North Creek Village

I can see valid points in everyone's posts that I've read in this forum so far.  I find myself leaning towards Almost Broke's more and more every time.  After reading the packet I received from Curry I saw some ups and downs.  First off, paying back dues to Curry for dues that were owed to Almost Home (who didn't provide a pool, lawncare, utilities in the clubhouse, etc.) doesn't make sense to me.  As far as dues go, I'd like to ask everyone to take a short drive to Platte City and drive around the Estates of Platte Valley at Maple Farm Rd. and Running Horse.  Their dues are $10 A YEAR! These aren't cheap houses either, even with the slow economy, houses are selling for 170,000 plus right now! Granted they don't have a pool but everyone maintains their own lawns and homes.  It's all about pride in your neighborhood and your own individual property.  I have a baby on the way and I can honestly say that I'm disappointed after attending one of the last meetings and hearing that we were going to start with a clean slate, only to receive a letter in the mail saying that past dues would be assessed.  Sounds like double talk to me :(

Tyler - 

You make a good point about paying Curry for back dues.  I, too, remember at one of the last meetings, talk about starting with a clean slate and the bank footing the bill for repairs to bring things back up to standard.  I would think it is in the bank's best interest to do this, since they are the ones left holding the bag and want to unload the foreclosed properties as soon as possible.  It's like buying a fixer-upper and spending the money to get it in shape for resale.

As everyone knows, we were without these amenities off and on for at least 3 years so why should we pay for something we didn't get?  Almost Home argues that it was because so many people refused to pay dues that we didn't get the services/pool/etc.  so it's a standoff.

Anyone getting a bill for the past year should argue the point that we were denied the services. 

That's interesting about the dues at Estates of Platte Valley.  Do you know how many occupied homes it includes?  What are they paying dues for if they don't have a pool, lawn maintenance, etc.?  It's great that people take pride in their own lawns and homes and it would be the same if everyone did so here.  That doesn't seem to be true in every case, however.  There are houses with kids' toys strewn all over the yards, beer cans along the sidewalk edge, empty fast food drink containers thrown out along the side of the streets, caved in garage doors in need of repair, etc.  Where is the pride? 

I'm not trying to make a case for overcharged HOA dues...no one wants that.  But since we DO have a pool and clubhouse and since we HAVE had serious problems with both, maybe it's not so unreasonable to have a professional management company oversee the operation of these amenities.  Otherwise, again I have to ask...who would bear the cost of pool/clubhouse/grounds maintenance?  We can't ignore the fact that those structures/amenities exist and unless they're open and useable, they invite vandalism and destruction...things that make property value go down and invite more of the same. 

Maybe the solution could be that people who want to use these facilities buy a 'membership' and pay dues and those who don't want to pay dues, don't use the facilities. 

I'm not sure specifically how many home are there but it's comparable to the size of our subdivision.  My parents live there, and I went through high school in their house.  I can find out for sure from my dad what their dues pay for but if I remember correctly it pays for mowing the common grounds, which their's covers a smaller area than our community and issuing liens and such, which doesn't happen very often.  I'll be sure to get specifics and repost.

I would think one factor in determining the cost of dues would depend on how many people live there and what the dues are supposed to pay for.  I appreciate that you are going to get some facts instead of just complaining.

We at North Creek have been ripped off almost from the beginning.  We have seen years of mismanagement and misappropriation of funds (HOA dues being funnelled into a failing developer's other projects instead of going to pay for North Creek amenities).  We have also had the continuing problem of trespassing and vanadalism by Ferrelview kids and even total strangers walking into the clubhouse and sleeping on the couch.  All because no one was on the premises to prevent it. 

This started out to be a great community concept that went down the chute because of the economy, job losses, foreclosures, bad management and a developer who misappropriated funds and eventually went bankrupt.  It's going to take a lot of work and cooperation to get it back together again.  Many people who live here can't afford to move, especially since the housing market has dropped and their homes are worth less than they owe.

It would be great if everyone would keep their sights on the bigger goal of restoring our community and going forward than just griping about the what it's going to cost to get there.  There's nothing that says Curry has to continue after things are restored and if everyone will pull together to keep our neighborhood nice.  Dues could be lowered to cover the cost of pool and grounds maintenance and allow individuals to mow/fertilize, etc. their own yards.