LEWES, DE -- Likely to face an uphill battle from "smart growth" advocates, a new consumer housing group has a self-appointed mandate to roll back the clock and give consumers more housing choices.

That means fighting for fewer affordable medium to high density housing complexes that have become the darlings of communities short on land but high on housing demand.

Consumers for Housing Choice (CHC) says it will increase and preserve the ability of consumers to choose homes with a variety of price ranges that are not situated within common interest developments, or CIDs.

Too often, CHC says consumers simply don't know what they are buying when they purchase a home in a CID. While a condo home offers affordability you often can't find in a single-family home, buying one demands a radically different approach to the American Dream.

"It's a lot like buying a share in a closely held, publicly-traded real estate holding company," says Frederick L. Pilot, president of the Sacramento, CA-based Common Interest Consumer Project, a non-profit education and research group.

"A home is typically the largest consumer purchase most Americans will ever make and they should know exactly what they are getting into before they sign the closing papers," said Pilot, who is also a founding director with the new group.

In a CID, you own everything in your unit, at least everything on your side of the walls. You are a shareholder in the remainder of the buildings, grounds and other facilities. As a shareholder, you also are a mandatory, dues-paying member of the CID's home owners association (HOA), the organization responsible for the upkeep and care of buildings and grounds.

The HOA is steered by a volunteer board of directors, CID homeowners elected by other homeowners to manage the association and its operating budget of perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars. The directors operate under the HOA's rules and regulations, by-laws, articles of incorporation and reams of other documents that must comply with government-imposed regulations.

To buy a condo, it's prudent to learn about the HOA's financial status, rules and regulations, you must get to know who holds the purse strings and it's a good idea to get to know your neighbors before you move in. In many states, laws mandate CIDs disclose much of this information, but it's up to you to be sure you have all you need and that you have ample time to check through the documents and check out the home owners.

"There is more useful information presented to the consumer on the back of a candy bar than what is presented to a consumer contemplating the purchase of a $100,000 condo," says Robert M. Nordlund, president of Association Reserves, a Calabasas, CA-based firm that studies home owner associations' reserves in 37 states.

The rapid growth of CID housing can be attributed to land shortages that have spawned growth policies favoring CIDs over traditional and often sprawling residential subdivisions that tax the infrastructure.

An estimated 42 million Americans now live within more than 205,000 community associations which are growing at the rate of 6,000 to 8,000 a year. More than 50 percent of new housing developments in major metropolitan areas constructed in the medium to high-density community format, according to the non-profit Community Associations Institute.

Gilbert, AZ, a town of 107,000 southeast of Phoenix has zoning laws that require all new residential developments be CIDs. Most homes in the Orlando area are being built in planned communities, according to a "Hi, neighbor, want to get together? Let's meet in court!", a U.S. News Online report of growing CID tensions.

Beth A. Grimm, a Pleasant Hill, CA attorney who has represented both homeowners and HOAs, agrees there is growing dissension among the ranks of HOA members. In the late 1990s, CID issues generated dozens of different pieces of legislation during one legislative session and a task force to address growing CID problems in California .

"There is a general overall problem in the CID industry when people are left without choices and are forced into CID living, but unwilling to accept it. It appears there is a niche for (CHC)," she said.

"I would be in favor of a group whose purpose is to help homeowners who cannot accept restrictions of the type in CIDS alternative housing, that would promote construction of non-CID housing and that would promote requiring developers and REALTORS to make sure the sales materials and sales "pitch" emphasized the differences," she added.

Kathy Johnson, CHC's founder and president says too often, housing in master planned, condominiums and townhome communities is sold as "carefree living" in which recreational and other amenities are emphasized with little mention of the serious risks and obligations of CIDs and mandatory homeowners association membership.

"Most consumers do not fully appreciate or desire to assume the restrictions and obligations that come with homeowners association membership," says Johnson.

"They are simply seeking housing that's within their price range and in a suitable location. They should have the ability to choose housing not located in CIDs if they don't want these encumbrances," she added.

CHC plans to commission surveys of selected metro area housing markets to quantify the amount for sale housing situated within CIDs versus homes located outside of the jurisdiction of CIDs.

"Home builders and real estate agents are doing a disservice to consumers by not telling the whole story in their advertisements and property listings," said Johnson, who is calling on market makers to more clearly distinguish CID from non-CID housing.

Published: November 2, 2000

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

Broderick Perkins parlayed a career in old-school journalism into a contemporary digital news service that really hits home. The award-winning consumer journalist, originally from Wilmington, DE, is founder, publisher and executive editor of the bootstrap DeadlineNews Group, a Silicon Valley-based editorial content and consulting service specializing in residential real estate, consumer news and related editorial consulting services. The DeadlineNews Group includes the website, DeadlineNews.com, offering real estate editorial content and consulting services, and its back shop, the Deadline Newsroom, an open house on news that really hits home. Perkins obtained his formal journalism education from University of Delaware and a journalism boot camp, the Institute of Journalism Education at the University of California-Berkeley. He went on to 20 years of service as a daily newspaper journalist at the Wilmington, DE News Journal and San Jose, CA Mercury News. Perkins covered housing on the San Jose Mercury News reporting team which earned a General News Reporting Pulitzer Prize in 1989 for coverage of the Loma Prieta earthquake. He has also produced real estate, consumer and small business content for the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, RealtyTimes.com, Nolo.com, Better Homes and Gardens, the National Association of Realtors, Homestore/Move and Intuit/Quicken among more than three dozen publications. In addition to managing the DeadlineNews Group, Perkins most recently served as chief editorial consultant for Nolo's Essential Guide To Buying Your First Home, Nolo, and writes real estate television scripts for RealtyTimes.com.