Bought my first home...but it has a HOA...

Well, I am glad to say I was able to close a contract on my first home, looks like I'll be a homeowner soon! However, one bummer is that theres a HOA, and being car enthusiasts, we all know how that goes...which is why I've come here for advice.

So the home I am buying is in a new construction townhome development, and my unit is not slated to be completed until January/February of next year. I basically just have my deposit on the lot awaiting next steps for building. Mine is one of the first that will be built in the development. As expected, there is a HOA. I swore I wouldn't buy in an HOA, but when my wife and I went to see the model home, it was amazing and we really loved it.

I read the bylaws and there is nothing specifically on any restrictions on loud cars, but just the general clause about nuisance noises, smells, objects, etc when deemed necessary. My daily has an aftermarket exhaust on it which is not terribly loud, but on cold start it can be a bit louder than normal. Once it quiets down after 30 to 45 seconds though, its just basically a soft purr until I put my foot in it (which of course I won't do in a neighborhood). I mean, even my wife's stock Xterra is a bit loud on startup, that cooling fan spools up to max tilt for whatever reason and then goes back down, and its certainly not silent when it does.

So now I'm having a bit of anxiety on how this is going to translate with my future neighbors. I think I'll be okay for a little while because they are still developing the neighborhood, but once the neighborhood is completed, I don't want to end up having issues over something I enjoy. Nobody seems to really care where I currently live, so hopefully thats the case at my new place.

Any of you live in an HOA neighborhood and run into any issues of the sort? How did you deal with this in your neighborhood (besides moving)? I don't plan on staying in this neighborhood forever, and the next house will definitely be non-HOA...this was just my best bet to start off with in this crazy market we have, as weird as it sounds.

Don't go looking for trouble. You're probably quieter than the inevitable Harley and as long as you don't go blasting through the 'hood or rev the nuts off it at 3 am it's unlikely you'll attract any negative attention. Make friends with our neighbors instead of enemies and the chance of trouble drops dramatically,

And at worst, if you do have trouble - which is more important to you, the exhaust or the house? It's easy to make a car quieter if that's a priority.

Keith Tanner said:

Don't go looking for trouble. You're probably quieter than the inevitable Harley and as long as you don't go blasting through the 'hood or rev the nuts off it at 3 am it's unlikely you'll attract any negative attention. Make friends with our neighbors instead of enemies and the chance of trouble drops dramatically,

And at worst, if you do have trouble - which is more important to you, the exhaust or the house? It's easy to make a car quieter if that's a priority.

Thanks! Yeah I'm not looking for any trouble, and I'm not going to be revving it to limiter at 3am lol. Only time I can see it being considered loud during cold start is when going to work in the morning, or if I for whatever reason have to venture out past 9PM which is pretty rare for me. Otherwise, once its warmed up, its just a soft rumble that you can only hear when outside nearby the car.

Yeah the noise alone isn't anything to worry about as long as you're not super-obnoxious with it and it's not a particularly anal HOA. Also I hear that HOAs tend not to complain if a car on jackstands in front of the house is a costly prestigious brand, so consider a Boxster or Quattroporte for your next project car

GameboyRMH said:

Yeah the noise alone isn't anything to worry about as long as you're not super-obnoxious with it and it's not a particularly anal HOA. Also I hear that HOAs tend not to complain if a car on jackstands in front of the house is a costly prestigious brand, so consider a Boxster or Quattroporte for your next project car

Yep I don't plan on being obnoxious about it, I try to keep good relations with those around me. I'm hoping they're not super anal, being a brand new development there isn't any previous experiences to go off of so hopefully I lucked out! This is also located in a semi-rural area with a small airport nearby for private planes (Cessnas, Pipers, etc) and is parallel to a main road, so I imagine the noises from airplanes taking off and the inevitable lifted diesels racing down the street will hopefully help my case, lol!

Quattroporte sounds fun...if only...

HOAs get a bad rap, for good reason, but most of them are reasonable. Based on what you've said here, with my experience with them, you'll be fine. Don't bounce the car off the redline, don't hoon in the neighborhood. 
 

Also, with townhomes, an HOA is kind of a necessity. I would never buy a house in one*, but a condo/townhome/apartment is a slightly different matter. 

*There are exceptions to prove the rule. I rented a detached home that had an HOA. It was $50 a year to mow the grass and throw new wood chips down on the playground that was in the neighborhood. I think there was one assessment, voluntary, to get the neighborhood fogged for mosquitos. 

Oh, also, since you're one of the first residents... maybe you or your wife should try to get on the HOA board. Do your part to make sure that the HOA is there to mow the grass and take care of shared facilities and shared maintenance. You don't want a vajajayy Karen to go on a power trip. 

