What the recorded documents actually say about Barrington Estates Sec 4 Rev in Mishawaka — fences, sheds, pools, pets, parking and the rest — with the part of the document each answer comes from.
6 homes have sold here in the last four years, which is why this neighborhood was compiled early.
Before you rely on this page
Every page of every recorded document on file was read for these answers, rather than a shortened copy.
The rules below come from the Amended and Restated Protective Restrictions, Covenants Limitations and Easements of Barrington Estates, recorded with the St. Joseph County Recorder on February 5, 2016 as document number 1602841. It amends and restates in full the declaration recorded August 11, 2015 as document number 1520710, which traces back through a 1996 restatement to the original covenants recorded March 28, 1995. Sec 4 Rev in the neighborhood name refers to the plat, Barrington Estates Fourth Revision Section Four, recorded October 23, 1995 as plat document 95-35338. It is a revision of the plat map, not a separate set of covenants, and there is no separate Section One, Two or Three declaration to look for.
The 2016 declaration binds every lot. It describes the real estate as 122 lots numbered 1 through 126 but leaving out 84, 85, 86, 87 and 92, with some lots joined to others and renumbered over time, and it adds Estates East Section 1, which is 25 lots numbered 1, 2 and 7 through 29, and Estates East Section 2, which is six lots lettered A through F on Watersedge Drive. No lot in the subdivision is left without recorded covenants.
Two groups of lots carry a second recorded set on top of these, and the answers below are drawn mainly from the declaration that binds everyone. Lots 65 through 126 are the villa lots, also governed by the Covenants and Restrictions for the Villas at Barrington Estates, recorded November 15, 1995 as document number 9538602 and amended September 1, 2009 as document number 0929197. The 2009 amendment is not among the documents on file, so a villa buyer should order it from the Recorder or the title company before relying on the fence, leasing, exterior change, pool or landscaping answers. On those lots the villa association, not the main one, approves building, design, alteration and landscaping. Lots 40 through 50, along with Estates East lots A, B, C, F, 1, 2 and 7 through 13 and any lake outlot, are lake lots and also carry Additional Protective Restrictions for the Lake Lots recorded March 20, 1995 as document number 9508309, with a lakefront committee of its own over docks, sea walls and the shoreline.
One caution on the villa lot range: the 2016 declaration gives it as lots 65 through 126 where it sets the villa covenants and the dwelling size rules, and as lots 65 through 124 where it excuses those lots from the building setback rules. The two numbers disagree inside the same recorded document. Confirm which range reaches a particular lot with the association or the title company.
Fences are allowed but every perimeter fence needs written approval from the Architectural Control Committee before any installation work begins. A perimeter fence may not exceed six feet in height and may not be a privacy fence, except around an immediate pool or patio area, unless the committee grants a written variance before work starts. Separately, no fence, wall, hedge or shrub that blocks sight lines between two and six feet above the roadway may sit on a corner lot inside the triangle formed by the street lines and a line joining them 25 feet from the intersection, or within ten feet of where a driveway meets a street line. On the villa lots, numbered 65 through 126, a stricter rule applies under the separately recorded villa covenants: no perimeter fencing of any type is permitted, including hedges and other growing fences, chain link and split rail, except as approved in advance in writing by the villa committee.
A detached storage building or pet shelter is allowed with approval. Plans must go to the Architectural Control Committee and be approved in writing before construction begins. The structure has to be of quality construction, kept in attractive and neat appearance, and blend with the established home, and the committee may require protective screening around it. A separate clause bars moving in or assembling a trailer, modular home, manufactured home, prebuilt home, tent, shack, garage, barn or outbuilding to be used as a residence, temporarily or permanently. On the villa lots, numbered 65 through 126, the villa committee holds the approval authority instead of the main one.
