Building Covenant

[rgood]

Thanks for your input Dave - I have about $10,000 into this deal already - And am closing already closing on the last day available according to the contract we signed -So, I have to be careful.

 

[riptides]

Try and find a person in the association on the board and talk with them?
Tell them what your doing?
Perhaps they can call a special meeting to move your processing forward.

HOA's are run by people input, some of them, you might live next to.

 

[CurlyDave]

I have about $10,000 into this deal already - And am closing already closing on the last day available according to the contract we signed -So, I have to be careful.

I know from experience (I was the seller in a deal that didn't close due to last-minute buyer's remorse, not even a good reason stated) that in most states you will get all of your earnest money and deposit back. Consult a lawyer for $100-200 or so to be certain. A lot less expensive than groveling in front of some homeowners' board for years.

Look at the motivations here. They have only sold one parcel, and with real estate the way it is they need to keep every sale they have. They are not going to be sticky about meeting deadlines. Write the seller a letter and say you can't close because of this issue. Put the burden back on him. You aren't refusing to close on time, but the meeting you had to attend to get your approval was postponed -- that is more his fault than yours. This alone is sufficient to postpone the closing until you can be certain you will be allowed to build your structure.

Once you have bought, the homeowners' board are not your friends. They have every motivation to force you into the most expensive possible building. Why? Because it increases their nearby property value at no cost to them. The board will never state this, and the idea may not even form completely in their minds, but at some gut-instinct level they know this.

The wisest man I have ever known told me that in order to understand any human situation: "Look for where the profit lies."

 

[rgood]

Here's an update - I closed on the property - Meeting is next week - I'll let you know how it goes - Stay tuned

 

[heehaw]

i know it all depends on the homeowners assoc.: but unless the ones that are in it are willing to lay out the $$$$ for an attorney, its worthless and powerless. there are exceptions, like when a city takes over a area an takes over the rules: most citys have attorneys on retainer anyway, so they aren't as concerned about the cost of enforcement. i had a good friend that was the president of his homeowners assoc: they had let a few things slide and didn't enforce them as they should have, so someone bought a lot, an started a house way smaller than the required size: they went to court and were told that since they hadn't been enforcing the other rules, they couldn't enforce that one..
heehaw

 

[schmism]

I agree witth Bird. But, someday you may appreciate the fact that standards exist.

what standards? the only "Standards" listed was you (oraly) please the approval comitee. no guidlines are writen down about how it looks, how big it is, etc. so the "stanard" is garenteed to change at a whim.

no sir, i most defently will not appreciate any sort of that "standard"

 

[rgood]

Well, I did a telephone conference call with the review board - They wanted some changes but they were pretty minor things that don't cost a lot so all is well !

 

[Charlesaf3]

In general I think Curly Dave's got a lot of wisdom here.

I'm like Bird - I'd go way out of my way to steer clear of a homeowners association, they mainly enforce mediocrity and give busybodies a way to keep themselves entertained at neighbors expense. But different strokes for different folks.