Trash pickup problems

Our new way of doing it

(Posted for Dr. David Jones) Dear Fellow Norchester Residents, Although Harvey tried to take out our subdivision destroying 410 out of 737 homes, the result of the storm actually shed light on what we can now call “a perfect financial storm” that is coming upon us quickly. A storm that had the current Board not recognized the financial condition our HOA was in, would have sent our HOA into bankruptcy by the end of next year. I’ll explain that potential fall out later in this letter. The primary factor of this financial storm started in 1975 when a “Hard Cap” was set on our HOA Dues. As individuals we cannot set a hard cap on our personal cost of living because that is controlled by our economy. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, the future of our beautiful subdivision was not considered when the Dues cap was set. Nor were provisions made for the Board to increase the HOA dues incrementally over these past 40+ years. Without these past needed increases the HOA couldn’t keep up with the rising cost of subdivision upkeep. Nor were we able to set funds aside for future major restorations as needed. In fact the HOA has year after year had to dip into what reserve funds we had, just to keep our door open each year. Why this was not recognized or addressed in the past does not really matter at this time of the game. We do not have time, nor would it be fruit full to begin to try to point fingers or find blame. We have a problem, it’s not our fault, but it is our problem. If a farmer choses eats all of his seed corn, he will starve in the future. Could you survive today on what you were making in 1975? Would you try to go through life without having some reserve money stored up if at all possible? In the past, homeowners may not have felt heard, or even allowed to give input to the Board regarding the operations and expenditures of our HOA. But that has all changed! Since Cathy Dunn was elected as President, along with the other current Board members, transparency has been and will continue to be their mantra. Decisions regarding our HOA are no longer made behind closed doors. To the point the current Board has actually solicited fellow homeowners, skilled in finance, banking, and accounting, to form a committee to look over our books and make necessary suggestions. Cathy has actually walked all of our streets and knocked on every door. And when given the chance she would introduce herself and personally ask the homeowner to help with their attendance and input. The Board has also requested fellow homeowners who were or are builders, and architects to get active to look over our old and outdated By-laws and Deed Restrictions to make the necessary changes for today while also looking into the future of Norchester. That’s how I got involved. This has been a very long and emotional process for the Board and the homeowners who have been able to give up their evenings to come to a workable solution to keep our subdivision not only strong, but prepared for the future. As mentioned in the beginning the future of Norchester HOA is bleak. And this will affect all of us. As you can look for yourself on the Norchester website link I have provided, by the end of 2019 our HOA will be bankrupt! https://www.norchester.org/budget-201 8 . To reiterate, these numbers did not come from the Board concocted in a backroom without fellow homeowner input. This information came from the aforementioned voluntary financial committee comprised of a retired, banker, financial advisor, and accountant. The future of our HOA financials and a Path Forward Solution can be viewed on this link, https://www.norchester.org/financial-presentation . The immediate future and your needed support Here is what we all will face beginning 2019 if we collectively, do not choose to embrace, except, and vote “for” the proposed increase in our HOA annual dues. Note: Because of the large ratio of homeowner acceptance needed to make the necessary changes in our By-Laws and HOA dues increase; “to not vote”, is as harmful as to vote against the proposal. As mentioned earlier we will have no choice than to file bankruptcy if this increase is not passed. This means our clubhouse, pool, and tennis courts will have to permanently close. Although you personal may not use any of these amenities, they are a huge attraction to younger future home buyers looking for that perfect subdivision to raise their families in. Bankruptcy also means there will be no more watering or mowing of our Esplanades, nor will we be able to afford street lights and Mosquito control. And we have already lost our needed contract for Constable Patrol. As a Norchester homeowner since 6/2015, and a retired custom home builder who has built every home outside of a city entity and within a HOA, I want to share how the HOA strength and subdivision appeal is viewed by mortgage companies. Pools, Club Houses, and Tennis Courts actually add value to the homes in the subdivision because of future sales appeal. Remember mortgage companies were not created for individuals to enjoy the American Dream of owning our own homes. They were created to make money off of these loans and the value of those homes must be maintained in order to be of value to the mortgage company. Because of the State of Texas recognizes the value of the strength of a HOA there are several State codes in place to support HOA’s in Texas. A mortgage company “will not” loan the funds to purchase a home inside a bankrupt HOA. Hence, not only will we watch the beauty of our subdivision go downhill, we will also witness the current value of our homes go down. In addition, if we do not embrace a Dues increase none of us will be able to sell our homes post HOA bankruptcy if a mortgage company is needed. And only a slum lord would have the cash to buy a house without the involvement of a mortgage company. My wife and I live on Elmdale and Jones Rd. and for the first time since our home was built in 1971, we were flooded like the other 410 homes. The entire 2300 square feet of our downstairs was flooded and the majority of you reading this have similar stories. But because we love the location, this subdivision, and the architectural beauty of our home, we decided to stay and invest huge amounts of money back into our home and rebuild like most of you are. Please join me is in this fight to keep our HOA strong and financially sound for the future value of our homes and so we can all enjoy the lifestyle of being a Norchester resident. Not only that, but I’m asking that you consider getting involved in helping bring Norchester back to being the Jewel of the NW it original had. Together we can do this!! Sincerely, Dr. David G. Jones Norchester resident

