Does Your Community Have an ARB?

Have you heard or read recent stories in the news about a homebuilder coming into a community and building a very different product (in terms of home style and price) from the original homes? As new communities face foreclosure and home builders and developers face financial problems, this is becoming more prevalent across the nation. One way for new home shoppers to protect themselves from being in a situation with a lower-valued product being built next door is to move into a community with a strong Architecture Review Board.

An Architecture Review Board (ARB) is created to establish and enforce community guidelines that reflect minimum design standards and recommendations for all new construction and modifications within each neighborhood.

“New home shoppers are wise to consider communities with a strong Architectural Review process under the control of the developer and administered by a competent design professional,” says Sam Osborn, a Licensed Architect and President of Samuel E. Osborn/Associates, who has more than 20 years of experience designing and running Design Review programs, including the program at Heron Bay Golf and Country Club, a master-planned community in Locust Grove.

In many new home communities, the ARB is overseen by the developer, also known as the Declarant. The ARB remains in place until the residents of the community establish their own Board. In communities under foreclosure, where the Declarant shifts from the developer to another entity, the ARB guidelines could change. This, Osborn says, is when problems inevitably arise. “In situations like these, control over what is being built in the community is lost, and this can be detrimental to the value of existing homes in the community.”

This has happened in the metro Atlanta area, where homeowners have had to deal with new homes half the value of their home being built next door.

But this is not a problem that someone would ever have to worry about at Heron Bay Golf and Country Club, says Brian Davison, Managing Partner of Minerva Properties, the developer of Heron Bay. “Our Henry county community has a rigid ARB like those seen at private resort developments.”

When looking for a new home, homeowners should ask their real estate agent if the community includes an ARB and if so, who manages it? “An ARB overseen by the developer would be the ideal situation for someone looking to protect the value of their home,” added Davison.