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Southern Walk Expenses Out of Control? $360 increased assessment for 2013!

Discussion in 'Broadlands Community Issues' started by Neighbor, Nov 8, 2012.

  1. Bandit1

    Bandit1 Member

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    LMAO. As well as your rather theatrical over-the-top diction in response to thread posts.
    :indiff2:
     
  2. wolf685cln

    wolf685cln New Member

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    I disagree. The HOA is being sued by OpenBandit....requires resources. Or would you rather lie down and get tapped for your share of 50 million in damages, with your home as collateral?
     
  3. wolf685cln

    wolf685cln New Member

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    Except when it suits YOUR opinion. Oddly enough your concurrence (quoted below) was in response to my 'theatrical' request to establish an official HOA communications conduit online. So - they do, and you do an about face and dismiss it as being silly? Or was the choice of FB not something YOU would have selected? Or was your concurrence simply because it was being somewhat critical of the board at the time? Seems to be a theme in your communiques as of late.

    But hey, you got me... I openly admit to throwing in a little drama and goofiness here and there to try to get a dialog going and spark some thought - But one thing I will always do is stand behind my statements and when I'm wrong I will admit I'm wrong.

    Peace...

     
  4. twohokies

    twohokies New Member

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    The Declaration of Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions specifically lay out that the HOA was created to administer the OpenBand contract. From the documentation I have "The monthly fee collected by Southern Walk is used to pay for the OpenBand contract (and also some minor administrative costs such as management, insurance, legal services, etc.). Number 1, anyone with any common sense knows that it costs money to actually COLLECT the money from other people (sending the bills, sending the budges, bank fees, collection agency fees). Number 2, the documentation specifically spells out legal fees. Whether you agree with the amount of legal fees the HOA is incurring is another matter. You have your vote, voted or not, your vote counted or not, but the HOA elected board made the decision and are authorized to make the decision on how much to spend on legal fees. If you don't like their decision, you have the opportunity much like every US citizen has during the presidential election - go out and vote next time to get someone with your views elected to the governing body. Sometimes your candidate wins and your views are represented, sometimes not. When your views are not represented, it sucks, I get that. But right now, in this situation, the Board is legally operating in the capacity in which it was charged (whether you or I support it).

    Now......... if you want to change the Declaration to implement your views of how the HOA should work, you need to get the required percentage of all homeowners (not just a % of those who vote/attend). From my experience with several hundred community associations in the past, Declarations are generally not changed from the way developers wrote them unless they are deemed illegal or it's the .00001% of the time enough homeowners turn out in support of the change.
     
  5. HappyFeet

    HappyFeet New Member

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    Hmmmm . . . Today I happened to see this September posting under the "Stone House" thread. I have to say that I believe this has a similar level of concern that some within this OB thread have posted or are trying to express. To me, many of the posts are trying to indicate a desire to better understand where the SW HOA is with this increase. Why was the amount of $30 chosen? Could the same goal of disbanding OB be done with a lesser increase?

    Just as the Stone House response indicates that not everyone views this forum, not everyone has FB. The recommendations noted for the Stone House in the quote above also may have been good for the increased SW fees.
     
  6. '03 Cavalier

    '03 Cavalier New Member

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    While I generally agree, comparing legal fees to a construction project isn't apples to apples. There's a reason different lawyers charge different amounts. I certainly wouldn't want a bargain basement lawyer. I think it's more difficult to price shop legal services than it is to get bids for a particular construction project that conforms to a list of building specifications.
     
  7. T8erman

    T8erman Well-Known Member

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    I think what most people who have commented is simply more transparency.
     
  8. L0stS0ul

    L0stS0ul hmmmm

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    AHHH I see what you did there :pofl::clap::2thumbs::nono::scaredeyes::devil2:
     
  9. rich351854

    rich351854 New Member

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    You would be surprised how legal services are purchased - the top "White Shoe" firms compete with each other all the time via RFP. WIth that being said...simple math:

    $500K legal bill. Typically litigation related admin costs make up 15%-20% of the bill for non document / data intensive litigation. So $500K goes to $400K.... at $600/hr that means 667 hours (83 days - 4 dedicated months) of work.

    I am all about us going after OB and just want to make sure that we maximize the value of our $500K investment in to truelly Litigating this matter vs. our money giving the firm a slush fund to train junior associates as they "cut their teeth" on our matter
     
  10. TeamDonzi

    TeamDonzi ShowMeTheMoney!

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    YES! And I'm confident that Erika won't lose and all the homeowners get their money back, and we all save money every month for way better service! See that? Everybody wins!
     
  11. vacliff

    vacliff "You shouldn't say that."

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    Well, so far the SW HOA has lost every battle. It's Lansdowne that is winning.
    But I don't think Lansdowne would have gotten involved if not for the initial push by SW.
     
  12. BDLNDLVR

    BDLNDLVR Active Member

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    Maybe we should switch law firms and hire the firm utilized by Landsdowne.
     
  13. rich351854

    rich351854 New Member

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    Are there really 2 firms?
     
  14. '03 Cavalier

    '03 Cavalier New Member

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    The lawsuits were virtually identical. The difference was the judges. Two entirely different interpretations of the same suit.
     
  15. latka

    latka Active Member

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    What about Stare decisis? Has the Lansdowne case not established precendent?
     
  16. snoopy

    snoopy Senior Member

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    What is going to happen in FY14 ?? Another round of special ? Any insight ?
     
  17. snoopy

    snoopy Senior Member

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    What is going to happen in FY14 ? Another round of special assessment ? any insight ?
     
  18. Zeratul

    Zeratul Well-Known Member

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    snoopy... in simple terms, the SWHOA monthly assessments went up last year by around $30 a month specifically to cover legal expenses. Since this was a monthly increase, with no time limit, FY14 continues with that same increase in place. You can do the math... $30 a month by around 1100 homes.... The next big legal step is that SWHOA has to re-file the Circuit court case to "fix" the standing issue from before and use Lansdowne's case as precedent now too (I think). We have a time limit to re-file so we should find out something about that soon (1-3 months I think). And you have to attend a SWHOA meeting or call the board directly to confirm legal questions.
     
  19. shim

    shim shim

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    What's another $400K...
     
    boomertsfx likes this.
  20. Zeratul

    Zeratul Well-Known Member

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    and counting....
     

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