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Terre Verde Hills (F)

What the recorded documents actually say about Terre Verde Hills (F) in South Bend — fences, sheds, pools, pets, parking and the rest — with the part of the document each answer comes from.

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

Before you rely on this page

THE ARCHITECTURAL COMMITTEE MAY NO LONGER EXIST. Its powers ended on the Applicable Date - 31 December 2015, or earlier if the developer recorded a turnover statement - and after that the approval requirement falls away UNLESS a majority of owners recorded an instrument before then keeping it. That is a real question to put to the association rather than an assumption to make either way. This is Section One, lots 1-13 and 35-45; the declaration contemplates later sections being added by the developer.

What you can build and change

Conditional

Fences

A fence needs the committee's approval before it goes up, like any other structure. Two hard limits sit on top of that: no hedge, wall or fence may go along a lot boundary between the front of the lot and the front line of the house, and none may come closer to the street on any side of the house than the building setback line. On a corner lot nothing between two and six feet above the roadway may block the sight triangle.

Section IV.G, with Section IV.D
Conditional

Sheds & outbuildings

An accessory building is contemplated but placed: on an interior lot it may not sit closer than fifteen feet to the rear lot line, where the house itself has to stay forty feet back. Anything built needs the committee's approval, and all materials have to be new. A building may not be lived in until it is fully finished.

Section IV.C, with Sections IV.B and IV.D
Conditional

RVs, boats & trailers

No truck bigger than a three-quarter-ton pick-up, and no trailer of any kind, may be parked or stored on a street in the subdivision or on any lot - unless it is inside a garage. A delivery or pickup truck coming into the subdivision is the exception.

Section IV.H
Not stated

Swimming pools & hot tubs

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

Exterior changes & additions

No building, fence or wall may be put up, placed, structurally altered, modified or enlarged until the plans, specifications and a plot plan go to the committee. One quirk that runs in the owner's favour: if the committee does not approve or disapprove within thirty days, approval is no longer required. Every house is a single-family dwelling of at least 1,400 square feet on one storey, or 1,800 with at least 900 on the ground floor for a two-storey, all measured without breezeways, porches or the attached garage. All materials have to be new. The committee's powers end on the Applicable Date - 31 December 2015, or earlier if the developer recorded a statement of turnover - unless a majority of owners recorded an instrument keeping them alive before then. So whether there is a live architectural gate here is a question for the association.

Section IV.D, with Sections IV.B and I.K
Conditional

Satellite dishes & antennas

Owners may not put up, or let anyone put up, overhead wires, poles or overhead facilities of any kind for electric, telephone, television or internet service. The covenant does not address dishes directly - it is aimed at overhead service lines - so ask the association before assuming it reaches one.

Section IV.I - Underground Utility Facilities
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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Not stated

Landscaping, trees & gardens

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

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 may be kept, as long as none is kept, bred or maintained for any commercial purpose. Livestock and poultry may not be raised or kept.

Section IV.F
Not stated

Renting your 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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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

Four kinds of sign are allowed and no others: one professional sign of no more than one foot square; a builder's or listing agency's advertising sign; a sign of no more than five square feet for a resale; and a no-lien notice during construction under Indiana's mechanics lien law. Quarrying, excavating and drilling of any kind are prohibited except for authorised construction.

Section IV.E
Conditional

Street parking

No truck over three-quarter-ton capacity and no trailer may be parked or stored on a street or a lot unless it is in a garage.

Section IV.H
✗ Not allowed

Running a business from home

No commercial, business or professional office use may be carried on on any lot, and no noxious or offensive activity that becomes an annoyance or nuisance. The developer and the builders were the only exception, for sales and construction.

Section V.A - Nuisances
Not stated

Short-term rentals (Airbnb)

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

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.

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Conditional

Trash & recycling containers

No lot may be used as a dumping ground for rubbish. Trash, garbage and other waste have to be kept in sanitary containers, and any incinerator or storage equipment kept clean and sanitary.

Section IV.F
Not stated

Grilling & outdoor cooking

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

Clotheslines

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

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 Protective Restrictions and Covenants for Portage Realty's Terre Verde Hills Subdivision, Warren Township, St. Joseph County, Indiana
Recorded asDeclaration made 2006, recorded 2006-01-31 as document RES 2006.3076
Section One plat recorded 2005-12-16, lots 1-13 and 35-45
Developer: Portage Realty, Inc.
Runs 25 years from recording, then extends in ten-year terms unless two-thirds of owners record an amendment
How it was readThe recorded copy on file is a scan of paper with no digital text, so it was read by optical character recognition. That can misread individual words, which is why nothing on this page is presented as a direct quote.
Checked againsttwo separate scans of the declaration came down on different listings and read the same section for section
The associationTerre Verde Hills Homeowners Association, Inc. Worth noting that the declaration sets it up as an Indiana FOR-profit corporation - most neighbourhood associations in this county are not-for-profit - organised as a homeowners association under section 528 of the Internal Revenue Code. Accepting the deed makes you a member, one vote per lot. It manages and funds the landscaped entranceway, the retention basins and the other common areas. The annual assessment was $100 a lot for 2006 and is set and invoiced by 1 January each year, payable within thirty days of mailing, with a 10 percent late fee after that and a lien behind it. One unusual safeguard: if the board fails to set and invoice by 1 February, the previous year's amount carries over automatically. A special assessment needs a two-thirds vote of owners at a meeting called for it.

Ask us about Terre Verde Hills (F)

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