The declaration says recreational and commercial vehicles, naming campers, school buses, trailers, trucks and boats, may not be kept in open areas in the subdivision, whether those open areas are on or off the owner lot. It does not define what counts as an open area, and it does not mention a garage anywhere, either to allow or to forbid keeping one inside. So an owner who wants to store a camper or a boat should treat the question as open and settle it with the association in writing before buying. The same section adds a flat rule on use: no owner may operate, or let anyone else operate, an all-terrain vehicle, go-cart or similar motorized recreational vehicle anywhere within Barrington Estates, on-road or off-road.
Above ground pools are not permitted, and neither are tennis courts. An in-ground swimming pool is permitted but must be surrounded by a security fence approved by the Architectural Control Committee, and the fence rule allows a privacy fence around the immediate pool or patio area. On the villa lots, numbered 65 through 126, the separately recorded villa covenants add that an owner may not install a swimming pool without prior written approval from both the villa board and the villa committee.
Nothing on the outside changes without written approval first. No building or other structure may be erected, constructed, placed, maintained or altered on a lot, and the natural topography or drainage may not be altered, until construction plans are approved by the Architectural Control Committee. The plans must show the floor plan, quality of construction, materials, the outside colors to be used, how the external design sits with existing structures, and the location against lot lines, topography and finish grade. Nothing that departs from the approved plans may be built, and changes to approved plans need the committee written consent. The committee has three members, its decision is within its discretion, and an owner may appeal to the Board of Directors within ten calendar days, after which the Board decision is final. The front elevation of every home must carry at least 40 percent brick, stone or masonry besides the exterior chimney; lots 33 through 64 must have more than 60 percent brick, stone or dryvit on the exterior siding, may not use vinyl or aluminum siding other than in soffit and fascia, and must use a layered or built-up roof shingle rather than conventional three-in-one. Any structure begun must be finished within one year. On the villa lots, numbered 65 through 126, the villa committee has sole authority, and the villa covenants bar painting, decorating or any change in exterior appearance, and any change to sidewalks, driveways, paint color, roof color or additions, without prior written approval of the villa board and committee.
Outside above-ground AM, FM and short wave radio antennas of any type are prohibited on any lot or structure in the subdivision. A satellite dish is allowed if it is less than 32 inches in diameter, is not roof mounted, has protective landscaping maintained around it, and sits in the rear or side of the home at a location approved in writing by the Architectural Control Committee before installation. Note that federal rules on antennas and small dishes can limit how far a private covenant like this may be enforced, so an owner should raise a specific installation with the association and, if it matters to the purchase, their own counsel.
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 →Landscaping is controlled. Every lot may be landscaped only in accordance with plans approved in writing by the committee before any development of the lot, and the plan must cover the type of sod, the type of seeding, trees, hedges and shrubs, and other customary treatment for the whole site including fences, walls, lighting and screening. An underground lawn sprinkler system sufficient to service all designated lawn areas is required, and owners whose property lines run along Estates Boulevard must include watering up to the curb. Landscaping has to be finished within 60 days after construction is substantially complete, weather permitting, and yards must be planted with grass seed, sod or ground cover within 120 days after the home is completed or occupied, whichever comes first. Every front yard needs at least two hardwood trees of four inches caliper or more, kept or planted. Trees are to be preserved where practicable and clear cutting a lot would not be approved. No screen planting over 36 inches high is allowed between the building setback line and the front lot line, and corner-lot sight lines are protected. On the villa lots, numbered 65 through 126, the villa association maintains the lawn and landscaping on a schedule it sets, including mowing, weeding, fertilizing, leaf pickup and shrub trimming, and owners may plant only in line with the approved landscaping plan or inside the area marked as their personal patio garden.
A mailbox is required, not merely permitted. Each lot must have, at all times, a substantial mailbox kept in good condition and repair, in the style of the home and approved by the Architectural Committee. The declaration allows a box to be paired with a neighbor where that is appropriate. No material, height or post specification is given beyond matching the style of the home, so check the current committee standard before replacing one.
