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Old 09-02-2014, 09:59 AM
 
4,901 posts, read 8,713,455 times
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I found this the other day while doing some research and thought others who are considering living in a condo or townhouse in HSV helpful:

http://www.hsvtha.com/uploads/2013_T...LETTERHEAD.pdf

Are these rates sort of high to y'all, considering all the money is used for is to keep up the grounds, or am I just cheap?

I mean, seriously, you could buy one of the cute small houses a lot cheaper (with more square footage and no wall sharing) and pay 'way less than these condo's monthly fees if you needed someone to mow your yard in the summer, or rake your leaves in the fall. Most of the homes in the really wooded areas don't have a lot of grass anyway, and lot of them already have rocks in the yard.

Another thing....the HSVTHA website has a page for pictures of each complex, but has no pictures for most of them. Seems like they could do a better job promoting them.

Another question I've had that I might as well throw in here with this post, since it's about the condos/townhouses....when we stayed in Castellon Courts a neighbor told us he hardly ever heard anything in the next unit because they were built with double walls between them. Is this true for all of the condos in Hot Springs?
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Old 09-02-2014, 03:40 PM
 
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i am familiar with condo fees and they are usually responsible for everything from the sheet rock out. this is determined by the specific association and their by-laws. they can also cover some utilities and of course all out side maintenance.

so, if you had a fire or tornado, the association would rebuild your condo and you would paint, cover the floors, decorate and move in. this is the typical condo association situation.

it is generally a situation for weekenders and/or retirees that really don't want any responsibility outside their walls.
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Old 09-02-2014, 05:37 PM
 
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also keep in mind, that pools, tennis courts, driveways, fence, gates (gated complex), tree trimming, landscaping are all expenses that the poa is responsible for. as a member of a poa, you have the right to attend the meetings and ask for additional services and/or removal of services. if you can convince the board of directors of your idea, then changes can be made to services, which can affect the poa dues for everyone. i must admit, i have never seen a situation where the dues decreased, but it could happen.
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Old 09-02-2014, 08:57 PM
 
4,901 posts, read 8,713,455 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by latunafish View Post
i am familiar with condo fees and they are usually responsible for everything from the sheet rock out.
I wish! The monthly fees would be so worth it if that were true for the HSV condos. That's the only thing that would make living in a condo/townhouse worth losing some of your privacy for.

A quote from the THA website:

"The monthly THA dues are used to maintain the limited common property of ***** (insert name of complex) Courts and the operation of the Association..."

I can't remember where, but I also read somewhere else that the fees were used strictly to keep up the grounds....and a resident of one of the complexes told me the same thing. Only one of the complexes has its own pool and none have their own tennis courts.

So, my question remains....does this seem a little high just for groundskeeping?
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Old 09-03-2014, 02:03 PM
 
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i have just never been involved in a situation where the landscape was the only real duty of the poa. however, i do know that the grounds-keeping issue is always a problem at the units we have been involved in. seems like the poa was always firing one company and hiring another, and the money could go up or down every time. cost was usually determined by once a week vs every other week service and if they did any other landscaping duties, such as trimming trees and bushes. you can look at their financials and see what they are paying out and where.

i served on the board of one of our poa associations for ten years and it can be a headache to manage the duties and keep all the property owners happy. (keeping the property owners happy was the hardest part)

just another piece of advice, if you plan to live there full time, i would be very cautious about buying in a complex that has nightly or even weekly rentals. (i am involved in three poa associations at the present time and we don't allow nightly, weekly or monthly rentals at any of the three. 6 months minimum, we found you just have less issues that way) now if you are in the rental business, nightly and weekly is where the money is.

hope this helps and you find your little piece of paradise.
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Old 09-05-2014, 06:58 PM
 
11,181 posts, read 10,491,937 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Luvvarkansas View Post

I can't remember where, but I also read somewhere else that the fees were used strictly to keep up the grounds....and a resident of one of the complexes told me the same thing. Only one of the complexes has its own pool and none have their own tennis courts.

So, my question remains....does this seem a little high just for groundskeeping?
Yes, I think it's high.

According to the HSVTHA rules and regulations:
Quote:
The maintenance, repairs, replacement, reconstruction and upkeep of the home inside
and outside, as well as the appurtances and platted property to the living unit, including
ingress and egress are Owner responsibility. This includes painting, roofing, cleaning
windows, and removing debris from the sidewalks, decks, gutters, and porches. The
seawalls, where applicable, are owner responsibility. Individual mailboxes are the owner
responsibilities.
Owners are responsible for the water system of the unit, beginning at the downstream
side of the meter and ending at the sewer line at the sewer “drop box.”
And this is what the assessment pays for:
Quote:
Mowing,
watering, weeding, fertilizing, trimming, leaf removal, and general cleanup of the limited
common properties in each HSV townhouse court; gazebos that are part of the limited
common properties; maintenance of the large trash bins.
Quote:
Limited Common Properties include the grass and shrubbery in the common areas
of the courts and parking pads in front of units.
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