In speaking with a few neighbors recently it has come to my attention that many of us are feeling frustrations with different rules implemented by our home owners association and our community by-laws. From No-Fishing and No-Parking signs to cars being towed and garbage cans not being moved from the street many of us has become a "victim" of HOA rules. I wanted to be sure everyone understood the reason and importance to have our HOA and to follow its rules.First is the money ... the money we pay each month to our HOA fees pays for maintenance around the neighborhood. It pays for our lawns to be cut and our fire sprinklers to be monitored. Most importantly it pays for our insurance on the outside of our building. And living in hurricane ally here in Florida it is very important to have our insurance up to date. The one downfall with this is the more than $200,000 is owed to the community by owners that have not paid those fees. By them not paying the rest of us have had fee increases.
Second is the services ... Living in a deed restricted neighborhood provides us with a pool, gates at the entrances of our community and we do not have to take care of our lawns. These are wonderful services LeLand Management has expanded for us (and lowered the costs) in the last six months. Not included in those services are community events implemented by community members. We have had garage sales, lake clean up days, bar-b-ques and pot luck dinners all in an effort to get more people involved.
Third is safety ... Living in pour community means you understand the importance of safety. Safety from crime but also protection for our children as they play around the lake or of our pets as they play in our yard. The economic situation in central Florida has caused a serious increase in crime and through the efforts of our management company and the owners/residents of Tivoli Village we continue to have a safe neighborhood.
Fourth is property value ... all you have to do is read your tax bill over the last few years to watch your home value continue to decrease. Many of us are on the wrong side of home values and have initiated the process of work with our banks to deal with this. It is vital now more than ever to keep our home values as high as possible and our management company is helping with that. Individually we may not agree with specific actions they have taken but as a whole they have done a wonderful job in keeping our value where they have.
All is all living in a deed restricted neighborhood means we have to give up some of our individuality for the greater good of the community. I hope we see more and more of that in 2011.
4 comments:
Thank you Tom. Very well said.
Good post. I live in an area of the community where people aren't parking everywhere in the street much anymore. It's great getting in and out of my driveway with more ease and not weaving through cars to get home! Take care, Patricia
I don't understand why there are exceptions by owners(board members?) within the community who have taken it upon themselves to allow exceptions to the rules for some while still enforcing the rules and regulations on others. There are not supposed to be commercial vehicles parked outside of the garages yet I have noticed both a Brighthouse truck and a private security company car parked night after night in driveways and no one seems to mind, yet when we had company over, a friend of ours had his company vehicle parked out on the street and he had a nice sticker stuck on it when he left after his visit. I don't believe this applies to visitors and was extremely embarrassed. I'm not sure what's going on, but there seems to be a rise in hostility of one or two of the owners in the community. We have been long-term renters and we will likely look forward to moving on at the end of our lease term this time around simply because of an over-zealous association and a nasty, unfriendly neighbor who simply seems to be disgruntled with being stuck where they are and wants everyone around them miserable too. Everyone should bear in mind how you treat your renting neighbors as you complain about empty townhomes, falling home values and rising association dues.
I apologize that I can not direct this comment to any one specific person as they did not leave a name. Normally I would not even post an anonymous comment but I felt the point was too important to ignore.
Tivoli Village is a deed restricted neighborhood with a management company that has an implemented a no parking policy along its streets. These restrictions were recommended by O.P.D. and the City of Orlando. They apply to anyone parking in the development.
There is no exception for anyone in our development in reference to any community by-laws outside of allowing police and security cars to be parked in the open. These vehicles are given an exception due to their assistance in keep crime away from our neighborhood. No other person is allowed to ignore or avoid any other rule. People are suppose to pick up their pet waste, park in the right places, can't add a fence and the like.
I hope this explains things. If not, please post another comment but this time identify yourself. We also are sorry to see any long term renter leave the development.
Post a Comment