My name is Alan Soden and I'm running for one of the open seats with the McIntyre HOA Board of Directors.
Your house is probably the biggest investment you will ever make in your life, and home value appreciation is often a major part of a person's retirement plan.
I believe the primary role of the HOA Board should be to protect and increase our home values. Ensuring dues are directed towards achieving that end is the Board's primary responsibility. I don't think we should build a clubhouse.
First I do not believe a clubhouse will increase our home values at all - zero percent return on investment.
Second this is exactly the wrong time to take out long term debt due to the economic crisis, gas prices, and job instability.
Third a 12% delinquency rate in dues is terrible. I think it is higher than that now. I'm in banking - 12% delinquency puts companies out of business.
Fourth what happens if the HOA defaults on the loan because of delinquent dues? I'll bet you a lien will be placed against every home in McIntyre and the board could be sued.
We need to put our HOA in order before we take on any debt. Eliminate late fees (or reduce them to something reasonable) to encourage people to catch up. Revoke voting rights and pool use and anything else we can for those who are past due. Place liens.
If we have enough money to build a clubhouse - you may be paying too much. The money should be used to increase neighborhood home values or be given back to you and the dues reduced to what is needed.
I suggest dues are not too high and they should be used to improve our community and increase property values. I bought in McIntyre because I thought the prices were right - not over inflated. This means we have a huge opportunity to make sound investments and increase our home values dramatically over the next 3 years.
With the Lowe's, the Super Target, the mall, the new beltway, our proximity to 77 and downtown - add to that the age of our homes and the average square footage - all the elements are in place for this neighborhood to be one of the most desirable communities in the area.
We need to get Centex to step up (BJ has done a fantastic job with this), and I think the next thing we need to do is invest in landscaping. Realtors and homebuyers need to be impressed when they drive through McIntyre. I guarantee you they are not right now.
Once we get our finances in order, I think we need to get proposals and bids from landscape architects to come in and overhaul our neighborhood to increase drive through and curb appeal. I guarantee this will cost much less than a clubhouse and have a dramatic return in the form of increased home values.
I understand only 30 people attended the meeting where they discussed the clubhouse - unfortunately I was one of the people who was guilty of missing that meeting. I decided that will not happen again, I'm getting involved.
I think that for large projects like this one we should require a supermajority of eligible voters to agree - maybe 60% to 75%. I bet we have less than 50% even voting.
We need more people to get involved. Come vote on October 28th.