HOA and Home Brewing Question

[Flipadelphia]

Dammit!

 

[Flipadelphia]

Key is going to a like minded community where the rules are in tune with your own style.

It's just my personal opinion, but I'll never live anywhere where there are rules (besides local/federal) that I have to abide by. I don't want to derail this thread, but that subject just makes me shake my head. People that don't pay for your property, asking you to pay a fee so that you can be told how to live. That's freedom right there.

 

[Pilgarlic]

Bear in mind that deed restrictions aren't imposed on anyone. People freely CHOOSE deed restricted communities for the benefits they deliver, and, for those of us who so choose, those benefits are sufficient. As to those who are unfortunate enough to have bought in a deed restricted community without reading and understanding the deed restrictions, caveat emptor. They're on the public records and listed on your title insurance policy.

 

[catdaddy66]

HOA's are absurd. You will have to read the covenant and restriction of the particular HOA to know whether or not HB is allowed. I have heard of some who restrict the use of smokers and grills.

I detest HOA's!!! Cannot stress it enough, I hate any entity that tries to dictate what I can or can't do with MY property. That being said, do what you need to and brew indoors! Nobody can get on you about that!

I brew indoors despite being able to do it outdoors. I find it more convenient also... Just my 2 cents.


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[MyCarHasAbs]

One more thing occurred to me: HOAs can change their rules. That is, if you get into one that allows outdoor homebrewing, if some busybodies get their undies in a bunch over your brewing, they can vote to change the rules to ban it.

This is why God gave us Baseball Bats : )

 

[cjhammel]

As a HOA board member in NoVA area there are 4 things that you should read and familiarize yourself with when buying a property in a HOA. The first is the Covenants these are the restrictions that are registered with your Deed and the contract that you abide by. The Covenants list how the HOA is to structured and some restrictions and were usually created by the developer and some of the first property owners in the development and can be very hard to change requiring a super majority (3/4's or 2/3's) of property owners to agree to the new Covenants. We have silly items in our Covenants like how to hang your laundry and the maximum sign size in your yard 1 sq foot.

Next is the By-Laws. The By-Laws set up the Board and describe how to elect and remove board members, types of standing committees, how to run meetings, duties of the board members, what happens if you do not pay your assessment or violate one of the regulations. The By-laws can usually be amended by a quorum at the annual meeting of the HOA.

The next are are the policies and regulations of the HOA these are the rules to that hopefully allow us to get allowing with our neighbors. Parking restrictions, Architectural guidelines, use of common areas, yard and grass policies, trash policies and other general regulation. These are amendable, after publication and comment by property owners of the HOA, by a board vote.

When you are thinking buying in an area see if the HOA has a web site and download these documents and read them carefully. Once you put in an offer you will still be required to get a disclosure packet from the HOA.

The last thing you should read is the Virginia Property Owners' Association Act found here or if a condo here for the Condominium Act. These laws restrict what the HOA or Condo Associations are allowed to do.

Lastly once you find your dream home get involved with HOA show up at the meetings, volunteer for a committee, join the board. It keeps you in the know and can help with misunderstandings with your neighbors.

 

[SharonaZamboni]

Aargh! Camper in your own driveway, cooking odors, paint colors, fence materials...I'm very happy to have my own short dead-end street with wooded area on three sides.

It never even occurs to me that there would be rules against whatever I want to do with my property. Yard waste-into the woods! Gas grill, smoker, wok, fire pit! Vegetable garden! Campers-two 30'ers in the side yard along with a big excavator! Horseshoe pit? As soon as the excavator is gone!

Okay, I've made it sound like my yard is a mess, but everyone at my cookout yesterday said it looked very nice.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Okay, I've made it sound like my yard is a mess, but everyone at my cookout yesterday said it looked very nice.

Now if you will kindly see to that POS driveway of yours .... mkay?