Norchester is not alone in its HOA funding dilemma. Many HOA’s throughout the country are experiencing the same issues as we face today. I have extracted some comments from an article written by Judy Thomas with the Kansas City Star. The link to the full article is http://www.kansascity.com/news/special-reports/hoa/article92506602.html “Homeowners in Bellingham, Wash., got a jolt last fall when they learned their HOA was proposing an increase in annual dues from $832 to $1,237 to pay for much-needed repairs and regular maintenance . Sudden Valley Community Association board members said the nearly 50 percent increase was necessary because the previous board had ignored even routine upkeep on the beleaguered property, leaving some buildings in serious disrepair. The homeowners rejected the increase in a vote in November. But board members said the situation was so dire that if funds weren’t approved soon, they would have to start shutting things down. Homeowners ended up approving a smaller increase early this year. Across the country, a growing number of homes associations are facing a critical problem: a lack of sufficient reserves.” ………….. “HOAs facing severely underfunded budgets often must resort to levying special assessments on the owners … in order to pay for needed repairs or maintenance,” it said. Underfunded reserves can also make it more difficult for homebuyers to secure financing. Lenders are reluctant to approve loans when an HOA isn’t meeting its financial obligations, the real estate department said. Last fall, residents of the Las Brisas community in Las Vegas were incensed when they found out their HOA was proposing to raise dues from $154 to $255 a month, a 65 percent increase. The board said the association hadn’t been properly funding its reserve for decades, and the state of Nevada was threatening to place it in receivership. The HOA’s new management company said the fund contained $20,000 but should have been at $1.3 million. “That’s the overarching problem,” said Carson Horton, co-founder of Capital Reserve Consultants, an Oregon-based company that conducts reserve studies for condominium and homes associations. “Nobody is concerned with the long term.” Boards often are reluctant to raise the dues because of pressure from homeowners, Horton said, and because they’re afraid the homeowners won’t be able to afford the increases and will stop paying altogether. “It’s a vicious cycle,” said Horton, who has called the underfunding “the other housing crisis.” With the aging of homes associations, maintaining adequate reserves is more crucial than ever, Horton said. “It’s a serious problem, and it’s only going to get worse,” he said. “The central issue is what happens to a community when it gets to be 30 or 40 or 50 years old. … “These properties are poised to be the slums of tomorrow.” End of Article. Norchester residents – we must find a workable solution to proper funding of the Norchester Maintenance Fund by the end of 2018.

(Posting from Matthew Stout) I look around our neighborhood and I see that our neighbors are still making repairs to their houses and recovering from Harvey. My wife and I received very minimal damage compared to other neighbors – just doors down, and many streets over – yet we are having a hard time of it. It’s disheartening to see people still struggling after having been dealt such a hard blow, and the time that it is taking to recover is wearing on everyone. One thing that I have noticed is that yard maintenance is taking a back seat to home repair. Some people have had to cancel their yard service in lieu of contractors, and yards are being left as an afterthought. Issuing Deed Restriction violations and fines does not seem like a very neighborly thing to do at this time, and would be generally counter-productive. I was thinking this was a place that we could come together as a neighborhood and help each other. For those people who are not capable (physically or financially) to mow their own yards, I thought we could try to organize a brigade of volunteers who have the time and/or the lawn mowers to try to help. This is just an idea in its infancy, so there details to work out. We would need volunteers who are reliable and dedicated, and lawn mowers volunteered. And we would need to cooperation of the neighbors in need, as well, to make sure the call to aid comes before the yard has grown past the height that a push lawn mower can manage and requires a landscaping company with larger machines. The FEMA lots have been marked so they need to be taken care of by FEMA. But we should be able to co-ordinate an effort to help the neighborhood as a whole. It would be one less things to worry about until Norchester is back on its feet again.

