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[SahmIam]

@Carmie "I have been reading the comments and noticed that most people have no idea what restrictive covenants are.  

These covenants are common and exist everywhere.  Every time land is developed, these covenants are drawn up.  They are part of the deed and are recorded with the deed at the courthouse.

They limit what the land can be used for.  They may say for example: no mobile homes, no houses under 1000 sf, no commercial businesses out of your home, no farm animals or no breeding of animals, no fences, no abandoned cars, no parking of RV’s in your driveway, driveway must be sealed,must have an attached garage, and no foundations left exposed...must be covered with building material, no sheds, no billboards, etc."

Excellent point. We are dealing with homeowners in my neighborhood who are fighting for the right to raise bees on their deck in our TOWNHOUSE community. I am on the board of our HOA. We've had numerous complaints and both owners on either side of this townhouse (inside unit) can no longer use their deck to the swarming of bees; people have been stung numerous times and they're tired of it. The HOA says they can't have this but the owners claim it's THEIR property and yes they can because the county says so.

Up until recently, honey bees were classified as livestock. The deed states no livestock. The county had stated no livestock. Now, however...they're pets (claim the owner). So the board has had to hire special legal council to take the homeowners to court to show that even though the bees are not livestock, you still MUST have XYZ in place to raise bees and a townhouse community does not qualify. They claim this wasn't what they signed when they bought the house and round and round it's going.

My point is that people will quickly claim they "didn't know" this or that until they are forced to see "the light" but even then.....what can you do if they don't comply? In this case, we, the HOA is going after them, the COUNTY is going after them and even the state beekeepers association is going after them for cruelty to bees. 

Just because someone wants it and they own their home, doesn't mean they can DO it, legally. Sadly, they often still go through with it and then you have a situation like ours.

@ccassaday Regarding your aunt's pool cover: do they close it when on one is outside? What does their homeowners insurance state? I ask because I know people who live on 5 plus acre lots out in the country of my county and they are still required to have a huge fence around the pool. What if a wild animal falls in and drowns? Does her insurance cover the cleaning and removal of the animal? 

[ccassaday]

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@novamc1 wrote:

@Carmie

About being aware of rules that exist.........

Many of us learned something VERY interesting recently.

Our community has been built in phases.  Those who bought early were given one set of CCR's that were filed with the Superior Court.  Since then, reportedly, two revised sets have been issued that many of us know nothing about.  The builder/developer is well-known for lack of communication, misinformation and unkept promises, but having so many people in the dark as to rules that we've never been told about  and whether some homes in the community may or may not be subject to different rules..........well......

All I can say is that I am a fortunate homeowner to be living among a bunch of seasoned professionals with impressive skill sets in various relevant fields.  I just wish I could contribute more of the awesome expertise that I am seeing in action recently.

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This is very true. My parents name is on the restrictions. But the two neighbors who have lived here for 8 years isn’t. Plus the one that wants the pool fence who house was just built isn’t on them either. He wasn’t even aware of them when he bought the property.

[Carmie]

@novamc1 We have them in our neighborhood too.  They are not really bad at all.  There are very few things in them and they mostly apply to what can be built and how.

Our developer, who was a wonderful man, was killed in a car accident in his way to delivering goods to people who were poor and needed help.  His business  partner and his grandson live in our community.

No one has taken it upon themselves to form a neighborhood community group  to oversee the covenants.  So right now, people are ignoring things.  We have two empty lots that were sold, but not built on.  They are kept up and mowed, so no problem.

We are lucky that so far, our neighborhood is kept up nicely. If someone gets too far away from what is allowed, I don’t Know how we can enforce the covenants...it probably won’t happen unless they can be talked into it...no one is going to pony up the money for a lawyer.

You should be able to view your covenants at the courthouse with your deed. If they aren’t recorded, they are not enforceable.  Your developer can’t Just change them at will. He can only enforce what is legally signed by all parties and recorded. 

[Carmie]

@SahmIam  Might it be easier to amend the HOA rules to state that all pets must be kept inside and not be kept in cages, crates or structures kept outside?  

[Carmie]

@ccassaday  What does it mean when you say your parent’s  name is on the deed restrictions?  I am not understanding this.

