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September Board Meeting for SWHOA- including Verizon 9/24 @ Broadlands CC

Discussion in 'Southern Walk Announcements' started by SWHOA Admin, Sep 15, 2018.

  1. Excelsior

    Excelsior Southern Walk||IMPERIUM IN IMPERIO||

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    I think in the near-term, the SW Board will have to represent the SW Community as its advocate for a timely and seamless integration with Verizon and get the contract off the ground and pass as little "extra" cost as possible to the homeowners over the lifecyle of the contract. That extra cost being the "middleman" that Cap pointed out. What impacts that the most will be the people who don't pay (extra legal, more HOA Management fees). Although, if OpenBand ever decides they want to leave the neighborhood, there won't be a choice in providers, unless or until an entirely different third party comes in so that problem could be self-correcting. As a corollary, when Comcast takes over Lansdowne, OpenBand will cease operations there. Could that happen here, maybe, however OpenBand has told the SW HOA Board they will remain a provider as long as it is feasible to do so.

    Longer term, the SW HOA Board will also have to ensure the Community is in a good place for the future, and in several years time, towards the end of the Verizon contract, will have to entice another provider to come in and build out at little or no cost so that the SW can be as much like Broadlands North or any other neighborhood. What was stated at the recent meeting is that all the proposals to enter the neighborhood required a contract-- no one would come for free. Even though the County has a Communications Commission, their enforcement arm applied to Cable TV only- not Broadband. Since FiOS is run over the same fiber-optic wire, there really wasn't a Loudoun-County mandate to require FiOS to come in and build. Comcast is also headed in that direction with their XFinity platform and GPON fiber technology. About the most hopeful scenario for ever dis-banding the SWHOA is mostly driven by the telecommunication carrier business environment. Technology has shifted to the point where extensive investments are required (with desired RoI payback periods) from the carrier. Read the bottom of the page from the following link:

    https://www.loudoun.gov/index.aspx?nid=3094

    However, in several more years, 5G over the air broadband could be an option. If that requires little up-front cost, and proves to be a reliable option and the broadband or wireless technology market is at a point where the range of providers all provide super hi-speed internet, and the industry figures out a way to deliver the television signals over the same wavelengths, great! If that is sustainable for the forseeable future then you won't need the SW HOA anymore.
     
    Last edited: Sep 26, 2018
    L0stS0ul likes this.
  2. Excelsior

    Excelsior Southern Walk||IMPERIUM IN IMPERIO||

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    What was stated at the meeting is that after the initial (three year) period and a renewal driven by performance (the renwal period is equal to the initial period in length) the contract can expire or be renewed at the discretion of both parties. If the contract expires, then Verizon is allowed perpetual access to the property through the easement granted to them on September 12, 2018 by SW HOA and Broadlands HOA. Also, what that means is that Verizon would likely bill customers directly at their retails rates and the neighborhood would essentially be in a state where you have the HOA collecting money separate from the teleco carrier. See my earlier post though about long term goals of the SW HOA.
     
  3. signifer

    signifer Member

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    I believe the goal of the wireless guys is to get 5G widely available and do to wired internet what has been done to landline phones (and they are willing to spend what it takes to do that). I can already get HD quality movies on my phone at LTE speeds; 5G should allow me to do everything I do with a wired connection. The only question is when this will be available at a cost that makes paying for wired internet questionably smart. It may well be before 6 years are up.
     
  4. Excelsior

    Excelsior Southern Walk||IMPERIUM IN IMPERIO||

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    Maybe it will be ready maybe it will not but in order to get something sooner than several years from now, a contract was required with a minimum time period and conditons that give the neighborhood access to a new provider.
     
  5. signifer

    signifer Member

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    Certainly I believe we need the new provider and a new agreement now. Sooner is better. And I think the board did a great job getting it in place. (I wish it was moving faster...)
    My point was that the cellular providers are working hard to be able to disrupt wired internet just like they did wired phones (using 5G). I think this will be a viable option in the future and probably before 6 years are out. (N.B. We are close now. When openband internet went out for a half hour or so a few weeks ago, I used my cell phone as a (LTE) hot spot. It worked fine although a little slow. Reliable 5G would fix that.)
     
