[vtvette]

My wife and I are seriously considering putting in an offer on a house in Painted Desert. Does anyone here lives in the Painted Desert community? I am interested in hearing your opinion of the HOA.

Thanks,

[Golfinnova]

I don't but one of the guys I play golf with regularly does so if you have a specific question I can ask him.

[Buzz123]

We almost bought there. Gave them the earnest money then got the CC&Rs. Couldn't live with the parking rules or the dog rules, so got our money back. But it was nice house in a nice neighborhood. I've heard good things about it. It is surrounded by nice communities too, and there is plenty of shopping, restaurants, etc., nearby.

[vtvette]

Thank you very much Golfinnova I appreciate your offer.

I should be a bit more specific in my question. We found the area to be very nice. Is this the result of an overbearing HOA or, simply a common pride in the neighborhood? I am curious what the general consensus is of the HOA. The wife and I have no problem whatsoever with HOA's (we currently live under one now) but, we've all heard stories of overbearing HOA's who go out of their way to find infractions in the neighborhood. I wonder if this is the feel in Painted Desert?

A few specific questions:

Is the HOA in decent shape financially? I know we will see the financials when we make an offer but, I am curious.

I know parking on the street is prohibited. What if a visitor is staying? Is it difficult to obtain a temporary pass to allow visitors to park on the street?

I have it on good authority that there are no restrictions on parking in one's driveway in Painted Desert. While I have no doubt that the information passed on to me to be correct it would be nice to confirm this with someone who lives there. On our two visits to view the house in the community I did not notice one car parked in a driveway.

Any opinions, good or bad, about the HOA or the area in general would be much appreciated.

Many thanks for any help,

[vtvette]

Originally Posted by Buzz123

We almost bought there. Gave them the earnest money then got the CC&Rs. Couldn't live with the parking rules or the dog rules, so got our money back. But it was nice house in a nice neighborhood. I've heard good things about it. It is surrounded by nice communities too, and there is plenty of shopping, restaurants, etc., nearby.

Hello Buzz. I actually read your comments above in a post you posted prior when I searched this forum.

The biggest concern I have is over parking restrictions a well. Was the lack of any on street parking what did it in for you? Was there anything else in the CC&R's you recall that jumped out at you? Driveway restrictions perhaps?

Feel free to DM me if you prefer.

Thanks Buzz,

[Buzz123]

It's been a while so I don't remember specifics, but I know they are, or were, very strict about on street parking. I park in the garage, but if I had overnight guests or, several guests, I felt we would be hassled from what I was reading in the rules. Not sure if you could park in your driveway, but we had a van that wouldn't fit in a garage, and I seem to recall that might have been a problem too. Also, at the time we had three small Lhasa Apsos, and I think you can only have two there. Then the open fence looking over the fairway would have been a problem as my dogs would probably have barked at every golfer that passed by. I wasn't sure it would keep them in either, but we were told we could plant bushes against the fence. Just seemed too restrictive, and we weren't about to abandon one of our fur babies to live there. I like the small community we are in now. Not too restrictive here, yet the HOA has just enough clout to protect our investment from dumb things neighbors might do. Too bad they couldn't have protected our investment from crooked bankers.

[lvgirl1234]

The community is extremely strict with who they let it even if they are a registered guest. God forbid I have a dogwalker come at ten at night when I am away and their car has a logo on it. (After 6pm cars with logos are not allowed unless it is an emergency vehicle.) What if FedEx or UPS came at 6:10? The HOA people would have a hissy fit and tell you that it is your problem and to not make it their problem. Literally those were the treasurers words to me today. Our fees are paid upfront for the entire year, and in this economy I have seen many communities struggle with foreclosures and condo/home fees not being paid, so you would think that Painted Desert would be willing to work with the people that are helping support them. This is a cute and clean neighborhood and 99 percent of the security guards are awesome; the receptionist at the front desk of the community center is so sweet. It would be a perfect place to live if they treated the people who lived here nicely and were willing to work with them on a case by case basis instead of just saying "no" and being kind of mean about it rather then trying to work with you. I hope that this association is dissolved and taken over by nicer people.

[AA702]

I service pools in Painted Desert and the number one complaint I hear is the lack of parking and the rules. They are very strict when it comes to guests and service people.

[lvoc]

There is not a Painted Desert. There are many. The "Painted Desert" is the master plan and controls the gates. Most of the regulations...other than the gates...are of the local association. The guard gates are moderate among those places with them. Not nearly as challenging as some of the tough ones.

The local associations vary from permissive to quite tough. In general the condos and smaller homes will be rather limiting. The larger home communities generally don't have the parking problems and don't make a deal of it. Note though that the landscaping can get to be an issue in there.

Make an offer and get both sets of docs and read them. Then decide.

[ScoopLV]

I would be HAPPY with a "no cars on the street" rule. My mother in law's HOA has this, and the neighborhood looks considerably nicer than my neighborhood, which does not. People tend to accumulate cars, and they'll use every square inch of parking space they can get their tires on. Seriously, I have neighbors with three in the garage, three in the driveway, and two more on the street. Who needs eight cars, anyway? And it's not like these are classics or anything. I think if people want to be the low-rent version of Jay Leno, they should get something with a detached six-car garage.