https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sun, 04 Oct 2026 10:26:19 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-buy-a-new-house-in-a-gated-community/page/2#post-2515469 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 22:38:21 +0000 sapphire 2515469@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We live in a non-gated new construction community that is set within a rather ethnically diverse town. We chose here because we really liked the particular house, the wooded areas that surround the neighborhood, and the location. </p> <p>We do have an HOA and my DH is one of the board members so I can answer questions if you have specifics. Definitely ask to see the rules and regs before you sign. Additionally, know that most HOA boards can add add'l rules and regs. Our HOA isn't crazy and mostly exists to protect property values. It's not for you if you want to paint your house pink, want backyard farm animals, want to do any construction in the front of your house, or might have squatters staying with you. There are also limits on the # of houses that can be rented at any time. Other than that though, it's nothing too crazy.</p> <p>Our HOA pays to maintain our common playground, trees, green spaces and is there in case something like a giant tree from the big forest behind the property falls in someone's yard and damages their house. </p> <p>But actually gated community? Not so much. Our neighborhood is quiet and has a cul de sac, but it's open to whoever wants to walk or drive through. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-buy-a-new-house-in-a-gated-community/page/2#post-2515461 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 22:02:34 +0000 oliviaoblivia 2515461@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>There aren't HOA communities in areas where I've lived so no, not for me. There are some communities here but they are way far away from the city and suburban life doesn't work for us.</p> <p>ARB usually takes care of eyesore properties and overgrown lawns can be a health and safety issue so the city mows and fines the property owner. Trash removal is municipal. As far as ugly additions.... I'm not sure how it would affect my property value if a neighbor built something I don't like on their property. Zoning isn't going to allow a five story addition in a three story neighborhood. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-buy-a-new-house-in-a-gated-community/page/2#post-2515457 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 21:50:37 +0000 T.H.O.U. 2515457@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Grace: we are not in city limits so no I don't think the city would step in unless it was a health and safet violation. </p> <p>But yes, we have seen some "eclectic" houses from people that love purple and don't just do purple trim but go all out. We've also seen some areas with the issues of the RV or splitting utilities and adding a trailer or second dwelling to one property. </p> <p>My point being some HOA or rules can be a good thing. I view a home as an investment and if there is a purple house with crazy weeds next door, my investment goes down.</p> <p>I think there are probably a lot of harmless HOAs or other neighborhood associations that are very mild that you just don't hear about because they would only step in in extreme situations. I don't love the look of cookie cutter neighborhoods, but there are some great neighborhoods I've seen that maintain a cohesive look and style without seeming intruding. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-buy-a-new-house-in-a-gated-community/page/2#post-2515449 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 21:22:14 +0000 MamaCate 2515449@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We definitely didn't want a gated community but pretty much all the places we looked had HOAs. I think they are more common in some areas than others. Our HOA does have rules and restrictions like paint colors but everyone has a walled yard so you can do what you want in there and then the HOA covers all the other landscaping. They do a great job! And when my DH just wanted to change the configuration of our gate, he just had to do a quick plan for the board and they approved it.</p> <p>For me the reason it is worth it to have the HOA is that it maintains our community pool. All the joys of having a pool and letting someone else deal with the maintenance and safety stuff!</p> <p>I think the takeaway is to do your homework before you buy. My parents bought in a "historic" neighborhood that has an Architecural Review Board that sounds like a much bigger pain than our HOA! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-buy-a-new-house-in-a-gated-community/page/2#post-2515441 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 21:06:45 +0000 2littlepumpkins 2515441@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>It depends. Non gated doesn't equal no HOA, so I don't know. And I would really want to see who was on the HOA board and how it was managed. And how strict they were about visitors, etc. I lean toward no, but never say never. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-buy-a-new-house-in-a-gated-community/page/2#post-2515436 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 20:59:52 +0000 Grace 2515436@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@T.H.O.U.: Haha, I had to giggle at your extreme scenarios. I've never seen someone paint a house like that. A question for you about grass though. We don't have HOA's where I live, but if a neighbour never cut their grass, I can make a complaint to the city and they will send someone to cut it and then bill the homeowner. Is that sort of thing not done in your area? