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The Villages at Farmington Square

What the recorded documents actually say about The Villages at Farmington Square in Granger — 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

CHECK YOUR LOT NUMBER. The restated declaration describes The Villages at Farmington Square as twenty-six lots and lists them: 1 through 16, Lot AB, Lot CC, Lot A on the Replat of Amended Section 3 Part Two, lots 21, 22, 26, 27, 28 and 29, and Lot 23/24. Lots 17 through 20 are not in that list, although the MLS sells homes here under the name Farmington Square Villages Lots 17-20 - the lot numbering has clearly been replatted and combined over forty years. The homes are on Innisbrook Lane and Villager Parkway in the 46530 zip and the MLS also lists them as Farmington Square Villages and Villages @ Farmington Square Assoc; all three are this one association. If you are buying or selling a specific lot here, confirm with the association that your lot is inside the restated declaration before relying on any of it. This page also does not reproduce the board roster in the association's directory - that is a list of private individuals' names, home addresses, phone numbers and email addresses, and it does not belong on a public page.

What you can build and change

Conditional

Fences

A fence needs the Board's prior written approval, and there is a second hurdle most neighborhoods do not have: the yard it would stand in is Common Area owned by the corporation, not by you. Nothing may be altered, constructed on or removed from the Common Areas without the Board's written consent, and no owner may make any change that alters the exterior of a lot or dwelling from its original state without prior written Board approval.

Paragraph 17 - Alterations, Additions and Improvements; Paragraph 5 on what Common Area includes; Rules and Regulations 11
Conditional

Sheds & outbuildings

Nothing may be built on the Common Area - which includes the yards - without the Board's written consent, and any exterior change needs prior written Board approval. Storage outside the home happens only in areas the Board designates, and the rules say plainly that anything stored there is at the owner's own risk.

Rules and Regulations 2, 9 and 11; Paragraph 17 - Alterations, Additions and Improvements
✗ Not allowed

RVs, boats & trailers

The parking area is for automobiles, and the rule excludes trucks, boats, commercial vehicles and trailers by name. A recreational vehicle is the one exception and only barely: it may be parked temporarily for no more than thirty-six hours.

Rules and Regulations 17
Conditional

Swimming pools & hot tubs

No pool is mentioned anywhere, and there is nowhere obvious to put one: the yards are Common Area, and nothing may be altered, constructed on or removed from the Common Areas without the Board's written consent. Anything that changes the exterior of a lot also needs prior written Board approval.

Rules and Regulations 11; Paragraph 17 - Alterations, Additions and Improvements
Conditional

Exterior changes & additions

No alteration, addition, improvement, repair, change of colour, excavation or change in grade that alters the outside of a lot or home may be made without the Board's prior written approval. Separately, nothing may be hung or displayed on the outside of a window or placed on an exterior wall or door, and no sign, awning, canopy, shutter or radio or television antenna may be affixed to the walls, doors or roof without the Board's consent. A terrace, balcony or patio may not be enclosed or covered by an awning without written consent either. Bear in mind the corporation already paints your exterior doors, garage door and exterior surfaces on its own schedule - soffits, eaves, windows, gutters, downspouts and brickwork excepted.

Paragraph 17 - Alterations, Additions and Improvements; Rules and Regulations 4 and 18; Paragraph 16(c)
Conditional

Satellite dishes & antennas

No radio or television antenna may be affixed to or placed upon an exterior wall, door or roof, or any part of one, or exposed at a window, without the Board of Directors' consent. The rules were written before satellite dishes were common and do not name one, so the antenna rule is what the Board would apply - ask before you order an installation.

Rules and Regulations 4
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.

We can find out →
Conditional

Landscaping, trees & gardens

This is a maintenance community and the landscaping is largely out of the owner's hands. The corporation owns the yards and gardens as Common Area and maintains them: watering through the sprinkler system, mowing, fertilizing, weed control, mulching, edging, trimming, leaf cleanup, removing damaged or fallen trees and their stumps, and replacing trees, plants, shrubs and lawns where that is feasible. Nothing may be altered, constructed on or removed from the Common Areas without the Board's written consent, so planting or taking out a bed is a Board question, not an owner's decision.

