What the recorded documents actually say about Whispering Hills South in South Bend — fences, sheds, pools, pets, parking and the rest — with the part of the document each answer comes from.
11 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 SECTION 6. Other sections of Whispering Hills South may have their own recorded covenants, so check which set governs your lot. Two rules here turn on facts about the lot rather than on a committee's discretion: an in-ground pool or a tennis court is allowed only on a lot over three-quarters of an acre, and every house sits on its own septic system. Minimum house sizes are 2,250 square feet on a ranch and 2,500 on anything taller.
Two fences are allowed and no others: a split-rail perimeter fence, two rails high and no more than four feet, or a privacy fence up to six feet immediately around the patio, which has to match the architectural standard set by the style of the house and be approved in writing. Anything else needs a written variance from the architectural control committee. On a corner lot nothing between two and six feet above the roadway may block the sight triangle.
A detached storage or pet-shelter structure has to be quality construction, kept neat, blend with the established home, and go to the architectural control committee for approval before construction begins; the committee can require screening around it. The amendment adds a placement rule that is easy to miss: every shed and outbuilding must sit in the REAR of the lot behind the house, and be properly screened. No trailer, modular or manufactured home, prebuilt home, basement, tent, shack, garage, barn or outbuilding may be lived in.
A recreational motorised vehicle has to be operated strictly within the law and stored in the garage. It may not be stored or parked on the driveway or the street except temporarily.
Above-ground pools are not permitted. TENNIS COURTS are the thing the lot size governs - one is allowed only on a lot larger than three-quarters of an acre, and only with the architectural control committee's prior approval. An in-ground pool is not subject to that acreage test; it falls under the committee's general approval requirement like any other structure.
The approval reaches further than most: nothing may be built, placed, maintained or altered, the topography or drainage may not be changed, AND no tree more than four inches across may be removed, until the architectural control committee approves the plans. Even the first house needs written approval of the roofing, siding, window treatment, doorways, garage door, walkways and driveway. Three full sets of plans go in, showing floor plan, quality of construction, materials, outside colours, how the design sits with existing houses, and placement against the lot lines, topography and finish grade. Anything begun, driveway included, has to be finished within a year or removed. Chimney exteriors must be natural masonry with a masonry cap, unless the committee approves otherwise in writing. Minimum floor area is 2,000 square feet for a ranch and 2,500 for a two-storey, bi-level or tri-level.
Outside above-ground television, AM, FM and short-wave radio antennas of any type are barred, and the covenant says that includes satellite dish antennas. The one way through is written in: an exception may be made if the architectural control committee approves it unanimously in writing. Federal rules on over-the-air reception devices also limit how far a private covenant can restrict a dish under one meter on property in your own exclusive use and control.
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 tree more than four inches across may be removed without the architectural control committee's approval. Side, front and rear yards have to be planted with grass seed, sod or ground cover within 120 days of the house being finished or occupied. Screen planting in the protective screening areas is kept up at the owner's expense, and nothing over thirty-six inches is allowed between the building setback line and the front lot line.
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 raised or kept.
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 sign may be displayed to public view except one of no more than five square feet advertising the property for sale or rent, plus a builder's sign of any size during the construction and sales period. The developer keeps the right to put up its own.
Every vehicle an owner or resident owns or leases has to be licensed and parked on their own driveway or in their garage - and at no time on the street. Driveways must be at least twelve feet wide and built of asphalt at least three inches thick or concrete at least four; stone and cinder are not allowed and a circular drive may be as narrow as eight feet. Fireplace chimneys have to be natural masonry with a masonry cap unless the committee approves otherwise in writing.
A home occupation is allowed if it is carried on entirely inside the house by a member of the immediate family living there, stays clearly secondary to living there, and uses no mechanical or electrical equipment. There can be no sign or display visible from outside, nothing sold on the premises, and nobody employed from outside the immediate family. A barber shop, styling salon, beauty parlour, tea room, fortune-telling parlour, animal hospital or any form of animal care such as dog trimming is named and excluded.
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 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. Oil and fuel storage tanks may not be installed on a lot at all.
No fire may be allowed to burn in any street or roadway in the subdivision. A fire on your own lot is not addressed.
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 →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.