[ccassaday]

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@Carmie wrote:

@ccassaday  What does it mean when you say your parent’s  name is on the deed restrictions?  I am not understanding this.

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When they bought the property my dad and the developer worked on the restrictions together. A lawyer from both sides went over it. Before we closed on the property they had to be signed in order to file them. If I remember right the one neighbor wouldn’t sign them. He has had a bad resostionship with the developer going way back when his house was built. The developer built his house and it didn’t go well. They used to be business together.

[DearPrudence]

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@ccassaday wrote:

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@Carmie wrote:

@ccassaday  What does it mean when you say your parent’s  name is on the deed restrictions?  I am not understanding this.

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When they bought the property my dad and the developer worked on the restrictions together. A lawyer from both sides went over it. Before we closed on the property they had to be signed in order to file them. If I remember right the one neighbor wouldn’t sign them. He has had a bad resostionship with the developer going way back when his house was built. The developer built his house and it didn’t go well. They used to be business together.

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What I don't understand is why your father didn't address the issue of needing to fence in part of your yard at the time that he was working on the restrictions with the developer?

[ccassaday]

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@DearPrudence wrote:

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@ccassaday wrote:

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@Carmie wrote:

@ccassaday  What does it mean when you say your parent’s  name is on the deed restrictions?  I am not understanding this.

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When they bought the property my dad and the developer worked on the restrictions together. A lawyer from both sides went over it. Before we closed on the property they had to be signed in order to file them. If I remember right the one neighbor wouldn’t sign them. He has had a bad resostionship with the developer going way back when his house was built. The developer built his house and it didn’t go well. They used to be business together.

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What I don't understand is why your father didn't address the issue of needing to fence in part of your yard at the time that he was working on the restrictions with the developer?

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He did. There is nothing that says no fencing. It says no lot perimeter fence. Which it won’t be around the entire lot. The developer told him no problem with a fence when he asked before we bought the property. I shouldn’t started this thread because we haven’t even asked about the fence yet. We have no idea how he wihat he will say because he tries to control people. But my dad never let him do that to him. 

[Carmie]

Your developer is not too bright, if I must say so.  Deed restrictions are drawn up before any land is sold by the developer.  That way, everyone who buys a lot or parcel is bound by them.

You don’t sell a lot or two then decide you need deed restrictions and allow a buyer to help you write them. If your father signed the restrictions, he is bound by them. 

If your neighbor did not sign, he could tell the developer to pound sand and do as he pleases as the restrictions do not apply to him.

I have never heard of a land developer that was an airhead.  It is not cheap to buy and develop land, so they are usually on top of things from the beginning.  Of course there  are dishonest ones too who will try to pull the wool over your eyes, hoping you do not get an attorney.

[ccassaday]

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@Carmie wrote:

Your developer is not too bright, if I must say so.  Deed restrictions are drawn up before any land is sold by the developer.  That way, everyone who buys a lot or parcel is bound by them.

You don’t sell a lot or two then decide you need deed restrictions and allow a buyer to help you write them. If your father signed the restrictions, he is bound by them. 

If your neighbor did not sign, he could tell the developer to pound sand and do as he pleases as the restrictions do not apply to him.

I have never heard of a land developer that was an airhead.  It is not cheap to buy and develop land, so they are usually on top of things from the beginning.  Of course there  are dishonest ones too who will try to pull the wool over your eyes, hoping you do not get an attorney.

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I totally agree with what you said. The two houses that were there were built about 10 years ago. Basically the one neighbor and him were business partners and the devloper built his house and the other one beside us.  The one neighbor does tell him to get lost. It’s a inning joke because my mom will ask her did you get permission to do that lol. 

Can one house be under covenants and the other one not? They were basically revised when my parents bought the property but the neighbor on the one side never signed them. The other one did.  Have no clue if the one who just built at the same time as us signed anything when he bought the property. He had no idea there were covenants. I would think if the entire 4 houses didn’t sign they would be void. 

My mom just left and she texted my dad and the neighbor with two goldens just put their house for sale. They are kind of stand offish. He is in the national guard and is gone a lot. So it looks like we are getting new neighbors on the one side. They just aren’t that personable.