Deed restrictions

[dave1949]

Can you find out if any of those deed restrictions have been recorded with the county? Many times, restrictions are placed on the land by the original land owner who is looking to subdivide the property. Once all the parcels are sold he's out of it and could care less. Also, since the HOA has been disbanded, it sounds like no one is too keen on enforcing those restrictions. If they're informal restrictions (not recorded) you are probably in the clear. Parking or storing business vehicles on your property doesn't mean you are actually running a businees out of your property--only a nitpicker would try to enforce that one as a violation.

I am sure you have nailed the 'reality' of this situation. There is however, always the chance of running into a 'nitpicker' with enough money for a lawyer. It only takes one.

Dave.

 

[linearxs]

I'm in a similar situation and here's what I've learned so far. My wife and I purchased a 7.5 acre tract where the parcels ranged from 5 to 8 acres. There are deed restriction that run with the land that were set up by the original owners when they subdivided it (about 1-page long). The wife of the original owners is still alive and she is the "Grantor". Things like house plans, excavation, putting up fences etc. are supposed to be approved by the "Grantor" or if she dies her descendent's or assigns. Before I even considered purchasing it I had her sign off on several things like not having to build on it for four years (or there about), and being able to put in a gravel driveway instead of cement like the restrictions called for. As it turns out she didn't seem to really care about what we were going to do with the property and signed off on it with no complaints. She seemed more concerned about people letting trash blow around than anything else. We've owned the property for about a year now and from what I've seen around the other parcels people really don't follow the rules (letting trailers set out, gravel driveways, not mowing, temporary structures, etc). Also there are no penalties written in the deed restrictions if you break the rules, unlike other HOA rules I've seen. No home owners association has ever been formed and I don't believe one will ever be set up. From what I can tell about my neighbors they all seem pretty set in there ways that no one is going to tell them what they can and can't do.

When we do go to build, however, I will get the grantor to sign off on our house plans. I'm not stupid enough not to. You're always one lawsuit or medical illness away from bankruptcy.

 

[bdog]

Can you find out if any of those deed restrictions have been recorded with the county? Many times, restrictions are placed on the land by the original land owner who is looking to subdivide the property. Once all the parcels are sold he's out of it and could care less. Also, since the HOA has been disbanded, it sounds like no one is too keen on enforcing those restrictions. If they're informal restrictions (not recorded) you are probably in the clear. Parking or storing business vehicles on your property doesn't mean you are actually running a businees out of your property--only a nitpicker would try to enforce that one as a violation.

They have been recorded with the county. The HOA did not disband - there never was one. I think the original owner lives on one of the ten acre tracts.

 

[Mike Costello]

They have been recorded with the county. The HOA did not disband - there never was one. I think the original owner lives on one of the ten acre tracts.

In that case, recorded restrictions carry more weight, so you will have to be careful in what you decide to do. Legal advice would probably be a good move. Sorry about the HOA thing--I must have misread it.
I know from personal experience these matters can get frustrating. I once considered a property with restrictions that were much the same as yours. I passed on the deal because the realtor found out the neighbors were pretty particular about who was moving into that last parcel. I saw nothing but trouble, and I wasn't planning to do anything radical with the property. That and my experiences with HOA's dictating ways soured me on living under any type of restrictions. I now own a 10 acre property with no restrictions. Mike.

 

[dfeck]

It's also my understand that deed restrictions are enforced by the neighbors that purchased land under the restrictions. It's the neighbors that enforce the restrictions and they are the ones that would bear the cost to fight you in court. I was also looking at property that had restrictions. Since I wanted an outbuilding and the deed restrictions has size limitations along with architecture approval I decided to pass. I knew it was a long shot the neighbors would actually sue but I didn't want to take the risk. I also talked to the building inspector at the town and he told me he can't enforce deed restrictions. His job was to make sure you built to town/county/state regs. Didn't care about square foot size, if you were required to pave your drive or not. Not his concern! His words not mine.

Doug

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

The basic tenant is that if you build or do something (violation of restriction) that bothers a neighbor or lowers the value of his property then you better watch out. These have gone all the way to the Supreme Court and are enforceable. I'd probably look elsewhere to build.

 

[Raw Dodge]

I walked away from a few nice pieces of property due to deed restrictions.If I were you,given they are recorded with the town,I would make an offer,conditional to then dropping them altogether.If they dont,then walk away.It is not worth it to own a peice of property that you cannot do with it what you want.As supposedly free americans we have enough laws,rules,and restrictions imposed on us everyday.I cannot and will not abide by additional restrictions on land I own...this could turn into a nightmare.I run a business out of my house,and I have an outdoor wood furnace,atvs,and a camper on my 22 acres...all the deed restricted propertys i looked at wouldnt have allowed me to do what i wanted.

 

[jinjimbob]

Deed restrictions or HOAs aren't all bad.

It keeps the area from turning trashy in most cases. I wouldn't want to live next door to a garbage dump, an atv course 7 days a week or people not fencing in their animals, etc.. real basic stuff.

Restrictions please.

 

[MarkV]

I have some property with deed restrictions that are recorded with the county. One of the conditions is that each property owner is responsible for an equal share of the road maintenance costs. That never has worked so some of the homeowners hired an attorney to see how to make the absentee owners pay up. Bottom line, you had to sue each individual owner. The attorney was laughing as he told us it would be cheaper to pave the road ourselves.

Deed restrictions don't carry much weight unless you want to start suing all your neighbors.

MarkV

 

[dave1949]

Deed restrictions or HOAs aren't all bad.

It keeps the area from turning trashy in most cases. I wouldn't want to live next door to a garbage dump, an atv course 7 days a week or people not fencing in their animals, etc.. real basic stuff.

Restrictions please.

I second that opinion. Reasonable restrictions have their place. They should be protecting the value of your property. If more people actually paid attention to them, a lot of neighbor on neighbor battles would just disappear, lawyers would go broke.

Why should owning or buying property be a crap shoot? We all put money and sweat into our properties.

Better to chose a property suitable to your use than to impose on other people's lives. There is a concept of 'the common good' that seems to get short shrift by some.

Dave.