Frequently Asked Questions

Animals / Pets
In many HOA’S pets are limited to two dogs and or cats or combination thereof. Farm animals are normally not prohibited within the city limits. Some CCR’S will permit chickens for personal egg production only, and if they are in compliance with City Code. Roosters are not permitted in City Limits at all. All pets must be contained to your property, cleaned up after and should not constitute a nuisance. This is a general description please refer to your governing CCR’S for the specific rules.
Architectural Committee

This committee is normally either appointed by the Board or could actually be the Board.  They are responsible to review all applications for improvements submitted by an owner.  Items that would need approved are; landscape changes, exterior home paint changes, roof replacement, placing a shed, gazebo or patio cover, etc. This list may not be complete so it is always best to check with your property manager.

Board of Directors

These are the owners who are elected at an Annual Meeting of the members, who are empowered to manage the community’s affairs on behalf of the owners. They would be responsible for the following items; Establishing contracts or services with management companies, landscape companies, insurance companies, etc. They have the authority to oversee, hire and fire any contractor performing services. They are also responsible to establish budgets to determine what the dues should be for any calendar year.

Can I operate a business in my home?

In general most CCR’S will not permit the use of a home for anything other than residential use. However, you must refer to and read your specific documents as some may provide for a home office that would not have traffic flow, signage or customers.

How did I become part of this HOA?

Simply by purchasing a lot within the community you have become a member. Being a member would now require you to pay dues and be in compliance with governing HOA rules and regulations. It is in fact a contract between the HOA Corporate entity and each owner. Normally at your closing the title company will have you sign a document stating you are aware of this and they would give you a copy of the Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions.

Irrigation water

Most subdivision these days are built with irrigation piped to the lots. Connected to that line is a saddle and curb stop valve that supplies water to the individual lot owner. Each subdivision is different when it comes to ownership and deliver of water. Some communities own the mainline and pump and become the irrigation provider. In other subdivision they are owned and maintained by an irrigation district. Please make sure you are aware of how this is setup in your specific community.  Where we live in Idaho Irrigation begins normally around April 15thof each year and runs to October 15th, give or take a day or so.

Management Company Responsibilities

A Management company is the only paid people in the process, they are the administrative arm of the board, carrying out their direction doing the day to day paperwork. Some tasks for the management company would be; Billing dues, reminders on delinquent accounts, bank deposits, bank reconciliation, payment of all association expenses and monthly reports to the board. Keeping updated corporate records, filings, community drive through for covenant concerns, letters for notification of concerns, annual meeting mailers and attendance, other mailers, and addressing any calls from owners, lenders, contractors etc.  The employment of a management company does not guarantee everything will be perfect; it only addresses the protocol and procedure established by covenant or the board.  The management company is not making decisions they are only carrying out board / contractual requests.

Owner’s responsibilities

As an owner in an HOA you are responsible to the association and neighbor to upkeep your property in a desirable condition to help everyone with increasing values through nice curb appeal, in addition, keeping your home in compliance with the governing documents.  Remember we do not choose our neighbors, however we hope that everyone conducts themselves with courtesy and respect for your neighbors creating a desirable place to live.

What do we do about noise nuisances (barking dogs, loud music or vehicles)?

Most subdivision Covenants contain language about nuisances; much of this is based off City Codes. We would always want an owner to first speak to the neighbor to establish there is a concern.   If this does not work we can send a notice to inform them of their responsibility. However, once this is accomplished you as the owner hearing or experiencing the nuisance, may be needed to sign a complaint with code enforcement.

What exactly are these CCR / Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions?

These regulations were recorded when the subdivisions plat was recorded binding each lot to these rules & regulations.   They will cover fairly standard items such as, Parking requirements, property maintenance and appearance of each owner’s lot, Architectural & building requirements. Etc. All of these are primarily to help keep a good clean curb appeal and help keep or increase home values.

What is an HOA / Homeowners Association?

An HOA or Homeowner Association is a legal entity created to manage and maintain the common areas of a community. Common areas are parcels of property owned by the corporate entity, who is actually all of the owners who own homes in the community.  In most cases these areas are simply landscape areas throughout the community and possibly a park.  Some can have more extensive common elements like, pool, clubhouses etc.

Why do we have an HOA?

An HOA is established to primarily maintain common property, deeded to the corporation by the original developer who built the subdivision. The fact that these areas exist creates the need to maintenance them, thus creating the need for money and dues to be paid.