What the recorded documents actually say about Creekwood Villas in South Bend — 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.
Perimeter fencing is barred unless the Architectural and Landscape Control Committee approves it in advance and in writing. The ban is written broadly: it names chain link, split rail, hedges and other growing fences, and then any other kind of fence.
Storage sheds and tool sheds are prohibited, along with any other outbuilding, temporarily or permanently. The same sentence bars trailers, tents, shacks, barns and detached garages. Awnings are handled separately and need Architectural Review Committee approval.
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 →Above-ground pools and tennis courts are prohibited outright. Any other swimming pool may be built only after the Architectural and Landscape Control Committee gives prior written approval.
Painting, decorating or any change to the outside appearance of a home that varies from the approved plans needs prior written approval from both the Board of Directors and the Architectural and Landscape Control Committee. Nothing may be built, placed or altered on a lot, and the natural topography or drainage may not be changed, until construction plans and a landscaping plan are approved. Plans have to show floor plan, quality of construction, materials, outside colors, harmony with existing structures, location relative to lot lines, topography and finish grade, submitted in two complete sets. The Committee answers in writing, and the declaration says its decision is entirely within its discretion.
An outside above-ground TV antenna, AM, FM or short-wave radio antenna, or a satellite dish of any type may not be put up or kept without the Association's prior written consent. No size allowance is stated. Utility and cable service itself has to run underground and stay out of sight. Federal FCC rules adopted after this 1989 document limit how far a covenant like this can be enforced against smaller dishes, so ask the Association how it applies the clause today.
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 →This is a maintained community. The Association maintains the landscaping and lawn of each lot on a schedule it sets. An owner may plant or maintain flowers, trees, shrubs or other plants only under a landscaping plan approved by the Architectural Control Committee. Each lot keeps its own irrigation system, but the Association decides the watering interval; under the 1996 amendment the City of South Bend supplies the irrigation water, the Association maintains the water trunk lines, and the Association pays the irrigation water and electricity bills. Every home is required to have a sprinkler system. An owner is responsible for maintaining any tree on the lot with a trunk three inches across or larger, including pruning and removing dead or unsightly trees; if the Association gives written notice and the owner does not act within sixty days, the Association may do the work and bill it back as an additional common expense, and that notice period is waived in an emergency. Yards have to be planted with grass seed, sod or ground cover within one hundred twenty days after the home is finished or occupied, whichever comes 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 →Dogs, cats and other household pets are permitted. No animals, livestock or poultry may be raised, bred or kept otherwise, and pets may not be kept for any commercial purpose or allowed to become a neighborhood nuisance or hazard. A standing rule voted by the homeowners adds that cats and dogs may not run free, in line with the city ordinance.
Renting is allowed, but a lease of less than one year may not be entered into without the Association's prior approval. The covenant sets no cap on how many homes may be rented.
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 →One for-sale sign of no more than five square feet is the only sign allowed in public view of a lot. A builder may use a sign of any size during the construction and sales period, and the developer reserved the right to put up its own promotional signs. A separate clause on home occupations bars any sign or display showing from the outside that a home is used for anything other than a residence.
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 →A lot may be used only as a single-family residence, with one exception: a home occupation carried on entirely inside the home by a member of the immediate family living there, clearly incidental to using the home as a residence. Four conditions attach: no sign or display visible from outside, no goods sold on the lot, no employee other than an immediate family member living there, and no mechanical or electrical equipment. The document then says 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 does not count as a home occupation in any event.
The documents never use the words short-term rental, but a nightly or weekly stay is a lease of less than one year, and the covenant bars any lease shorter than one year without the Association's prior approval. Ask the Association how it applies that clause before counting on short-term rental income.
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 →Trash, garbage and other waste may only be kept in sanitary containers, and those containers have to be kept clean and sanitary. No lot may be used as a dumping ground for rubbish. Nothing in the document says where containers must be stored or when they may go to the curb.
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 →Hanging laundry outside the home is prohibited. The clause is written broadly enough to cover rugs and other items as well, and it sits in the same paragraph that bars temporary structures and requires committee approval for awnings.
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.