HOA dues for Courtyards going up????

I just read in the recent newsletter that the HOA dues for the courtyard homes could go up another $20-30 for grounds maintenance. The article mentioned that the current contract for grounds maintenance to be about 50% of the going market rates. The increase would mean that a home owner would pay $500-$700 per year for this service in 2004. I think we're getting screwed. I understand that $$ need to be collected for the maintenance of the common spaces, but $700 for my SMALL yard and the common spaces is way to much. Someone needs to put a stop to this. Let the individual owners spend $200 per year for mulch, fertilizer and winter treatments themselves and SAVE $$.

 

Which homes are considered courtyard homes? I know there are "courtyard" and "patio" homes but never knew which were which.

"The right to be heard does not include the right to be taken seriously."
--Hubert H. Humphrey

 

Newfdog-
Good news. We had a budget meeting yesterday and reviewed the bids from landscaping contractors. We will be changing landscapers, and the cost will only be a few dollars more per month, not the $20-$30 that our current landscaper was going to charge.
Cliff

 

vacliff,

That sounds much better. How can a resident get a breakdown, by major category, of the monthly HOA dues?

 

I'm glad we got new landscapers, because the old one did a lousy job of mowing my yard. They set their blades to low to the ground, which in some spots shaved my grass down to it's roots.

 

newfdog-
Wes Schroeder can give you the details.
Cliff

 

I think dumping "landscaping" from the HOA fees and letting the homeowners take of their yards themselves is a great idea. Not only would we save a few $$$, we would also get the benefits of the exercise or getting our kids out the the house to do it.
VACLIFF, how does one go about making a change to the Southern Walk HOA? TIA

 

T8erman-
That's a question I have asked, but have not gotten a clear answer on. We probably would not be able to make any changes until the HOA is resident controlled and all governing documents for each of the sections are turned into the county. My understanding is that if the governing documents state that the landscaping of private lots is the responsibility of the HOA, it may be more difficult to change.

Other areas, where the developer simply wants the HOA to do it, could probably be overturned by an HOA vote. An example of this is what is occuring in the Southern Walk townhouses. Some Van Metre salespeople were erroneously telling purchasers that the HOA would be responsible for the landscaping of their lots. This is not true. So, to cover up for it, the developer wants the HOA to take over that responsibility of the landscaping rather than having Van Metre tell the truth to these folks that they were wrong.

This is the kind of bs we will have to put up with until the residents control the HOA Board.
Cliff

 

I, personally, love having the landscaping service - everyone's yard is maintained to the same standard, and all lawns are cut at the same time - during the daytime - meaning no annoying noise from different owner's lawn mowers at the weekends or evenings when one would like to relax outside and enjoy the sounds of nature.

jaeris

 

I agree completely with jaeris. It's nice to have everyone's lawn neatly manicured. My only complaint was that the landscapers were destroying my yard with their lawn mowers.

 

Just chiming in to agree with Dan and jaeris. I'm glad that we were able to find a more competitively priced landscaper to continue this service.