Property Managers Report – May 2010

SOMETIMES YOU GET WHAT YOU ASK FOR

Everyone was complaining about the colder temperatures this past “winter”…well now you’ve done it!  The warm weather is here and will only get hotter.  Many plants were badly damaged during the cooler temps and now need to be trimmed back to cut off the dead branches and encourage new, healthy growth.  Take a close look at your property and be sure your gardener is addressing the brown, dead, ugly plants.  You may need to fill in bare areas which won’t need ARC approval but if you decide to “re-do” your landscape you will need to get prior approval from the POA ARC.  The process is actually fairly simple and will ensure that you don’t do something that could result in having to change the landscape back later or having fines imposed for not following POA rules.

If you have any questions about whether your plans for updating your landscape need approval, give JoAnn at call at the POA: (561) 627-2800.

To those community Board members reading this article, take a look at your association’s entry!  Need work?  It’s time!

ANNUAL ASSESSMENT

The assessment notice and payment coupon will be mailed on June 1^st. The PGA POA annual assessment payment is due on July 1^st and has increased slightly to $650.00 for the year. This is due solely to “bad debts” or the homes that are in foreclosure.  Despite the Board’s diligence in holding down costs and even reducing many costs, the number of homes in foreclosure and those expected to be added to the foreclosure list have resulted in a budget shortage (meaning the assessment had to be raised).

As indicated in my article last month, if there is any reason you cannot pay the full $650.00 assessment by July 1^st, you must contact my office to make arrangements so the account doesn’t end up in collection with a bunch of legal fees and costs added to a balance you already can’t pay!

SECURITY

Last month I told you about all the changes in the security to improve service.  It is important that we hear from you if there is a problem.  Please call the POA office at 627-2800 if there is any problem.  If it relates to the entry gates, please be sure you tell us which gate and the approximately time.

NEVER TOO OLD TO ENJOY CHILDHOOD

For those who didn’t make it to Masters Park on April 24^th, you missed another fun day at PGA!  The Annual Children’s Party in the Park was a great success and a lot of fun as always.  In next month’s issue we should have photos available and, as usual, the pictures are on the Website at www.pga-poa.com

YOUR INNER ARTIST?

The POA Special Events Committee will again hold the Arts & Crafts festival in Masters Park in December.  If you have a talent that you want to show off and you’re willing to part with some of your items, why not join us?  The POA offers one tent on a “first come” basis for artists who don’t have their own tent. You can also purchase one at Target, Wal-Mart or similar stores for under $90.00 and the investment will be returned on your first good sale of the day!  If you and some of your friends enjoy knitting, painting, or similar arts or crafts, why not get together in one tent to sell your creations?  It’s fun!  Please go to www.pga-poa.com for information about the event and how to get started.

I LOVE RULES…..AS LONG AS THEY DON’T APPLY TO ME!

I will attempt some pathetic humor now (so don’t say you weren’t warned).  The story is the POA story and the heading explains it all.  Every day we get calls from owners who are upset because they got a citation for putting their trash out on the wrong day; leaving their garage door open; parking an unauthorized vehicle outside overnight; making too much noise; etc.  The names have been changed to protect the (not so) innocent and if you think I’m referring to you – I’m probably not because every one of these has happened several times.

Trucks:  The caller tells me they have a beautiful, brand new truck that was cited for being left out overnight.  They want permission to park it there for THREE MONTHS while their family is visiting.  Why can’t the POA just give them a pass that lets them keep the truck outside but only for that period of time?

ME:  If the POA gave a “pass” every time someone needed an “exemption” or “grace period” what would be the purpose of having the rule?  There would be trucks everywhere with little paper passes on the dash.  Why not just do away with the rule if anyone can just get a “pass” to be excused from the rule

THEM:  OK – so do away with the rule.  I think it is outdated anyway, my truck is beautiful!

ME: Then send a letter telling the board you would like them to reconsider this rule…I’ve told every caller this for the twelve years I have been at PGA National.  You know how many letters I’ve received?  None – zero – not one.

WHAT THIS SAYS:  It obviously isn’t important enough to be bothered writing a letter – I just thought I’d try to get away with breaking this rule.  I don’t like this rule because I have a truck and don’t want to make room for it in my garage.

Garage doors:  The owner says they should be able to keep their garage door open if they want to and security needs to mind their own business.

ME:  It isn’t very pretty to drive through a beautiful community and look at piles of junk inside garages but the real reason this rule is important is that we do, unfortunately, have things stolen out of garages.

THEM;  Then it’s my fault if something is stolen.  If I want to take that chance it’s none of your business

ME:  We’ve had situations where we have found owners injured and even dead and the only reason we knew there was a problem was because they fell after opening the garage door and after being left open we investigated further.  How do we know if the garage door is open because you want it open and don’t care; whether something has happened to you; or whether you drove away and forgot to close it and have accidentally left your house open to theft?

THEM:  It’s none of your business.  It’s my house and I should be able to do what I want.

WHAT THIS SAYS:  The owner should get a pass for his garage door, right?

Trash:  The owner said they put yard debris at the curb on Wednesday and got a citation. They feel they should be able to put bags at the curb when they need to because their landscaper comes on Tuesdays or Wednesdays.

ME:  The rules require private landscapers to remove their own debris at the end of the work day.  For your own trash, you can put it at the curb no earlier than nightfall on the evening before pick up but if you don’t use a trash can, you shouldn’t put the bags at the curb an earlier than the morning of pick up.

THEM:  But if the landscaper takes the debris I have to pay him and he can’t come on Thursday because he does a lot of houses in PGA and can’t do all of them on the same day.

WHAT THIS SAYS:  The owner should get a pass for their yard waste and trash so they can put it out whenever they want, right?

Everyone bought in a community with rules but no one likes being told what they can and can’t do.  The rules help maintain property values by ensuring the appearance of the community is maintained to a certain standard which is why many people purchased a home in this community.  It is why a community that is 30+ years old can still compete with newer communities when it is time to buy or sell a home.  It is why PGA is a great place to live!  It’s just really not right that those rules have to apply to you too.

We do want to thank you for not taking out your frustration on me or the rest of the POA staff since we are just the messengers who are tasked with letting you know what rules are.  We don’t really care if you call us bad names (I’m sure we’ve been called worse things by better people) but please keep in mind that we have to be sure that everyone abides by the rules. Thanks for your understanding and cooperation with the rules of PGA POA.