Briar Cove Paired Cottages: Tips and Reminders

Year-Round:

Monthly Assessments. Your monthly assessment covers the following costs:

Required Grass cutting
Required sprinkling system water and maintenance of sprinkler controls
Required fertilizing and grub control
Rodent control when necessary
Required trimming/replacement of original shrubs
Required edging of common sidewalks
Required gutter cleaning where needed
Maintenance of pond and waterfall (treatment, electric)
Grounds maintenance of common areas (waterfall, walking paths)
Monthly administrative and management costs for 1^st American Management company
Legal fees for resident issues
Property taxes for common areas
Required snow removal
Capital reserves fund for community repairs (seal driveways, cedar painting, etc.)
Property insurance for common areas

Moles. If you see little mounds of dirt in your lawn (created by those nasty little moles), please contact Peter immediately!

Home Businesses in Briar Cove. Article XI, pages 14-15 of the Declaration, states "Home offices which do not increase traffic within the property shall be considered residential uses and related purposes if the Residential Unit is occupied as a residence by the persons using it as a home office." The towns of Schererville and Dyer also have rules regarding home businesses. Increased traffic and/or clients coming to ones home impacts insurance and raises liability concerns. It is recognized that this issue can be somewhat sensitive, however, the Declaration must be adhered to.

Birds Nesting in Dryer and Exhaust Vents. Check your dryer and exhaust vents! Homeowners have reported birds nesting in these vents. The birds are somehow opening the louvers to get in and make nests. If you see a lot of bird droppings directly under your vents, you can be pretty sure that they are making nests. You can buy vent covers that will prevent birds from entering at your local home improvement store.

Solicitors. When strangers are knocking on your door soliciting their goods, please remember to ask for identification and don't let the person in. If they get belligerent or actually try to open your door if you do not answer, please call the police right away. Soliciting is allowed in both Dyer and Schererville with the proper permits issued by the respective towns. The solicitors permit must be carried by the solicitor and shown upon request. If the solicitor does not have a permit, ask them to leave and report the situation to the police. For further information, please contact the respective towns.

Pets. The board has received many complaints by homeowners who do not have pets, yet have to pick up after their neighbors' pets. Please be respectful of lawns and neighbors' property when walking your pets. Pursuant to Article XI, Section 6 of the Declaration, "An owner may not keep, raise or breed any animals, livestock or poultry in or on a Residential Unit, provided, however that two (2) pets only shall be allowed to be kept in or on a Residential Unit, subject to the Rules and Regulations of the Association." The Rules and Regulations also provide that the Owner is required to keep their pet(s) on a leash at all times and pick up after their pets.

Trash/Recycle Bins. Please remember to secure garbage and recycled waste on garbage pick-up day. Any hazardous medical waste must be disposed of properly and not in with the regular trash. Also, please remember to bring in your garbage cans and recycle bins after they have been emptied, and remember to bring in your delivered newspapers daily. When these items are left for more than a day, a thief may think you are not home. If you are going to be away from home for more than a day or two, a good idea is to arrange for a neighbor to bring these things in for you, or at least to the top of your driveway or front door.

Signs. Per Section 4 of the Rules and Regulations, "… only temporary but tasteful 'For Sale' signs are permitted." Please be aware that any signs in the lawn can damage the sprinkler system. Lawns with any kind of signs are being noted. If repairs are necessary in the spring, the homeowner will be responsible and be billed for the cost of the repairs.

HD Antenna. Ken Heinemann, a Briar Cove homeowner, did some research and found an affordable antenna (around $60.00) that can receive Chicago channels. It's a Multi-Directional HDTV UHF Antenna and it is designed to work in locations where the transmitters for digital stations are spread apart. It utilizes a bowtie design that provides a strong gain across the entire UHF spectrum (channels 14-69). It functions incredibly well in areas where flexible aiming is required and features a weatherproof construction that resists extreme wind loading. Ken purchased his from http://www.mcmelectronics.com/ (part number DB4). You may be able to find it a little cheaper by doing a web search for "DB4". You can also purchase a Universal J Mount for wall or roof mounting for under $20.00. This is definitely a cheaper alternative to paying a monthly cable or satellite dish bill. For more information, please feel free to contact Ken at Kheinemann@sbcglobal.net. Please remember, however, that any antenna needs to be placed on the rear roof below the ridge line of any residence AND you must receive approval from the Architectural Review Committee before installation.

