Reply #18: Enforcable? 'Fraid so. It is a contract. [View All]

Our covenant is registered with the county.
When someone buys into the neighborhood they sign a paper at closing agreeing to abide by the covenant. And, of course they get a copy of the rules.

At a general meeting our first year, someone mentioned that they did not like the color of our house. So I joined the architectural review committee to make sure no one tried to make us change the siding the builder installed on our brand new home.
As a side job to approving exterior modifications and structures, we have been tasked with inspecting the neighborhood. We report to our management company and they send out violation letters. Some people just don't seem to understand that they do have to do some yard work, and they have to do it more than once a year. Buying a home with a yard means also buying a lawnmower or paying for a yard service. Waist high weeds are not acceptable, even if you do have a privacy fence.

Our procedure is to send registered letters, followup registered letters, and after those are ignored, an invitation to a hearing before the board of directors. Then, if that invitation is also ignored, they get a legal notice of a fine of $10 per day. Our final recourse is to hire someone to go onto that person's property and remedy the problem. The homeowner gets that charge levied against them also.

In addition to this, one of their immediate neighbors can call the county health department and add another $100 fine on top of everything else.