  6. techeng01

    techeng01 Member

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    calling it now... the "option" will happen and continue to happen with the same rationale over and over again. All to make $ for others.

    I understand the need for a continued SWHOA to lock in Verizon for the three year term, not sure I see the need to pay that amount however. But once the initial contract with Verizon expires, there is no reason for it to be extended. At that point SW should be no different than the rest of Loudoun County FIOS subscribers. But the threat of "Verizon pulling out" will be used to justify continued HOA fees and revenue generation.
     
  7. Zeratul

    Zeratul Well-Known Member

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    techeng01, were you at the same meeting we were? Where is this idea of continued HOA fees and revenue generation? I assume that you mean this as the HOA justification? IF so, I call BS.

    The HOA was crystal clear in reiterating their support for removing the HOA if the Community agrees and there is no longer a contract/need. They have no desire to continue to volunteer their time any longer than needed. The part about revenue generation makes no sense since they are a non-profit corporation as far as I know...and it is our money, we see the budget.

    Nothing wrong with raising concerns, but I thought we were trying to stop lobbing these suggestive "bombs". Without an explanation of your rationale, that is what it seems like to me. If I misunderstood your point.... my bad.
     
  8. techeng01

    techeng01 Member

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    I agreed in my post on the need for continued SWHOA and the need for Verizon's contract. Not sure how you missed that. My post was based on the dialogue above mine, including yours with the breakdown on the HOA fees going forward. The rationale for my post forecasting that the option clause will be invoked at the end of the 3 year terms is solely that SWHOA homeowners represent a fixed revenue stream to multiple businesses (not the HOA itself, nor the volunteers), who are incentivized to keep it going.
     
  9. Zeratul

    Zeratul Well-Known Member

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    Thanks for the clarification...makes sense. And you did see that Verizon can't decide to extend/renew the contract all on their own to continue the revenue stream? I feel confident that we, the homeowners, will have the ultimate voice in what happens at that point taking into account our lessons learned, technology or other factors.
     
  10. flynnibus

    flynnibus Well-Known Member Forum Staff

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    It sure seems like running a collection agency is expensive...
     
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  11. Zeratul

    Zeratul Well-Known Member

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    Steve, are you using the latest copy of the Southern Walk HOA budget to justify your comment? Oh wait, you don't live in Southern Walk. Therefore, I urge anyone actually interested is seeing what the budget looks like, ask and then form your own opinion. Please let the Southern Walk homeowners use this thread to actually help each other. As a Forum staff member, I ask that you not stir the pot so freely. Hard to believe you comment was anything but sarcastic.
     
  12. flynnibus

    flynnibus Well-Known Member Forum Staff

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    I'm sorry, I don't believe in sanitizing opinions if they don't gel with someone else's. I stand by my comment. The SWHOA (and it's contractors) are effectively going to be a collection agency. And collecting $30 per household, per month sure sounds like a lot of money in aggregate.
     
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  13. Capricorn1964

    Capricorn1964 Well-Known Member

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    @ $30 a month with roughly 1,112 homes (my guesstimate) nets an extra $33,360 a month X 12 months equals $400K a year....

    So for 3 years, that works out to be $1,200,960 (I didn't factor in yearly increases).

    Wow! :eek:

    That's some serious chunk of extra $$$$ for the privilege of living in SWHOA territory.
     
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  14. flynnibus

    flynnibus Well-Known Member Forum Staff

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    No, to bill people, collect, and lawyer. It’s a shame (to a million dollars) that this could not have been rolled into the same infrastructure we already have some how. This is a completely new agreement... isn’t the three party agreement every swhoa home entered already dissolved? Why not use the “hook” BHOA already has on each of those homes?
     
  15. Zeratul

    Zeratul Well-Known Member

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    I would urge any actual SW Homeowner who is serious about answers and information to these questions and points raised... ask the Board. We have been over this before, much of what Steve brings up has been discussed. Using dollar figures for HOA costs at this point is premature. The Board made clear that they were working on a budget with the latest figures at the last meeting and would have much more detail to share next meeting/month. There is no way (in my opinion) based upon what we were told so far, that the HOA fees will be close to what you (Capricorn) assume. It cannot be rolled into the BHOA... just ask them Steve, you will get a very clear answer. There is no 3-party agreement, never was. Any SW homeowner should understand that and it can be easily clarified when asked.
     
