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Sable Ridge Villas

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

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

Before you rely on this page

Parts of this declaration describe the developer's period before turnover - the developer held an exclusive right to amend the covenants until the turnover date, and several paragraphs are addressed to the original construction. Those read as history now. The rules stated on this page are the ones that still govern an owner, as amended in 1989 and 2007.

What you can build and change

Conditional

Fences

No perimeter fencing of any type is permitted without the Committee's advance written approval - and the ban is written wide enough to catch planting, naming hedges and other growing fences alongside chain link and split rail.

Paragraph 13 - Fences
✗ Not allowed

Sheds & outbuildings

No structure of a temporary character, trailer, basement, tent, shack, garage, barn, TOOL SHED, STORAGE SHED or other outbuilding of any type may be used on a lot at any time, temporarily or permanently.

Paragraph 22 - Temporary Structures
Not stated

RVs, boats & trailers

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

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Conditional

Swimming pools & hot tubs

No tennis courts and no above-ground pools at all. Any other swimming pool may be built only after prior written approval from the Architectural and Landscape Control Committee, and installing one is separately named in the paragraph requiring approval from both the Board and the Committee.

Paragraph 23 - Tennis Courts and Pools; Paragraph 10
Conditional

Exterior changes & additions

An owner may not paint, decorate or make any change to the appearance of the exterior that differs from the plans the Committee approved, without the prior written approval of BOTH the Board of Directors and the Architectural and Landscape Control Committee. The declaration names what that covers: sidewalks, driveways, paint colour, roof colour, additions to the home, and installing a swimming pool. Awnings need the Committee's approval. Driveways must be at least twelve feet wide and asphalt or concrete - no stone or cinder - with asphalt three inches thick and concrete four. Every lot carries a dusk-to-dawn electric light of a Committee-approved type in front of the front setback line, on an automatic electric eye.

Paragraph 10; Paragraphs 22, 24 and 31
Conditional

Satellite dishes & antennas

No outside above-ground television, AM, FM or short-wave radio antenna, and no TV satellite dish of any type, may be erected or maintained on a lot or structure here WITHOUT the association's prior written consent. Unlike some neighbouring villa declarations this one leaves a door open - but the consent has to come first, and it has to be in writing. All utility service is underground and out of sight.

Paragraph 32 - Utilities and Television Antennas
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.

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Conditional

Landscaping, trees & gardens

The association maintains the landscaping and lawn of every lot on a schedule it sets, and it operates the irrigation system on each lot and decides how often it runs. An owner may plant, install or maintain flowers, trees, shrubs or other plant material only in accordance with the Landscaping Plan the Architectural Control Committee approved. New construction must have the side, front and rear yards seeded, sodded or planted with ground cover within a hundred and twenty days of completion unless the Committee approves otherwise.

Paragraph 9 - Landscaping and Plantings; Paragraph 28
Not stated

Mailboxes

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

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How you can live here

Conditional

Pets

Dogs, cats and other household pets are allowed inside the home. No animals, livestock or poultry of any kind may be raised, bred or kept on a lot otherwise, none may be kept, bred or maintained for a commercial purpose, and - this is the part owners are caught by - a pet may not be housed or kept OUTSIDE the home, nor allowed to become a neighborhood nuisance or hazard.

Paragraph 26 - Livestock and Poultry
Conditional

Renting your home

Renting is allowed, but a SHORT let is not something you can arrange on your own: no lease of less than one year may be entered into without the association's prior approval. A lease of a year or more is not caught by that clause.

Paragraph 14 - Leases
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.

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Conditional

Yard signs

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

Paragraph 25 - Signs
Conditional

Street parking

The declaration sets no vehicle restriction of its own, but driveways must be at least twelve feet wide and paved in asphalt or concrete - stone and cinder drives are not permitted. The Board also has express power to adopt further rules about the property at any time, so ask the association whether a parking rule has been adopted.

Paragraph 24 - Driveways; Paragraph 6
Not stated

Running a business from home

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

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Conditional

Short-term rentals (Airbnb)

Any lease shorter than one year requires the association's prior approval, so a nightly or weekly let is not something an owner can arrange unilaterally.

Paragraph 14 - Leases
Not stated

Vehicle repair in the driveway

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

Trash & recycling containers

No lot may be used or kept as a dumping ground for rubbish, and trash, garbage and other waste must be kept in sanitary containers, with every container and disposal appliance kept clean and sanitary.

Paragraph 27 - Garbage and Refuse Disposal
Conditional

Grilling & outdoor cooking

No fire, for leaf burning or anything else, may be allowed to burn on any street or roadway in the property.

Paragraph 33 - Fires
✗ Not allowed

Clotheslines

No hanging of laundry, rugs or other items outside the home is permitted.

Paragraph 22 - Temporary Structures
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.

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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 documentDeclaration of Covenants and Restrictions of Sable Ridge Villas, made 17 October 1986 by Sable Ridge Ltd., an Indiana Limited Partnership, as amended 2 June 1989 and 15 November 2007, St. Joseph County, Indiana
Recorded asDeclaration of Covenants and Restrictions of Sable Ridge Villas, made 17 October 1986 by Sable Ridge Ltd.
Amendment I - 2 June 1989
Amendment II - 15 November 2007
How it was readRead directly from the document’s own text.
Checked againstThe version read here is the association's consolidated text, headed with both amendment dates, so the rules stated are the amended ones rather than the 1986 originals. The declaration also carries a set of protections for institutional lenders that require a first mortgagee's written approval before certain amendments - worth knowing if a change to the covenants is ever proposed here.
The associationSable Ridge Villas Association. Membership comes with the deed and ends when you sell. The association maintains the landscaping and lawn of every lot on a schedule it sets, runs the irrigation system on each lot and decides how often it waters, and pays for the common lighting out of the common expense. Two things it does NOT do, and both matter when you are working out what a villa here really costs. It provides no insurance of any kind over a lot, a home or its contents - the declaration says that is the owner's sole responsibility, and the owner must carry it. And the inside of the home, including its repair, maintenance, replacement and decoration, is entirely the owner's. Real estate taxes are assessed separately on each lot and each owner pays their own separately metered utilities. A Board of Directors governs and may adopt further rules about the property at any time, and a separate Architectural and Landscape Control Committee approves what gets built and planted.

Ask us about Sable Ridge Villas

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