 

[SharonaZamboni]

It's the street. Don't need fixin until the snow flies

 

[bobeer]

I live in NoVa as well and my hoa is a bunch of nazis.... I pay them their outrageous dues, I keep my grass cut, my weeds pulled, my trim painted, my deck stained, my sidewalks edged, my lamp post lit, my hose wrapped up, my gutters cleaned, etc, etc... I don't give a damn about what their rules are about grilling and brewing. I grill on my deck and brew in my garage when I want to, end of story. I had my smoker going at 11 pm the other night. The whole block smelled like sweet hickory bbq!
Hoa's suck though. I have my house on the market and half of the reason is because of the hoa. The community has changed management companies at least 3 times in the 3 years I've lived there. Even they can't stand them... If I were you I'd just do what you want until they tell you otherwise.

 

[GrogNerd]

just do what you want until they tell you otherwise.

yep

we've added to our fence twice without letting them know until afterwards

 

[MyCarHasAbs]

I live in NoVa as well and my hoa is a bunch of nazis.... I pay them their outrageous dues, I keep my grass cut, my weeds pulled, my trim painted, my deck stained, my sidewalks edged, my lamp post lit, my hose wrapped up, my gutters cleaned, etc, etc... I don't give a damn about what their rules are about grilling and brewing. I grill on my deck and brew in my garage when I want to, end of story. I had my smoker going at 11 pm the other night. The whole block smelled like sweet hickory bbq!

Hoa's suck though. I have my house on the market and half of the reason is because of the hoa. The community has changed management companies at least 3 times in the 3 years I've lived there. Even they can't stand them... If I were you I'd just do what you want until they tell you otherwise.

I can sum up your entire post with one word. "Murca"




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_____________________________
I once dated a girl who told me I will not drink beer in front of our children. I dumped her the next day.

 

[DrunkleJon]

Why not raise the motion to dismiss the HOA entirely? Obviously with 3 failures over as many years it just isn't working.

 

[TrickyDick]

I live in a HOA / deed restricted community. The first time I hauled out my brewing gear, some folks wandered over to see what I was up to. No problems or hassles. Nothing in the covenants about homebrewing.
I think that mostly the HOA and restrictions are designed to protect the property owners and the value of their homes.
I haven't heard of many HOAs where there isn't some petty high school like bickering going on. In my community there are some trouble makers who continuously use the HOA and developer out of spite, which ends up costing the members. This is an oversimplification of the issues. Sooner or later said troublemaker will hopefully die of old age and be gone, but I have no doubt that countless others can rise to the occasion and take his place.
Point is, just like high school, life is full of jerks.
Might ask to see copies of minutes from previous HOA meetings, ask for a HOA member directory and make random calls, to see if there are issues in the neighborhood. Do some research. Ask if any lawsuits are pending or in progress or potentially might be soon or in recent past. You might also ask if there are any homebrewers in the community and see if they've had any problems.
I've been pretty lucky so far. No problems.

TD




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[charliehorse]

I just moved from the NoVa area. For those of you looking in the Sterling/Ashburn/Fairfax areas, you really ought to check out Stafford County. You can slug to DC or take VRE and there are 2 new breweries that have opened up (Adventure Brewing Company and Wild Run, both great brewers) a brew shop at the Aquia Pines Campground (and if you don't like him, there's a bigger one in Fredricksberg) and a fantastic brewing club. If you have to live near DC, this is probably the best area to live in. Anything north of rt. 234 sucks.

 

[GrogNerd]

I just moved from the NoVa area. For those of you looking in the Sterling/Ashburn/Fairfax areas, you really ought to check out Stafford County. You can slug to DC or take VRE and there are 2 new breweries that have opened up (Adventure Brewing Company and Wild Run, both great brewers) a brew shop at the Aquia Pines Campground (and if you don't like him, there's a bigger one in Fredricksberg) and a fantastic brewing club. If you have to live near DC, this is probably the best area to live in. Anything north of rt. 234 sucks.

3rd new brewery opening in Stafford Co

 

[MaltnHops]

I managed HOA's for 10 years, now I'm a consultant to developers an builders.

I've never seen anything in any CC&R'S that you cannot brew on the premises. The only thing that I've seen that might restrict you would be that some condo or townhouses do not allow open flames of any kind on covered balconies.

I live in an HOA and brew in my garage as much as time permits. If they give you any ****, PM me and I'll let you know what to do or say. I'm a Certified Community Association Manager and know how to handle these things.


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