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Augustine Lake

What the recorded documents actually say about Augustine Lake in South Bend — fences, sheds, pools, pets, parking and the rest — with the part of the document each answer comes from.

10 homes have sold here in the last four years, which is why this neighborhood was compiled early.

Before you rely on this page

The covenant's SIGNS paragraph reserves rights to the HEATHER LAKE developer rather than Augustine Lake's - the same drafter reused the document and missed one name. Everything else in it, including the architectural committee, says Augustine Lake Estates, so the leftover is read as a typographical carry-over rather than a different subdivision's covenant. Heather Lake, in Osceola, has its own page and its own recorded set. Minimum house sizes here run 1,200 square feet for a ranch up to 2,000 for a bi-level.

What you can build and change

Conditional

Fences

A fence has to have wood posts and rails, in a natural colour - galvanized steel is named and excluded - and every fence needs approval before it goes in. A whole-yard privacy fence is not permitted. On a corner lot nothing between two and six feet above the roadway may block the sight triangle.

Paragraph 7(a) - Fencing, with Paragraph 13
Conditional

Sheds & outbuildings

The 2010 First Amendment REVERSED the original ban, so an older copy of these covenants will tell you the opposite of what governs. A detached storage building for lawn tools, toys, pool equipment or other personal property IS allowed, with the architectural control committee's prior approval - and it has to match the house it stands behind: the SAME siding, shingles, windows, colours and door design as the existing home on that lot. Separately, no structure of a temporary character - trailer, basement, tent, shack or garage - may be used on a lot as a residence OR for storage, temporarily or permanently, and any structure or addition needs approval before installation.

Paragraph 8 - Detached Buildings, as amended by the First Amendment of 21 April 2010, with Paragraph 7
✗ Not allowed

RVs, boats & trailers

Campers, recreational vehicles, trailers, boats, snowmobiles, cars, disabled vehicles and unused vehicles may not be kept outside the residence or parked on the streets of the development. They have to be kept inside a structure or outside the development altogether. As written that list includes ordinary cars kept outside, which is unusual and worth asking the developer about.

Paragraph 6 - Nuisance
✗ Not allowed

Swimming pools & hot tubs

Above-ground pools are not permitted - the 2010 First Amendment kept that line when it rewrote the paragraph. An in-ground pool is not addressed directly, and any structure or addition has to be approved before it is installed, so take it to the committee first.

Paragraph 7 - Temporary Structures, as amended by the First Amendment of 21 April 2010
Conditional

Exterior changes & additions

No house may be built until the plans and specifications are approved in writing by the Augustine Lake Estates Architectural Control Committee, and the committee's decision is entirely within its discretion. Any structure or addition also needs approval before installation. Construction has to start within a year of taking title and be finished within a year of beginning, or be removed. A lot carries one single-family house of up to two and a half storeys and a garage for two to three cars. Every residence also carries at least one yard light in the front yard, operating automatically on an electric eye or a timer.

Paragraph 3 - Architectural Control Committee, with Paragraphs 14, 15 and 1, with Paragraph 18(a)
Conditional

Satellite dishes & antennas

One dish, one size, one place. No sending or receiving device, antenna or dish may go on the house, on its lot, or on any adjacent lot - except one eighteen-inch dish and a small local antenna, placed on the rear half of the house, never the front. On a corner lot the receiving equipment goes on the side away from the streets. Federal rules on over-the-air reception devices protect a dish under one meter on property in your own exclusive use and control, which is larger than eighteen inches, so ask how the two fit together before buying a bigger dish.

Paragraph 7(b) - Antenna
Not stated

Solar panels

We don’t have this one confirmed yet — we can ask the association and get you an answer before you commit to anything.

We can find out →
Conditional

Landscaping, trees & gardens

The yard has to be planted with grass seed or sod within 120 days of the house being finished or occupied, weather permitting. The grading of a lot used as a drainage swale may not be changed in a way that alters storm runoff.

Paragraph 15 - Completion Date, with Paragraph 5
Conditional

Mailboxes

Every mailbox has to be anchored in the ground and not of a temporary nature.

