Bell Brand Ranches covenants

What these cover

This page covers Bell Brand Ranches Units 7 and 14. The two sets of covenants are materially identical, paragraph for paragraph. Unit 7 was recorded on April 29, 1968 as document 1968-050303. Unit 14 was recorded on April 9, 1969 as document 1969-054397. Both were recorded by Transamerica Title Insurance Company of Arizona, as Trustee.

The rules in plain terms

• Lots are residential building lots. The covenants list a handful of other permitted uses, including churches, schools, public utility buildings, golf courses, guest ranches, and professional use by an owner with no more than one outside employee.
• Homes must be built of new material, in a workmanlike and neat manner. The covenants set no minimum size for a site built home.
• Mobile homes 27 feet or longer with inside bathrooms are allowed as dwellings, but the covenants require a cabana building constructed around the mobile home, at least 700 square feet of interior space including the home, so that no part or color of the mobile home is visible. Most buyers don't expect that rule, so we say it up front.
• A trailer placed on a lot must get a decorative cabana within six months covering its exposed sides. A camping trailer is exempt as long as it stays on the lot no more than 90 days.
• A septic system is required until sewers are available, built to county and state standards. No outside toilets, outside portable lavatories, or open plumbing.
• No livestock or poultry may be raised, bred, or kept on a lot; household pets are fine. The same document separately grants horse privileges provided normal sanitary and fencing conditions are maintained. Those two rules sit in tension. We quote both as written and the recorded text controls.
• No metal fences. Fuel tanks must be buried, walled in, or screened, and no elevated tanks.
• Passenger cars and pickups may park on lots. Larger trucks and equipment belong in a garage or designated area, and no non running vehicle may sit outside an enclosed garage or structure.
• Owners keep their lots clean.
• There is no homeowners association, no dues, and no architectural committee.

Who enforces them

Apache County does not enforce private covenants. In the county's own words, these are private agreements that are not enforceable by the county. Enforcement rests with the property owners. Any owner of land in the same subdivision may ask a court to enforce the covenants. No association is involved.

The covenants remain on file and in effect, renewing automatically in ten year periods. Unit 7's current term runs through January 2036. Unit 14's current term runs through January 2027 and renews automatically. Changing them takes agreement of a majority of the lot owners.

Read the full document

This page is a plain summary, not the legal text. Read the full recorded declarations here:

• Unit 7, recorded April 29, 1968, document 1968-050303: Read the recorded document (PDF)
• Unit 14, recorded April 9, 1969, document 1969-054397: Read the recorded document (PDF)

These are the county recorder's copies of the recorded documents. You can also look them up yourself on the Apache County Recorder's self service site at eaglerecorder.co.apache.az.us/web, and we're glad to send them to you before you buy.