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ElizabethB1
(Arkansas)

Posts:43

07/20/2008 11:53 AM
Just back from my community in SC. Boy, my neighborhood association has a lot of work to do to bring the neighborhood back to "harmony". Currently there are 53 stand alone units and probably 53 different exterior paint colors. We were surveyed and the BOD approved one color. Now what's the best way to get there? The BOD has claimed the association can not paint the homes due to legality issues (I assumed because the painters might have to enter our homes to reach some of the exterior. Funny, the association pays the pest service to enter our homes quarterly?!?). Anyhow, several neighbors were trying to come up with options. Someone suggested we form a voluntary paint fund and have a bank act as trustee. I'm thinking we would have to form some sort of LLC to which we would volunteer to fund every year. In return, our units would be painted every five years (or what ever we decide on). Anyone have any experience with this or advice? Out of the 53 units only two or three units are occupied year round. The remaining units are occupied seasonally. TIA

SusanW1
(Michigan)

Posts:2183

07/20/2008 12:35 PM
First of all, does the Board have the right to choose "one" color - why not three or five color-coordinated choices. Who wants to look like one huge apartment complex? Second, how are you going to enforce the painting of the chosen colors? Is this mandatory? Thirdly, how did you get in this situation of 53 homes all doing their own thing? Is the Board playing catch-up or back pedeling to get the complex all one color?

DonnaS
(Tennessee)

Posts:2853

07/20/2008 12:51 PM
Elizabeth, Susan has asked the right questions and I too am curious why the Board had the right to chose the one color. If residents pay for the painting, they should also have the right to chose their own color. BUT, that would be if the chosen colors were within some sort of approved guidelines. Is there an ARC or do your documents state some color references? Those would be what you have to follow. Alot of this depends on what is stated and the Board should not get involved in painting of the units. Ya wanna see your dues go up by leaps and bounds? Then have the association pay of the painting.

CarolF
(Florida)

Posts:33

07/20/2008 2:41 PM
Elizabeth - are these units condominiums or do you each own a lot on which a house is built? Do you have some documents, like C C & R's that say anything about painting and colors, or an architectural review committee?

KirkW1
(Texas)

Posts:1145

07/20/2008 4:06 PM
So you want all 53 units the same color???? Are you in the military??? The other flashback is East Berlin. Sorry, but it sounds very much like a communist plot. What is wrong with 53 units having their own color? Now I can see why you may not want one house painted in extremely bright colors when the others are earth tones. For that matter, an earth tone painted house would totally look out of place among the "painted ladies" of San Francisco. The idea of consistency makes sense to me. But making 53 houses look just alike seems nightmarish.

ElizabethB1
(Arkansas)

Posts:43

07/21/2008 4:31 AM
Oh, boy, let's see if I can answer all the questions...First some more background: These 53 units were all built in the mid 70's, all identical except for how each sits on it's lot. They were all painted the same color by the developer. The "one" color has remained even though recently we have tried to get a palette of colors approved. Over time the formula for the approved color changed. Most likely due to the manufacturer's base changing. Instead of picking a specific color, brand, and line by a paint manufacturer, the BOD just specifies the "color". I've worked several years in a big paint store (and I married into a family who owns its own paint store), so I know just a little about paint. 1. No color will ever match exactly (one gallon will vary from the next). 2. Avoid using the colorant "red" as it fades rapidly in sunny locales. Now our association is in a situation where all 53 appear to be a different shade of the same basic color. Personally, I'm on the fence--when you look at the entire neighborhood there are too many "differences" ie. some folks have painted decking, some have let the deck wood naturalize, some have the so-called approved paint color, one even has a color that matches nothing. So how do we get out of this mess? We could go with a palette of colors (three distinctly different colors). There are several neighborhoods in our community that have done this and it has been approved by the community's ARC(we are located near Charleston so the idea of Rainbow Row is familiar to many). We could stay the course with ONE color, knowing that it will take years, if ever, for them all to get to the same color. We could vote to have the association paint the units. Yes, this would increase our dues but at least we wouldn't be the "talk" on the community;-) Several asked if the BOD had the right to make a single color decision. You be the judge. Here's the only reference to exterior items in our CCR's: "No change shall be made to the exterior appearance of any dwelling which shall include the erection of any exterior window covering, awning, or shutters, which can be seen from the outside of the dwelling without first having obtained a building permit from the appropriate authority and having had the plans and specifications approved by the Board of Directors" Thanks for taking the time to read and offer opinions. I believe my neighborhood is the best in our community--get location, good friends, nice interiors of the homes. Our exteriors just need a little help;-) E

DonnaS
(Tennessee)

Posts:2853

07/21/2008 9:26 AM
Elizabeth, "No change shall be made to the exterior appearance of any dwelling which shall include the erection of any exterior window covering, awning, or shutters, which can be seen from the outside of the dwelling without first having obtained a building permit from the appropriate authority and having had the plans and specifications approved by the Board of Directors" No where does it state paint or color in this sentence. This is what we call an ambiguity, which means --"who knows what it means" It will be up to the Boards interpretation which is where you are now with not everyone agreeing on what it means. Therefore, I would have the Board sit down and write a guideline for colors. Have all of the units the same color? I sure would not. As a child, I lived in public housing where every unit and door looked identical. That always will stay with me as seeing a housing project when I see every house painted the same color. Why do it? What is the purpose? As long as the association has a color pallette that is within an acceptable range, loosen up the sterileness of this.

