Where and How to Find and Buy NON HOA Homes Near Orlando

Almost nothing in Florida real estate elicits stronger responses than the concept of an HOA. Some people love them, some people hate them. I watched a bunch of other videos before sitting down to make this one, and these were some of the comments I found:

HOAs harass people for stupid stuff.

Voluntarily stepping onto a bear trap would be a better choice than buying a home in an area with a HOA.

Like even the pros of HOA sound like cons. And the cons of living in an non HOA sounds like a parody of a rich person complaining about unrelatable things.

I want to move to Orlando in a couple of years. I do not want to live in an HOA because I want to have a pet cow or two.

I’m going to film this video primarily for those of you who have already made up their mind that they don’t want an HOA, but are now realizing that they can’t find the house that they want without buying in an HOA community. I hope you will hear me out as we try to figure out if there are any pros to be found. And stick around to the end, because I will be discussing some of the best non-HOA communities in Central Florida.

So let’s talk about what an HOA is. An HOA or homeowners association is a group of homeowners who live in a residential community and have come together, whether by the developer who initiated the community, or later on in time, to maintain a clean and cohesive atmosphere in the neighborhood.  Sounds great right? So why all the hate? Well, lets talk about that.

The fees

Fees vary widely in HOA communities.Most people when they think of an HOA, seem to think of paying hundreds of dollars each month in fees, but that’s really not always the case. I know of HOAs whose fee only goes to providing a key to give you access to a gate that lets you launch your canoe onto a lake. Others only maintain an entrance sign, you know, those stone signs that say things like “Heavenly Estates,” or “Sunshine Acres” or “Sheer Bliss Homes”. I made those up. Don’t look for those.

Others offer tennis courts, a pool, a gate, a guard station (and here I’ll point out that I’m going to link my video to gated communities above), they may mow your lawn or do your laundry. No, none of them to the best of my knowledge do your laundry. Maybe they should start!

Even within a community the fees aren’t always the same. Some range based on your lot or home size, so it’s really important to make sure that you verify that with the HOA.

So look, my point is, don’t necessarily rule out all HOAs just because you think the fee is going to be really high. Some of them are little as $100 per year.

The restrictions

Don’t rely on secondhand information for finding out about the restrictions, you must obtain a copy and read them yourself. There may be things on there that you couldn’t even dream up. Recently I saw in  a community regulation document that throwing balls was not allowed. I’m sure there was an interesting story behind that. For older people, this may sound like heaven -- no sounds of basketballs, no baseballs potentially breaking your window. Parents of kids may want to think twice. 

Oftentimes I hear the argument  I don’t want anyone to tell me what color I can or cannot paint my house. I wanted to address this. FIrst of all, it’s not common for the HOA to tell you what color you can or cannot paint your house. Usually there are pre-determined color schemes that you can choose from, so you still have some element of choice. And let me add right now that there are certain jurisdictions that control your home color that aren’t part of an HOA, and those are historic districts. So anywhere where you are buying a historic home, be it Deland, Sanford, Mount Dora, Winter Park or the like, make sure you get a copy of their guidelines. You won’t pay money to be a member like with an HOA, but they may have just as much control.

Many people really have that fear of being restricted on what they can do, and that scares a lot of people away, but I can tell you the flip side can be equally as grim. You’re not controlled by an HOA. You can paint your home that pretty blue-grey and put on a navy door. But what if your neighbor wants a purple house with pink shutters? How do you feel now? Your first thought might be, “how can they get away with that? That looks awful….” ahh, that’s what the HOA takes care of, but you’re not in one. And yes, you can park your lawn care trailer in your driveway, but what if your neighbor has 5 cars in their driveway? The flip side is that you have freedom, but so does your neighbor. It’s a double edged sword. And if you’ve had your fill of your neighbor’s pink and purple house with 5 cars in the driveway and you want to sell, all your potential buyers are going to see that neighbor, too. So, just keep that in mind.

Know the difference between HOA and zoning restrictions

In the beginning of the video, I read a comment that I found where someone wrote that they didn’t want to be in an HOA because they wanted to have a cow or two. There are HOAs in agricultural areas where you can have a cow. You will not be able to have a cow just because you are not in an HOA. That’s a zoning issue. Same thing goes for chickens. Many cities and counties do not allow chickens, regardless of whether you are in an HOA or not. Most counties also have limitations on how many pets you can have, regardless of whether you are in an HOA or not. 

What if you want new construction?

This becomes really tricky. There are so many of you who want new construction, but don’t want to be in an HOA. It is exceedingly difficult to find, because most national home builders establish an HOA when they create a community. You have the choice of buying land and building, but then you are creating a custom home and that’s going to be a great deal more expensive.

My suggestion to you is that you either consider buying in an HOA community or really think about why you want new construction. Usually when pushed, I hear that they think a new home will be safer during hurricane season. This seems counterintuitive to me. For instance, my home was built in 1910, which means it has withstood 110 years of hurricane seasons. On the other hand, I know a family who had a very nice custom home built, and during a hurricane every single window leaked and flooded the floor because the windows hadn’t been sealed properly. Anyway, each decade of home building has had its plusses and minuses and you will save money on homeowners insurance with a newer home, but I would definitely ask you to consider an older home. 

Where are the non- HOA homes

I want to give you some specific areas to consider if you are looking for non HOA communities. Now I can’t, of course, name all of them, but let’s start off by discussing generalities. Generally, if your home is from the 1970s or earlier, you are more like to NOT be in an HOA. Houses with larger lots or multiple lots are less likely to be located in an hoa. I searched the MLS just now for non-HOA new construction homes and I found 97 houses but that’s in all of Florida. The entire state. Around the Central Florida area I found one in the Sanford Historic District and a handful in Deltona.