holly tree farms (Brentwood: HOA, mortgage, house)

[boingolover]

Through a drastic change of life / lifestyle and situation, I am moving to the burbs, specifically Brentwood. There are three homes we've located in the Holly Tree Farms subdivision that seem like good options potentially, though there is an HOA. In general, the idea of a homeowner's association horrifies me, though I understand some are stricter than others. Does anyone have any experience with this HOA?

[BirdieBelle]

I have a friend who has lived there for ten years, and this is what she said today when I e-mailed her about the HOA:

"We love our neighborhood! I know of just a couple of people who haven’t been able to build what they wanted. But even I agreed those plans were not good. When we built an addition and added a hot tub, we had no problem.

It’s cheaper than a lot of HOAs that have pools. Very laid back but they do make a few suggestions to people if they don’t mow or have a lopsided shutter. Again, never heard a word!"

I hope this helps.

[boingolover]

Originally Posted by Wmsn4Life

I have a friend who has lived there for ten years, and this is what she said today when I e-mailed her about the HOA:

"We love our neighborhood! I know of just a couple of people who haven’t been able to build what they wanted. But even I agreed those plans were not good. When we built an addition and added a hot tub, we had no problem.

It’s cheaper than a lot of HOAs that have pools. Very laid back but they do make a few suggestions to people if they don’t mow or have a lopsided shutter. Again, never heard a word!"

I hope this helps.

Thank you for tracking this down for us! Seriously, this is a big help!!

[BirdieBelle]

No problem. I think people view HOAs as a terror organization ready to pounce on unsuspecting residents. But usually they just exist to maintain a consistent look to the neighborhood - in short, to keep it looking nice.

A subdivision like Holly Tree Farms, which was all built by one builder, usually likes to keep an aesthetic consistency. That's why they might send a reminder letter if someone's grass is a foot long or whatever. Most of the groups I've dealt with have been no problem at all.

[boingolover]

Originally Posted by Wmsn4Life

No problem. I think people view HOAs as a terror organization ready to pounce on unsuspecting residents. But usually they just exist to maintain a consistent look to the neighborhood - in short, to keep it looking nice.

A subdivision like Holly Tree Farms, which was all built by one builder, usually likes to keep an aesthetic consistency. That's why they might send a reminder letter if someone's grass is a foot long or whatever. Most of the groups I've dealt with have been no problem at all.

I have just heard a lot of horror stories, though I personally do not have any experiences with an HOA. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the idea that I would have to pay money to have a group tell me what I could or could not do to my home. I realize that it's in everyone's best interest if the guy across the street doesn't have a camaro up on cinder blocks in the front yard, and to that end an HOA would be useful. And surely I'd appreciate it if the family beside us kept their grass mowed. But I can also imagine situations where this could go horribly wrong, and there is plenty of evidence to support this, even if most of it is anecdotal

This one is probably fresh in everyone's mind though:

Back from Iraq, Frisco soldier finds home sold by HOA | wfaa.com | Dallas - Fort Worth Local News

[BirdieBelle]

Wow, that is certainly a very rare case. Anytime you don't open your mail for 6 months, you're gonna have problems.

[boingolover]

Originally Posted by Wmsn4Life

Wow, that is certainly a very rare case. Anytime you don't open your mail for 6 months, you're gonna have problems.

True. On the other hand, any time your neighbors would sell off your home over $800, you're going to have problems too.

[BirdieBelle]

The only difference there is that most HOAs aren't usually an informal group of neighbors who have coffee meetings, take your dues check and gossip about whose grass is too long. All the ones I've ever paid money to are operated by professional property management companies. You may have a board composed of neighbors, but the money usually goes to a professional management company because they hire landscapers, painters, pool cleaners etc.
When you buy your house, it's in your contract that you are a member of the HOA and you are legally bound to pay those dues. So if you stop, they can put a lien on your house just the like mortgage company would. It's not as if their neighbors suddenly sold the house from under them. The people in the article defaulted on a payment they owed.
Like I said, it's an extreme case, but it proves that any buyer has to do due diligence and completely understand how their HOA works.
And open their dadgum mail.

[boingolover]

No doubt that this is a fringe case. And whether or not a neighbor / HOA board member should have checked in personally on the situation is a moot point. My specific concerns are with the Holly Tree Farms HOA, and thanks again for your correspondence. It sounds as though the general "vibe" of this HOA is as good as could be expected. I'm still trying to get a copy of the HOA rules, and that should be inbound sometime soon according to my realtor. I will certainly make sure to read the fine print, and in the unlikely event that we find anything that we determine to be a deal breaker we will go for another home we liked that's not in an HOA but needs a bit of updating.

Thanks again!

[brentwoodgirl]

One thing to consider also is Brentwood rules. Brentwood city has a lot of rules also, we had to get our fence and patio cover approved by our HOA and the city of Brentwood. The HOA wasn't a problem, but we had to make changes to get things approved by the city.