1969 · Community
The Covenants That Still Govern Brierwood Estates
Signed on January 26, 1969 and recorded on February 12, 1969, the Declaration of Restrictions set the rules for Brierwood Estates property. They are why Brierwood Estates has never needed a homeowners association.
Four days after the land passed to Brierwood Golf Club, Inc., a second document was signed that has shaped the community ever since. The Declaration of Restrictions is dated January 26, 1969, and the Brunswick County Register of Deeds recorded it on February 12, 1969, in Book 205 at Page 222. As first written, it applied to Lots 1 through 17 on an early map of the property; the community's records say it is the set of covenants that controls Brierwood Estates to this day, and county records show waivers from 2014 to 2019 treating lots in the later sections as subject to it. Registered members can read a scanned copy on the Documents page.
Restrictive covenants are private rules that run with the land. They are written into the chain of title, so every later owner takes the property subject to them. They typically cover matters such as what may be built on a lot, how lots may be used, and what owners may and may not do with their property.
What Brierwood Estates never had was a homeowners association with mandatory dues, assessments and an architectural review board. The community's records describe its non-HOA status as one of its most desirable features. The covenants provide the framework; the residents provide the upkeep, and the community's own description notes the pride owners take in maintaining their homes.
That distinction matters when newcomers hear about the Brierwood Association. The Association, formed on September 15, 2017 and disbanded in 2024, was a voluntary organization that kept residents informed and ran community groups. It was never a homeowners association, it levied no assessments, and it did not write the covenants.
The community's records state plainly that the 1969 covenants are the ones that control Brierwood Estates to this day. Anyone buying in Brierwood Estates should read them. They are recorded with the Brunswick County Register of Deeds, and the administrators of this website can help point residents in the right direction.