Paragraph 5 and Paragraph 16(a); Rules and Regulations 11; the association's list of services provided
Conditional

Mailboxes

Your mailbox and its post are yours to maintain, repair and replace - the association's own split of duties puts them on the owner's side of the line, along with the lamp post. Any change that alters the exterior still needs the Board's prior written approval, so match what is there or ask first.

The association's list of services that are the responsibility of the lot owners; Paragraph 17 - Alterations, Additions and Improvements

How you can live here

Conditional

Pets

Dogs, cats and other household pets are allowed, but no more than TWO per home, and no reptile of any kind may be kept. A pet outdoors must be on a leash or other restraint and attended by its owner - and the rules say specifically that tethering a pet outside your lot boundary does not count as attended. A dog in the common areas has to be carried or leashed. Pets are walked only in areas residents do not ordinarily use, and droppings on any common area, walk, grass, drive or street are picked up immediately. The owner is fully liable for injury or property damage a pet causes. A pet that creates a nuisance or unreasonable noise has to be permanently removed from the property on three days' written notice from the Board.

Rules and Regulations 5 and 5a
Conditional

Renting your home

Renting is not banned outright, but the machinery around it is: no home may be used or rented for transient, hotel or motel purposes, and no For Rent or For Lease sign, window display or advertising may be shown anywhere on the property or in any home. The right to post such a sign is reserved to the developer, the Board and a mortgagee that has taken ownership, and even then the sign may be no larger than two feet by three.

Rules and Regulations 10
Conditional

Basketball hoops

No basketball hoop is named, but the driveway is Common Area owned by the corporation, and the rules bar playing, lounging or parking bicycles, wagons, toys, benches or chairs on any part of the Common Areas except in recreational or storage areas the Board designates. Terraces and patios may be used for their intended purposes. A hoop would need the Board's written consent.

Rules and Regulations 9 and 11; Paragraph 5 on what Common Area includes
✗ Not allowed

Yard signs

This one matters when you sell. No For Sale, For Rent or For Lease sign, and no window display or advertising of any kind, may be maintained or permitted anywhere on the property or in any home. The only parties who may post one are the original developer, the Board or its agent on an unsold or unoccupied home, and a mortgagee that has become the owner - and their sign is capped at two feet by three. No other sign, awning, canopy or shutter may be affixed to an exterior wall, door or roof or exposed at a window without the Board's consent either. Plan the marketing of a home here around that.

Rules and Regulations 10 and 4
Conditional

Street parking

The parking area is for automobiles only - trucks, boats, commercial vehicles and trailers are excluded by name, and a recreational vehicle may sit no longer than thirty-six hours. Beyond vehicles, there is to be no playing, lounging or parking of baby carriages, playpens, bicycles, wagons, toys, benches or chairs on any part of the Common Areas, which here includes the driveways and sidewalks, except in areas the Board has designated for recreation or storage.

Rules and Regulations 17 and 9
✗ Not allowed

Running a business from home

An outright ban, and a broad one: no industry, business, trade, occupation or profession of any kind - commercial, religious, educational or otherwise, designed for profit or not - may be conducted, maintained or permitted on any part of the property. Each home is to be used as a residence and the property used only for housing and its common recreational purposes.

Rules and Regulations 10 and 1
✗ Not allowed

Short-term rentals (Airbnb)

No home may be used or rented for transient, hotel or motel purposes.

Rules and Regulations 10
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

Trash collection is a service the corporation provides and pays for out of the common expense. The common areas are to be kept free and clear of rubbish, debris and other unsightly material, and nothing may be stored in them without the Board's prior consent.

The association's list of services provided; Rules and Regulations 2 and 8
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.

