Woodbine Subdivision
A plain-English summary of the legal landscape.
Woodbine has deed restrictions recorded with Oakland County in 1946 that bind every lot, and a separate voluntary nonprofit (the WIA, incorporated 1953) that binds only its members. The two get conflated - the WIA's website labels the restrictions "HOA Restrictions" and its state filings call itself a "Homeowners Association" - but they are legally distinct.
A key complication: the "restrictions" document on the WIA website is a 1976 restatement that the Oakland County clerk confirmed is not the recorded county instrument. The clerk identified the original recorded restrictions document in the county records as Liber 3512, Page 620, and a copy has been ordered but not yet received. Until that copy is in hand, the exact enforceable text of the restrictions is an open question.
The bottom line: the neighborhood has operated for decades under documents and assumptions that may not match the actual legal record. This site is an effort to sort out what authority actually exists, what doesn't, and what homeowners' real options are.
Quick Facts
- Location
- Farmington Hills, MI
- Total Homes
- 140
- Subdivision Recorded
- 1946
- Current Dues
- $30/year (voluntary)
- MRTA Deadline
- September 29, 2027
Key Findings
Deed restrictions exist dating to 1946, and a 1976 document is posted on the WIA website, but that document's authenticity and legal validity are now in question.
The county clerk reported that the website's 1976 document is not the recorded county instrument. That is why the document cannot currently be treated as an authentic or legally operative source of the subdivision restrictions.
We are still waiting on the county copy of the original recorded restrictions document, so the exact recorded text and how it compares to the website PDF remain to be confirmed.
The WIA is a voluntary improvement association, not an HOA. It has no recorded authority to compel dues, place liens, or bind non-members. Since 2008, however, it has described itself as a "Homeowners Association" on its LARA filings - a self-description with no legal effect, but one that creates the appearance of HOA authority.
A preservation notice must be filed with Oakland County by September 29, 2027, or Michigan's MRTA will permanently extinguish all deed restrictions.
This is the single most time-sensitive issue. Without action, Woodbine loses all covenant enforcement permanently.
Three Key Documents
An HOA's authority comes from one place: recorded deed restrictions that name the association and grant it specific powers. If that chain is broken - if the restrictions don't mention the association - then the association is just a club. In Woodbine, that chain is broken at the most fundamental level.
The only document that binds all homeowners
Website PDF: "Restated Building and Use Restrictions, Revised 1976"
The county clerk identified the original recorded restrictions document in the county records as Liber 3512, Page 620, and reported that the website PDF is not that document. As a result, the website PDF's authenticity and legal validity are in question until the county copy is reviewed and compared. The ordered county copy is still pending, but the recorded restrictions appear to govern residential-use limits, building standards, and nuisance rules, not dues or HOA-style assessment powers.
Defines the organization - does not bind homeowners
Articles of Incorporation (1953)
Filed in 1953 to serve "the members of the corporation." Never amended in 73 years. Contains no assessment authority, no lien rights, and no mandatory membership. The 2009 bylaws claim powers far beyond what these articles authorize.
Internal rules - binds voluntary members only
WIA Bylaws (2009)
Adopted by a vote of roughly 30–40 members. Claims mandatory membership for post-2009 residents and "tax lien" authority for unpaid dues - but bylaws of a voluntary association cannot create obligations that run with the land or bind non-members.