WillS4 (Georgia)
Posts: 4
Posts: 4
Posted:
I recently moved out of a very active HOA (I was thankful for the way it helped hold my property value) out into the country so I could keep chickens. Unfortunately, even though the seller disclosure said no HOA/Covenants on my new property, I soon found out that my acreage has covenants that run with the land.
The covenants were set up in 1995 when the community was out on a rarely-used country road miles away from the nearest store. That road now has 100+ cars per hour racing by at 60 mph. The road scared me so I decided to put up a fence to keep my many adventurous boy-children safe. =) While I was beginning to build the fence, a neighbor came by with a copy of the covenants and told me that he would sue me if I went forward with the fence, so I stopped.
One of the covenants is "No fences of any kind shall be erected any closer to the front of the lot than the rear edge of the house."
There are 8 homes in the community, and all 8 are in violation of at least one of the covenants. The neighbor who threatened to sue has a boat in his side yard, a camper in his back yard, and keeps his trash cans in an enclosure that looks a lot like his back fence to the side of his house, all covenant violations. He feels that my putting up a front fence will decrease his property value, though many neighborhoods with houses that sell for double what mine cost in the area have front fences. The fence I was planning to put up was a 3 rail dark horse fence to match other horse properties in the area, and I tried to explain this to the neighbor and possibly give him input on the fence to give him a sense of control, or plant shrubs to shield the fence from view, but he was not willing to talk.
There is no HOA for the community, only the covenants. The covenants were set up to start an HOA when the developer left, but no HOA was ever formed. The covenants as written are really very spotty. No front fences, no clothes lines, no animals other than dogs and cats, but I can paint my home any color and am not required to mow or even grow grass in my yard.
I spoke to an attorney about the situation, and he said if I could get a majority of home owners to sign, that he could write up a document and file it with the county to amend that covenant. Another attorney didn't think that was possible to amend as the covenants themselves don't seem to contain a proper way to amend except by the developer. Can anyone help me to figure out if it is legal to amend with a majority of signatures?
Here are the only places in the Covenants that mention amending, straight from the Covenants:
24. These covenants are to run with the land and shall be binding on all parties and all persons claiming under them for a period of 25 years form (yes, a typo) the date these covenants are recorded, after which time said covenants shall be automatically extended for successive periods of 10 years unless an instrument signed by a majority of the then owners of the lots has been recorded, agreeing to change said covenants in whole or part.
28. The Developer does hereby establish an ACC which is composed of the Developer... At such time as the Developer does not own any lots in the subdivision, or at any time at the option of the Developer, the undersigned may dissolve the ACC, or by filling a written amendment and designate an HOA as may be formed by the homeowners, as the entity who may appoint the members of the ACC... The HOA may, by a majority vote of the homeowners, designate the ACC, and may by majority vote establish the rules and regulations for the operation of the ACC and the HOA... In the event that the homeowners shall not organize a HOA, or in the event the homeowners shall not establish an ACC, such dissolution or failure to designate an ACC shall not diminish or effect the validity of any covenant or restriction provided heron except as the use of an ACC.
29. Amendment. The Developer specifically reserves the right to amend, modify, or change the above and foregoing covenants, conditions, restrictions, and easements or amendments, modifications or changes thereof for a period of 2 years from the date of recording of the same. The amendment, modification, or change shall be filed in the deed records of *** County and shall take effect on the date of the recording of the same. Every purchaser or grantee of any interest in any real property made subject to this declaration by acceptance of a deed or other conveyance therefore, thereby agrees that this declaration may be amended as provided in this section.
Are there Georgia laws that state how to amend if the document doesn't clearly specify? I can get a majority to sign, but I don't want to set myself up to be sued if this isn't the way to go about it. Only the one next door neighbor seems likely to sue. The rest are either apathetic or supportive of me.
Also, is it possible that a small "fence" to hold the neighbor's trash cans upright at the side of the yard violates the very no-fences-forward-of-the-back-edge covenant that he wants me to follow?
Thank you!
The covenants were set up in 1995 when the community was out on a rarely-used country road miles away from the nearest store. That road now has 100+ cars per hour racing by at 60 mph. The road scared me so I decided to put up a fence to keep my many adventurous boy-children safe. =) While I was beginning to build the fence, a neighbor came by with a copy of the covenants and told me that he would sue me if I went forward with the fence, so I stopped.
One of the covenants is "No fences of any kind shall be erected any closer to the front of the lot than the rear edge of the house."
There are 8 homes in the community, and all 8 are in violation of at least one of the covenants. The neighbor who threatened to sue has a boat in his side yard, a camper in his back yard, and keeps his trash cans in an enclosure that looks a lot like his back fence to the side of his house, all covenant violations. He feels that my putting up a front fence will decrease his property value, though many neighborhoods with houses that sell for double what mine cost in the area have front fences. The fence I was planning to put up was a 3 rail dark horse fence to match other horse properties in the area, and I tried to explain this to the neighbor and possibly give him input on the fence to give him a sense of control, or plant shrubs to shield the fence from view, but he was not willing to talk.
There is no HOA for the community, only the covenants. The covenants were set up to start an HOA when the developer left, but no HOA was ever formed. The covenants as written are really very spotty. No front fences, no clothes lines, no animals other than dogs and cats, but I can paint my home any color and am not required to mow or even grow grass in my yard.
I spoke to an attorney about the situation, and he said if I could get a majority of home owners to sign, that he could write up a document and file it with the county to amend that covenant. Another attorney didn't think that was possible to amend as the covenants themselves don't seem to contain a proper way to amend except by the developer. Can anyone help me to figure out if it is legal to amend with a majority of signatures?
Here are the only places in the Covenants that mention amending, straight from the Covenants:
24. These covenants are to run with the land and shall be binding on all parties and all persons claiming under them for a period of 25 years form (yes, a typo) the date these covenants are recorded, after which time said covenants shall be automatically extended for successive periods of 10 years unless an instrument signed by a majority of the then owners of the lots has been recorded, agreeing to change said covenants in whole or part.
28. The Developer does hereby establish an ACC which is composed of the Developer... At such time as the Developer does not own any lots in the subdivision, or at any time at the option of the Developer, the undersigned may dissolve the ACC, or by filling a written amendment and designate an HOA as may be formed by the homeowners, as the entity who may appoint the members of the ACC... The HOA may, by a majority vote of the homeowners, designate the ACC, and may by majority vote establish the rules and regulations for the operation of the ACC and the HOA... In the event that the homeowners shall not organize a HOA, or in the event the homeowners shall not establish an ACC, such dissolution or failure to designate an ACC shall not diminish or effect the validity of any covenant or restriction provided heron except as the use of an ACC.
29. Amendment. The Developer specifically reserves the right to amend, modify, or change the above and foregoing covenants, conditions, restrictions, and easements or amendments, modifications or changes thereof for a period of 2 years from the date of recording of the same. The amendment, modification, or change shall be filed in the deed records of *** County and shall take effect on the date of the recording of the same. Every purchaser or grantee of any interest in any real property made subject to this declaration by acceptance of a deed or other conveyance therefore, thereby agrees that this declaration may be amended as provided in this section.
Are there Georgia laws that state how to amend if the document doesn't clearly specify? I can get a majority to sign, but I don't want to set myself up to be sued if this isn't the way to go about it. Only the one next door neighbor seems likely to sue. The rest are either apathetic or supportive of me.
Also, is it possible that a small "fence" to hold the neighbor's trash cans upright at the side of the yard violates the very no-fences-forward-of-the-back-edge covenant that he wants me to follow?
Thank you!