Most people have heard of HOA’s: Home Owner’s Associations. Salem Oregon has some HOA communities but generally speaking they are not a large part of our real estate market like in some parts of the country. HOA’s are always formed for condo developments and sometimes for single family developments as well. The local golf club communities such as Creekside Estates, and Illahe
Hills are examples of communities where residents pay HOA dues. The dues are used to pay for common areas like entry signs or in the case of condos exterior maintenance, clubhouses, etc.
CC&R’s are those pesky rules that tend to send home owners over the edge claiming someone is impinging on their constitutional rights. Here’s the deal…you have the legal right to restrict yourself, which is exactly what you do when you buy a house with CC&R’s. Conditions, Covenants and Restrictions tend to bring fear or joy into the heart of a homeowner. The important thing to remember about CC&R’s is that they run with the land. If you don’t want to follow the rules, don’t buy a house that has them. We have many neighborhoods that don’t have them in Salem so you have choices.
NA’s are neighborhood associations. Neighborhood associations are not rules that are part of the deed like CC&R”s are. Salem and Keizer both have neighborhood associations. The purpose of these is for citizens of our cities to get together once a month and find out what is occurring in the city of Salem that will impact those neighborhoods directly. When problems arise such as speeding along residential streets, speed bumps are discussed. Is there a development going in nearby? Attend these meetings and find out. This is a great opportunity for residents of the city to talk with the city councilors.
Often times as a real estate agents I throw out these terms and forget that not everyone knows what they mean. This is a just a brief introduction to what these terms mean in our city.