Buying a Colorado Home with an HOA?

What are Covenants, Controls and Restrictions?

Remember to Ask about the HOA and Covenants:

Homebuyers, especially first-time home buyers, may not think of asking about restrictions in the covenants. These clauses are much more common these days with more and more areas having an HOA.  These may spell out what can and cannot be done to or on a property, normally on the exterior. When buyers purchase property governed by restrictive covenants, they then acknowledge that they will abide by the rules and live within the guidelines while in the jurisdiction and control of the HOA.

What is a covenant:

What is a restrictive covenant?  It is a type of deed restriction, that normally would regulate a group of new and existing homes or building lots. Developers use them to preserve a development or subdivision as a model community and control its use and appearance.  When the covenants are created and thereafter, buyers agree to the sometimes-rigid restrictions in order to maintain the aesthetic standard set by the developer and to safeguard the value of their homes.

Why care?:

Covenants are not the same as local zoning and government regulations. Some covenants and zoning regulations overlap; for instance, either can limit the building heights. Covenants tend have greater scope of control and have impact with the lifestyle that homeowners have. In addition to standard clauses, which may stipulate a home's minimum size, height, architectural style, and color schemes, covenants often ban practices that could be regarded by some to be a nuisance or take away from the look of the area, such as parking RVs, boats and old run down vehicles on the property which may not run any longer.

Restrictions on what?:

Covenants could additionally put regulations on grass mowing and upkeep of grounds, window treatments, holiday decorations, walls, fences and hedges, plants, trees, landscaping, retaining walls, as well as pets.  Sometimes they limit the number and type of pets allowed. Very often, owners are required to make repairs within a specified number of days of the initial notification. Depending on a community's location and other unique features, restrictions could be applied to the use of pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers and removal of dirt and trees. Owners can be prohibited from installing solar panels, building an enclosed patio or adding a swimming pool. Restrictive covenants can also prevent owners from renting the home or operating a home business, including music lessons and daycare. Condo and townhouse owners sometimes face even more rigid restrictions.

Follow the rules:

What happens when someone does not follow the rules and has a violation.  Then it's up to the homeowner's association or individual property owners to enforce the rules. Police do not enforce contractual agreements and so the responsibility is on the HOA enforcement.  Once the HOA is aware of the  violation it would be reviewed and the notice would be sent to the homeowner.   Homeowners should take the notice seriously since corrections are normally simple in contrast to legal action which would likely be a last resort to correct the situation.

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