Paragraph 18(b) - Mail Box

How you can live here

Conditional

Pets

Dogs, cats and other household pets are allowed, as long as none is kept, bred or maintained commercially and none becomes a neighbourhood nuisance or hazard. Every pet has to be kept inside the house - not in a pen, not in a separate structure, and not chained outside. Livestock and poultry may not be kept.

Paragraph 11 - Pets, Livestock and Poultry
Not stated

Renting your home

We don’t have this one confirmed yet — we can ask the association and get you an answer before you commit to anything.

We can find out →
Not stated

Basketball hoops

We don’t have this one confirmed yet — we can ask the association and get you an answer before you commit to anything.

We can find out →
Conditional

Yard signs

No sign may be displayed to public view except one of no more than five square feet advertising the property for sale or rent, plus a builder's sign of any size during the construction and sales period.

Paragraph 10 - Signs
Conditional

Street parking

Driveways have to run complete to the curb and be asphalt at least four inches thick or concrete; stone and cinder are not allowed, and a circular drive must be at least ten feet wide. Cars, campers, boats, trailers and disabled vehicles may not be kept outside the residence or parked on the streets of the development.

Paragraph 9 - Driveways and Sidewalks, with Paragraph 6
Conditional

Running a business from home

A lot is for a single-family residence, except that a home occupation may be carried on inside the house by a member of the immediate family living there. Nothing outside may show the house is being used for anything other than a dwelling.

Paragraph 1 - Land and Use and Building Type
Not stated

Short-term rentals (Airbnb)

We don’t have this one confirmed yet — we can ask the association and get you an answer before you commit to anything.

We can find out →
✗ Not allowed

Vehicle repair in the driveway

Disabled vehicles and vehicles not in use may not be kept outside the residence or parked on the streets. They have to be inside a structure or outside the development.

Paragraph 6 - Nuisance
Conditional

Trash & recycling containers

No lot may be used as a dumping ground for rubbish. Trash and garbage have to be kept in sanitary containers, and the storage and disposal equipment kept clean and sanitary INSIDE the structure. Oil and fuel storage tanks have to be underground or concealed inside the house, basement or attached garage.

Paragraph 12 - Garbage and Refuse Disposal, with Paragraph 16
Not stated

Grilling & outdoor cooking

We don’t have this one confirmed yet — we can ask the association and get you an answer before you commit to anything.

We can find out →
Not stated

Clotheslines

We don’t have this one confirmed yet — we can ask the association and get you an answer before you commit to anything.

We can find out →
Not stated

Flags & flagpoles

We don’t have this one confirmed yet — we can ask the association and get you an answer before you commit to anything.

We can find out →
Not stated

Window coverings & decorations

We don’t have this one confirmed yet — we can ask the association and get you an answer before you commit to anything.

We can find out →

Where these answers come from

The documentProtective Restrictions, Covenants, Limitations and Easements for Augustine Lake Estates, St. Joseph County, Indiana, as amended in 2010
Recorded asRecorded as document RES 2007.34665, instrument 0734665
Prepared by Dennis D. Miller
Restrictions recorded 29 August 2007 as document 0734665
First Amendment entered into 21 April 2010 by Natures Gate II LLC, recorded as RES AMD 2010.10622
How it was readThe recorded copy on file is a scan of paper with no digital text, so it was read by optical character recognition. That can misread individual words, which is why nothing on this page is presented as a direct quote.
Checked againstthe 2007 Restrictions were read together with the FIRST AMENDMENT of 21 April 2010, which rewrites Section 7 (Temporary Structures) and Section 8 (Detached Buildings) and leaves the rest in force. The detached-building answer REVERSES between the two documents - the original barred a shed outright, the amendment allows one with committee approval - and this page is cited to the amendment
The associationThe recorded covenants set up an Augustine Lake Estates Architectural Control Committee - the developer, or three people the developer appoints - and route every approval through it. They do not create a homeowners association or fix a dues figure, so if one exists here it was formed outside this document; ask the developer or the neighbours.

Ask us about Augustine Lake

Tell us the question and we will get you the answer from the recorded documents.

We’ll get you an answer — usually the same day.