WE bought a Fannie Mae / bank-owned property two years ago. Listed as having NO HOA.
Now we were informed that there are deed restrictions. And they are also trying to recactivate an HOA.
How does this affect us?
It causes you to go to a lawyer and get proper advice for your specific situation.
If there really are deed restrictions that were not listed on the title report when you bought the property, you may have a claim against your title insurance policy.
How does someone reactivate an HOA?
You can create, or I suppose “reactivate” an HOA by getting all the affected owners to sign on. Don’t know what happens to any minority or holdouts.
HOAs are one of the suckiest things on the planet, IMHO. Having one grow up under you would be worse.
Well, they can be, but they don’t have to be. A well-managed HOA can be very beneficial to home owners, setting aside money for repairs, etc., preventing people from putting up unsightly structures, keeping cousin Eddie’s rusted-out RV from remaining a permanent fixture in the driveway, etc. They can also be little fiefdoms for petty tyrants. We were lucky to live in the former, where reason prevailed and the board understood that they were there to serve the wishes of the membership (with one exception, but she got her ass handed to her very quickly).
It would seem that if the OP is living in a stand-alone, fee-simple home, he couldn’t be forced into signing on to an HOA. If it’s a townhouse that’s in a building with other condos, he probably would not have a choice if everybody else in the building went along with it.
See lawyer.
Depending on local/State law, you may or may not have recourse against seller and/or its agent.
I understand both the theoretical advantages and the real-world drawbacks, and my working opinion is that HOAs are fine for communities of people who care more about the way their street looks than about their neighbors per se. Those who are more concerned about resale value than living comfortably. The kind of people who keep plastic slipcovers on all the furniture so as not to wear it out.
But to each his own. You couldn’t give me a house in an HOA, period.
There are way too many variables for you to get a valuable answer here.
You really need to see a lawyer and find out where you stand.
As a general rule, if those deed restrictions have been recorded prior to your taking title, you may be responsible. You can call your title insurance company and ask if they have any advice for you in this matter.
They are good and of coursed, bad. I like the fact that my neighbors can’t paint their house purple and lime green. I’m glad they can’t conduct a small auto repair business from their garage. I’m pretty happy that you can’t park cars in your front yard, or have a kennel on your property. It all depends on your HOA.
As a personal aside, threads like this on the SDMB make me so grateful for the Torrens system. 
The Torrens system is an option in only a few US states. I believe Florida and Colorado still, to some extent, still use it. Illinois abolished it years ago.
If you have a title policy (and I assume you do), it should be shown as a restriction on it. If you have only an attorney’s opinion, it should also be shown. What kind of property is it? A townhouse or a stand alone building. Many townhouses are now formed as condos, and all condos have HOAs, as do most townhouses. I live in a townhouse condo which is governed by an HOA. We have a professional manager manage it and are quite satisfied. If not, we could change managers. Our Board of Directors and officers are not intrusive.
What business of yours is it what color your neighbors paint their house?
See : in yout list, there are already two things that I would dislike : not being allowed to paint my house the way I want, and not being allowed to park where it’s convenient. And I’m pretty sure there would be plenty of other things I would dislike : can you grow whatever you want in your yard, for instance (I dislike lawns).
And in both case, I fail to see why it would bother you. Why do you care about the colour of your neighbour’s house, for instance?
I guess that for some of us, even “good” HOAs would be bad news. I really don’t care for other people telling me how my house/yard should be.
I’m pretty sure that towns can prevent people from running auto repair businesses from their homes or parking cars on their front yards through zoning and other legislative methods.
Exactly as much as they agree to let it be, based on their receiving what they consider to be something of equal or greater value in return.
Not my experience. Yes, we cared about whether our roof leaked or our crawlspace flooded; we cared about deteriorating driveways and potholes in the street; and we cared about the buildings being painted when needed. Those were all things that were paid for by the HOA pot of money. If you don’t care about the resale value of your home, then you’re not being very smart with your investment. I was in a lot of folks’ homes there and am happy to say I never saw a plastic slipcover; I think that’s a New Jersey sort of thing.
The usual answer is “My house’s resale value”, which is, perhaps, not very convincing in this case.
What business of yours is it whether your neighbors decide to raise wasps and shoot blanks into the air at 3 AM?
Wasps are a danger to public safety; shooting at 3 a.m., to the peace. A tackily painted house is neither.
Mom was in one, gated,need a code to get in, sometimes guarded, HOA did outside paint, repair, mowing the postage stamp yard,(She would spend a whole 5 minutes with a electric weed eater on her back yard), roads & driveways.
She was 80 moving in at 80 years old. She was fine with it. So were her 7 children.
Me, no way, even if I could afford it.
I will be found dead in the yard after the wife and I have the last argument, it will be a quick draw contest. Tomorrow or 10 years, we like ‘It’s mine.’ just fine, like guns, critters, solitude, and we can have our attitudes… 
Was great for Mom. And she liked it.
If I had a bad realtor or title insurance, feet ptints on people desks will happen if they are stupid and think I am also.