We can find out →
✗ Not allowed

Clotheslines

No clothes, sheets, blankets, laundry or other articles of any kind may be hung out of a home or exposed on any part of the Common Areas. Nothing may be hung from a window, terrace, balcony or patio or placed on a window sill that spoils the look of the home, and rugs and mops may not be shaken or hung from a sill, window, door, balcony, patio or terrace.

Rules and Regulations 8 and 16
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.

We can find out →
✗ Not allowed

Window coverings & decorations

Nothing may be hung or displayed on the outside of a window, and nothing may be hung from a window or placed on a window sill that impairs the look of the home. Window displays and advertising are banned outright, and no sign, awning, canopy or shutter may be exposed at a window without the Board's consent.

Rules and Regulations 4, 10 and 16

Where these answers come from

The documentAmended and Restated Declaration of Covenants and Restrictions of The Villages at Farmington Square Property Ownership, with the association's By-Laws and Rules and Regulations, St. Joseph County, Indiana
Recorded asOriginal Declaration dated 1982-09-15, recorded 1982-09-17 as Document No. 8214168, by Weiss Homes, Inc.
Second Amendment to the Original Declaration dated 1986-10-25, recorded as Document No. 8704897
Amended and restated by The Villages at Farmington Square, Inc. on 2013-11-11, 2015-06-23, 2016-10-27, 2020-09-17 and 2022-09-22
Read from the association's own 2025 directory, which reprints the restated declaration, the By-Laws and the Rules and Regulations in full
How it was readRead directly from the document’s own text.
Checked againstThe restated declaration and the association's Rules and Regulations were read together. The declaration sets what the corporation owns and maintains; the Rules and Regulations carry most of the day-to-day restrictions, and the By-Laws say plainly that where they conflict with the declaration, the declaration governs. Note the Board may add to, amend or repeal any consent or approval given under the Rules and Regulations at any time by resolution, so the rules are a moving target in a way the recorded declaration is not.
The associationThe Villages at Farmington Square, Inc. - a not-for-profit corporation every owner automatically joins on taking title, one vote per lot, governed by a Board elected annually. Read one paragraph of this declaration before anything else: the Common Area the corporation owns includes the yards, the gardens, the driveways, the sidewalks and the parking area. In most neighborhoods those are yours. Here they are not, and that is what makes almost every other rule on this page work the way it does. The corporation maintains all of it - watering by sprinkler system, mowing, fertilizing, weed control, mulching, edging, trimming, leaf cleanup, removing damaged or fallen trees and their stumps, repairing the retaining walls and the sprinkler system, and replacing trees, plants, shrubs and lawns where feasible. It also sweeps and clears snow from the streets, curbs, driveways and walkways, collects the trash, pays the real estate taxes on the common area, and paints or stains your exterior doors including the garage door and the other exterior surfaces - everything except soffits, eaves, windows, gutters, downspouts and brickwork. Now the part buyers get wrong, because it is unusual for a maintenance community: a great deal of the OUTSIDE of your home is still yours. The association's own split of duties puts the roof, the chimney, the exterior brickwork, the siding, the glass, the screens, the window fixtures, the gutters, the other hardware, the decks, patios and patio enclosures, the lamp post, the mailbox and its post, the screen and storm doors, the garage door and its mechanism, and the repair and replacement of all exterior doors on the OWNER. So does painting the soffits, eaves, windows, gutters, downspouts, brickwork and exposed foundations. The association clears snow from your driveway; repaving it is yours. Inside, everything is yours - the utilities from the point they enter the exterior wall, appliances, doors, windows, lamps and fixtures - as is your own homeowner's insurance and any damage you, your family, your guests or your pets do to the common area. Assessments come off a budget the members adopt at the annual meeting; ask the association for the current figure. Two house rules worth knowing before you move in: a television, radio or phonograph may not be played between 11 PM and 8 AM if it disturbs a neighbor, and vocal or instrumental practice is capped at two hours a day and barred between 6 PM and 11 AM. The Board's agents may also enter a home at a reasonable hour to inspect for and treat pests.

Ask us about The Villages at Farmington Square

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