HOA Information
November 2010 President’s Message
Thanks to our Property Manager, we have been able to execute on two very important contract renewals. The first being the trash service, which is one of our largest budget items for the past many years. Kristi was able to negotiate savings of over 17% with no change in service. The second contract is for the landscaping contract for all of our open spaces. By the time you read this the contract will be in the final negotiation stages. The proposal we received provides more services for less money. This is a significant win for us all considering one of the most critiqued items is our open space particularly along the parkway, reflecting ponds and within the townhomes. I am confident that the new contract will help us make the community look more attractive and inviting.
Even with these significant savings in two of our three major contracts, HOA expenses are expected to increase. Increased expenditure has forced us to raise the home owners’ assessments beginning January 01, 2011. The percentages range from 5% in the single family homes to 7% in the townhomes. The larger increase in townhomes covers the full cost of snow removal and capital reserves. The HOA only plows at the clubhouses and in the townhomes. We also maintain the townhome roads and driveway aprons. As the community ages we will need to start repairing some of our infrastructure. This spring we will start replacing driveway aprons that have failed in the townhomes. The single largest increase in the 2011 budget is the large portion of land along the parkway that we acquired from Toll Brothers during the latter part of 2010 and must now maintain. The open spaces committee is very active and is consistently looking for ways to reduce costs and make the community look more attractive.
We continue to search for ways of ensuring the safety of our children. The traffic signal at the intersection of Loudoun County Parkway, Gleedsville Manor and old Ryan Road is finally being constructed after 5 years of broken promises. Within the community we still have a significant problem with speeding and drivers failing to stop at stop signs. The community is full of children and the HOA is committed to driving changes in behavior. For those who believe the speeding is mostly visitors or contractors, all of our data, including tickets from the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Department, clearly show the speeding and general unsafe driving lies within our community members. State law requires that drivers drive at or below the posted speed limit and stop at all the stop signs. If things do not improve, our next steps will be expensive and time consuming, but the community safety demands it.
The 2010 pool season was arguably the best all around pool season this young HOA has managed. We experienced very few mechanical or weather related closures. The complaint volume regarding the life guards decreased and the HOA addressed the few complaints that were received. The best news is that the pools were very well used. At peak times the pools had between 50-100 people at the pools at the same time. The absolute peak was on the opening weekend when the pools hosted 143 visitors at 3:30pm. This year the guards performed a head count at half past each hour, we will post this data on the website. My family and I were frequent visitors and had a great time at the pools with family and friends.
We continue to focus on improved home maintenance within our community. The Board of Directors will be considering changes to our enforcement procedures to shorten the time in any given cycle. Currently it can take many weeks to get homeowners to remediate issues. This time lapse frustrates community members that have to experience the lack of maintenance from day to day. It also requires significant staff time to monitor and document offenses. I am confident that the BOD will be able to shorten the process and still allow for due process. For the vast majority of homeowners, this will not impact you at all. For those owners that, for whatever reason, refuse to maintain their primary residence or rental property, you will be subject to violation charges as the HOA attempts to ensure homeowners live up to the maintenance requirements. The HOA will continue to be compassionate as appropriate, but we do and will continue to document violations. We know which properties continuously fall into disrepair and all the excuses and dodges to avoid costly remediation. Our covenants are not overly harsh or difficult. In fact, we are, as an HOA extremely tolerant of divergence of styles and taste. That being said 8+” grass is too tall, dead trees need to be removed, trim needs to be painted, and grass needs to be watered. Please help the HOA ensure the community is an attractive place to live and help us save money lowering the many hours our staff spends on checking up on maintenance items.
We look forward to another great year at Loudoun Valley Estates!