Dogs, cats and other household pets are permitted. Animals, livestock and poultry of any kind may not be raised, bred or kept on a lot, and the household pet exception carries two conditions: pets may not be kept, bred or maintained for any commercial purpose, and they may not be permitted to become a neighborhood nuisance or hazard in any manner. The declaration sets no limit on the number of pets, names no prohibited breed, and has no leash provision. A detached pet shelter is allowed on a lot but needs committee approval first under the detached buildings rule.
It depends which lot. The declaration that binds the whole subdivision says nothing at all about leasing or renting a home. The villa lots, numbered 65 through 126, are separately bound by the villa covenants, which the main declaration expressly impresses on those lots, and those cap the term: no lease of a dwelling unit may run longer than one year. That cap limits how long a lease may be, not how short, and nothing in any of these documents addresses nightly or vacation rental. One caution for a villa buyer: the villa covenants were amended in September 2009 and that amendment is not among the documents on file, so the leasing rule on those lots should be confirmed against the recorded amendment before relying on it.
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 →Signs are tightly limited. No sign of any kind may be displayed to public view on a lot, with these exceptions: one sign of not more than five square feet advertising the property for sale; a sign of any size used by a builder to advertise during the construction and sales period; and a contractor sign during a renovation or painting job, for the renovation period. No sign advertising a Barrington Estates property for sale may be placed at or near the subdivision entrance, with one exception, a single open house sign at or near the entrance on the day of the open house only. The declaration does not mention political, security or holiday signs.
Every home must have a full-size attached garage able to hold at least two cars and no more than four, and on lots 40 through 64 that garage must be side-load. Driveways must be at least twelve feet wide and built of asphalt at least three inches thick, brick, or concrete at least four inches thick; stone and cinder driveways are not permitted, and a circular drive in front of a home may be a minimum of eight feet wide. Recreational and commercial vehicles, including campers, school buses, trailers, trucks and boats, may not be kept in open areas in the subdivision, on or off the lot. Operating an all-terrain vehicle, go-cart or similar motorized recreational vehicle anywhere within Barrington Estates is prohibited. Beyond that, the documents say nothing about where an ordinary passenger car may be parked, on the driveway or on the street.
A home occupation is permitted inside narrow limits. A lot may be used only as a single-family residence, except for a use conducted entirely within the residence, carried on solely by a member of the immediate family living there, clearly incidental and secondary to living in the home and not changing its character. Four conditions apply: no sign or display showing from the outside that the building is used for anything but a dwelling; nothing sold on the premises; no person employed other than an immediate family member living there; and no mechanical or electrical equipment used. The declaration also says that in no event will a barber shop, styling salon, beauty parlor, tea room, fortune-telling parlor, animal hospital, or any form of animal care or treatment such as dog trimming count as a home occupation.
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 →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 →Garbage and recycling bins have to be kept inside the garage except on trash pickup day and the evening before. Trash, garbage and other waste may not be kept except in sanitary containers, and any incinerator or other equipment for storing or disposing of it must be kept clean and sanitary. No lot may be used or maintained as a dumping ground for rubbish or for dumping grass clippings and other landscaping debris, and that applies whether or not a house has been built on it. If the City of Mishawaka does not collect, the association selects the hauler and collection is limited to one specific day each week.
The declaration has a fires section and it reaches streets and roadways only: no fire may be permitted to burn upon any street or roadway in the subdivision. It says nothing about fires on a lot, in a yard or on a patio, and it never names a grill, a barbecue or a fire pit either way. On the face of that wording a contained cooking grill on a lot is not caught. The general nuisance clause, which bars noxious or offensive activity and anything that becomes an annoyance or nuisance in the neighborhood, could still reach smoke or a fire that bothered neighbors, so an owner planning something permanent may want to ask the association first.
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 →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 →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 →Tell us the question and we will get you the answer from the recorded documents.