Calculating the Fully Funded Reserve Amount

Does your board know how to calculate the amount needed to be fully funded?  It isn't as easy as one may think.  You cannot take the figures calculated on the Cash Flow Specific Projections or the Distribution of Accumulated Reserves Schedules and use them as the amount needed to be fully funded.  Unless your community as been following the study to the letter and the amount in the reserve fund at year end when the study was done was correct. 

Is Your HOA Nickel and Diming You to Death?

Is your HOA charging you for expenses over and above your regular dues?   Do you feel nickel and dimed by the board and watch in disgust as they spend 36K on a very ugly monument sign that doesn't match the Spanish Revival style of the community?  You may not be responsible for them regardless who voted on it.  

Suntree Landscape Director has Orgasm in Front of Membership

After attending our annual meeting for Suntree HOA, I have to give the board some credit. They almost have their crap together, still they are missing some fundamentals.  Not to mention missing the financials and minutes from the ownership packets.  We got budgets but that's it.  The annual meeting is specifically to discuss how our money was spent. 
As with most communitites, Suntree's single largest expense is landscaping, Making it a hot topic among owners at annual meetings.  Meaning that any person seeking the landscaping chair, has to be as thick- skinned and prepared to be thrown in front of the fireing squad without taking it personally.  I was however shocked at how our landscape director perfomed her presentation and focusing on money and not landscaping.  I'm also disappointed how she behaved and ignored one owners very valid, cost effective, smart, reasonable, suggestion based on business judgement.  Her level of excitement was more like someone having an orgasm then patting themselves on the back for it.  It proves she is only about spending the money and hiding it from everyone.  She has been the reason for almost $100k in spending over the last few years with no real impact on aesthics!  She needs to spend her own money and stay out of ours.   

Painting the Soap Box

I have to get this out of my system.  The way the board in my HOA handled re-painting or re-decorating the community was gone about all wrong.  Mistakes will be made and I know it.  But, don't ask or even bring up the topic unless everyone agrees to interview and hire an expert.  Someone who specializes in both decorating of the exterior of a communtiy as well as the landscaping.  Who will provide multiple visual aids showing several different styles based on the styles and designs used by owners in thier courtyards.  If this cannot be done because of the cost.  Then it should not get done!