[kjam22]

Community associations. I see...Anyone who moves into one of these places gets no sympathy from me. Sheesh.

I wouldn't live in a community without one. I'm the definition of suburban. I like nice homes, nice yards, nice cars. I like living in an area where you can't park your cars in the yard, or park Semi trucks in the street. Or trash your place out. I'm not intrested in buying a nice home and having some bum move next door to me and trash out the neighborhood.

But that's me.

[mewzilla]

So you'd be happy to have some little clique telling you (for starters): what colors your house, fence, mailbox, outbildings can be. Dictate the shape and location of your mailbox. What lawn ornaments you can have and where. When you can mow and what you can use. Ditto for snow and leaf blowers. Where you can park. How many visitors you can have and when, and where they can park. Kinds of window coverings...ad nauseum.

[Bella_Bru]

I'm not intrested in buying a nice home and having some bum move next door to me and trash out the neighborhood.

It's one thing to not allow people to park a '76 Pinto on the lawn, all four tires removed, up on cinder blocks, with the hood up. It's another to live in a community which tells you that you may not have a clothes line in your backyard, a basketball hoop in your front yard, or complains becsue you picked the wrong color flowers for your garden. Some HOAs are insane.

[jimt]

I wouldn't live in a community without one. I'm the definition of suburban. I like nice homes, nice yards, nice cars. I like living in an area where you can't park your cars in the yard, or park Semi trucks in the street. Or trash your place out. I'm not intrested in buying a nice home and having some bum move next door to me and trash out the neighborhood.

One of the attractive aspects of Houston is that you can have it your way - controlled to the hilt or completely open or anything in between.

The problem, of course, is the buttheads who move in and then want to change it to be THEIR way. We have some of those in my area (the Heights) which is completely uncontrolled. They bought in next to a meat packing plant which was not open. When the owners re-opened it, the scum started harassing them, trying to set up an HOA, etc.