Do you own a straight piped rotary?

Ok not to totally derail this but I'd be more worried about the quality of the construction than an HOA in this day and age.  Did you see other homes being built at varying stages of construction and not just a model home? My wife and I had a great experience looking at a model home a couple years ago and almost bought until we saw a couple more homes being built in the subdivision pre and post drywall.  I'm praying for you it's not a DR Horton house.

If you haven't already, schedule a pre-drywall inspection unless you really, really trust the builder.

I've got an HOA and it's a non-issue. Technically not supposed to have my trailer, but there are 5 others in the neighborhood, including the current HOA president. Considering there's at least one other autocrosser and two drag racing guys, no issues working on stuff. There are a few houses sensitive to noise stuff, but friendly discussions BEFORE making anyone upset have kept things friendly. Such as an older member who's wife has medical problems and sleeps till early afternoon. So kindly dont do obnoxious noisy stuff before 2pm. After then don't be a dick. I've test driven my fmod at reasonable speed after that time, zero complaints.

Things we actually do. -keep things mowed, get snow cleared, maintenance regarding a pond, tell that one guy that a suburban neighborhood is not an appropriate location for a rooster and to get rid of it before someone decides to shoot it one morning. Tell one house that storing a half dozen snowplows used for a business in their driveway for a summer isn't allowed...  Things like that

I mean, mines reasonable. Make sure you go to meetings and consider getting involved to make/keep yours reasonable. 

I agree that getting in early gives you the opportunity to get on the board. 

RacetruckRon said:

I'm praying for you it's not a DR Horton house.

we have dr horton house farms down here.  I assume the quality is lacking, but my first issue with them is the lot size, 0.11 acre lots!  On the side with the ac unit, you cannot walk around the ac and stay on your property. 

The houses being built around me all have issues. Maronda is the builder. Stupid mistakes that should have been found. But at least we dont have an Hoa. 
 

get on the board for the hoa, its the only way to keep it reasonable. 

I'm going to echo being on the board of the HOA, we got a notice shortly after we moved in about our yard and we took over after that. We're starting to get old and cranky so we should probably be replaced soon with someone younger and more lenient. 

My hoa allows boats and car trailers outside in the summer and snowmobile and ice house trailers in th winter. So basically you're ok with anything here as long as it's neat and tidy.  
 

I've owned houses in hoa and non hoa communities.   Never had a problem. 

Like others have said and you already confirmed - treating the property like a "no wake zone" (for the engine and the stereo) should keep you be FAR from being the most obnoxious one in the community.

Regarding new construction: there is a LOT of terrible out there. Inspecting before drywall is highly recommended but likely to be hard - the contract probably limits you. I would talk to a lawyer and pre-decide how big of an ass you're willing to be to get your money's worth. Could even talk to the municipal inspection department. Basic code violations for structure and air leakage are way too common. Getting things fixed I suspect will be hard with a production builder. But letting them know you give a E36 M3 might help. 

In reply to OHSCrifle :

My neighbors bought a new maronda home that was built to their wants, not an inventory house, it its a stinker. At under a year old, they had to jackhammer up the master bathroom shower floor because it would not put out hot water.  There was a bunch of little stupid things also. Everything that was messed up should have been seen in various inspections. 
 

Have caution too for "high efficiency" houses. Their house is one of the supposed HE houses. Power bill is going to stay under 200$ or some bold claim. Lots of wishful thinking. Its not anywhere as "efficient" as claimed. Builder put in a tiny, UNDERSIZED, lemme repeat, UNDERSIZED ac unit and the power bill is over 500$. 
 

my other neighbor with a new maronda, it just so happens is an AC tech. He told them during building that the ac unit was too small. They claimed by their math, that it wasnt. Well big surprise, they move in and the AC cannot keep up. He knows why, but has to bring a 3rd party AC company in to test and of course, the unit is way too small for the sq/ft. Maronda had to swap out the AC for a proper sized one. 
 

oh and the reason im mentioning it is because the builder told the homeowners that they were NOT allowed on the property and it would be trespassing should they want to go inspect the house as it was being built. 
its easier to get away with cutting corners if nobody can look and see!

Moronda has terrible reputation here in Pittsburgh.  Early 2000's they built houses using some very questionable materials and very gaudy styling - looking at you arched windows and entry ways. 

