A lesson for homeowners

Loudoun County has hundreds of homeowner associations. They are self-governed under corporate law. The developers of each HOA turn governance over to the homeowners as the houses are sold.
I happen to live in CountrySide -- now one of the older HOAs and and also among the larger ones with 2,570 households.
CountrySide was created by seven builders, each building and selling its homes in its own neighborhood. The goal was to sell homes; the builders left a few decades ago, leaving homeowners to govern themselves through a seven-member Board of Directors, one elected from each neighborhood.
But today, our board is wrestling with a set of residential bylaws that originally prohibited home-based businesses; yet, over the years, a number of homeowners have operated businesses from their homes without asking permission of the HOA. Many of them have registered with the county however.
If you live in an HOA, ask your management to be sure that your bylaws address the question of home-based businesses, and whether prohibitions have been actively enforced.
CountrySide's prohibition has not been enforced. But when a prospective homebuyer asked if she could operate a childcare business from her prospective home, she was told "no," CountrySide's covenants prohibit homebased businesses, with the sole exception of a "professional office" operated from one room of the home. That's what the developers wrote into the founding governing documents.
The prospective buyer did not buy a CountrySide home, but before she made her decision, she checked county records and found more that 20 home-based childcare businesses registered at CountrySide addresses. Lawyers were mentioned and CountrySide is now reviewing its covenants with an eye to adjusting its by-laws reguarding home-based businesses to enable home-based businesses in such a way as to also preserve the residential atmosphere of our seven neighborhoods.
With more people out of work, there are no doubt more home-based businesses starting up as homeowners seek to provide needed services and attract income.
CountrySide's experience is likely not unique, although newer home owner associations may have addressed the issue of home-based businesses in their bylaws. If not, they should.
-- martin casey