What the recorded documents actually say about Bent Oak Village in Elkhart — fences, sheds, pools, pets, parking and the rest — with the part of the document each answer comes from.
12 homes have sold here in the last four years, which is why this neighborhood was compiled early.
Before you rely on this page
WHAT THIS PAGE RESTS ON. This is a condominium, not a platted subdivision, and the answers here come from one document: the By-Laws of Bent Oak Condominium Association, adopted by the board on January 20, 2013. Its Article 6 holds the restrictions on use, in lettered paragraphs, and that article was read in full. Two copies of the same by-laws are on file, one of them inside a management company's welcome packet, and they match.
WHAT IS NOT HERE, AND IT MATTERS. The by-laws themselves say they were revised from the original Declaration by the developers of Bent Oak Condominiums and from later amendments approved by the then unincorporated association. That Declaration is the recorded instrument that created the condominium, and it is not in the copy on file, so anything it says that the by-laws do not repeat is not reflected on this page. The by-laws' own contents page also lists an addendum as their last page, and that page is missing from both copies. The board is separately empowered to adopt rules and regulations about use of the common and limited areas, and any such rules are a different document again.
A NAME CAUTION. Bent Oak in Elkhart contains both this condominium association and a set of single-family villages - Doral, St. Andrews, Oak Ridge and Augusta - that are governed by entirely separate recorded covenants. Nothing on this page comes from those covenants, and nothing on the villages' page comes from these by-laws.
WHAT TO DO BEFORE YOU RELY ON IT. Ask the association or its management company for the recorded Declaration, the complete by-laws including the addendum, the current rules and regulations, and the current monthly assessment. The copy on file is a scan of paper rather than digital text, so individual words can be misread in conversion, which is why each answer below carries the document's own wording.
Fences are ruled out. The by-laws say no fence, poles, posts or clotheslines may be installed, and no holes may be dug for their installation. No approval route is offered for a fence, unlike several other items in the same article where the board can consent. The same paragraph also bars an owner from planting trees, landscaping or gardening in any common or limited area without the board's express permission.
A shed is not an option here. The by-laws say no additional buildings, temporary structures, utility buildings or tents may be erected or located on the property. That is a flat prohibition with no approval route attached. Personal belongings are expected to go inside the unit or in the storage areas the building provides, and nothing may be left in a common or limited area without the board's consent.
A boat, camper or trailer needs the board's written approval before it can be anywhere on the property. The by-laws name boats, campers, trailers, buses, mobile homes and any other vehicle of similar description or type, and say none may be permitted, parked or stored anywhere within the property unless prior written approval is obtained from the board. So it is not a flat ban, but it is not something to assume either. The document does not say what the board weighs or how long an approval lasts, and it does not treat a garage differently.
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 →The outside of the building is the association's, and changing it takes the board. Nothing may be done or permitted in a unit that would impair the structural integrity of the building, structurally change it, or affect the exterior appearance of any unit, except as the by-laws otherwise allow, and the by-laws add that it is always best practice to ask the board before doing anything that touches common or limited areas or the structure or outside appearance of a unit. Nothing may be hung or displayed on the outside of the windows or placed on the outside walls, and no sign, awning, canopy, shutter, radio antenna or other attachment may be fixed to the exterior walls, roofs or other parts of the building without the board's prior consent. Stair lifts in common stair areas have their own detailed rule, and they need the board's prior written approval, meet board-set specifications, are paid for and maintained by the owner through an added assessment, and become the association's property once installed.
An antenna is grouped with everything else that gets attached to the building, and it needs the board's consent first. The by-laws say no sign, awning, canopy, shutter, radio antenna or other attachment or thing may be fixed to or placed on the exterior walls, roofs or other parts of the building without prior consent of the board. The document was written before satellite television was a common question and never uses the words satellite or dish, so what the board will accept, and where, is not something the text answers. Federal rules on antenna installation can also bear on how a clause like this is enforced, which is a question for a lawyer rather than for this page.
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 →Owners do not landscape here on their own initiative. The by-laws say no owner may plant trees, landscape or do any gardening in any of the common or limited areas except with the board's express permission, and in a condominium the ground outside the unit is normally common or limited area rather than the owner's. The common areas also have to be kept free and clear of rubbish, debris and other unsightly materials. The association itself handles snow removal from the common areas. What the board will permit, and where the line between limited area and unit falls, would be in the recorded Declaration, which is not in the copy on file.
