[ecd3easy]

Originally Posted by BBMW

People have this "my home is my castle" view of home ownership. In point of fact, it hasn't been that way in a long time. Various levels of government can impose all sorts of restrictions on what you can do with your house. Restrictive covenants have been part of land ownership for centuries (and this is the legal basis of the whole HOA thing.)

The relevance is that whatever you do to your house, especially if it's detectable from the outside, effects all the houses around you. Let's say you haven't landscaped your backyard in one of these dense subdivisions. You backyard neighbor goes to sell his house, buyers see your bare dirt backyard, and think the house is abandoned/neglected, and walk away from his. He eventually has to take a lower price, and this sets a comp for the neighborhood, driving down everyone's values. That's straight dollar relevance right there.

No one is forcing you to buy a house in an HOA. Go out to Pahrump, and buy a non-tract house with no HOA, then you can do what you want. Well not really, the county/town might have something to say about it.

I actually I am being "forced" into an HOA. Since any division being built with more than 4 homes needs to be an HOA. So my ONLY option in I want to live in Clark County is to accept living in an HOA. And your statement is acceptable to you because it works in your favor. Imagine if the inverse was true, you would not consider it an acceptable alternative. With that said it is what is. Oh and i understand the purpose of the HOA...and just like communism the goal and the theory of the HOA look great on paper but in practice it mucks things up.

On the message board here people act like ONLY way a neighborhood will not go to hell is to have an HOA. So every nice community in the entire country has an HOA?

[ecd3easy]

Does anyone have a list of LMA associations. Associations that onyl require you to pay for common area maintenance only?

[ddrhazy]

Who said you have to buy a house in a new development?

[BBMW]

You can find non-HOA in Clark County.

Originally Posted by ecd3easy

[/b]

I actually I am being "forced" into an HOA. Since any division being built with more than 4 homes needs to be an HOA. So my ONLY option in I want to live in Clark County is to accept living in an HOA. And your statement is acceptable to you because it works in your favor. Imagine if the inverse was true, you would not consider it an acceptable alternative. With that said it is what is. Oh and i understand the purpose of the HOA...and just like communism the goal and the theory of the HOA look great on paper but in practice it mucks things up.

On the message board here people act like ONLY way a neighborhood will not go to hell is to have an HOA. So every nice community in the entire country has an HOA?

[Kitchen Witch]

Originally Posted by ecd3easy

[/b]

I actually I am being "forced" into an HOA. Since any division being built with more than 4 homes needs to be an HOA. So my ONLY option in I want to live in Clark County is to accept living in an HOA. And your statement is acceptable to you because it works in your favor. Imagine if the inverse was true, you would not consider it an acceptable alternative. With that said it is what is. Oh and i understand the purpose of the HOA...and just like communism the goal and the theory of the HOA look great on paper but in practice it mucks things up.

On the message board here people act like ONLY way a neighborhood will not go to hell is to have an HOA. So every nice community in the entire country has an HOA?

No, of course not and I agree with your statement.

But you also have to remember that a lot of people that move to Las Vegas don't really care about their house, your house, the neighborhood and what it looks like, etc. To each his own attitude and who cares what they do how they want to live type of thing. It's the way they live and this city certainly gets it's fair share. IMO, with houses on top of one another the way they build them here and no CC & R's, a neighborhood can go ghetto looking pretty quickly. I've seen it happen in some of our once nicest neighborhoods

If you own a home, then an HOA that enforces your C C & R's can be your best friend so far as property values go. If you rent, you probably won't care too much as you have no vested interest in that neighborhood anyway but you'd still have to abide by the CC & R's.

[20yrsinBranson]

Originally Posted by SpamDeleted

I just received a letter from my HOA that I must landscape my backyard. I've been meaning to do this, but I currently live in NJ and it's hard to arrange remotely.

Does anyone know the minimum landscape requirements that would comply with HOA rules? I've read through the CCR's, but it only says that the yards must be landscaped. I realize all HOA's will have somewhat different rules, but I'm just trying to get a general idea.

I'm wondering if just laying down some crushed rock will suffice until I move to LV and can put in trees, plants and a patio.

Thanks!

Hire a "landscaping company" to lay down some crushed rock and then buy some (high quality) fake potted plants to place strategically around the patio and sliding patio doors. Keep the receipt of the "landscaping company", and if the HOA has a problem, mail them a copy of it.

20yrsinBranson

[lvoc]

He needs an approved plan not an actual landscape. A load of crushed rock prematurely may well turn the ARC hostile...Then he has a problem. Much better to provide the minimal plan.

I suggest running a main line around the periphery up front so he can later do what he wants without having to start over.

[20yrsinBranson]

Originally Posted by lvoc

He needs an approved plan not an actual landscape. A load of crushed rock prematurely may well turn the ARC hostile...Then he has a problem. Much better to provide the minimal plan.

I suggest running a main line around the periphery up front so he can later do what he wants without having to start over.

If the CCRs say nothing more than the back yard must be landscaped, then that is all he has to worry about. If the CCRs say that the landscaping must be approved, that is a different matter.

The OP needs to give us more information if he wants good answers.

20yrsinBranson

[OmegaSupreme]

Originally Posted by Packrat1

You should try to find someone you trust to check on the house more often. Even a small leak or running toilet can cost a lot of money.

Great advice. I had this exact issue. Upstairs toilet was leaking very slowly... ended up damaging subfloor and kitchen ceiling below it....

A friend of a friend had a much bigger problem. They left the house unattended for 2 months and the basement and more was flooded. Basically destroyed the house. Insurance wouldn't cover it because the water level was too high (they have some sort of maximum)

Originally Posted by 20yrsinBranson

Hire a "landscaping company" to lay down some crushed rock and then buy some (high quality) fake potted plants to place strategically around the patio and sliding patio doors. Keep the receipt of the "landscaping company", and if the HOA has a problem, mail them a copy of it.

I like this idea, especially the fake potted plants... though I'm not sure how they will cope (fade?) in the hot las vegas sun.

A couple of years ago, I bought the rock myself and had someone shovel it onto the backyard.

[jet757f]

When we closed escrow the association gave us 60 days to fix the front yard landscaping (previous owners had grass) and paint the house. The HOA requires at least 25% plants if you use rock landscaping. Also we had to draw up a plan and submit it to the HOA before we did the landscaping. If we decided to change the paint scheme of the house it would have to be signed off by the neighbors and the HOA. We ended up keeping the same paint scheme which made it easier. The back is not landscaped right now (grass has died) and the HOA has never mentioned it.

We have a neighbor up the street who is a manager at one of the casinos watch our house for $70 per month. He goes through the inside once a week and makes sure everything is alright. I was hesitant at first but it has been well worth it.