N2EY,
I agree with most of what you said (aren't you lucky
). But a couple of clarifying comments:
*Extensive* CC&R's didn't come into being until around the late 1970's-early 1980's.
True. Point is, they have a long sad history. Their original purpose in many cases was to keep "those people" out of "our nice neighborhoods".
From what I have read, the big reason for no-antennas CC&Rs was cable TV. The developers and cable TV folks worked out a deal: new developments were wired for cable while being built, the houses were advertised as "cable ready", and when homeowners discovered the poor reception they got with "rabbit ears", most of them signed up for cable.
Nobody, including realtors, really thought about them on a house built in 1950.
Where I live, the land had been a farm, and IIRC zoning wasn't in effect then. So most of the deed restrictions were about things that zoning and nuisance ordinances would cover.
One that was of particular interest was the requirement that only a single family home with a sale price of at least $10,000 could be built on the lot. Old timers say that's what these homes sold for back then.
But if you weren't given a copy, no matter how insignificant they are, you should have been. Who knows...you could have been seriously affected by something enforceable in them.
That's why I
insistedon seeing them before I signed anything.
I think it's been implied that our discussions here have been fairly modernized...1980's to the present.
True. My point was that CC&Rs aren't new, and that even "old" houses can have them. And even if they are obscure, all it takes is ONE Gladys Kravitz neighbor to make a fuss.
As far as walking away at closing, why not? It's done all the time on other issues in real estate transactions. I know it's painful, but if you're priority is to have a workable ham radio antenna, it'll be more painful if you buy and find out later you can't.
How would that work in real life?
Consider this situation: A married couple with kids needs a bigger house in a good school district. Their existing house is too small and a long commute to their jobs.
They fix up their existing house and put it on the market, and find a new, bigger house in a good school district that has what they need - AND they can afford it. And their old house sells.
They have two closings on the same day - one in the morning for their old house, one in the afternoon on their new house. The day before closing, the movers came and loaded all their stuff into the moving van, to be delivered to the new house the day after closing.
The first closing goes smoothly; their old house is sold. But at the closing on the new house something comes up - how do they just walk away? Where do they live until they find another house?
I did clarify my statement about "clueless" home buyers with the "exception of those who become hams after the purchase".
I wasn't disagreeing. Just pointing out that, unlike when you and I started out, there are many many hams today getting started after becoming homeowners, not when they were teenagers.
Buying in a "hot market" where there's no time to read documents?...tough timing and bad luck if you're pressed to buy something. Then it's time to assess your priorities...normal living conditions or another agenda, like "must have an antenna". Sometimes you can't have both. But markets like that will usually reach a bubble in a relatively short period of time, and eventually burst.
And then what - move again? For many, that's just not practical.
In my case, I stayed where I was and fixed up the house. Still here. The bubble burst in 2008 - four years later.
I agree with your six things to remember, except with #2. It's up to you and your due diligence to insure that YOU have the upper hand. Buying a home is a big decision.
I agree, and I'm going to reword #2.
How about this:
2) Most of the people involved buy and sell more real estate in a month than you will in your entire life. They're pros at it, you're not. Combine this with Rule 1 and it's clear who can control the situation IF you let them. So always remember that YOU are the customer, and insist on what YOU require, and complete explanations and written guarantees.