Sam Schneiderman, broker owner of Great Boston Home Team is our Monday guy. Today he continues the discussion about restrictions that he began last week.

In addition to the restrictions that we discussed last week, there are other restrictions that can affect how an owner can use his or her own property.

Condominium or co-op documents:
Condominium documents, including rules and regulations, if any, often include restrictions regarding pets, ability to rent, parking, storage, use of condo units, voting rights, insurance, use of common areas, and financial matters including the condo association's ability to borrow money for the association on behalf of all owners. Condo docs also address who is a trustee (A/K/A Member of the Board of Directors) and what powers and responsibilities trustees have.

Easements:
Easements are used when one party has the ability to use someone else’s property. Typically, easements are used for shared driveways or utility access. It is not uncommon to see utility easements when underground pipes are beneath or planned on someone’s property. A utility easement grants the utility company the right to access a particular area of someone’s property to install or maintain their utilities. Easements should be noted on property deeds.

Community covenants:
When some neighborhoods were developed, the developer created a set of community covenants to regulate the appearance of the neighborhood. Any aspect of a neighborhood can be regulated through community covenants provided the restrictions are legal. In many cases, community covenants restrict the style or size home, garage or other building that can be built within the neighborhood, the type number of vehicles that can be kept by owners (no campers, boats, etc.), types of antennas possible on homes, pets, landscaping, or the colors that homes can be painted. Community covenants should be noted on property deeds.