Vista Del Mundo in Albuquerque, NM

Vista del Mundo is an established residential neighborhood in Albuquerque's Northeast Heights, set on the ground that rises toward the Sandia foothills near Supper Rock and the mouth of Embudo Canyon. Its streets sit under recorded covenants, written division by division rather than for the neighborhood as a whole. A volunteer association looks after a park, watches over the common areas, and puts on movie nights and meet-and-greets for new arrivals. There is no mandatory homeowners association collecting dues; participation is a matter of joining, and covenant enforcement runs through the association rather than a management company.

Covenants here are not one document but seven, one for each division the association covers: Ann Lees Place, Canyon Hills, Pinnacle Estates, Pinnacle View, Sandia Hills, Villa Sandia (Tierra del Este) and Vista del Mundo. A map on the association's site sorts each address into its division, and the covenant text follows from there.

The common areas are unusual in that individual owners tend them. Many lots have a street running behind or alongside, and the owner keeps up the ground outside the wall: weeds and trash cleared, branches trimmed back so the sidewalk stays open. City code enforcement is the backstop. For neighbors who cannot manage the work themselves, the association runs an Adopt a Neighbor volunteer program and keeps referrals to yard services.