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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. Capricorn1964

    Capricorn1964 Well-Known Member

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    Not a joke with me.

    I sided with the majority of the community and HOA board to take on this OB company to stop them from providing us with substandard services and technology. I want what Verizon and Comcast provides their customers. We can't even get that until OB is out of the neighborhood. OB, per FCC's filing with the court, is operating illegally. To boot, they are operating WITHOUT a franchise that BOTH BoS denied (last year and this year). The county sides with us, rightfully so--although that nut BoS Delgaudio is still siding with OB ---he's received significant amounts of $$$ from McDean to support their case, obviously, since he's on the take from them and is in their pocket....Just check out OB's website..there is a picture of him standing with his patron.

     
  2. Home Sweet Home

    Home Sweet Home New Member

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    Remember the tree house thread? You knew what you signed up for when you bought your house. The same people are now saying that is not the case because this issue is important to them. Hmmm.
     
  3. T8erman

    T8erman Well-Known Member

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    And do you have "obvious" proof that he is on the take other than a website photo? That is a strong allegation to make even if he is a wacko. FWIW, several other BoS members have accepted McDean money too.
     
  4. Capricorn1964

    Capricorn1964 Well-Known Member

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    Let me clear this up for ya....Im focusing on HIM only because he accepted a significant amount of $$$ from McDean and voted for OB in the franchise fight....and then he gets himself in a picture with McDean? This gives me the appearance that he's not free of any conflict of interest with him. And now this guy is being investigated himself by the county for some accusations that has been plastered all over the news. To add to that, his own non-profit association is being sued by a gay couple for misuse of a photograph and some southern organization has listed his organization as being a hate group. Additionally, some of his comments in the news and Board of Supervisors meetings strike me as his being something of a nutty BoS member. The other BoS members saw the light about OpenBand (did you know that they don't have ANY employees...that means McDean possibly must be doing the work within/for OpenBand or they've hired subcontractors to do it...I dunno) and voted not to grant them a franchise---that makes these other BoS members smarter than Delgaudio. I am SURE that Bill Dean is furious with them because he got poor ROI on his investment. Im sure he won't ever give them $$$$ ever again after that. Just my opinion.

    Anyway....am getting tired of this OB negativity....Im delighted beyond words that SW/LTOP are winning the battle. Will move over to the FB page where most of the SW folks are speaking postively about the OB battle.....See you over there if you are a SW member.

     
  5. wolf685cln

    wolf685cln New Member

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    Warmongering aside, this is a pretty good example of that. The HOA took action there, and the HOA is taking action here. Certain people (myself included) were unhappy with the treehouse decision for various reasons, and certain people are unhappy with the decision to pursue litigation. Same story, different day....

    Where in that neat [Don't Feed The Trolls] sign I've seen floating around here. I need to keep that handy as a reminder to not do this.. :doh: such a sucker...
     
  6. Capricorn1964

    Capricorn1964 Well-Known Member

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  7. '03 Cavalier

    '03 Cavalier New Member

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    Completely agree. The "you knew what you were getting into" argument doesn't make sense. The fact of the matter is that people are unhappy with OB. It is completely rational for the HOA to attempt to remedy that situation. Just because something was one way when you purchased is not justification to settle for the status quo.

    I will also say that there are pros and cons to living anywhere. When we purchased, we knew about OB, but we did not know about the extent of the contract and the ability to renew for decades to come. Regardless, there were so many pros to living here, it still made sense to buy.

    Count me as one homeowner who is VERY grateful to the SW HOA for spearheading this effort. I am well aware of the countless hours that have been spent to-date (for free I might add), so it's not unreasonable to pay an additional $30/month to give them the resources needed to finish the job.
     
  8. latka

    latka Active Member

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    What good is a contract? If just because you decide you don't like the terms you sue the party you had an agreement with. Now if you say OB is not living up to the terms then you have a case. If you just changed your mind about your decision there should be damages incurred by you the homeowners.
     
  9. '03 Cavalier

    '03 Cavalier New Member

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    1) Homeowners did not enter into the contract. It was a cozy little backroom deal between the developers and MC Dean.
    2) According to the FCC and at least one federal judge, it's illegal to begin with.
    3) I would argue (as will many others) that OB is not living up to the terms of the contract. They're charging more than competitors yet providing inferior service. And they are not operating with a valid franchise agreement in the county.
     