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 →Pets are allowed within clear limits. No animals, livestock or poultry may be raised, bred or kept in a unit, in the common or limited areas or on the property, except that pet dogs, cats or customary household pets may be kept in a unit, provided the pet is not kept, bred or maintained for any commercial purpose and does not create a nuisance. The cap is one dog and one cat per unit unless the board approves more. Pets go outdoors only on a leash or other restraint and attended by their owner, and the owner is fully liable for injury or damage, including to the common and limited areas. The board may make further pet rules, including a security deposit against damage to the common areas, refundable when the pet is permanently removed less any repair cost. A pet the board judges to be causing a nuisance or unreasonable disturbance or noise has to be permanently removed from the property within ten days of written notice.
Renting is allowed, and the conditions are specific and mild. A unit may be rented or leased by its owner without approval; the owner simply has to notify the board of the tenant's name and previous address. The minimum lease term is thirty consecutive days. Separately, no unit may be occupied by more than one family unit or by more than six occupants, and exceptions to that limit are made only with the board's express consent. Any tenant is bound by the same use restrictions as an owner.
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 need the board's consent, including the one most sellers want. The by-laws say no For Sale, For Rent or For Lease sign, no other sign, and no other window or advertising display may be maintained or permitted on any part of the property or any unit without the board's prior consent. The board reserved the right to place or allow For Sale or For Lease signs about the property in connection with unsold or unoccupied units. If you are planning to list a unit, that consent is worth sorting out with the board before the sign goes up.
Parking is assigned and the by-laws are specific about it. Every unit has two parking spots, and owners park in their own designated areas unless another unit holder gives permission to use theirs. Extra family vehicles and visitors' vehicles park along the front curb, and no parking is permitted in front of the mailboxes. Under most circumstances the primary parking for an owner is the garage, with curbside parking in front of the condos intended for visitors and service providers rather than for owners beyond the short term. Garage doors and the passage doors into the garage and stairway have to be kept closed except to go in and out. Garbage, parking and extra storage areas must be kept neat and clean and used only for parking and storage. Boats, campers, trailers and similar vehicles are covered by their own rule and need the board's written approval.
Running a business from a unit is barred, and the wording is unusually wide. The by-laws say no industry, trade, other commercial, or religious activity, education or otherwise, designed for profit, altruism or otherwise, may be conducted, practised or permitted on the property. A companion paragraph says all units are used exclusively for residential purposes and no unit may be partitioned or subdivided. No approval route is offered. Whether quiet remote work with no clients or signage is what this paragraph is aimed at is not something the text settles, and the board is the body that interprets the by-laws.
A short stay is ruled out by the lease term rather than by naming any platform. The by-laws set a minimum rental or lease period of not less than thirty consecutive days, which leaves no room for nightly or weekly letting. Longer renting is allowed without approval, subject to notifying the board of the tenant's name and previous address.
This is one of the few documents in the directory that addresses repair directly rather than through a junk-vehicle clause. No repair work may be done on the property on any vehicle, and the by-laws name passenger automobiles, motorcycles, trucks and boats, unless express written permission is obtained from the board. The rule covers the whole property rather than just the driveway, and it does not carve out work done inside a garage. An older set of association rules for this property put the same point more bluntly still.
Trash goes in the approved container for the scheduled collection, and the by-laws are specific about the shared hopper. All garbage, trash and refuse must be placed in the container approved by the board for scheduled trash collection and in accordance with the rules and regulations. The hopper has to be used in sanitary condition, with the lid closed and the gate latched after depositing garbage. No garbage bags or other refuse may be set next to the hopper or left in any common or limited area of the building, and cardboard boxes are to be recycled or broken down before going in the dumpster. Removal of garbage and waste is one of the things the association procures.
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 →Clotheslines are named and barred. The by-laws say no fence, poles, posts or clotheslines may be installed, and no holes may be dug for their installation. A second paragraph goes further on drying in the open: no clothes, sheets, blankets, towels, rugs, laundry or other things may be hung out or exposed where they are visible from any part of the common areas.
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 →Two paragraphs bear on this and both point at the board. Nothing may be hung or displayed on the outside of the windows or placed on the outside walls of the building. And the signs paragraph sweeps in any other window or advertising display, which may not be maintained or permitted on any part of the property or any unit without the board's prior consent. What the by-laws do not do is say anything about ordinary curtains, blinds or a decoration inside the glass, so the wording is aimed at what shows on or outside the window rather than at how you dress it from within.
Tell us the question and we will get you the answer from the recorded documents.