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Hello Homeowners,
You have probably just received a green envelope from SDCEA. It is a quick and easy survey that will help us determine how we communicate with the entire community. We want to provide you with the best, most effective, and efficient communication. We want your input!
Thank you in advance for taking a few minutes to complete this survey!
As a follow-up to last week’s article on reserve funding, I’d like to publicly respond to a thoughtful homeowner comment. Below are the key points from the homeowner’s comment, with my responses:
Thank you for the well thought out questions and understanding of how our HOA operates.
We are at 25% reserve funding level; it looks like you are going to raise assessments to get to 100% along with keeping up on required maintenance that we should have been doing all along.
Management works with the Budget Development Committee to create the best draft budget possible for the Board of Directors to consider and approve. As the manager, I bring business plus HOA expertise to SDCEA. I see the need for communities, including ours, to create budgets that are based in reality and focused on doing the best for the communal assets, our neighborhood, and the homeowners.
As a GM, I see my role is to guide/lead the community to the best possible outcomes. I look for the lowest cost of ownership in the long run. HOAs tend to look only for the lowest cost right now. A Subaru is not the lowest-cost vehicle, but over time, it often is one of the more cost-effective choices overall.
My goal is to bring the reserve fund up over time to something far closer to 100%, than its current 25%. It will take time! This is not a dictatorship, where I determine assessment levels/reserve funding percentage. I am part of the process. WE, the community via the elected Board, Management, and Budget Committee, are the TEAM to do what is best and right for the community.
It seems that assessments were too low from inception to keep us properly funded, which means that current and future owners will be left picking up the slack, that doesn’t seem quite fair.
Fair? No. Reality of today, Yes. All we have is today to make decisions for a better tomorrow. We cannot relitigate the real or perceived “wrongs” of the past.
The golf course and restaurant should be self sustaining and profitable to cover upkeep for the long haul.
In short, we continue to work for additional revenues, lean expenditures, and profit to enhance what homeowners pay in monthly assessments. It is always a work in progress.
Am I out of line for thinking this?
You are NOT out of line for thinking this. You are an interested homeowner who strives to find balance and understanding. In two previous communities, I had the opportunity to be there during the transition from developer control to homeowner control (aka Inception). I was able to help get those communities and Boards to understand the necessity of planning for the future (reserves). It was hard for them to see that these beautiful new community buildings and assets would need to have significant funds put aside in year 1. Thankfully, they are still running 92% to 100% funding. It is a lot easier if you do it from the start.
My apologies for a longer article this week; I felt it was worth it. I hope you do as well.
Thanks again for helping us make San Diego Country Estates the best it can be!
Thank you, Carl Weise, GM
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