I was at the meeting in March when the board was elected. They have had less than a year to 'learn the ropes.' I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and see what is accomplished next year. If nothing is accomplished then we can complain.

The complainers never want to be the decision makers.

more complaining

I don't want to make any decisions. I want to be left alone in the house I paid for. As someone who works 60 hrs a week, I am not interested in spending what little free-time I have sending my neighbors threatening letters. I do however feel that my status as a homeowner in this community entitles me to a voice. Complaints and all. If I have to do it after work via this messageboard at 2am, I'm sorry, but that's all I've got.

What exactly are you wanting the association to accomplish? I like the community. That's why I bought a house here. Has the neighborhood been going to pot and I just haven't noticed? Since Phillips handed over the association, the only difference I've noticed is an overwhelming fear of trashcans. Hardly seems like justification for tripling the association fee.

I have lived under an association before. The fees increased every year at about the same rate that our fee is increasing. When they reached the limit of how high they could raise it, they ''assessed'' every owner $900 ($300/year for 3 years) to cover maintenance costs. This is in addition to the normal fees. This decision was apparently voted on by the association, which was apparently comprised of people who could afford to drop $900 and not think twice about it. I moved shortly after that was announced. I'm sorry if I'm coming off as a complainer, but I can't shake the feeling that I've seen this movie before. I'd rather do something about it now than wait until it's too late.

I Agree

I agree. We can't all be on the Board of Directors, but we all should have a say in what goes on in our community. The letter from the Board regarding the budget for 2003 reads, ''Considering the concerns that have been expressed by many of you, we have chosen to increase the annual fee from $75 to $125....'' I wonder what those concerns are exactly that could warrant yet another increase in our dues, and I wonder when those concerns are going to be addressed, because I really haven't noticed any changes. If anyone has looked closely at the budget they sent to us, you'll see that only $490 was spent on landscaping/maintenance in 2001, yet they spent $7,430 this year, and are budgeting $8,500 for next year. I really don't see much, if any, improvement. And hey, does anyone know if there are ever any homeowners association meetings, because I've never been notified of any.

By AJ

I second that

I completely agree with AJ. For 8500$ to be budgeted for this year, they better be adding a playground or something!! And for the meetings, they do send out notices, but, I have never gotten mine more than one or two days before the meeting. Alot of us need time to switch our schedule around a little bit in order to go to these meetings. I sometimes wonder if they really want us at these meetings in the first place. Maybe I'm taking this all the wrong way, but I'm finding it real hard to write that check.

By Jay