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-buy-a-new-house-in-a-gated-community/page/2#post-2515418 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 20:32:28 +0000 travellingbee 2515418@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I live in a gated neighborhood. We weren't particularly looking for one but it is where our house was. However, I very much like it. Our kids play in the street because there is no through traffic. There is a very nice sense of community. There is significantly less crime than in the surrounding community. Our HOA is not super restrictive but enough so that the neighborhood looks nice and houses maintain their value very well. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-buy-a-new-house-in-a-gated-community/page/2#post-2515327 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 19:00:42 +0000 Ms maths 2515327@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>No, I would not. I'm not really a "belonger" and having people tell me what to do with my own house would drive me crazy. </p> <p>We live in a university town in a trendy downtown neighborhood, but with lots of student housing and older owners who probably have other things on their mind than how their house looks to the neighbors. Some houses need the lawn cut more often, some have couches on their front porches or don't pick up their trash very well, and other houses have been lovingly restored to their Victorian glory or have elaborate flower gardens. I enjoy the beautiful houses. For the rest, I am happy to let them live their lives however they want, as long as it doesn't affect my use of the neighborhood. (House value isn't much an issue. The neighborhood is popular enough that even the run-down houses have appreciated significantly.) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-buy-a-new-house-in-a-gated-community/page/2#post-2515311 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 18:53:41 +0000 regberadaisy 2515311@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>If I had a choice I would not buy in a "gated" community. I like my home to have character and have my own touch. I don't like other people dictating what to do with MY home.<br /> We both work full time and have two kids. We've been that house with embarrassing long grass. But there's been weeks where it thunderstorms and the grounds are too soggy to mow are days off. Or where it rains every third day and DH can't even mow after work like he wants to. It's called life. A few of our neighbor's have been very vocal that they don't like it when people put fences up. Because it ruins the "park like" setting of the neighborhood. Okay. They can go F off. We fully plan to put a nice looking fence up around our property because we want our kids to be able to freely run around in our backyard. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-buy-a-new-house-in-a-gated-community/page/2#post-2515310 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 18:52:43 +0000 birdofafeather 2515310@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@stargal: this for us too! </p> <p>also for an actual gate, we've always lived in "stop on over whenever" kinda places and i'm happier in that kind of neighborhood, rather than call, put you on the list, buzz you in, etc. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-buy-a-new-house-in-a-gated-community/page/2#post-2515302 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 18:45:11 +0000 MamaBehr 2515302@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We've looked at houses in gated communities. I wouldn't seek one out, but I wouldn't rule one out because of the gated community, either. We have always lived in areas where HOAs are the norm and deed restrictions are everywhere, so I don't think it would be that different. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-buy-a-new-house-in-a-gated-community/page/2#post-2515299 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 18:40:57 +0000 petitenoisette 2515299@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would definitely not want to live in a gated community, but they're not common where I live so maybe that's part of why it seems so weird to me. </p> <p>I get people's point on it being nice that neighbors can't do things that would lower property values. As it is, we bought a house on a street where most of the houses are really well maintained but on the lower half of the street there are a few houses that really need a paint job/other maintenance. Yes, it drives me nuts and I wish I could "report" these people to their home insurance or something because I know they'd require them to repaint, but we knew what we were getting into when we bought. I think most of the time you do. So the advantages of an HOA just don't seem to outweigh the inconvenience to me. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-buy-a-new-house-in-a-gated-community/page/2#post-2515245 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 16:55:55 +0000 Bluebonnet 2515245@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We lived in a planned (but not gated community) with strict deed restrictions. I love it. Everyone's property is well maintained and taken care of and as a result our area is very desirable and property values remain high. </p> <p>We have to get big things approved, but its a pretty streamlined process. (Ex - there are pre approved choices for most things and you can petition if you want to do something else). </p> <p>I think it depends on the neighborhood restrictions. A competent Realtor should be able to advise you on which communities to avoid based on your preferences. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-buy-a-new-house-in-a-gated-community/page/2#post-2515242 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 16:52:31 +0000 Meowkers 2515242@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@T.H.O.U.: I live in a neighborhood where all the houses and yards are well maintained and people really take pride in their property. Before we bought our house, we drove around to make sure there were no dilapidated houses, rusted out cars, and all those things you mentioned. Driving around a neighborhood, you know what you'll get.