Hi! We are purchasing a home in Greenfield Lakes, and I was curious to know about the area. We are moving from Colorado in May. I have 3 children ages 5, 3 and 9 months. I am a homeschooling mom, and will be working part time as a nurse in a local ER. I am new to the concept of HOA's and was wondering if anyone could give me info on that particular subdivision. Esp if pets are allowed. We haven't seen the contract yet, and couldn't tell from the listing if they were. Thanks for your input!
Hi G., sorry I saw that you homeschool and thought I'd write and say hello. We live in Mesa and have children close to your childrens ages. 6, 4 and 6 months (all boys). Take care and WELCOME to Arizona.
S.
G.,
I do not live in that subdivision, but I am very familiar with HOA's in general because I am an escrow officer at a title company. My suggestion is to read the CC&R's (which stands for covenants, conditions & restrictions)thoroughly when you receive them during your inspection period. You will get them from both the title company and directly from the HOA company. Asking neighbors is definitely helpful, but they may not be up to date on recent changes in the rules or the details of the rules. The CC&R's are usually pretty long, but you can skim them and look for what may be important to you or pertain to you. Please let me know if you have any questions about HOA's in general; I have dealt with them personally (including being on the board) and I deal with them all of the time in my work. There are good and bad things about having them as with anything. My email is ____@____.com or phone is ###-###-####.
Good luck and welcome to Arizona. I grew up here and I love it! I did go to highschool for 2 years in Colorado Springs and then moved back for my senior year and after. I am 40 years old and pregnant now with my first child and am due in July.
M. M.
I'm not in Greenfield Lakes, but we are in Gilbert.
Our sub does have HOA, and although I don't like all the rules, I see their purpose and it does make for a nice neighborhood and keeps property value up.
I grew up in Durango CO and I miss it alot, especially in the summer! Welcome to AZ- let me know if you need anything!
Good luck with the house/move.
toni
P.S. I have 3 boys :)and 2 big dogs (girls!)
I live in Augusta Ranch in Mesa but it is in the Gilbert School District. I think that you will totally love it. We have been here since June 07 and we researched the districts carefully. Gilbert is one of the best.
Call me when you get here and I will get you connected. ###-###-####
G.
The HOA is basically an organization that helps maintain your subdivision. Pets are always allowed in a subdivision with an HOA if you are referring to a single family home. Multifamily homes with HOA; ie condos, often have restrictions on animals. I think you can actually go to the City of Gilbert Website and request a copy of the CORs (the rules) for the particular subdivision you are going to be moving into. Hope this was helpful
Everyone I know hates HOAs. They are a dictatorship that tells you what you can do with your house and your property. They will fine you for every little thing, like a weed in your yard, or your trashcan out too early or too late. When we bought, we made sure to not even look at houses that had an HOA. Hopefully they are not all that evil, maybe you got a good one. One way to keep them in line is to join them and don't let them take over. You should review the rules before you buy the house to make sure it is something you can live with.
Hi G.,
First let me say I am from Colorado myself although I have lived in AZ for about 20 years now and moved to AZ as a child. I love it here and I still love it over here, but welcome to the valley of the sun! Anyhow regarding HOA's they are NOT all bad they have their pro's and con's as with anything. I will say I haven't ever heard of HOA's putting any restrictions on having a domestic pet, like dogs, cats, birds but they do have restrictions on livestock and such. I have owned 3 houses in the 10 years that I have been out of my parents house and I have always lived in neighborhoods that have HOA's.
Some of the PRO's are:
1. HOA's create rules and regulations which makes sure that your neighborhood looks as beautiful as the day you purchased your home.
2. HOA's maintain the common areas in the neighborhoods and make sure all of the green belts and community parks are maintained and all the landscaping is green, cut and trimmed at all times.
3. HOA's also make sure that you don't have someone in the neighborhood creating eyesores that could bring the value of the neighborhood down or someone who has broken down vehicles parked in front of their homes that are dirty and look abandoned.
That is just a few of the PRO's but I think I have always have great HOA's because I feel as long as you maintain your own property the HOA's just let you alone.
One of the CON's to HOA's is that you can have a meticulously maintained property but the minute your forget something very simple like forget to bring in your trashcan or you have something installed on your home and the cables don't match the rest of the cables or the color of your house they will give you a warning usually. Our HOA's give I think 3 warnings for you as the home owner to put whatever is out of compliance INTO compliance BEFORE they write you a fine for any of it. And I have come across the cable thing myself and I just had to call the HOA and explain to them what is going on and they are always very flexible and understanding.
I hope this helps a little and I am sorry I wrote a book. If you have any questions this website is very good for feedback.
Hi G.,
Our family has lived in Greenfield Lakes for the past 10 years. We have been fairly happy. You can definitely have pets. We have been involved with the HOA and recently have had some good changes in the Board. Hopefully you will be able to see the contract and make an informed decision. We like our location. Other than the fact that we are in the Higley School district, but I drive our kids to other schools.
K.
