The purpose of the Memorial Northwest Home Owners Association is to preserve property values and enhance the quality of life. If you google “quality” looking for methodologies or how to control, you will get a lot of content on this very subject.
We can find the quality standards by which we live written in the Deed Restrictions for our property. This is a promise made to each other when we purchase our homes.
From a governance perspective, it is hard to comprehend our neighborhood HOA processes are overseen by mere volunteers. Volunteers receive no compensation other than a willingness to believe that investing some personal time and effort, it may result in attracting and retaining the best families to live in Memorial Northwest.
Just five short years ago, home owners met at Theiss Elementary school to see a presentation on a Master Plan being proposed for the community center property. For our community, there was nothing more contentious at the time invoking frustration and anger for a variety of reasons. This story is a common one that continues to play out today. After nearly 30 years of use as a private club, the previous owner could no longer afford or perform the required maintenance to preserve the property in a quality manner; the longevity of neglect accelerated its final demise. It took the entire community vote to rescue the community center property and another vote to begin the restoration process. There wisdom of conducting a community vote is an affirmation of quality expectations we are willing to sustain together.
The same story applies to our homes. The methodology we use to ensure quality is a periodic inspection of all 1,957 properties. When an inspector notes a perceived violation, this note is sent in a form of a letter notifying the owner of the deficiency requesting to be improved. Some homeowners expressed concern that we are spending too much effort on minor violations and not enough on the major ones. I assure you we are focusing on all perceived violations equally. I drive by the same homes you do and get frustrated by the obvious deficiencies where a homeowner refuses to take the necessary corrective action or has even abandoned the home.
In this situation, our only recourse is to take legal action to hold the owner accountable to the promise. The Board has approved legal action to be taken on 26 delinquent accounts in order to recover about $95,000 in past due assessments, late fees, legal fees and interest. In the area of deed restriction violations, the Board has approved legal action to be taken on 29 accounts where the home owner has refused to take corrective action. Please be patient as these processes do take time. The outcome is inevitable where the court does not look favorably for reneging on a promise.
Another quality process protecting new owners is the “resale certificate and transfer fees.” When a home has a contract and going to closing, the Title Company is required to contact the Association to determine if there are any unpaid balances resulting in a lien against the property. We have received nearly $59,000 from the delinquent accounts for the homes sold this year.
The volunteers on the Board of Directors and Committees are committed to quality of life. The bottom-line: take care of property and take care of each other. This is the promise volunteers commit to when serving. Want to make a difference in our community? Volunteer.
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