</p> <p>Our neighbors across the street painted their house fluorescent green with black trim. Not my style, but no it doesn't bother me. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-buy-a-new-house-in-a-gated-community/page/2#post-2515234 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 16:43:24 +0000 LatteLove 2515234@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Nope, it's just not our style.<br /> We bought a house in a pretty diverse neighborhood and even though our street isn't extremely kid friendly (narrow lanes, no sidewalks), we like it. We really wanted to experience a quirky neighborhood that reflects the population of our city with an older home. (but my in-laws lived in a more modern suburban home/neighborhood and my MIL is uncomfortable babysitting at our house) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-buy-a-new-house-in-a-gated-community/page/2#post-2515230 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 16:35:42 +0000 sunny 2515230@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@avivoca: @T.H.O.U.: my neighbor painted their home a salmon pink with baby blue trim and then sold the home. It's such an eyesore! I'm hoping the new owner paints it soon, but since the paint is fresh it's not a high priority.</p> <p>I used to not want any oversight on things like paint color and parking, but I really would have loved for someone to tell my previous neighbors not to paint their home pink and blue! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-buy-a-new-house-in-a-gated-community#post-2515206 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 16:02:27 +0000 Modern Daisy 2515206@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrsbells: yeah I mean I'm sure it all depends on the hoa.. And even though I was turned off by them I would have still considered it for our "dream home". But in general I don't see a point in going through all the trouble to set one up if there aren't a lot of rules so I tend to assume the worst. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-buy-a-new-house-in-a-gated-community#post-2515203 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 16:00:53 +0000 psw27 2515203@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I grew up in a non-gated community that still had some "covenants" and for the most part it was easy to follow along. Our neighbors decided to set up a picnic table in their front yard and pretty consistently use it to chop up animals and fish for cooking purposes. It was kind of gross at times to see them butchering stuff in the front yard. It saved my parents an awkward conversation so I think they were happy to have the HOA in place. </p> <p>My parents live in a gated community now and its nice because they don't have to worry as much about packages getting stolen or that the neighbor across the street is going to suddenly acquire 16 cars that they want to set up a repair shop. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-buy-a-new-house-in-a-gated-community#post-2515198 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 15:59:09 +0000 Mrs. Lemon-Lime 2515198@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@avivoca: @T.H.O.U.: growing up I lived in a HOA-less community and it wasn't bad at all. Everyone had home ownership pride and when homes were improved even if it wasn't in keeping with the original architecture of the neighborhood it usually raised property values. I remember one of our neighbors, an evening news anchor, "blew up her house." It started off as a brick and stone ranch up a steep hill. By the time she was finished it was salmon pink 3 story home that completely made the front yard hill a bunch of stairs &amp; landings with landscape beds to break up all the building material. It was a sight! The city enforced ordinances like in the Fall if you raked your leaves too early before trash day, which meant they were laying around on the street you would get fined. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-buy-a-new-house-in-a-gated-community#post-2515196 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 15:58:48 +0000 Mrsbells 2515196@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@gingerbebe: Thanks for sharing your experience. It adds some perspective for me :)</p> <p>@stargal: haha, thanks </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-buy-a-new-house-in-a-gated-community#post-2515195 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 15:57:22 +0000 stargal 2515195@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Nope if i am buying a house, i am not letting anyone tell me what to do with it. Some hoa rules are sooooo crazy to me. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-buy-a-new-house-in-a-gated-community#post-2515194 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 15:57:19 +0000 Mrsbells 2515194@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Modern Daisy: yep funny you should mention the swing set, that reminded me of an episode from the show Desperate Housewives. I always thought the community isses on the show were exaggerated but from what I see online they might be accurate depending on the community. DH and I will have to weigh the pros and cons </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-buy-a-new-house-in-a-gated-community#post-2515193 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 15:57:15 +0000 gingerbebe 2515193@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yeah, it really depends on the terms of the HOA and what you get for the money. We lived in a non-gated community at one point when I was a kid and we had to pay a lot of money (like hundreds every month) for community landscaping and tennis courts that we never used, and had to choose paint colors off the HOA's approved list. That, and we had maintain our yard to their standards. </p> <p>On the other hand, I have some coworkers who live in legit