Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you all. This is OP. We have liked a house but it doesn't have a patio or a deck. The houses in that neighborhood have it. Although not having a deck is okay, I would like to have a sunroom in that space outside. Maybe we will just pass this one then.

Also one more question. If the basement has really small windows which are not considered as exit windows, is that safe? There are no plans for anyone to stay in the basement for long hours. No plans to have a bedroom there. But my question is a generic question. Does not having ventilation in the basement pose any health risks?

what the heck are you talking about. Majority of my neighbors have never even opened a window on any floor of house ever. My brother sold his house of 20 years and buyer said all his windows were painted shut and he never noticed. He never tried to open a window.

That said a small window is plenty of air in a basement. But to be honest most basements have central air and heat in basement. I only open the windows once every 3-4 years to clean them in basement.

This person sounds...off. I don't think they understood the question.

Every HOA will vary over time depending on who is on the approval list.

Anonymous wrote:Thank you all. This is OP. We have liked a house but it doesn't have a patio or a deck. The houses in that neighborhood have it. Although not having a deck is okay, I would like to have a sunroom in that space outside. Maybe we will just pass this one then.

OP the answer is simple: buy a house that already has the features you want.

You want a deck? Buy a house with a deck that’s in good shape.

It’s cheaper to buy what you want than buy and add on. And with the current market there is less competition from other buyers so you can be more choosy. The neighborhood you like where some houses have decks and some do not — if you wait a few months max one of the houses with decks will go up for sale. Tell your agent what you want and have them find it—they’ll be able to as long as you’re willing to have a bit of patience and reasonable expectations of what’s possible with your budget.

Anonymous wrote:Thank you all. This is OP. We have liked a house but it doesn't have a patio or a deck. The houses in that neighborhood have it. Although not having a deck is okay, I would like to have a sunroom in that space outside. Maybe we will just pass this one then.

Also one more question. If the basement has really small windows which are not considered as exit windows, is that safe? There are no plans for anyone to stay in the basement for long hours. No plans to have a bedroom there. But my question is a generic question. Does not having ventilation in the basement pose any health risks?

what the heck are you talking about. Majority of my neighbors have never even opened a window on any floor of house ever. My brother sold his house of 20 years and buyer said all his windows were painted shut and he never noticed. He never tried to open a window.

That said a small window is plenty of air in a basement. But to be honest most basements have central air and heat in basement. I only open the windows once every 3-4 years to clean them in basement.

We live in a SFH with HOA, love it. Neighbors build all the time, decks, backyard, windows, huge 2 floor extensions.

TH is quite different for additions since any change you make to your part could be affecting your neighbors that are direct attached to you.

Anonymous wrote:Thank you all. This is OP. We have liked a house but it doesn't have a patio or a deck. The houses in that neighborhood have it. Although not having a deck is okay, I would like to have a sunroom in that space outside. Maybe we will just pass this one then.

Also one more question. If the basement has really small windows which are not considered as exit windows, is that safe? There are no plans for anyone to stay in the basement for long hours. No plans to have a bedroom there. But my question is a generic question. Does not having ventilation in the basement pose any health risks?

Building a patio or deck is pretty simple and I wouldn't be too afraid of the HOA if neighbors already have patios or decks similar to what you would want to build. But if you are interested in making an offer, I would reach out to the HOA President through your real estate agent to ask if there are any HOA requirements or whether following county code/permit requirements is sufficient. I'm the PP who said our HOA does very little aside from paying taxes on our forest easement. I've had 2 neighbors build decks in the past 5 yrs and the HOA had zero requirements. I'd just make an observation that you need to get the proper permits and follow the county rules because if you don't there's almost always a neighbor who will report you.

I'll also echo another poster that I'd take a screened in porch over a sunroom any day...they are always too hot/too cold. Building a real room is an addition which is much more complicated than getting approval for a deck or patio.

Anonymous wrote:Thank you all. This is OP. We have liked a house but it doesn't have a patio or a deck. The houses in that neighborhood have it. Although not having a deck is okay, I would like to have a sunroom in that space outside. Maybe we will just pass this one then.

Also one more question. If the basement has really small windows which are not considered as exit windows, is that safe? There are no plans for anyone to stay in the basement for long hours. No plans to have a bedroom there. But my question is a generic question. Does not having ventilation in the basement pose any health risks?

Patios/decks/screened porches will likely be approved, especially if you see them on other houses and can say "this house is the exact same model as mine, and our plans are almost exactly the same".

As for basements, I assume you have unfinished one? The small windows are fine, it just means you can't have any legal bedrooms down there unless you dig one out. More important than windows is if you have air vents down there, and if you do, to make sure you keep them open. We also had our house tested for radon before we moved in and radon levels were high, so we had the previous owner install a radon mitigation system. We have it inspected every two years since our kids play in the unfinished basement.

This very much depends on the HOA. Ours approves pretty much everything - two houses in our neighborhood had additions put on this year alone. I'm not familiar with the details, but my understanding is that as long as you can't tell from the front of the house and it doesn't impact things like drainage or someone else's trees, it will get approved. That said, I know other HOAs are much more strict and have things like "can't impact someone's view" and things like that.

This is something you want to ask about before you buy the home obviously - and what the 3 day HOA review period is for.

Anonymous wrote:Very difficult and in many cases impossible. It can also be difficult to tell in advance of buying the house…you can see the HOA docs in advance and your real estate agent can do some investigating, but don’t take that as a guarantee that renos will be allowed. Even if others in the neighborhood have done renos in the past, the board members now in place could reject your designs.

If you want to be able to add onto a SFH, just don’t buy one in a HOA.

Easier said than done in many places. Where I live, most developments have an HOA. Heck so do many that are on 1 acre+ homes as well. They range from little involvement and rules to we need to approve the color on your front door and will fine you if your bush is half dead.

Also, there are benefits to an HOA. So while I have to get my front door and house colors approved if changing them, it also means I don't live nearby someone who thinks a red front door and bright glowing purple house is appropriate. It also means my neighbors yards are mowed and taken care of. Most of the time it's beneficial to everyone more than a hinderance.

Last home I owned without an HOA, I had a neighbor who let their lawn grow to over 1 ft (getting a divorce and decided to let the house and it's surrounding go before she was going to be kicked out)---we had rodents because of her, and she woudlnt' allow my garners to mow it. Had we had an HOA, they would have taken care of it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Probably very difficult and needlessly expensive. I live in a house with an HOA now and the amount of grief is not worth the very limited services they provide. I will never buy another house if there is an HOA involved.

My SIL lives in a nice suburban neighborhood without an HOA and her next door neighbor has about six cars in his backyard in assorted states of disrepair. The county did come around and force him to move several junkers from the curb in front of his house but nobody can tell him what he can put in his yard.

And that's why i really like living in HOA areas. Unless you're trying to change the whole footprint of your house neither of my HOAs have been bad to work with.