# Can my HOA prevent me from working from my house?



## macman29681 (May 24, 2013)

Attached is the provision from my HOA. The question I have if I don't have any employees and never have customers come to my house does the HOA matter?


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## edward1210 (Nov 7, 2009)

Yes, not only that, they can make your life miserable 

Sent from my SM-N900T using T-Shirt Forums


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## john221us (Nov 29, 2015)

Wow, that is pretty broadly written; harsh. I suppose if UPS was delivering and picking up stuff all the time, they could figure it out, otherwise, they wouldn't have the right look inside your house.


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## Shalisk (Jan 28, 2016)

Very much this^ 

Main reason I will never own a home with a HOA.


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## macman29681 (May 24, 2013)

john221us said:


> Wow, that is pretty broadly written; harsh. I suppose if UPS was delivering and picking up stuff all the time, they could figure it out, otherwise, they wouldn't have the right look inside your house.


UPS just delivers shirts I meet all my customers out of my neighborhood.


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## macman29681 (May 24, 2013)

edward1210 said:


> Yes, not only that, they can make your life miserable
> 
> Sent from my SM-N900T using T-Shirt Forums


How is it any different then people selling stuff from their house on e-bay?


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## john221us (Nov 29, 2015)

macman29681 said:


> How is it any different then people selling stuff from their house on e-bay?


It wouldn't be different, if the eBay seller lived under the jurisdiction of your HOA. Heck, the way that reads, a person answering work emails from their cell phone during dinner would be violating the rules.


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## lkt1954 (Nov 15, 2009)

To me what you are doing is no different that someone in the neighborhood selling avon, mary kay, Tupperware, etc. You know there is someone doing that................


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## tmadaniels (Jun 7, 2016)

I'm in the same boat as you but... I plan on conducting my business from my home. Yes, I signed the HOA agreement but their authority shouldn't extend into my home. What I do legally inside my house is none of their business. 

Our neighborhood online community board post ads for babysitting, threading, handyman, etc. what's the difference? as long as you are not disturbing your neighbors or conducting business after hours.


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## Printor (Apr 16, 2015)

Every HOA is different. Some of them are like little communist countries. If yours is like most of the ones I am familiar with, If you manage to find some loop holes in your contract, and manage to push it just shy of the edge, expect a few Nazis to work you over on all the other stupid little rules and try their best to encourage you to put your house up for sale. The way I see it, when you sign a HOA contract, you no longer live in America, You just live with America around you.


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## Ripcord (Sep 2, 2006)

Yeah, HOAs are a pain in the *ss. If I ever buy another property the main criterion will be that there's no HOA. BUT, I agree with the above statements. You can do whatever you want inside your house or unit, as long as it's not illegal, doesn't bother other HOA members (noise, heat, smell, etc.) and of course, you can't have customers coming to see you (I have a warehouse and I don't allow that either. It can be even more of a pain in the *ss as an HOA.)

If nobody can hear or smell your activities, I don't see any way the HOA could object or even know that you were doing work in your own house. HOWEVER a big consideration would be that if someone figures out what you're doing and rats you out, now you own a place and can't make use of it. And they can make your life miserable for absolutely no reason.


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## womenatthewell (Jun 17, 2016)

I own a home in an HOA and to be honest I have never looked at whether or not my HOA even cares. My home shows up on Google maps as a business (or two, or three. lol)
We have never been harassed by our HOA but then again, we did do a major overhaul of the board recently.

The issue you may run into is if you advertise and have your business location as your home. I know My state requires the location you are going to be doing business and a PO box is not acceptable. Once you start marketing, anyone may be able to see it on Google maps. 
The best advice i can give, having come against covenants like that, is to talk to the people on the board. 

You may be surprised to find that they may not really care. or may really do. If you lay out that only office work happens in your home(or however much work you do) and no customers ever come, they may give you free reign. May being the operative word.

Something else to consider is that the HOA covenants are often established by the subdivision builder who set up the hoa and may be an overly controlling person and likes giving stupid rules. These rules can be enforced or ignored by the board at their discretion. If you create a dialogue and get them on your side, you are less likely to encounter trouble. It never hurts to ask. the worst answer you can get is a no. but if you never ask your answer is an automatic no

I hope this helps.


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## edward1210 (Nov 7, 2009)

I agree, for HOA, you can't do that kind of stuff inside your home, I use to live in a community like that


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## womenatthewell (Jun 17, 2016)

Very curious to hear how things worked out for you. Were you able to get the board to let you run your business at your home?


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## Blue92 (Oct 8, 2010)

Some HOA's are a real PIA.

Where my brother lives you must have your garage doors closed after 6:00 PM and you are not permitted to leave cars in your driveway overnight.......


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