gated communities and they really like them because it keeps the property values high, there's less of an issue with crazy drivers and kids playing in the street, and they have overnight parking restrictions and what not so no noisy parties. They haven't had issues doing things to their house (one has a giant aviary, for instance, but just had to run the plans through the HOA so that they knew it was "secure" or whatever), but they're not the kind of people who would paint their house pink either. </p> <p>When we bought last year we could have either purchased in a non-gated new community with an HOA that had low-ish dues to do community landscaping (walking paths, lights, gazebo, parks, etc.) or move to an established neighborhood a block over with no HOA and neighbors who generally really take good care of their properties. Aside from one house on our block that seems a little rundown and a few interesting paint choices here and there, everyone seems to be super on top of their stuff, even the renters, so we bought in the non-HOA neighborhood and we like it quite a bit. One thing is we get to know our neighbors better because we have to deal with our issues ourselves instead of "tattling" to the HOA. Our neighbor behind us had some dogs that were barking like crazy and we've been able to work things out really nicely with them, we know our neighbors on either side by going over landscaping and fencing decisions, and we look out for each other's houses when we travel, things like that. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-buy-a-new-house-in-a-gated-community#post-2515164 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 15:43:43 +0000 Modern Daisy 2515164@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>So we owned a coop apartment for years and i was really turned off to the whole idea so when we were house hunting in the burbs I really didn't consider anything in a hoa. I feel like especially with a single family home you want the freedom to put up a fence, park your car on the street, etc. and I am personally willing to put up with the potential for messy neighbors to have that freedom. I think when we are empty nesters we might not care as much, and the overall beauty of an hoa or gated community might appeal to us more, but you hear about lawsuits over swing sets and it is really scary. My neighbor lives in an hoa near me and told me how he can't even cut down a tree or put up landscape lighting without permission! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-buy-a-new-house-in-a-gated-community#post-2515130 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 15:26:50 +0000 Mrsbells 2515130@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Thanks everyone, you all bring up so really good points. I must say I am a bit torn between the "freedom" of living outside an HOA community versus living inside it. But it really helps hearing a variety of experiences from you ladies. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-buy-a-new-house-in-a-gated-community#post-2515117 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 15:17:40 +0000 avivoca 2515117@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@T.H.O.U.: There's actually a house in the neighborhood with purple trim. It still doesn't bother me. My neighbor's grass did get pretty tall there for awhile, but she was out of town for awhile spending time with her mother before she passed away, so no one complained. It's also not a planned community, it is an older neighborhood. My house is the newest and it was built in 1971. </p> <p>Maybe I lucked into a good neighborhood with good neighbors, but I still would not choose to live in a neighborhood with an HOA. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-buy-a-new-house-in-a-gated-community#post-2515114 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 15:17:04 +0000 Truth Bombs 2515114@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We live in an HoA community (not gated). I like having some oversight. I don't want to look at my neighbors trash, and I don't want have an unsightly yard down the street that detracts from my property value. Plus our HoA does things like plan block parties and maintain a listserv for us to communicate with each other. It's only $550 a year. If I was paying hundreds a month and didn't have a lot of amenities, then I would probably be annoyed. I'm actually trying to join our HoA board. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-buy-a-new-house-in-a-gated-community#post-2515110 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 15:15:26 +0000 catomd00 2515110@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I love living in a gated community. The HOA fees are high, but we get a lot of services for it so it feels mostly worth it. Yes, there are rules which can be inconvenient at times but for the most part we hardly notice. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-buy-a-new-house-in-a-gated-community#post-2515106 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 15:14:21 +0000 avivoca 2515106@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@CakeLady: Yeah, the city doesn't maintain our neighborhood streets, but there's a nice sense of community when your neighbor who has a plow for his 4-wheeler plows the entire neighborhood just so no one is stuck, not because we pay him to do it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-buy-a-new-house-in-a-gated-community#post-2515104 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 15:13:30 +0000 T.H.O.U. 2515104@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@avivoca: I get that, but go to an extreme, how would you feel if your neighbor NEVER cut their grass? And weeds started growing into your yard. </p> <p>What if it wasn't just a pretty blue front door, but someone wanted to paint their entire house purple and put on a hot pink tin roof?</p> <p>How does that reflect on your house when you go to sell? </p>