5 ms·

In reviewing neighborhood covenants whilst searching for a new home, I was surprised to see some of them make explicit the fact that running a business in your

In reviewing neighborhood covenants whilst searching for a new home, I was surprised to see some of them make explicit the fact that running a business in your home is allowed, provided that it doesn't generate significant traffic/parking.

mh- 4y ago
This is indeed the case in my HOA as well and I was (pleasantly) surprised to see it codified as such.
corrral 4y ago
Gotta have a carve-out for the folks participating in an MLM scheme out of their house. They're quite popular. Of course it also benefits remote tech workers who have an LLC or whatever. And handymen, et c.
- bombcar 4y ago
  This is almost always exactly what it's for, and those with ears to hear can use it to their advantage. The key is to fly under the radar and not cause problems.
  - oceanplexian 4y ago
    The key is to never buy a house in an HOA, and write your lawmakers to pass laws to limit their power as much as possible.
    - kelnos 4y ago
      I never really understood the idea of a HOA for single-family homes, or even duplexes. It makes sense if you have a condo building, even with a small number of units, since you'll invariably have shared space that needs to be cared for. I've seen some large HOAs that cover lots of homes where they provide free or discounted community services, like a gym, pool, tennis courts, etc. But it seems silly to structure that as a HOA rather than some sort of voluntary community organization. Or just do it more traditionally and charge membership or use fees to use the amenities. If that's not financially feasible, then perhaps there aren't enough people who actually want them, and so maybe they shouldn't exist. And I get that many homeowners want to control their neighbors in order to keep the neighborhood frozen in some particular state, but it's... pretty gross. I hear the line "protecting home values" trotted out all the time, but that just feels like an excuse for busybodies who want to control others' lives. Things like not allowing a garage-based business that produces lots of noise and pollution should just be covered by regular zoning laws.
- aidenn0 4y ago
  And piano teachers
- lostapathy 4y ago
  There's also the angle of "we told you what kind of harmless businesses you can have, and automotive repair isn't on the list, so you can't do that even though the rules don't explicitly say so".
ghaff 4y ago
I actually got something along these lines into my deed--which was for a software business before that was pretty normal and not the sort of thing even worth mentioning.
StillBored 4y ago
I suspect that is because home based businesses are explicitly protected in many localities in the US. AKA, the HOA couldn't actually tell you that you couldn't do it if they wanted to.
guidoism 4y ago
Yeah it has been weird to me how many HOAs explicitly call out hairdresser as something you can’t do from home.
6510 4y ago
There are also zones for businesses that do or do not allow living there.

mh- 4y ago

This is indeed the case in my HOA as well and I was (pleasantly) surprised to see it codified as such.

corrral 4y ago

Gotta have a carve-out for the folks participating in an MLM scheme out of their house. They're quite popular. Of course it also benefits remote tech workers who have an LLC or whatever. And handymen, et c.

bombcar 4y ago
This is almost always exactly what it's for, and those with ears to hear can use it to their advantage. The key is to fly under the radar and not cause problems.
- oceanplexian 4y ago
  The key is to never buy a house in an HOA, and write your lawmakers to pass laws to limit their power as much as possible.
  - kelnos 4y ago
    I never really understood the idea of a HOA for single-family homes, or even duplexes. It makes sense if you have a condo building, even with a small number of units, since you'll invariably have shared space that needs to be cared for. I've seen some large HOAs that cover lots of homes where they provide free or discounted community services, like a gym, pool, tennis courts, etc. But it seems silly to structure that as a HOA rather than some sort of voluntary community organization. Or just do it more traditionally and charge membership or use fees to use the amenities. If that's not financially feasible, then perhaps there aren't enough people who actually want them, and so maybe they shouldn't exist. And I get that many homeowners want to control their neighbors in order to keep the neighborhood frozen in some particular state, but it's... pretty gross. I hear the line "protecting home values" trotted out all the time, but that just feels like an excuse for busybodies who want to control others' lives. Things like not allowing a garage-based business that produces lots of noise and pollution should just be covered by regular zoning laws.
aidenn0 4y ago
And piano teachers
lostapathy 4y ago
There's also the angle of "we told you what kind of harmless businesses you can have, and automotive repair isn't on the list, so you can't do that even though the rules don't explicitly say so".

ghaff 4y ago

I actually got something along these lines into my deed--which was for a software business before that was pretty normal and not the sort of thing even worth mentioning.

StillBored 4y ago

I suspect that is because home based businesses are explicitly protected in many localities in the US. AKA, the HOA couldn't actually tell you that you couldn't do it if they wanted to.

guidoism 4y ago

Yeah it has been weird to me how many HOAs explicitly call out hairdresser as something you can’t do from home.

6510 4y ago

There are also zones for businesses that do or do not allow living there.