Battery replacement. There are some household batteries to replace as needed. Your garage door keypad, your furnace thermostat, smoke alarm sensors (refer to your manual for replacing the batteries). For the homeowners that have a plug-in Carbon Monoxide detector, a power outage will cause a weak or dead battery to chirp until removed or replaced with a fresh battery.

Iron in Sewers. Some preventative maintenance for those of you with basements: If you have a problem with iron build-up in your sump pump, every spring and fall you should wash out your sump pump with a strong spray of water to dislodge all the iron. You can also use Iron Out in the pumps once a month. The last thing you need is for the pipes to be completely closed by iron deposits. If this does happen, it is a homeowner expense, not an Association expense.

Siding. The Association is not responsible for repairing or replacing siding. Should you need any siding replaced, please contact Peter Bylen for vendor names. If your siding is damaged by the lawn maintenance crew, you should contact Peter immediately so the vendor can be notified.

Spring/Summer:

Ground Cover. The only approved ground cover for our planting areas around our homes is cedar mulch. Rubber mulch is not approved and is considered to have potential environmental problems as well as future disposal problems.

Grilling. If you are grilling near your home, please be sure the grill is a good distance away from the siding. If it's too close, the siding will melt.

Sprinkler Turn on Notice. Watch for the sprinkler turn on notice in the mail. You will be asked to turn on the sprinkler controls between April 15 and April 22 and then call Schererville Irrigation at 322-0890 to advise them that you have done so. If assistance is required, they can walk you through the process. Schererville Irrigation will then be able to complete the startup of the system from the outside and, if necessary, make adjustments or repairs. The system will be activated throughout the community once the weather warrants.

Exterior Modifications. With spring comes the focus on the outdoors and landscaping modifications. Don't forget to use the Exterior Modification Request form for all exterior modifications. You can find the form on this Website. After completing the form, submit it to Peter Bylen either by mail (1^st American Management Company, 3408 Enterprise Avenue, Valparaiso, IN 46383-6953, by e‑mail or by fax (219-465-6014). Peter will then forward the request to the Architectural Review Committee, who will review the request at their next monthly meeting (they try to meet on the second Tuesday of every month). You will receive their decision within a day or two after their meeting, but you must wait to receive the official approval from Peter by mail before you can begin the work, and then you must place the approval certificate in your front window while the work is being done.

Potted Plants/Trees. When planning flowers or potted trees for your front porch please be careful not to obstruct access to the front door or obscure your house numbers.

Fall/Winter:

Hoses. Don't forget to disconnect your hoses from the outside of your homes (failure to do so can cause pipes to burst over the winter), and to remove pots and decorations from porches to permit snow removal.

Street Parking. The Schererville Police Department has advised us that vehicles should be removed from the street after two inches of snowfall to allow for city snow removal. Possible tickets and/or towing may result.

Fire Hydrants. If you notice that a fire hydrant in your area is obscured or covered when the snow is plowed, please advise Peter Bylen immediately at 800-990-3536, ext. 310.

Salt. Use only calcium chloride salt for melting ice, it's the safest for asphalt/cement. Please be sure to read the packaging label, as some products claim to be less harmful than others, and note that the instructions state to clean the slush before it refreezes.

Frozen Pipes. If you are going to be away from home for more than a day or two, you should turn off your water to prevent freezing pipes. Even if you leave your heat on, the power can go off for an extended period of time and a substantial amount of damage can occur if a frozen pipe bursts, not only to your home, but to your attached neighbor's.

Damaged Mailboxes. The Association will not absorb the cost for the repair of damaged mailboxes. If your mailbox cluster is damaged, you will need to get together with your neighbor and arrange for the repair. The replacement mailbox must remain uniform. Peter Bylen has recommended two contractors that would be able to replace or repair mailboxes: 1st American Management’s maintenance department (800-990-3536 extension 309, or use the contact link at http://www.1stpropertymanagers.com); or Caporale Posts, the contractor that originally installed the mailbox units (317-883-3725 or http://www.mailboxposts.net/). The costs are comparable and both contractors are fully insured.

Back Door. Be sure to keep your back door clear of snow, as this is your second exit in case of an emergency.