Yesterday was an interesting day as we completed our month long kitchen renovation and had the pleasure of seeing SCHOA's financial assistance program up close and personal. I've always known it was a wonderful asset to the community but when you are away from it, one forgets just how good it is. But, I'm getting ahead of myself a bit. Earlier today I did a GOOGLE search for "anti homeowners association" links. Always amazed by the speed of their search engine, especially when you consider the response showed 9,030,0000 results. Suffice to say, there are gobs of folks out there who hate HOA's. Perhaps that is why I am such a huge fan of the Sun City Home Owners Association (SCHOA). I served on their board for three years (06,07 and 08) and got to know it better than most. In our first year several of us were quite frustrated by how it was working and by years end all of the employees had quit and we rebuilt it from the ground up. It was trial and error but over the next two years we molded it into quite a fascinating construct. We ramped up our public relations, produced two full color magazines, made sure people understood compliance mattered and really worked to make the organization more user friendly. One of my personal goals for SCHOA was to develop a firm position for people who willfully violated our ever so easy to follow CC&R's. However along with that was the need to create a "soft side" to the organization. We accomplished both. Internally we put in place a mechanism to aggressively go after those who refused to comply while at the same time created programs to help those who didn't have the resources to clean up their properties. To the credit of those working there, we (the board) had the bigger picture of what we wanted but the employees were the ones who actually made it all happen. Now some 4 years after we had moved on, they are still doing a great job. Bill S and the gang day in and day out are working at keeping Sun City looking good. Which brings me back to yesterday: I met Gene Turiano (compliance officer at SCHOA and heads up the financial assistance program) at Pohle NV Center (Steve Pohle is a good friend and a real asset to the community) where we were looking for some help from him. Steve donated the old three wheel Westinghouse golf car to the Museum when I was president there and the kind of assistance we needed this time around was right up his alley. Gene had a complaint against a resident who had a 1986 disabled golf car sitting on his back patio (along with other violations). The owner was back in Michigan with his ailing wife and Geno worked with him to help fix the issues with the property. The golf car wasn't running and the owner said Gene could have it if he would haul it away. It was the perfect arrangement because Geno was also working with a single woman living in the community on a very fixed budget. Her husband had died and left her in a terrible financial position. She had no transportation and wasn't working but is looking to be able to get a job once she has a way to get to and from. We asked Steve to get the golf car running (battery and tires) and Steve loved the idea of being able to help. They went and pulled the car off the back patio yesterday and hopefully it will all come together. Long story to get to this point, but it is what sets Sun City aside from anywhere else on this planet. Gene said in the last 4 years, the financial assistance program has helped over 150 Sun City residents; from painting houses to pulling weeds, they have been there for people. He has some 60 off and on volunteers who assist him and a dozen vendors who chip in with time, money and skills that allow the program to be as successful as it is. Throw in the fact SCHOA has yearly dues of $20 (on a voluntary basis) and one quickly comes to see what an incredible bargain Sun City is. Let's be clear though; while membership is voluntary, compliance is mandatory for all buying in Sun City. The great news is, the CC&R's are ridiculously easy to follow and help keep the community looking good. SCHOA...simply an awesome organization.
That is a fantastic story and thank you for all your hard work. If all HOA's would follow this model then there would be fewer complaints. Hope the woman gets on her feet and my heart goes out to her. So how about sharing a photo of your new kitchen? I love seeing what can be done with these homes.
Absolutely Agree, BPearson ! Our SCHOA is an amazing association ! All Sun City Residents would benefit from being a member of it -- and true - the cost is so low !---yearly dues $20.00, as you mentioned ! AND that is a deal ! :smile-new:
Nice job on the link Fiona. The CC&R's are about as easy to follow as falling off the proverbial log. Hard to believe but there are still ample numbers of people who argue "it's my property and I'll do what I want." Sorry gang, not the case because when you buy the property you sign documents clearly stating you agree to abide by them. As far as the kitchen, I will try and get a thread up complete with pictures.
People here still manage to take their property to the limit lol. Like Pepto Bismo pink is not my thing but I appreciate that you can still have the color of your dreams on your house here. Or......how about Christmas ornaments on the garage? It is still a well maintained, very tidy town and that I appreciate more than anything. At least I do not hear roosters in the morning.
