HOA Paint Color Approval in Greenville and Spartanburg

If you live in a neighborhood with an HOA, the outside of your house isn’t only your call. Many covenants say you need approval before you change exterior colors. Some want a form even when you keep the same ones.

That doesn’t have to be a headache. Most of the trouble comes from finding out too late, after the paint is bought or the date is set. Here’s how the process usually works and how to plan around it.

Why HOAs review exterior colors

When you buy in a neighborhood with an HOA, you agree to its covenants, the recorded rules that come with the property. Most include a section on what you can change outside and who has to sign off first.

The group that signs off often goes by architectural review committee (ARC) or architectural review board (ARB). In smaller neighborhoods the HOA board may handle it. Either way, the goal is the same: a street that looks like it belongs together. Not every house the same color, but no house that sticks out from all the rest.

Some HOAs do that with an approved palette, a set list of color schemes with body, trim and accent colors that go together. You pick a scheme from the list. Others don’t have a list and review each request on its own. Some have both: a palette to start from and a review for anything off it.

You’ll find this in many of the newer subdivisions around Simpsonville, Five Forks and Boiling Springs.

Find your rules before you pick a color

Start here, before you fall for a color. Places to look:

Your covenants. You may see them called CC&Rs, short for covenants, conditions and restrictions. You likely got a copy at closing. Look for a section on architectural control or exterior changes.
Architectural guidelines. Many HOAs keep a separate document with the actual color rules, the palette and the request form.
The management company or portal. If a management company runs your HOA, the forms and guidelines are usually on its online portal.
The board. If your HOA runs itself, ask a board member or whoever handles architectural requests.

Questions to get answered:

Do I need approval to repaint? What if I keep the same colors?
Is there an approved palette, and is it tied to one paint brand?
Which parts of the house count: body, trim, shutters, front door, garage door?
What does the request need to include, and how do I send it?
Is there a set review window, and when does the committee meet?
Once I’m approved, how long do I have to finish?

Get the answers in writing if you can. An email from the management company beats a chat at the mailbox.

What a typical request includes

Every HOA has its own form, but most ask for the same kinds of things. A request usually includes:

Color names and numbers, with the brand. “Light gray” isn’t enough. They usually want each color the way the paint company lists it: the brand, the color name and the color number, exactly as they appear on the chip.
Where each color goes. Body or siding, trim, shutters, front door, garage door. If the porch ceiling, railings or fascia get a different color, list those too.
Your address, and often a photo of the house as it is now. Some forms ask for photos of the houses on either side.
Sometimes a sample. Some committees want a color chip, a painted sample board, or a test patch on the house they can drive by and see.
Sometimes the paint brand or product. A few HOAs ask for it, especially when the palette came from one paint company.

Fill in every line. A form with blanks can come back to you unanswered, and then you’re waiting again.

Keep a copy of what you send and the approval letter. Then make sure what goes on the house matches the form, color for color and spot for spot.

Same colors? Ask anyway

A lot of homeowners figure a same-color repaint needs no approval. Sometimes that’s true. But some HOAs still want a form, so they have a record and can check the colors are still allowed. Palettes change, and your house’s color may not be on today’s list.

A same-color request is usually simple. If you don’t know your current colors, the HOA may have them on file from the last approval.

How long review takes, and how to time your project

Review time varies from one HOA to the next. Some committees answer quickly. Others meet on a schedule, so a request that arrives right after a meeting waits for the next one. Check your covenants: some list a review window.

The rule is simple: get the approval first, then set the start date. Work backward like this:

Get your rules and the request form.
Pick your colors, ideally with samples on the house.
Send in the request.
Once the approval is in hand, put the job on the calendar.

If you want a certain season, start the HOA side early. Fall is a popular time to paint outside here. Our guide to the best time to paint a house exterior in the Upstate covers how the seasons play out. Getting estimates while you wait on the committee is fine. Just don’t let anyone start before you’re approved.

Also check whether your approval expires. Some HOAs give you a set time to finish the work once a request is approved.

Front doors, shutters and accent colors

The front door and shutters are where most people want some personality, and where HOAs tend to look closest. A navy door may be on the list in one neighborhood and not the next.

A few things to know:

Accents usually need approval too. A new front door color often counts as an exterior change, even if the siding stays the same.
Palettes often include accent options. Many approved schemes list a door or shutter color or two that go with the body and trim. Start there.
The garage door counts. On a lot of houses the garage door faces the street and is bigger than the front door. Some HOAs say what color it has to be, often the trim or body color.

Painting only a door or the shutters still goes on the form if your HOA asks. See doors and garage doors for how we prep and paint them. Shutters get taken down, painted on both faces and rehung.

Townhome communities

Townhomes work differently. In many townhome communities the HOA controls the exterior colors, and some handle the exterior painting themselves. In that case you may not be allowed to paint the outside at all, front door included.

Check your documents before you plan any outside work. If the association takes care of the exterior, your part is the inside, and that’s usually up to you. We see this in townhome communities around Reidville and Five Forks, where most of the painting owners ask us about is inside: walls, ceilings, trim, doors and cabinets.

If your request is denied

A denial isn’t the end. It usually means the committee wants something a little different.

Ask why. Was it one color or the whole scheme? Was something missing from the form?
Ask what would be approved. The committee or the management company can often point you to a color or scheme they’d accept. Sometimes it’s just a shade lighter or darker.
Pick from the palette. If there’s an approved list, choosing straight from it is the surest way through.
Resubmit. Fix what they flagged, fill in anything missing, and send it back. Keep copies of both rounds.

What not to do: paint first and ask later. Depending on your covenants, that can lead to letters, fines, or paying to paint the house again.

How we help

A free color consult with every estimate. Pick colors with help, not off a chip in a store.
If your HOA has an approved palette, we help you choose within it.
If it reviews each request, we give you the color names and where each one goes on the house, so your request is clear and easy to fill out.
Bring the approved color list or the rules to the estimate, and we work inside them.

You send the request to your HOA. We give you the details to put on it.

Otherwise it’s how we work on any job: a free estimate, a written price before we start, Sherwin-Williams paint in three levels and a 12-month workmanship warranty. Licensed RBS 66117. Insured. Comparing painters? See our questions to ask a painter.

For more on choosing colors, see color consultation. For how we prep and paint the outside of a house, see exterior painting. We’re based in Duncan and work across Greenville and Spartanburg counties. Call or text 864-800-8275 to set up a free estimate.

Getting your HOA to approve exterior paint colors