Protecting the Value of Your Home

The signs of a coming spring are all around us and it's time to be thinking about the market value of our homes.

We, as the Homeowner's Association Board of Directors, understand that our primary responsibility is to help you protect the value of your home.  While you can maintain the value of your individual property; as the Homeowner's Association, we work with you to maintain a healthy neighborhood around your property.  The importance of a "healthy neighborhood" cannot be overstated. Business Insider writes "If you want to know the real value of your home, look across the street... A healthy neighborhood guarantees a steady rise [in home value], while an unhealthy neighborhood will enter a vicious cycle."

Factors commonly listed in a "health neighborhood" are:
  • Residents are proud of their neighborhood
  • Properties are well kept and maintained
  • Properties are routinely updated and invested in
  • Residents set, maintain, and demand acceptable behavioral norms
  • Public and private spaces are kept clean and free of litter and debris
When we joined this community, we all agreed to do our part in maintaining the health of our neighborhood.  This agreement was in the form of the Declaration of Covenants, Easements, Building and Use Restrictions. Some important "Restrictions" are:
  • We will care for our lawns, with a grass height limit of six inches.
  • We will maintain our home in a safe and clean condition, without peeling paint, rotten trim or flat panels, unsightly or damages roofs or gutters, or damaged or cracked driveways.
  • We will not park at our homes - unless in the garage - any commercial vehicles, house trailers or mobile homes, boats or boat trailers; and
  • We will submit to the Association Board of Directors for approval any plans for additions or alterations to our properties as required by Article VI Section 3 of the Restrictions Declaration.

These are only some of the "Restrictions" we agreed to and it is always of value to re-read the Restrictions document, a copy of which is on our website.  To be sure, we, as a Board, are well aware that the document is often difficult to read and sometimes confusing.  So we encourage anyone with a question to call or email one of us.  Additionally, we are in the process of re-writing our Restrictions document to make it clearly understandable and more pertinent to the ways we are actually living in our community.  On that score, we will be visiting all of the homeowners over the next few months to get your personal input on what type of restrictions you would like to see added or removed from the current restrictions document.

We want to wish you all a safe and enjoyable spring and summer.  And, we hope to soon have a chance to talk to you all individually about what restrictions you want to see added or removed from our current agreement, as well as any other ways you think the Board can continue to make our community a healthy one.

Thank you,
The Farmington Square Homeowner's Association Board of Directors

www.farmingtonsquare.info