No freaking way would I EVER live in a deed-restricted community.
But wait, I live in one now!
Well, it USED to be deed restricted. This was at one time a more "upscale" neighborhood in this little town, and there was a deed restriction that required all houses within it to have tile roofs rather than asphalt shingles.
Welll, some years ago, some cheap asshat went to the city council and had that DR lifted, and since then, a lot of people who apparentlyk had the money to buy into this nice community have had an attack of the cheaps, so a lot of those nice tile roofs have been replaced by your common, shitty looking asphalt shingle roofs. I've made a few comments to those people about dragging down not just their property values by cheaping out, but the values of every house in the neighborhood, too.
I'm pleased that I pissed in their soup and made them feel like cheap little dicks.
Only live in a deed restricted community if you actually APPROVE of the restrictions. If they bother you now, they'll grind on your ass later.
Do you really want your neighbors to have some power over how you set up your own household?
I sure wouldn't.
CJ