I take great pride in my yard. Unfortunately, I have a backyard neighbor who uses his home only for a "man cave" and doesn't put anything away (mops and brooms, etc., stacked up on the back patio, ladders, pieces of plywood, etc., etc.,). Weeds run wild. Do I ask him to clean up his act (so I can enjoy my view from the patio ) or do I turn him in to SCHOA?
I feel your pain. Here in CO we have an HOA and I am the design review committee chair. I don't have the best looking back yard, but I keep it clean. My direct back neighbor uses his to harvest weeds and the other back neighbor uses his to dump junk while he is remodeling (going on 2 years now). Both my next door neighbor and I have talked to both back neighbors. The one with the weeds will go out and spray the weeds in the rocks, mow his sad looking lawn and water it until it floods my yard and I have to again complain. When I complain to the HOA they send a letter and another and the homeowner just pays the fine. The remodel neighbor makes sad attempts at straitening up the junk, but removes nothing. This year I just gave up unless my yard is getting flooded. :-( The only saving grace is that we all have 6' high fences between us. In the spirit of being a good concerned neighbor about home values I would try talking to your neighbor first.
Good question and one we were often asked at SCHOA: Should I talk to me neighbor or should I call SCHOA? And the answer is...it depends. For some of our residents, for example the thought of a 93 year old frail woman confronting a 300 lb wild eyed neighbor makes no sense. Or even those who get along but fear reprisals or some blowback by talking to them, it may be better to make the call. If you live near reasonable folks who just are not seeing what you are, a quiet word over the knee wall will often do the trick. Unfortunately, the neighbors like Bruce has are often the rule rather than the exception. They'll clean it up and then two or three months later it looks like crap again. It's just the way they live and when we walk and see horrible clutter in a garage or yard I often wonder what the inside of their house looks like. The good news is, we don't have to look at the inside but from a community appearance standpoint, they do have an obligation to maintain the outside. One quick comment; if you love your junkie back yard, need to have a clothesline or shed...put up a 6 foot block wall. At least when you hide it from view, we don't have to look at and you can live like a pig if that's your desire.
We lived up in the Sierras of northern CA years ago and boy did we have issues with trashy neighbors. You would find a lovely, custom home on a lot with a gutted out but occupied mobile home next door to you with years of junk cars and old couches in the yard and nothing could be done about it. We even had an HOA for what it was worth. The biggest problem was the meth makers sneaking into the mountains to do their dirty deeds and you could smell it from time to time and if you were really unlucky, the view lot you purchased had a meth family right next door. HOA's can be a blessing or a curse and ours at least does a decent job of monitoring houses without being over bearing. To avoid uncomfortable neighbor relations, I personally would rather just make a call to the SCHOA and not make a neighbor mad. We made sure our "clay" area was well covered from neighbors eyes. I would hate to look at it myself.
B, I read the rules that were posted the other day and I thought it said you cannot put up a shed. You can only add on to the house directly. Did I read that wrong?
You have to be attached to the house...you are right Cynthia. I think Del Webb was wise in banning sheds. They deteriorate so badly after time and that would be an eyesore with these open yards.
Not quite true gang. Any open yards have to have the shed attached and with a similar siding as the house. The one difference is if the shed, clothes line or piles of crap are behind a wall that prevents them from being seen, there is no violation. You may get arguments from people on this but when we were in office, that was the advice from out attorney.
Messy Neighbor problem -- call SCHOA If my neighbors had a mess in their yard - or a horrible clutter, that I had to look at, I would give a phone call to SCHOA. It is my understanding that SCHOA will check out the area outside of the home in question and then contact the homeowner with their violations. Then it is that homeowners responsibility to Clean-It-Up.. SCHOA does not give out your name when you phone in a complaint. Am I correct, BPearson ? I am very fortunate that all of my neighbors - at least the ones I can see -- have always kept up their yard's appearance. However, I have met folks who have had to call SCHOA with a complaint and/or folks who also had to Clean-up their place after SCHOA warned them of their mess. That is one of SCHOA's qualities and a good quality - - to help keep our Sun City Areas nice in appearance !
