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The Villas at Woods Trail

What the recorded documents actually say about The Villas at Woods Trail in Granger — fences, sheds, pools, pets, parking and the rest — with the part of the document each answer comes from.

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

Before you rely on this page

THE BIGGEST THING TO KNOW HERE IS WHAT THE ASSOCIATION NO LONGER DOES. This is a villa community and the declaration is written around a maintenance package - but the Association dissolved that package in 2009, and a 2022 amendment says so in as many words. Owners now handle their own mowing, fertilizing and weed control, shrub trimming, leaf removal, DRIVEWAY SNOW REMOVAL and sprinkler upkeep. Anyone buying on the assumption that a villa means maintenance-free should budget for all of it. The MLS neighborhood is Woods Trail; the recorded document is for THE VILLAS AT WOODS TRAIL - the same place.

What you can build and change

Conditional

Fences

Rewritten in 2017, and the distinction it draws is the whole rule. No perimeter PRIVACY fencing of any type is permitted - and the covenant says that includes hedges and other growing fences - EXCEPT a privacy fence along the BACK side of the property only, approved by the committee on an Architectural Form. Chain link and split rail, or a combination of the two, are acceptable, but every fence needs advance written approval on that form. Fences that already existed as of 28 August 2017 are grandfathered as previously approved. The amendment states its own purpose: to preserve the integrity and openness of the villa community.

Paragraph 14 - Fences, as amended 11 September 2017
Not stated

Sheds & outbuildings

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

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

Named specifically in the 2022 amendment, alongside structural changes: an owner may not install a swimming pool without the PRIOR WRITTEN approval of both the board of directors and the architectural control committee. The committee's decision is entirely within its discretion.

Paragraph 9 - Maintenance of Exterior of Dwelling Units, as amended 30 September 2022, with Paragraph 16
Conditional

Exterior changes & additions

The committee's reach is wide and the 2022 amendment made it explicit. No owner may paint, decorate or make ANY change to the appearance of any part of the exterior that varies it from the plans approved for that home, without the prior written approval of BOTH the board and the committee. Named specifically: changing the driveway, the paint colour or the roof colour, adding to the home, installing a swimming pool, or any other structural change. On new construction the exterior design must come from a designer the declarant approved, the landscaping plan from an approved landscape designer, and the irrigation system must meet the declarant's specification and be installed by an approved contractor. One setback detail that catches people: eaves, steps and open porches COUNT as part of the dwelling for the building line, where most covenants exclude them.

Paragraphs 9 and 13, as amended 2022, with Paragraphs 16 and 19
Not stated

Satellite dishes & antennas

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

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

READ THIS BEFORE YOU ASSUME A VILLA MEANS MAINTENANCE-FREE. The declaration is written around a maintenance package, and a 2022 amendment records that the Association DISSOLVED that package back in 2009 - it could not find a landscaping service that pleased enough owners to keep them paying. Since then every owner has been responsible for their own weekly lawn mowing, seasonal fertilizing and weed control, trimming shrubs, leaf pickup and removal, and DRIVEWAY SNOW REMOVAL - plus maintaining the sprinkler system and actually running it in dry spells. You may do it yourself or hire anyone responsible, at your own cost. If a homesite is not kept up, the process is spelled out: written notice of the deficiencies, fifteen days to correct them, then the president contacts the owner personally, and if no remedy can be agreed the Association HIRES THE WORK AND BILLS THE OWNER, payable within thirty days, with interest after that.

Paragraph 8 - Landscaping and Planting, as amended 30 September 2022
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

Not stated

Pets

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

Renting your home

One line, and it caps the term rather than forbidding the practice: no lease of a home here may run longer than ONE YEAR. So a tenancy is possible, but every renewal is a fresh twelve-month lease.

Paragraph 15 - 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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Not stated

Yard signs

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

Street parking

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

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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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

For sanitary and aesthetic reasons, trash and recycling bins are kept out of sight from the FRONT AND SIDE yards - the covenant's own preference is that they live in the garage or a storage shed. The exception is leaving them in the driveway overnight before, or during the day of, collection.

Paragraph 9(a) - Trash and Recycle Bins
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.

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Where these answers come from

The documentAmended and Restated Declaration of Covenants and Restrictions for The Villas at Woods Trail, St. Joseph County, Indiana
Recorded asAmended and Restated Declaration recorded as instrument 9917806
Paragraph 14 (Fences) as amended 11 September 2017, with fences existing at 28 August 2017 grandfathered
Paragraphs 8 and 9 as amended 30 September 2022
Declarant: Woods Trail, LLC, 510 W. Jefferson Blvd., Mishawaka
Covenants ran to 30 April 2009, then extend automatically in ten-year terms unless owners of 75 percent of the homesites agree to change them
How it was readRead directly from the document’s own text.
Checked againstthe amended and restated declaration carries its later amendments inline, each marked with its own date, and this page is cited to the amended text wherever one applies
The associationThe Villas at Woods Trail Association, with a board of directors and an Architectural Control Committee. The committee started as two people appointed by the developer; once the developer no longer owns a homesite it becomes a standing committee of three board members, and its decisions are entirely within its discretion. Owners pay regular assessments for common expenses and special assessments for capital improvements, operating deficits and special repairs; assessments are uniform across homesites except where a special assessment covers work on one particular home. The declaration's assessment paragraph still describes a MAINTENANCE PACKAGE with an option to decline it - but the Association dissolved that package in 2009, so read the landscaping answer on this page rather than the assessment language. Amending the covenants takes 75 percent of the homesites after turnover, and a first-mortgage lender's written approval is required for any material amendment that affects its security.

Ask us about The Villas at Woods Trail

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