With respect to real estate, each of us is deemed to be on notice of recorded instruments that appear in the chain of title records kept by the Clerk of Superior Court. Saying that you don’t recall being told about covenants recorded against your property is not a defense, it won’t work as an excuse, but it can end up costing you thousands in legal expenses when a court tells you the same thing, and you owe legal fees for your attorney and for the homeowner association’s attorney. Windy Hill Forest has covenants in effect for the subdivision, and compliance with them is not optional. Please read them and follow them with a cooperative spirit; a copy is here. A description of how covenants came to be in place for Windy Hill Forest follows.
UNIT I – 1400 through 1433 Springleaf. The Windy Hill Forest subdivision began development in 1983 with lots for 34 homes (lots 1-17 Block A, lots 1-17 Block B, all within Windy Hill Forest subdivision and this section is now known as Unit I). The lots are addressed as 1400 – 1433 Springleaf Circle and they are set out on Plat Book 84, Page 12 of the Cobb County records.
In July of 1983, the developers ENCUMBERED these 34 lots with covenants and recorded the covenants at Deed Book 2833 Page 143. The covenants were revised and restated in 1985 and the revised terms were recorded September 6, 1985 in Deed Book 3634, Page 449 of the Cobb County records. The revised covenants were again declared for the original 34 homes and a duplicate of this revision was recorded a second time in Deed Book 3695, Page 299 of the Cobb County records.
UNIT II – 1434 through 1465 Springleaf. In 1985 development began on the next phase of homes: lots 18 to 33 Block A, and Lots 18 to 33 Block B (together known as Windy Hill Forest Unit II). The lots are addressed as 1434 – 1465 Springleaf Circle and they are set out on Plat Book 102, Page 99 of the Cobb County records.
On September 24, 1985, the developers ENCUMBERED these Unit II lots with the same revised covenants mentioned above. The document that pulls these lots into the covenants is recorded at Deed Book 3657, Page 259 of the Cobb County records; the legal description matches the boundary of the 32 lots of Unit II as set out in Plat Book 102, Page 99 mentioned above.
UNIT III – 1466 through 1474 Springleaf (even numbers); 1471 through 1489 Springleaf (odd numbers); Lots 44 through 51 Block A, Unit III (not developed in 1987). In 1987 development began on the next phase of homes: lots 34 to 51 Block A, and Lots 34 to 38 Block B (together known as Windy Hill Forest Unit III). In 1987 the lots were addressed as 1466 through 1474 Springleaf (even numbers) and 1471 through 1489 Springleaf (odd numbers) with Lots 44 through 51 Block A, Unit III remaining unbuilt. These lots are set out on Plat Book 115, Page 47 of the Cobb County records.
On July 30, 1987, the developers ENCUMBERED these Unit III lots with the same revised covenants mentioned above. The document that pulls these lots into the covenants is recorded at Deed Book 4583, Page 116 of the Cobb County records.
UNIT III – 1997 Development of Lots Lots 44 through 51 Block A
Also known as 1491 through 1505 Springleaf (odd numbers)
In 1997, the remaining 8 lots of Unit III were built and the revised survey laying out these lots expressly confirmed that the lots were subject to the recorded Covenants for Windy Hill Forest Homeowners Association, Inc. (see Plat Book 169, Page 31 of the Cobb County records). However, by 1997 WHFHA had become inactive and in 2006 when it re-activated, these lots were omitted from the list of participants in WHFHA. It had appeared that these lots belonged to the separate subdivision known as Association for Windy Hill Forest IV Homeowners, Inc.
All of these book and page numbers can be verified online at the Cobb Superior Court search page (http://www.cobbsuperiorcourtclerk.org/searchbookpage.asp). If the item you seek is a plat, be sure to change the "Book Type" to "Plat Book."
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