft worth and denton. We will be moving to the new house in a month

stupidgenius36

Lol. I grew up in Seminole. Graduated HS in 2007. Small world...

Mustang Mama

Wow. Yes it is a small world. We moved there in Nov of 2007. We are from Virgina. Texas is nice but we were not too fond of seminole. It was too far from stuff and being in west texas, all those dust storms.

Sebastian, is that the name of your mustang or your name? My daughter has red honda fit she named sebastian.

stupidgenius36

Yeah, Seminole is pretty boring. I guess I moved away to UNT before yall moved there. Lol, Sebastian is my name.