  10. flynnibus

    flynnibus Well-Known Member Forum Staff

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    You mean like not maintaining a county franchise? Direct violation...
    Or maybe not being 10% cheaper than the alternatives? Direct violation they dance around because they are the sole decider of what they get to compare to.
    Or years of ineffective technical and customer support? Pretty easy to say you don't get a lot of tickets when people gave up opening them because the company would just close them without resolving the problem.
    Or not providing the cutting edge service people were advertised as buying into?
    Or how about not changing the baseline mandatory services almost 10 years later to make them more current. Oh that's right, because when left hand wrote the contract to serve right hand... there was no need to put burdensome things in like competitive requirements, SLAs, or other remedies to ensure a solid offering FOR THE CUSTOMERS BUYING THE SERVICE.

    Come on softballchick - you've been on this forum long enough to know the Openband woes and shortcomings.

    This lawsuit is not about 'buyers remorse' and you can't will it to be by ignoring the last 9 years.
     
  11. L0stS0ul

    L0stS0ul hmmmm

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    so just out of curiosity let's say we win. what happens next? I'll take a guess here:

    1. SWHOA has to put out for RFP's companies to take over the current homeowners (6 Months if we are lucky)
    2. Community has to vote on the options
    3. Winning party has to install infrastructure (8-12 months for entire community if we are lucky)

    Best ETA on that is 2 years until all homeowners are under new service.

    What happens in the mean time?
     
  12. '03 Cavalier

    '03 Cavalier New Member

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    Join the FB group. The SWHOA has very clearly thought all of this through and can answer in more detail. Many of the specifics around your questions have been explained there.
     
  13. Bandit1

    Bandit1 Member

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    :2thumbs: Well said. I fully agree. And if you remember correctly Erika, I advised you in a meeting what the probable reaction would be from a number of the homeowners if you attempted to levy another "special assessment" without their coordination and approval. I as well as many others plan to attend the Nov meeting. In addition to the documentation indicated above, please include a copy of your Charter, specifically the segment or article that authorizes you to assess homeowners special monetary assessments not associated with OB services rendered.

    I also agree with 'Neighbor' concerning the Facebook usage. I mean seriously...a social website for legal issue(s) information dissemination?!
     
  14. '03 Cavalier

    '03 Cavalier New Member

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    There would also be a strong reaction from homeowners who want to see OB gone if the SWHOA just gave up the fight at this stage of the game.

    And yes, seriously, Facebook makes plenty of sense. The group is private and open only to SW homeowners, and the vast majority of people already have an account (so nothing new to sign up for). It works great.

    Two sides to everything.
     
  15. wolf685cln

    wolf685cln New Member

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    Lol. 'serve me now, bwahahaaha' :bow:Try this on for size: Go download and read your own copy, or grab it from your HOA binder, or pull it off of the FB site. If you can't see where they are authorized to take this action feel free to bring it up at the meeting that you and your buddies will be attending ... I'm sure you'll get answers ...

    The threatening and warmongering without depth or substance is getting a bit old.
     
  16. wolf685cln

    wolf685cln New Member

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    And to the incredulous disbelief that one could ever fathom hosting HOA comminications on a social media site, wake up and smell the coffee already. Social media and content managed through these types of outlets are a huge focus within the information management tech community and being utilized on a global scale. Search AIIM, Gartner, Forrester Research, ARMA, etc - don't simply take my word on that.

    The nature of HOA communications and it's associated content is a perfect fit for 'social' conduits and business are moving towards this model more so every day.

    I can imagine that you probably that you had a coniption when someone had the audacity to send you and email when SMTP hit the scene, and even more so when these nonsensical public forums came into being. Oddly enough you see fit to use them today ...
     
  17. twohokies

    twohokies New Member

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    You received this document (aka "Covenants") at closing since it's required by law. The HOA is authorized to collect G&A fees necessary to operate the HOA............ right now those fees include legal expenses.
     
  18. krmckee

    krmckee Member

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    Unless you couldn't join the FB group like in my case. :( that's one major FB kink that I can't understand.
     
  19. twohokies

    twohokies New Member

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    Send me a PM with your FB name and/or email and I'll see if I can invite you to be approved. Happy to help if I can.
     
  20. Bandit1

    Bandit1 Member

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    Yes, I'm quite aware of the documentation homewowners received during closing. And these fees (second special assessment) ARE NOT necessary to operate the HOA which according to the Covenants is nothing more than a 'collection house' for fees associated with services (cable, internet, phone) provided by OB.
     

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