From HOA Board of Directors President Keith Prettyjohns:
All homeowners should have received a ballot form to vote for or against a new Capital Improvement Fee (CIF) that the Sincuidados HOA Board of Directors is proposing.
This ballot proposes to amend the CC&Rs to add a provision for a Capital Improvement Fee which will be collected from purchasers at closing on all future purchases of lots/homes occurring after adoption of this amendment. This contribution will be an important source of income to help the association build up its reserves for road and other improvement and maintenance expenses. This should help us to minimize any future dues increases because we will have a new source of reserve funds.
Typo On Ballot
Unfortunately, there is a typo on the ballot. To vote against the fee, you should check the box next to “NO.” However, that lines says “NO. I do approve ….” instead of “NO. I do NOT approve.”
We discussed this with our attorney and he advises that we do not attempt to send out revised ballots as this would likely cause confusion and difficulty managing the votes. Since this proposal requires a 51 percent YES vote to succeed, the risk is that the amendment might not pass if some voters check NO when they intended to approve. But the reverse is not true, so the typo would not cause NO votes to be counted as YES.
FAQs
Q. How much is the fee and how is it collected?
A. The fee we are proposing is 0.5 percent of the sale price which for a $1.5M home amounts to $7,500. The title company would collect this as a closing cost for the buyer of any lot/home sold after this change comes into effect.
Q. When will a buyer find out about the fee?
A. HOA fees are shown on the MLS listing when a home is placed on the market. They are also called out in the closing statement produced by the title company.
Q. What will the fee resulting from this amendment cost each lot owner?
A. Nothing! There is no expense to any lot owner. That’s why the amendment makes so much sense. The HOA increases its income at no expense to any lot owner.
Q. What would the association do with the funds?
A. This contribution will be an important source of income to help the association build up its reserves. The funds would be used to accelerate and address major improvements and repairs such as roads, walls, buildings, courts, the preserve, upkeep, etc. This would also help reduce any future HOA dues increases.
Q. Does the fee get collected if I transfer ownership of my home into a trust or if my home passes on to my heirs as part of my estate or to family members for a nominal fee?
A. No. These situations are exempt from the fee.
PLEASE SEND IN YOUR BALLOT
Your Board of Directors has carefully evaluated this proposal and the Board recommends you vote YES on the forthcoming ballot. Many communities in North Scottsdale have already had this source of funding in place for many years, enabling them to build a strong financial reserve account for important community improvements.
We need a majority of homeowners, 51 percent, to vote YES in order to amend the CC&Rs. A YES vote will help protect the HOA, keeping our reserve account well-funded for the future, along with keeping our quarterly HOA dues as low as possible.
If we fail to get a 51 percent YES vote, this proposal will fail. Please send in your ballot as soon as possible.
