Choosing the perfect home for a single-family is one of the most exciting stages of adulthood.
But despite the freedom that comes with being a property owner, it is also extremely difficult to make decisions regarding real estate.
Whether you feel like you’re doing a lot of research looking at the most commonly sought-for single-family homes or condominiums, you still may not know what planned unit developments are.
So allow us to explain what exactly a PUD is.
Definition of a PUD
A planned unit development (PUD) is a community of housing developments where every homeowner belongs to a homeowners association (HOA).
These include single-family homes, condominiums, townhomes, and other related buildings.
PUD communities are more importantly marked by various amenities that are enjoyed by the community members.
Characteristics of a PUD
PUDs are not subject to the usual government standard zoning process for a residential building. Rather, they follow specific criteria that indicate sections for specific developments accordingly.
What’s important for a PUD is the attraction of potential homeowners through these unique development characteristics:
- Designated areas for shopping such as nearby malls
- Recreation sections such as parks and restaurants
- Enrichment centers such as daycares, schools, and even office spaces
- Institutional places for religious worship
- Facilities with pet ownership amenities
These pros and benefits all appeal to the convenience and flexibility of owning a property in the area. Sounds good, doesn’t it?
Besides purchasing a home, homeowners also own the land in a PUD. As a result, they are free to use the spaces within their property however they want to.
What Is the Role of a PUD HOA?
The HOA regulates rules and guidelines within the PUD community. As such, owners also seek their respective HOA for the sole purposes of added guidance and support.
Likewise, every homeowner contributes fees based on their percentage ownership in the overall PUD project. These are used for the maintenance and upkeep of amenities and association services.
The HOA is tasked with the processing and application of a PUD applicant into the community.
All information about the PUD, amenities, flexibility, and benefits should be made available to the applicant. The overall approval of an application also depends on the HOA.
Residents benefit from HOAs and their work because the set standards help preserve property values and the overall quality of the PUDs.
Having a competent HOA is the most important advantage and pro of living in a PUD. Without them, the quality of life may well be the same as that of outside a PUD.
The PUD Application Process: A Brief Overview
To illustrate how different the cases are for when purchasing this type of real estate, let’s take a look at the process by which PUDs are approved.
This is a lot more complex when comparing it to single-family homes, where you handle everything.
Application
In this stage of the process, a letter of intent for the development of the PUD is presented to the city administrator. These are also coupled with application fees.
Stage Review
A comprehensive site plan review is submitted to the city government.
These reviews include the detailed descriptions of the planned structure, height of buildings, section lines, location and number of establishments, types of amenities, list of cases that may give rise to a certain issue, etc.
All pertinent plans and information in the planning stage are to be discussed here.
In contrast to different home types, such as a single-family type of home, these review stages are more comprehensive. This is particularly because of the larger amount of land involved in the development.
Fees
All fees for the plans and building permits are to be finalized. This stage finally sees the approval of the proposed PUD.
As you can see, both the complexity and thoroughness ensure the quality of the PUDs. It may be tedious for the developers, yes. But in the end, it is you, the homeowner, who benefits the most.
So Why Settle for a PUD?
There are a lot of types and choices you can have when choosing a home. These types, albeit many, do not compare to the advantages of owning a PUD.
The area in which PUDs are developed goes through thorough processes and association management that you barely have anything to worry about.
These differences may not look like a lot when compared to the usual process. But trust that these little details all pile up into the eventual improvement of the quality of life.
At the height of house-hunting, consider securing a PUD.
