Condo Commandos Part II

Coach is Right ^ | 3/22/15 | Suzanne Eovaldi

[Clinging Bitterly]

HOAs arise out of covenants, which are essentially a property right of the prior owners which is retained by them at the time of sale. The premise is original owner hopes to make the properties more desirable by placing conditions on the use of the properties, so everyone buying in can expect not to be bothered by certain kinds of nuisances from their neighbors.

At some point in the development this "property right" is transferred to a trust in the form of a homeowners association, which is charged with enforcement of those covenants in perpetuity.

My property in Oregon has covenants, but they are retained by the survivors of the original owners and there is no HOA. Originally part of a fruit orchard, the original owners desired to limit the kind and number of livestock that future occupants could keep, and also stipulated that the property could only be owned or occupied by members of the Caucasian race. The race restriction was nullified by state law decades ago and the livestock restrictions seemed reasonable to me but they are a part of the title and I must either abide by them (within the limits of superior law), or convince the owners of those restrictions to remove them.