The details are sketchy but I'm a pretty good crafter of sketches. Like they taught us in the early days of Radio..."you are creating theatre of the mind". In the case of H.O.A.'s it's pretty much theatre of the absurd. And this next one fits right into that category.I'm going to leave the name out because it's not really about the people, I think. It's about H.O.A's and management companies in general and my overall dislike and distrust for both. It's always about H.O.A.'s and management companies because, as you know by now, they serve no REAL purpose. No matter what elected board members will tell you, management companies are thieves and paid harrassers and H.O.A.'s simply enable them. On to our next whopper. Daniels Preserve.
According to several people in Daniels Preserve, a resident was elected to the H.O.A in January. No big deal. Until it was discovered the new board member had not paid her H.O.A. dues for 2 YEARS. I've been told this was because the lady has a home with chinese drywall and her husband lost his job. Those issues should not be downplayed. They are real and are happening to a lot of people. I was told the H.O.A. decided to give her a pass on her payments. I'm waiting to hear back from H.O.A. President Kinley Engvalson (who I served on the Gateway Park committee with). Kinley is an attorney and the president of the H.O.A. in Daniels Preserve. He'll tell me why the board let the payments slide.
The people that told me about the issue are hot. And not hot with joy. Hot with high blood pressure. We all have problems. We all face financial difficulties. We all have bills to pay. And we'd all like some sort of bailout. Well, not me. Anything that the government, any government, offers me I don't want it. Keep it. Give it to the guy under the bridge. I made my mess so I'm either going to fix my mess or find my own way out of it.
How about the precedent the Daniels Preserve H.O.A. has set if, in fact, they waived her payments due to hardship. Every Daniels Preserve resident could and should make a case for not paying. And what gives that H.O.A. or any H.O.A. the right to determine which personal problem is worse than the next personal problem.
Even worse how about the cajones of a board member with authority to vote on issues involving spending. That spending comes from H.O.A. dues. Dues she did not pay but everyone else did. Classic hypocracy And even if the candidate running for the board did not disclose that she was so far behind on the dues how negligent is the over-paid management company in not knowing that. 30 days is on thing. 2 years is incompetant. Daniels Preserve is managed by Sterling Management Company.
On page 6 of the Daniels Preserve bylaws it's pretty clear under removal of directors: "Any director can be removed who is delinquent in the payment of any Assessment or other charges due to the Assossiation for more than thirty days". This person was elected in January, probably didn't reveal she was so far behind in dues and resigned from the board two days ago when she was outed. Where is your highly paid management company when you need them? Oh, I know where, checking that your mulch is 2 inches deep or your commercial vehicle is parked in the garage or your roof is spotless during rainy season.
One thing I did notice about Daniels Preserve that I liked was that they had their bylaws online easy for all residents and extremely competant reporters to read. This is something that the Gateway Services District does not have, I think they call it their "book of rules" not bylaws. In the era of the Internet, with a budget big enough to pay a district manager, an operations manager, 5 elected board members, etc. etc. to not have the community rules or bylaws online in a sunshine state like Florida is pathetic. The good news is November is coming but I digress.
As a result of the Daniels Preserve situation, here's what I plan to send to my own H.O.A.
Dear H.O.A. Board
Recently I found a sick red dog. I'm sure you are not anti-dog. I tried to nurse the dog back to good health which took up a lot of my work time. I searched the community for days and days looking for the dogs owner. More work time gone, not to mention unexpected gas money. Have you see gas prices lately? I then had to write a lot of really funny stories about the red dog. That obviously took time away from my paying job. And now I get this feeling I'm being stalked by an angry dog owner who may be packing heat. I know it sounds crazy and maybe I am crazy now but, as you know, you cannot put a price on mental health. So I am requesting a 2-year moratorium on my H.O.A. fees due to my "personal problems". I look forward to your sympathetic response.
Friends For Life
Dog Lover
Ed Ryan
