Thought of the day

Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning and focussed effort.

My Committment to you

I would like to thank Laurel Oaks homeowners for the opportunity to work for you. My committment to all homeowners regardless of their vote is that I will always be on your side as the board sits across the table with service providers, lawyers or any other parties that the HOA deals with. My priority will be to always put your well being ahead of any other concerns and ensure that all efforts are exhausted to give you the best return for your dues.

I will also be open and transparent with you and say the same things in our meetings as I do when I am talking to you. I will endeavor to ensure that we communicate our intentions, decisions and future plans to you more openly so that you can truly be a partner in making our community better.

Kind regrads
Alexander Owuor

Love Thy Neighbor. Balance between business and compassion.

A neighbor recenlty described to me how for the last several years they have been struggling to pay thousands in fees and surcharges that arose from a late or missed HOA annual payment. This one story tugged at my heart and made me wonder if as neighbors we could do better than burden already struggling homeowners with thousands in surcharges and fees.

To my suprise I heard this same story relayed to me by several other homeowners. Are we really treating each other like neighbors when we have so many homeowners facing litigation and excessive surcharges and fees? If someone had told me this was happening on this scale I would have rationalized it as something that happens but hearing it from a real person going through it made it hit home how this is tearing down our community instead of building it. How many more cases can we expect after the rough year that 2009 was.

Most homeowner in this situation were paying the thousands in surcharges dutifully which makes me think that the HOA could have showed compassion and talked directly with the homeowners like neighbors do and earned their good will for years to come.

Every dollar we force out of homeowners' pockets and into the lawyer's pocket is money that will not be used to repair a fence, renovate a bathroom, install a new tile floor or enhance landscaping so our whole community loses as home values stagnate or drop. There is a cost to the HOA too in the form of lost time and resources that could be used for improving our community.

Is there a way to strike a balance between business and compassion and reduce the large number of homeowners currenlty facing litigation and burdened by surcharges?

A Community Divided. Who is our neighbor?

In speaking to homeowners over the past several weeks, I have learned that we are a community that is divide. There are those that are happy because they can call the HOA board at any time and get a freindly response. There is a second group who have experienced less than welcoming responses when contacting the HOA and the final group who have never received a response or had their calls answered after the initial contact.

Most of those that were happy live closer to members of the Board who all live in the same general area. Proximity seems to elicit better treatment. This made me wonder about myself and how I treat neighbors in our subdivision. Are we more inclied to treat neighbors that live closer to us with more kindness and courtesy that we do those that live further away from us?

Is our neighbor just the person that lives next door or the whole community?
What would change if we were neighborly to them all?

Million Dollar Question !

Since the start of 2005 the HOA has received $1.2 million in dues from homeowners. Over one million dollar to improve the comunity, protect home values and look after your well being and security.

Have your dues been put to good use?

Self managed vs Third party management company?

Do we need a management company or would we be better off managing the day to day activities of our HOA ourselves as Homeowners? What are the pros and cons? Please post your opinions and comments.

Containing Cost. Please give your comments

Are there steps that can be taken to contain the costs of running the HOA?