Deed Restrictions Wells Branch area (Pflugerville, Howe: real estate, apartment, rental)

[eileenkeeney]

Where can I find a copy of the Deed Restrictions for the Wells Branch Area?

My Realtor has not provided this information.

Initially I had asked about HOAs (the mandatory type) and he said there were none. (There is an optional one).
I had always thought it was an HOA that dictated such things as what color I could paint my house, and what type of roof I could install.
This was what I wanted to avoid.
(I thought the Realtor understood what I was asking about).

After talking to a neighbor, I learned that the neighborhood does have such restrictions.
They are Deed Restrictions.

I believe these are by neighborhood, not individual home.

Should a Realtor, who works in that area, be aware of this information?

[centralaustinite]

Well, unlike an HOA, there is no entity that enforces deed restrictions. Say you violate the deed restrictions by painting your house purple and installing a metal roof, someone in the subdivision would have to go to court to file an injunction to stop the painting and roof installation.

If no one enforces the deed restrictions over time the "doctrine of latches" holds that they are no longer in force. For example, the deed restrictions forbid home-based businesses but owner after owner established a home-based business and no one filed an injunction, now 15 years after the construction of the subdivision and 14 years after the establishment of the first home-based business, an injunction to stop a home based business could be filed but the court is unlikely to uphold it.

Deed restrictions are recorded by the county. It can take some digging to find them, look on the plat for the name of the subdivision, you can search on-line but it helps to know what you are doing. A real estate attorney could help. Otherwise, pump that neighbor for all the information that she can give.

good luck!

[eileenkeeney]

Index of /covenants (http://www.wellsbranchmud.com/covenants/ - broken link)
http://www.wellsbranchmud.com/covenants/014Phasedsec1.pdf (broken link)

Maybe I should share this info with my Realtor, in case someone else asks him.


However, since so much is decided by a neighborhood committee, instead of just being stated in the rules, it is hard to know if I can put a metal roof on the home or not.

I am looking to buy a house, that is in need of a new roof, and want to get a very energy efficient roof, that can also be recycled.

So I guess I submit to the committee BEFORE I buy the house?

[centralaustinite]

MUD convenants are a bit of a different animal than deed restrictions (although like HOAs they "travel" with the deed). They will be more HOA like, I'm not sure who enforces them. Anyway, it might be worth a few hundred dollars to have a talk with a real estate attorney to make sure that you know exactly what you are getting into.

[mudbug]

Wells Branch has very strict HOA and Mud restrictions. I lived their for several years and still maintain a rental there. Great neighborhood. These restrictions might offend free thinkers but to protect your values I am a fan. Wells Branch was a great place to live. I had to have a copy of the restrictions for my renter. Call the Mud.
And if I had a Realtor selling me a house who did not understand the area restrictions... I would use a different realtor.

[eileenkeeney]

I am a little irritated that my Realtor did not let me know about the restrictions. I thought I had asked, but don't remember the conversation exactly.
I asked about HOAs specifically, but in that conversation mentioned that I didn't want to buy a house that I could not paint the color I wanted. I had always thought this was an HOA thing.
His only response was no mandatory HOA.
Had he told me about the MUD restrictions, I would have researched this issue much sooner.

One problem I have with the restrictions (which I did find and read), is that they are not explicit. If they were explicit, at least I would know exactly what I could and could not do.
But this idea of a 3 person Committee having to approve everything, does have me a bit hesitant to purchase a home there, especially if I am seeing the home with a plan of making some small change to something.

Some of the rules are explicit.
The lots are so small, that if the house is one story 3 bedroom, 2 garage, there isn't even room for the 2 required trees, without risk of the roots damaging the house.

I am not completely against rules at all. I do believe that my individual rights end, where they impose on another person. Other people do have to look at my house.
But allowing a 3 person Committee to dictate so much, including landscaping, seems to go beyond just protecting home values. Perhaps having any architectural and landscaping rules pre-documented and agreed upon each year by a neighborhood vote, might make more sense.

I haven't ruled out buying in that area, I am just now going to insure that what my mind has planned for the property is acceptable to the committee BEFORE I make an offer.

Buying a house is complicated. Often one has to make a very quick decision, for the type of purchase that one should put a lot of thought into.

[wildflower_FL]

My husband and I bought our house in Wells Branch in 2006. Before that, we had a really bad experience with an HOA, so a non-HOA neighborhood was a priory to us.

The section we live in does not have an HOA. The MUD is in charge of enforcing the deed restrictions. From what I have observed at Board meetings, they only enforce deferred maintenance/disrepair issues and storing non-operational vehicles in plain sight.

Our deed restrictions only allow for approved exterior paint colors. When I called the MUD for a list of acceptable colors, I was told all colors are acceptable. There are a bunch of other silly things in our deed restrictions that do not appear to be enforced. The MUD does not waste time policing plants and searching for truant trash cans.

It is a great neighborhood. The MUD does a wonderful job running things and maintaining the infrastructure. The staff is very helpful. There is a voluntary Neighborhood Association that is fantastic. You can pick up their newsletters in the library or at the MUD office.

[eileenkeeney]

Thank you for your insight.
I will go pick up a newsletter (I currently live in an apartment nearby).

I do like what I feel when I walk through the neighborhood, it feels right.

Not all of the lots have the two required trees :-).

[HappyTexan]

If it's an optional HOA then there should be paperwork for it and you definitely want to get a copy and read them over..what part is optional ?

I know there are older subdivisions that have optional HOA's and that's mainly for using the pool.

Here's an example..Saxony subdivision in Pflugerville..optional HOA but deed restrictions are mandatory and enforced by a committee and changes must be approved by that committee.

Saxony HOA

Make sure you fully understand what you can and cannot do before you buy.

[mudbug]

I dont believe you can find a better area than Wells branch for the money.
There are plenty of areas without HOA's and Muds you could research.
If having your neighbor store several boats and RV's in the front yard and paint his house purple does not bother you then look beyond Wells Branch.I had both of these issues happen to me.