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Message: [QUOTE="HuskyHawk, post: 4633069, member: 1414"] Since the Boneyard is an endless fountain of unfiltered opinions and occasionally, actual knowledge, I thought I'd toss this out for consideration. Wife and I are thinking of moving. We've got a single family home in the Boston 495 suburbs that is a bigger than we need, on an acre lot requiring a fair amount of work. We do have friends in the area, but some have moved and others likely will soon. Been here 19 years, came with a 1 year old and now she's about to finish sophomore year of college. Wife has family in the South Shore area of MA. Options in no order. Option A: We find a house on the lower part of Cape Cod, Falmouth, Sandwich, or Plymouth, Wareham or similar on the other side of the bridge. Have some friends in Falmouth, enjoy the area. Problem is the cost on the Cape side is crazy, and the homes under $1M almost all need major renovations. At our age, not sure we want that project, minor stuff is fine. This was always the plan, but we are seeing homes at almost double what they were in 2018-19. Maybe they will drop, but so far, even with rates up, they have not. There's also upkeep and maintenance, which would be more than a new house at the least. Option B: Buy a brand new house in a planned development. Namely [URL='https://www.redbrookplymouth.com/lifestyle/']Redbrook[/URL] in Plymouth. Home quality seems good. Community is appealing and the location is good, close to the Cape bridges, the South Shore and via 495, not too far from our friends here. The big question is about a planned community with an HOA. Have never dealt with that. I'm concerned about losing the ability to paint my house as I want, or modify it, or add a shed or whatever. The lots are smaller than I'm used to as well. With my hearing impairment, I like the idea of a pickleball group, kayaking group and the various events they put on. Plus a ton of walking trails etc. But I also value my independence. Any opinions on these kinds of communities vs buying a standard house? Pros and cons? Things to look out for in an HOA? Positive or negative experiences? Oddly, I tend to think of these places as existing in Florida or SC or similar, and if I moved there, I think I'd expect it. New England is always a little more unique. [/QUOTE]

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