When I started Norchester.org a couple of months ago, my primary goal was to get information about Norchester in one place for all to easily see. I wanted to quickly get all of the important documentation pertinent to our residents available for them to see/download. Most of that has been accomplished to date. To do this, I picked an inexpensive, easy to use, limited functionality website program in order to get it done quickly. Kind of a “website building program for dummies”. I had used a comparable one several years ago for a personal website. I needed something similar since I have stayed in the website dummy classification. Recently, Cathy Dunn (our Board President) asked if I could do some sort of forum on the website. What I found was that our website package includes a simple blog feature. Unfortunately, it appears to be a one person blog. Not the best way to get what we want, but that’s where we are for now. When I started using the blog page, I did not intend to become the Lone Ranger. Still don’t. What I think can be done with the limited functionality available is for me to post thoughts from others for them on the blog page. I’m not sure how this will work until I have tried it. I have provided information, at the top of the Blog page, on how to send me your thoughts. When somebody does that, we’ll see how it works out. Since I am the funnel for new postings, in reality I am acting like the Lone Ranger (but unfortunately don’t look like him). Matthew Stout (on our Board of Directors) has expressed some valid concerns about the potential for censorship or delayed posting of time critical topics. Until somebody sends me something to post, it’s hard to be sure what I will do, no matter what I say. So – test me. At this point I have not even seen a comment to my current postings. I don’t know if that means: · Nobody cares · I am so brilliant that everyone agrees with all I have to say · Nobody has read any of this · The keys on your computer don’t work · Nobody has tried to send a comment · Somebody has sent a comment, and the website doesn’t display it The last two are my focus. I need somebody to help me ferret out the last possibility. Anyone. Is anyone out there? Gee, it’s lonely being the Lone Ranger.

We are all residents of Norchester. Whether you just purchased your home or have lived here 50 years, we have a common bond – the welfare of Norchester. We are a diverse lot. Young and old. Many ethnic backgrounds. Wide economic classes. Our common desire for the continuing prosperity of Norchester, regardless of other differences, will be our pathway to success as a subdivision in which we are all proud. This pathway includes each of us acting as a responsible and civil neighbor. The subdivision is technically run by the Norchester Maintenance Fund (NMF). The NMF is a corporate not-for-profit entity. So we must operate like a business. Our organization’s business is actually run by mostly unpaid volunteers – your neighbors. The Board of Directors and our various committees are unpaid volunteers. We do pay fees to a management company to help accomplish some of the tasks common to most business entities such as accounting, paying bills, etc., but the essence of our organization is managed by volunteers – your neighbors. Keep that in mind if you have a disagreement with someone speaking for the subdivision. Your difference may not really be with the person, but with the position of the Norchester Subdivision on the subject. If you disagree, please don’t make it personal. When you were a kid, you were probably often told “you can’t always have your own way”. Well, as a member of the subdivision, that statement still holds. There is a current campaign underway to update our governing documents. As part of this, the Board of Directors has determined, after rigorous analysis, that the annual lot fees must be raised. The fee increase is based on the needs of the Norchester Subdivision. This is not a personal view of a resident so much as a consensus of our Board, our Committees, and many of our residents – your neighbors. If someone honestly disagrees with the necessity to raise the lot fees, that is one of our prerogatives as individuals. Please, though, do not consider the fee increase requirement as a personal opinion of just a few people. When the time comes, vote your conscience. And, if the increase is passed by the required 2/3 majority, we ask you to peacefully accept “you can’t have your own way” and join together with all residents – your neighbors – to keep Norchester successful for the future.

This Norchester.org website is all about the Norchester Subdivision, the Norchester Maintenance Fund (NMF), and the Home Owners Association (HOA). Our most important current concern is the need to increase the HOA fees to the level that will sustain our community. The website page Current Topics is a MUST READ for all Homeowners. Every resident in Norchester needs to digest the information on that page, and then get engaged in conversation with your neighbors about what we need to do. This is where we live folks. Let’s come together to keep Norchester a fine neighborhood of homes.