  16. Excelsior

    Excelsior Southern Walk||IMPERIUM IN IMPERIO||

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    The "hook" -- you mean streamline with the services offered by BHOA- like how the Courtyard homes (mine) has lawn service included in the fee? And the streamlining would allow the telecommunications for the homes that are currently now encumbered with deed covenants in the SW Declaration to be merged into the rest of the Broadlands Association which does not have any provisions for telecommuncations contracts? The added cost of increasing the scope of services offered by the Broadlands staff would have to be adjusted to accomodate the extra resource demands, but it would be a marginal cost. To what extent, it depends. Not to mention the legal portion of this.

    But why do something like that if there's the possibility of just standing down the SWHOA in a handful of years if the telecommunications supplier market is at a point where there's little to no upfront cost to build out an infrastructure and any future options in the neighborhood be market-driven with optimal competition for each homeowner to enter into privately? Wouldn't that be the desired state?

    Part of what the Board said at the recent meeting is that for 2019, there is still some reserve to be built back up- to a comfortable level- to keep the association solvent for the duration of the contract period/periods.

    If you think about it, over time, the monthly amount that the member pays in addition to whatever is charged by Verizon could shrink down immensely. That would be due to much lower delinquincy rates which will reduce legal costs and possibly insurance carrier costs as well as reduce the burden on the management association. It actually could turn out to be a real benefit for SW homes if fiber-optic based broadband costs escalate to much higher levels offered on a retail basis than the rates negotiated by the SWHOA (cap on annual increase) so this is not a fully negative view of the future.
     
  17. Zeratul

    Zeratul Well-Known Member

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    Thanks Sunstoner for providing a well artculated response. Clearly, I get frustrated sometimes with the un-informed repetitive questions... you have better patience than I do today. The SWHOA was created for the sole purpose of managing a telecommunications service contract, to keep it separate from the BHOA. The contract with Openband is gone, but the entity that is the SWHOA is separate from that contract.
     
  18. flynnibus

    flynnibus Well-Known Member Forum Staff

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    Because the BHOA already does all those things (billing, collection, reserves, and legal) - it’s eliminating duplication and adding economies of scale. Why pay the management company twice for the same household? Legal? You’re already paying for legal to do changes... you’ll pay legal in the future to change again. Legal and reserves paid by 2x the number of people will be cheaper than just a small portion of people.

    It’s for the betterment of the community as a whole.

    Without looking at the actual budget... I wouldn’t be too excited about that potential over a short period. You have effectively minimums that need to be floated ... and any changes will be annual. So at best.... 1/3 of the period could be a lot cheaper?

    Verizon will already give anyone a 2yr price lock and a discount to do so. So for 15-30 x 36months you get an extra 12months of price protection? That’s a horrible deal :)

    There is no doubt that bulk contracts will get you advantageous pricing. The challenge is making sure the offer stays market competitive and you don’t pay more in overhead to get it. My comment was more about the overhead and their expected expenses per household.
     
  19. flynnibus

    flynnibus Well-Known Member Forum Staff

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    To keep it separate purely for the advantage of openband/vm.... not the BHOA. It was simply to create a gaurunteed payment and to have the homeowners gauruntee it.

    There is no reason to keep such a NEW contract out of the Bhoa except for those looking to maintain status quo and not having to get their hands dirty by it. But it’s history (again...) now...
     
  20. Capricorn1964

    Capricorn1964 Well-Known Member

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    Zeratul- Didn't you say this in your earlier posting on page 1 of this thread ".... Internet ($69) + HOA fee is still targeted around $90 - $100 and will be communicated to the homeowners soon, likely in a letter as well as e-mail and Forum...…"

    If you say that the HOA and Internet would be targeted around $90 to $100 a month....that's what I am working with. You say "There is no way (in my opinion) based upon what we were told so far, that the HOA fees will be close to what (Capricorn) assume." then why did you mention the $90-$100 fee to begin with? Im working with YOUR numbers that you provided in this thread. So if you don't think the fees will be that much, then can you "guess" what we may all end up with?

    Thanks!
     

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