What the recorded documents actually say about Lafayetts Falls in South Bend — fences, sheds, pools, pets, parking and the rest — with the part of the document each answer comes from.
16 homes have sold here in the last four years, which is why this neighborhood was compiled early.
Before you rely on this page
THIS IS PHASE IV, SECTION TWO, and it names its own home sites: 304-313, 340-381, 393, 394, 417-420 and 436-438. Earlier phases of Lafayette Falls have their own recorded covenants and are not covered here. The county plat spells the neighbourhood Lafayetts Falls; the recorded covenant spells it Lafayette Falls, and the home site numbers and the developer's name confirm they are the same place. Minimum house sizes are 1,700 square feet on a ranch, bi-level or tri-level and 2,000 on a one-and-a-half or two-storey.
Material is dictated here: every fence has to be PVC, powder-coated aluminum or a similar maintenance-free product. Wood and painted metal are not permitted at all. A perimeter fence, meaning one that is not privacy in nature, may be up to four feet, goes in the back yard only, and has to stand at least three feet clear of the side lot line, with the style and location approved in writing first. A privacy fence up to six feet is allowed around a patio next to the house. Fencing inside a dedicated easement is at the homeowner's own risk.
A detached storage or pet-shelter structure may be no more than 10 by 12 feet, goes in the rear yard, has to be quality construction with horizontal vinyl siding that blends with the house, and needs the architectural committee's written approval before construction; the committee may require screening. No trailer, modular or manufactured home, prebuilt home, basement, tent, shack, garage, barn or outbuilding may be lived in. Any addition - a patio, shed, pool or fence - has to be finished within six months of starting.
Recreational and commercial vehicles - campers, trailers, trucks and boats - may not be kept in open areas anywhere in the neighborhood, on a home site or off it.
Tennis courts and above-ground pools are prohibited. An in-ground pool is allowed and has to meet state and local law including the safety requirements, the fencing needs written approval first, and the work has to be finished within six months of starting.
Nothing may be built or altered until the architectural committee approves the plans in writing, and any alteration, improvement, remodel or maintenance that changes how the house looks from outside goes in before work starts. Anything begun is finished within a year or removed, and an addition within six months. A home site carries one single-family house of up to two and a half storeys with a full-size attached garage for two to three cars, and all buildings are substantial frame, brick or stone, finished outside before anyone moves in.
Outside above-ground TV, AM, FM and short-wave antennas of any type are barred, but a direct-broadcast satellite dish of no more than one meter across is allowed. It goes where it is least visible from the street or common property if that is feasible, and the architectural committee may require shrubbery or other screening and a harmonious colour at the owner's cost, as long as that does not unreasonably impair the installation or use. The committee approves the placement in writing before it goes up.
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 one of the most demanding landscaping clauses in the county, and it is worth reading in full before you buy. Within six months of closing you submit a landscaping plan for approval, and it has to include shrubs across the front and both sides of the house; it is implemented as soon as practical and no later than June 15 after occupancy. The builder sods or seeds the whole home site by closing. From May 1 to September 30 the owner has to water the lawn enough to keep it from drying out and losing an aesthetically pleasing green colour - that is the covenant's own standard. Dead trees and stumps come out, debris goes, and if an owner lets it slide the association may come on, do the work and add the cost to the assessment. And lawn ornamentation of all types is prohibited without prior written approval - fountains, bird feeders, gazing balls, flagpoles, benches, chairs and statuary are named - with a limit of one approved item per home site.
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 allowed, as long as none is kept, bred or maintained commercially and none becomes a neighbourhood nuisance or hazard. Livestock and poultry may not be kept. Dogs go on a leash unless they are inside a fenced area, kennels are not permitted, and a dog exercise area needs approval - a small one tight against the side or rear of the house may have PVC or maintenance-free aluminum fencing five or six feet high if the committee approves.
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 basketball hoop needs the architectural committee's prior written permission as to type and location, and it counts against a cap: no more than two items of sporting or recreational equipment per home site, counting soccer goals, swing sets and sandboxes as well. A trampoline, swing set, sandbox, playground or hoop put up without that written approval is prohibited outright.
Apart from political campaign signs, the only sign allowed is one of no more than five square feet advertising the property for sale or rent, plus a builder's sign during the construction and sales period. A political sign comes down within twenty-four hours after the election it relates to.
Driveways must be at least twelve feet wide and built of asphalt at least three inches thick, brick, or concrete at least four inches; stone and cinder are not allowed and a circular drive may be as narrow as eight feet. Every house has a full-size attached garage for two to three cars. Minibikes, motorcycles, go-carts, snowmobiles and similar motor-driven vehicles may not be operated anywhere in the neighbourhood, except a licensed vehicle driven by a licensed person on a dedicated public road.
A home occupation is allowed if it involves only a member of the immediate family living in the house, stays entirely inside it, and remains clearly secondary to living there. No sign or display showing the building is used for anything else, nothing sold on the premises, nobody employed from outside the immediate family. A barber shop, styling salon, beauty parlour, tea room, fortune-telling parlour, animal hospital or any animal care such as dog trimming is named and excluded, and no commercial, business or professional office use may be carried on on a residential home site.
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 →No home site may be used as a dumping ground for rubbish. Trash, garbage, weeds and other waste are kept only in sanitary containers, and any incinerator or storage equipment kept clean and sanitary. Oil and fuel storage tanks are not allowed on a home site at all, except portable government-approved containers for LP gas, gasoline or similar household materials.
Stricter than the usual street-only ban. No fire may burn on any street or roadway, and the covenant adds a second sentence: no open fires are allowed on any home site. A fire pit in the back yard is an open fire, so ask the board before you build one.
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 flagpole counts as lawn ornamentation here, so it is prohibited without the architectural committee's prior written approval, and an approved one would use up the single ornamentation item a home site is allowed.
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.