04/07/2022
Neighbors,
The HOA Board of Directors wanted to provide you with another update related to our transition to the new management company. We also hope this update will answer a few questions we saw today. First, one of the concerns we have heard from a few people is: “if the Board cannot handle the amount of work required to keep the HOA moving forward, why not resign?” This might sound as if it is a reasonable question. However, you must consider the amount of work that is required to properly manage a HOA the size of our current community. In all reality, it is a full-time job.
When the neighborhood was first being built, up until the time it was turned over to the homeowners, it was manageable. From the very beginning, the HOA paid a person to take care of the daily managerial issues. This worked when the community was smaller. As the HOA grew, the managerial tasks became overwhelming for that individual. Just prior to the HOA being turned over to the residents, this person indicated they no longer wished to provide this service to the HOA.
The newly elected HOA Board was unaware there was not a management company engaged with the HOA until it was turned over to us (the homeowners). Your current Board of Directors asked the previous person if they would remain working with the HOA in the manner they had been performing. This offer was declined, however, they agreed to assist us with the transition over a 2-month period. Unfortunately, the assistance we received was minimal. The decision was understandable as this individual had a full-time career, and the HOA duties were simply overwhelming. The Board of Directors did our best to move forward. We were on our own to navigate this process and we did the best we could.
As housing prices began increasing and people began to sell their homes, more and more resale certificates were requested. Resale Certificates, while not individually overwhelming, take time and must be completed in a timely manner. Resale Certificates are required on all sales to include new builds as well as resales. With the amount of current new development and pre-existing home sales in our community, this became a much larger task and very time consuming. Working with vendors, paying bills, collecting fees, preparing the tax return for an accountant to review and file the taxes, along with responding to complaints are just a few of the tasks the HOA Board of Directors perform daily.
The day to day management responsibilities of the association continue to grow to meet the needs of our growing community. Small HOA’s don’t necessarily need an HOA Management Company. Communities with upwards of 100 or more homesites, absolutely need a management company. Our community will have just over 300 homes when we are completely built out, and we are almost there. HOA laws and requirements change on a regular basis and it is of the utmost importance to be current on these changes in the laws to ensure we work within those requirements. It is imperative to have a certain level of experience and expertise to ensure the HOA is working properly and fairly for everybody. As neighbors, we live in the community with you and we do not want to make a mistake or miss something.
This leads into another question that has been asked: “Why would we want to turn control of our community over to a managing company?” The answer is simply, we are not. The HOA retains full control of the neighborhood. Nothing can change, and nothing happens without direction from the Board of Directors. Think of the management company as an employee. The management company can only do what the HOA directs them to do. They will offer legal advice, assist us with lawsuits (with that cost being deferred as an additional cost to the HOA), provide direction and supportive documentation so that the Board of Directors can make the right decisions for our community. As new Board Members are voted into office, they will have the management company in place to guide them. This ensures a smooth transition for the new Board of Directors and is vital to keep our community at a level we all want it to be. An HOA is a business and needs to be run as such.
Lastly, the Board wishes to answer one last question in this update. As we post these updates on Facebook (which are also being emailed for those who do not use Facebook), people are seeing their replies are not visible. This was a decision the Board of Directors made to ensure there were no negative comments that would harm our community. We value our community as much as you do. While allowing these replies could be perceived as informative, they have recently bred negativity. A potential new resident could be deterred from seriously looking at making a purchase in our community. This negativity may possibly drive a potential buyer away. This could cause the loss of a sale to a current resident or one of the contractors that makes a living selling homes in our community.
Recognizing not enough information was being provided, the board would like to focus on giving the most information possible through these updates. This way our neighbors will be fully aware of the upcoming changes and issues affecting our community. Our disagreements can be handled at board meetings or through our new management company, not a public forum such as Facebook.
The Board of Directors, as your neighbors, have the same goal in mind that you do. We want a nice, clean, visibly appealing, family friendly neighborhood that we can all call home.
Thank you for your time. There will be more updates in the future as things progress.
Tom Yarrington, Jason Oliver and Candy Griffin
Board of Directors
The Home Place at Jarrell HOA
PO Box 794
Jarrell, TX 76537