ElizabethB1
(Arkansas)

Posts:43

07/21/2008 11:37 AM
Thanks Donna. I'm glad someone else feels that our docs are a little "unclear". I along with two other neighbors have been charged to come up with design guidelines for the neighborhood. Almost seems like we're just spinning wheels, doing all this work, only to have the board vote down everything we suggest (it appears the bod does not want anyone to have to spend any money). Perhaps the best plan is to bide our time until election day... Seems we've gone way OT (not that I mind). But back to my original question, does anyone know the ins and outs (or perhaps pros and cons) of setting up a voluntary painting fund?

MicheleD
(Kentucky)

Posts:1722

07/21/2008 11:43 AM
I agree. This isn't the 70s anymore and identical appearances of stand-alone housing gives a distinct, and not so pleasant, statement about the area. Cheap, comes to mind, for one thing. Based on what you've posted as your CC&Rs, there is NO restriction of the exterior paint color to a single color for the entire neighborhood. It would be in your Board's best interest to vet a range of colors with the current homeowners to come up with an acceptable palette for the community. Keep in mind, as years go by, even that palette could change with boards and/or the turnover of residents in your community. My guess is as long as you aren't presenting colors that would be jarring, say, purples and hot pinks, that most homeowners would approve and your community would ratchet it's appeal, and, therefore, value, up a notch or two. Neither would I put this palette into the CC&Rs but confine it to the Arch Committee guidelines. Why? Because trends in housing colors change every decade or so. If you are stuck with a palette that screams "we're 20 years behind the times" with no ability to change it, short of an amendment, you'll be just as bad off as having one single color for all homes.

DonnaS
(Tennessee)

Posts:2853

07/21/2008 12:30 PM
Elizabeth, Please explain to us what you mean by a "voluntary painting fund?" Does that mean that I can or don't have to put money in a fund that will paint all of the houses? I am not sure that anyone in their right mind would put money in a voluntary fund to pay for painting my neighbors house and this neighbor has not put any money into the fund. Once the asociation gets involved in the painting of all of the dwellings, your dues will surely go up. Now, each owner paints when he wants and pays for it themselves?

GlenL
(Ohio)

Posts:1377

07/21/2008 3:22 PM
If you and your neighbors want to band together and put money aside each year to paint in the hopes of spreading the costs out you can do it, but the idea is IMO a bad one. This has giant headache written all over it. First of all since the majority of people don't live there do you honestly expect them to send money to someone on good faith hoping that the money will be there when it's needed? Would you send your money to someone you see a couple of weeks a year and trust that they'll do the right thing with your money? Who would administer it? Associations are having a hard enough time collecting money homeowners are mandated to pay I don't see them "Volunteering" to pay more.

KirkW1
(Texas)

Posts:1145

07/21/2008 5:09 PM
As for the CC&Rs, I can't tell if they were trying to make sure something was included, or only include the items specified. Either way, it would seem that the author didn't think paint worthy of a mention. And if you are giving examples and went for the big items leaving off paint, it might imply that paint wasn't considered a change needing approval. But it really is ambiguous. It would also seem the BOD doesn't want to cause people to have to spend money. I think this is a good thing especially in today's tighter economy. It is entirely possibly that a good number of residents just don't have the extra money to spend correcting what has not been a problem until now. It would seem that an easy way to get out of the mess would be to specify a range of colors and encourage some individuality. It really is amazing how quickly you can eliminate the cold hard uniformity look by using a range of colors and plantings. If no house was the same color as its neighbor and had different plantings and such it could really look good.

ElizabethB1
(Arkansas)

Posts:43

07/21/2008 7:20 PM
Posted By DonnaS on 07/21/2008 12:30 PM Elizabeth, Please explain to us what you mean by a "voluntary painting fund?" Does that mean that I can or don't have to put money in a fund that will paint all of the houses? I am not sure that anyone in their right mind would put money in a voluntary fund to pay for painting my neighbors house and this neighbor has not put any money into the fund. Once the asociation gets involved in the painting of all of the dwellings, your dues will surely go up. Now, each owner paints when he wants and pays for it themselves? This "voluntary paint fund" would be just as Glen described-owners pooling their money to start a fund which would be used to paint ONLY those homes in which the owner has contributed. We would have a bank act as the trustee, so owners would send the money there. I've been thinking about all this today and come to the conclusion that a palette of colors is a must. It is the only way to ensure visual harmony within the neighborhood( deliberate use of different colors). As far as the cost of painting, I'd love to see the association take this on. I'd rather pay a little more every year in dues knowing my home would be painted every 5-10 years (trying to find reliable service people in the sLowcountry is challenging especially when one lives far away).

KirkW1
(Texas)

Posts:1145

07/22/2008 7:05 PM
One advantage of having the whole thing financed by the HOA is that it lends more ability to control the color pallet. Then the question comes, will others in the HOA agree? I would suspect it might be quite dependent the current financial health of the HOA.

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