Many communities have associations for homeowners, property owners, condo owners or similar classes of owners. The presence of a homeowners association, also known as "HOA", introduces another layer of rules and regulations to consider when buying a property. Some people love these associations and others do not care for them.

As part of the disclosure process and once you have an accepted offer you should have the opportunity to review the HOA restrictions, covenants and conditions. These sound complicated, but they generally are not…although they can be lengthy with lots of legalese. You will find them most commonly in subdivisions and condo complexes. They are generally recorded documents.

Simply put, the restrictions and covenants are a description of the things you can and cannot do with your property or the area in which the property resides. For example you might not be able tot turn your property into a farm to assure that the property use is consistent with land use in the general area.  You might be prohibited from parking your RV on the street or in the driveway.

Some associations have very simple rules such as no abandoned, non-working motor vehicles and no grass above ten inches tall are allowed. Others have architectural review boards that must approve your paint scheme before you can repaint your house.

The Home Owner’s Association (HOA) usually have the authority to enforce these rules and penalties are usually monetary damages or an injunction (a court order to stop what you are doing). Rarely do issues go to this level and most conflicts can be mediated to a satisfactory solution for all parties.

The HOA rules, guidelines, restrictions and covenants are generally not negotiable, and you will be expected to review and approve these as part of the contractual process. You, of course, will have a copy for your files. If you should decide you cannot abide by the rules, then your best course of action often is to withdraw your offer before the end of the contingency period (see your contract and consult agent representative).