As for the HOA, I've noticed that most new HOA's for the new mega developments seem pretty lax. Drive around before buying and see what the houses look like.  For the most part, the ones I've toured makes me look like I won't be the biggest slob in the neighborhood so I'd get the least attention.  My goal is always to be the official redneck of the neighborhood, but I always strive the be the clean, well organized redneck. 

Thanks guys, good to hear most of you havent had too many issues. As for the part of the build quality, its not DR Horton or Maronda, but its another national chain that is putting up houses EVERYWHERE here, and its Ryan Homes. Still not the best as far as I know, but the first time homeownerships glasses were rosy when signing the contract and looking around thats for sure. As weird as it sounds, getting this was a better bet in my particular market than finding an older home.

I will say, people said the same thing about when my dad was buying his new construction in 2002, about how it was going to be issues and they "dont build them like the 70s and 80s anymore, good luck!" But 20 some years on and everything has been pretty decent. Not discounting anyone's experience/opinion, but just something I've seen myself.

In reply to Japanspec :

My current home is a Ryan Home built in 1969 and it is built really well.  Ryan Homes were started in Pittsburgh.  My wife knows the original family. 

Be a good neighbor. Be considerate to those around you. Wave to people and have conversations. Get to know the people around you and make a few friends.

If your neighbors like you, they won't want to bludgeon you with the rules. If some squeaky wheel moves into the neighborhood and complains about your noisy car, you want all the other neighbors to think, "Oh that's just Japanspec. He's a friendly guy. He's got a loud sportscar, but he always drives it slowly through the neighborhood to not be a nuisance!"

Scotty Con Queso said:

In reply to Japanspec :

My current home is a Ryan Home built in 1969 and it is built really well.  Ryan Homes were started in Pittsburgh.  My wife knows the original family. 

Thats good to know! Also hello neighbor, I'm from the other side of the state, Philly area.

Beer Baron said:

Be a good neighbor. Be considerate to those around you. Wave to people and have conversations. Get to know the people around you and make a few friends.

If your neighbors like you, they won't want to bludgeon you with the rules. If some squeaky wheel moves into the neighborhood and complains about your noisy car, you want all the other neighbors to think, "Oh that's just Japanspec. He's a friendly guy. He's got a loud sportscar, but he always drives it slowly through the neighborhood to not be a nuisance!"

Thats the plan. Hopefully I can win them over. I dont plan on being obnoxious, not intentionally. Heres to hoping a cranky Karen doesnt move in next door.

First off congrats. That's a big deal and you're investing in yourself instead of paying rent to someone else.

Second, I wouldn't worry unless you are being downright obnoxious with it. As others have said, get on the board, help drive some of the decision making calculus for the HOA going forward and hopefully be a voice of reason for anyone with a hobby. In my experience, most people on HOA boards are those without hobbies and the HOA is, you guessed it, their hobby. 

I've had one home in an HOA and I had my fair share of issues from them threatening to put a lien on my home for having my roof repaired without their approval after a hail storm to complaining about my Tehcnoviolet Purple M3 bringing the value of the neighborhood down (which they had ground to stand on since it was a running/driving vehicle that was parked on taxpayer funded streets). I still get the occasional letters regarding my ex-wife's inability to take care of the lawn. 

Oh and then there was the time I found out the HOA Manager had hired his wife (a lawyer) through a shell LLC on a $100k a year retainer, which was a catalyst to raise our HOA rates from $75 to $100 a month. It was a $25k retainer fee for the previous law firm for drafting threatening letters to residents for having one weed poking through a paver in the driveway. 

Bottom line - get on the board like others have said so you can make it a good HOA. 

We’ve lived with an HOA since moving to this neighborhood back in 1996.

When I moved here, our BMW 318ti race car lived in my care. I was also like 25 years old.

We actually had two HOAs: the “main” one for the entire neighborhood and then the local one for our little group of townhomes.

So I got on the board for the local one.

Turns out that most people think race cars are cool. It wasn’t loud, and I did my best to be a good neighbor. 

Japanspec said:

Beer Baron said:

Be a good neighbor. Be considerate to those around you. Wave to people and have conversations. Get to know the people around you and make a few friends.

If your neighbors like you, they won't want to bludgeon you with the rules. If some squeaky wheel moves into the neighborhood and complains about your noisy car, you want all the other neighbors to think, "Oh that's just Japanspec. He's a friendly guy. He's got a loud sportscar, but he always drives it slowly through the neighborhood to not be a nuisance!"

Thats the plan. Hopefully I can win them over. I dont plan on being obnoxious, not intentionally. Heres to hoping a cranky Karen doesnt move in next door.

You don't even need to "win them over". Just be a decent person. Be reasonably considerate.

No one likes a Karen except for other Karens.