Background
So my home is at the end of cul-de-sac on Trautz lane. My backyard and side-yard lines up with a bit of trees (aka. buffer area for water to flow away) and shares boundary with a home on the other side, the home itself facing Rex Road. As families started moving in with kids and filling up trautz ln, most of us felt that a boundary at the end of this cul-de-sac is required.
In fact, we all wondered, why wasn’t in place already ?
Note: The HOA is controlled by TM at this point through supposedly another entity.
HOA Request & Response
Anyways, we got together and made a case requesting TM to stand up a boundary, highlighting the reasons for a boundary wall (wooden/metal/whatever). Few reasons are as follows
- Dogs keep barking on the other side as they see humans on our side
- Any vehicle (big or large) could just drive through the area – and that is a security concern
- Mills at Avent Ferry (our neighbour community) has boundary wall since years and so we were only asking to adhere to existing standards
Note: We all were ready to chip in , if HOA cited economic reasons (however as you will see below that would have been a nicer response)
We empathised with the current staff and supply chain shortages with workloads overall, and hence we did NOT start with a finger pointing game (we could use all the blunders and incomplete work and yet closing the home as a leverage – but we did NOT, as we empathised like decent citizens). We even offered to return the good faith act, with positive reviews online as that would reflect authenticity.
YET, the response came in something like this
- Trautz lane is classified as public street , so any modifications requires town approval – FAIR enough !
But it doesn’t end there….the HOA has to assert it authoritah ! And hence the cartman image from southpark at the top….For folks who know the analogy , you get it ! Below all additional reasons were cited as if they are gospels – rather than being collaborative and work out a mutually acceptable solution
- Architectural guidelines don’t allow – hence HOA won’t approve (Who said architectural guidelines are written in stone….Everything is modifiable within reason and scope)
- TM will not sponsor any finance – Fair enough (No reason mentioned – just playing the superior)
- HOA will not permit any variance for any changes blah blah !! (We get it, you don’t have to be a…)
I feel this is completely lack of good faith especially when there is NO effort to have a dialogue and understand the concerns (It is understood, if all options are exhausted – all of us here understand that). Just in one single response, the TM HOA (or whoever the board of directors – who knows) wants to show off its authoritah – just like Cartman ! No questions be asked and take my word as final (I believe they muddied the waters by listing down all possible reasons for rejection just in case) and further unfairly tried to set a precedence – so that we never come back with such requests..huh 🙂
Thanks for the article Pradeep. In my opinion the way we begin to work together on ideas such as you have discussed is to become more involved in the HOA. Right now the officers are all Taylor Morrison and it seems relatively uninvolved. Elite Management is the only the management company and it seems not always willing to discuss. In the end we are the paying customers and voting members. I have reread the bylaws and other docs but I believe they are not well written and much would probably would not hold up on court if things ever had to come to that. I do think we, the voters have the ability to remove the officers and replace them with members of our community. Not that we want a free for all but if there are folks who want to they can help guide our community. Typically there are also committees in HOAs who can study and make recommendations such as what you have discussed. Oh and by the way, the management company could be replaced. While I am not expert, HOAs have a structure which can be navigated. We need to organize and show up at meetings. All info is on the Elite Management website.
Appreciate th response and chiming in Gil ! It is frustrating to see the way elite management team works. I follow up again in emails to remind them, and yet they don’t care. I will read the documents once again and let’s chat sometime to analyse other recourses.
Ultimately, once Taylor Morrison is done building in Bridgeberry, the HOA will be transferred to the homeowners. But I agree with Gil, it is critically important to participate in meetings whenever possible so they know what the concerns are, and that they have an opportunity to work with homeowners on items.