Exterior painting of stand-alone units

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?

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?

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

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?

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?

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.

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.