Thank you! I've seen that website but I haven't been able to find all the details about fencing for each individual HOA. Some don't seem to be online anywhere

Whoaaaa.....

I know they would send the guidelines after we buy a house, but that would be too late. I would prefer not to bother touring homes if I know in advance that secure fencing is off the table

What HOA are you in? Is the fence 6ft?

This is incredibly helpful, thank you! Do you know offhand of any of the villages that allow 6ft fences? I would not want to chance buying a home and not being able to build a secure fence. I don't want to bother touring homes in communities where we wouldn't be likely to get approval.

Exactly!!!

Obligatory /r/fuckHOA

That's a really good point--there are homes in Columbia and EC that already have fences. If you find a house with a fence, either the fence has already approved or it will be the seller's problem to get it approved.

This. My first home in Columbia had three different HOAs and one was so detailed they got down to the off-brand paint color that they wanted me to paint my front step railings.

(Thank you Columbia Home Depot employee who color matched the HOA demanded paint to a Behr paint)

Found this for you.

https://www.columbiaassociation.org/explore-columbia/columbia-villages/

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Pick the house first. Then you will be sent the guidelines for the applicable HOA. Some are stricter than others.

I have two dogs (both 60+ pounds) and a split rail fence. So far, no problems and I've been in this house for over two years. The owner before me also had a fairly large dog with no problems.

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I recommend buying a house that already had a fence, whether in Columbia or Ellicott City. This saved me some hassle.

Former Covenant Advisor here.

I can tell you there is no master guideline, but most of the 10 villages have similar guidelines, and exceptions to the guidelines are made on case by case basis at each village. Each village has it's own application process.

That being said, you will rarely find a fence higher than 48" on a single family home for any of the villages. Town homes and small sections of SFH (privacy fence) can have a 6' fence, but not an entire yard. There are a few exceptions to this, as there are older villages that had some builder installed concrete walls between homes that measured 6'. These homes typically have the remainder of the yard enclosed with a similar height 'shadow box' style fence.

There's about 3 or 4 styles typically approved for your 48" fences. Estate and Paddock are usually the style most people with big dogs go with. Again, this varies between villages.

Also remember, if you buy a home and an adjacent neighbor that has an existing fence, you will likely be made to match that style of fence. Whether the residential architectural committee for the village will make you match the height, I don't know. (some homes have 36" fences)

I've seen people with similar situations as you, having large dogs, plead for higher fences and they have been denied. I've even seen homeowners pay for the replacement of a neighbor's fence so that they would match and be of a more secure type.

Whatever village in Columbia you end up being interested in, make sure to check the Covenants prior to buying. Also check with the Covenant Advisor, they're there to help you.

Each village has a website and the Covenants are usually on there as a PDF.

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Also...you can't apply for a new fence until you are officially the new homeowner. This has been a issue in the case of someone wanting to buy a home and be sure they can get what they're looking for approved.

We have chicken wire stapled onto our split rail fence which works. But any village will work with you if you want a fence.

Theres just a plethora of better Mexican options down there. Taqueria Los Primos is solid. Quesadilla had too much cheese for me but the chicken tacos were good

That's the kind we were required to get. Luckily my dog doesn't have a desire to get out. She could clear it if she wanted to.

I've been having such a hard time finding all of them. Some I can with a Google search, some I can't. Even the ones I can find though it's so hard to be able to tell what actually would be approved

You have to look at each HOA’s architectural guidelines. Some are stricter than others. Pain, I know.

To be fair that’s the only thing to do after like 11 except pubdog

And people say there’s nothing to do in Columbia!

There's no way those split rail fences would do it for our dogs, with or without chicken wire. I know a lot of Columbia HOAs seem to only want those. My dogs could jump over those EASILY.

Back when we got our picket fence, some 20 years ago, the CA told us only split rail fences were allowed and we should put chicken wire on it if we wanted to keep kids and pets in the yard.

We basically told them to fuck off and got the picket fence. Dog still dug out sometimes and kids learn to escape eventually but for the most part it achieved its goal.

Edit: obligatory fuck HOAs

We like Homeslyce, but its kinda pricey

Correct answer