KC4UAI wrote:
Further, it's next to impossible to change these agreements. Legally,
you have to get 100% of the lot owners on the original land that the
CCNR got enacted on to agree to modify the agreement.

Legally, it is not a contract unless you agree to it.
What would happen if you simply crossed out the antenna
restrictions clause before signing the contract?
--
73, Cecil, w5dxp.com

On Mar 16, 2:39�pm, Cecil Moore wrote:
KC4UAI wrote:
Further, it's next to impossible to change these agreements. *Legally,
you have to get 100% of the lot owners on the original land that the
CCNR got enacted on to agree to modify the agreement.

Legally, it is not a contract unless you agree to it.

Not only do *you* have to agree to it, but everyone
else involved has to agree to it as well.

What would happen if you simply crossed out the antenna
restrictions clause before signing the contract?

That depends:

IANAL, but this is what I've learned.

If the seller is the person who put the restriction on the
contract, and has the authority to remove it, then the
two of you (and all other parties involved) could agree to
remove the restriction.

But in many cases that simply won't work. Here's why:

Most deed restrictions and covenants are specifically
written to be self-perpetuating. There is usually a clause
which says that the restrictions cannot be removed by
future owners - including the restriction that says
restrictions cannot be removed.

In those cases, the seller does not have the right to
remove the restrictions. S/he agreed to give up that right
and to continue all the restrictions as a condition of the
sale when *s/he* bought the property.

So you could cross it out and sign it, and so could the seller,
but if it were challenged by anyone, it would not stand up. In
fact, you might be in trouble for attempting to alter an
official document.

Deed restrictions are written that way for a reason: they'd
be too easy to change without it.

For example, a friend of mine lives on a 1.2 acre lot. The zoning in
the area requires a lot size of at least 0.5 acre.
His house and garage are at one end of the property, and
he could easily slice off a half-acre at the back without
violating any setback requirements. But a deed restriction
dating from the building of the house prohibits the further
subdivision of the land. So it's 1.2 acres essentially forever.

If we could get rid of deed restrictions and covenants just
by crossing them out, why would we need PRB-1?

73 de Jim, N2EY

On Fri, 16 Mar 2007 13:39:15 CST, Cecil Moore
wrote:

Legally, it is not a contract unless you agree to it.
What would happen if you simply crossed out the antenna
restrictions clause before signing the contract?

Both the contract and state law says that you agree to all recorded
CC&Rs on file. Usually one of the CC&Rs is that you will comply with
HOA regulations. An individual buyer cannot modify such restrictions
unilaterally. There may - or may not - be a provision for modifying
them spelled out in the CC&Rs or HOA Regulations themselves, but that
usually requires a unanimous or super-majority vote of all those to
whom the restriction applies (lots of luck). The only other way is
that some states permit a homeowner to sue for a declaration that the
restriction is unreasonable and therefore unenforceable, but the
burden of proving unreasonableness is very high and is on the
homeowner seeking relief.
--

73 de K2ASP - Phil Kane
ARRL Volunteer Counsel

email: k2asp [at] arrl [dot] net