April 2020 Pandemic Update
We hope this communication finds you and your families well. We are now in the second month of the self-isolation/quarantine. The Board held the April 21, 2020 Monthly Board Meeting on Zoom. This communication is intended to keep Homeowners apprised of current HOA issues as they are identified while we work our way through this pandemic. Topics covered in this communication will be: Delinquent Account Collections, Monthly Board Meetings, Deed Restriction Letters, Acc Requests, Park Access, and Delinquent Accounts.
Monthly Board Meetings:
The first online Monthly Board Meeting was held on April 21, 2020 using Zoom. Once we got all Directors online at the same time the meeting seemed to go well. We have yet to receive any feedback from Homeowners who may have participated. It is unlikely that we will be able to meet physically in May and will most likely be using the Zoom platform again. We are looking at the logistics of continuing to use Zoom once we are able to resume physical meetings.
Deed Restriction Letters:
No one can predict the long term impact COVID-19 and the self-isolation/quarantine will have on our economy. Having said that, we do believe there will be at least some level of negative impact on the economy that may well result in a depression in home values. For most Homeowners our Home represents our largest single investment. The Association attempts to protect that investment, in part, through the enforcement of deed restrictions and architectural control guidelines. In March the Board chose to hold back on certain minor deed restriction issues to give Homeowners the opportunity to evaluate their position during the quarantine. Current events do not relieve the Homeowner of his responsibility to comply with Deed Restriction and ACC issues. In April the Association will resume mailing notices as usual. Communication is always critical and is now more important than ever. Should a Homeowner be asked to do something that he simply cannot accomplish in the time specified please contact Gina to request an extension with a compliance plan.
ACC Requests:
Many of our Homeowner may find that they have extra time on their hands and decide to use that time for home improvements. Please remember to file an ACC Request for those projects before you start to make certain your project conforms with the Architectural Control Guidelines.
Park Access
The Board has been following the recommendations of the State and Harris County to
determine the status of Oakwood Glen parks. The front park is closed to prevent contact on the basketball court and tennis court. The parking lot at the front park is also closed to discourage apartment residents from looking at our parking lot as axillary parking for the apartments. The back park is open. Residents choosing to use the back park should use common sense and practice social distancing. Unaccompanied children should not be in the back park. Because the Association does not have the ability to consistently disinfect the playground equipment and other physical assets in the back park on a continuous basis, please consider these assets to be closed.
Delinquent Account Collections:
The Board chose to delay the Delinquent Account Collection Letter for a second month to give Homeowners with delinquent accounts more time to evaluate their financial positions. If your assessment is delinquent, and you are not in a position to pay your account in full, please consider contacting our community manager Gina Keller at Gina@sterlingasi.com to request a payment plan. Gina will work with you to set up a plan that is fair to both parties. If your delinquent account is already with the attorney and you are not on a payment plan please contact the attorney’s office directly to request one. Ignoring letters from the attorney can cause your legal costs to increase exponentially.
The Board has a fiduciary responsibility to use all legal means to collect funds owed to the Association. Current events do not relieve the Board of this responsibility nor do they relieve the Homeowner of his responsibility to pay the assessment. Additionally, the Board legally cannot waive any portion of the assessment or any hard charges. For reference, legal fees are hard charges. The Association pays these fees monthly as they are accrued. The Board can, on a case by case basis, adjust the down payment on a payment plan and lengthen the payment period (within limits) to get the monthly payment to a more financially manageable level for the homeowner.
Because these are unprecedented times, the Board has decided to send a courtesy reminder this month to Homeowners with delinquent accounts instead of sending the Delinquent Account Collection Letter. The purpose of this reminder is to encourage Homeowners with delinquent accounts to get on a payment plan. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, we anticipate mailing the first of the two mandatory Delinquent Account Collection Letters (209 letters) in May. By the time the May letter is received the delinquent Homeowners will have had an additional 90 days to evaluate their financial position and get on a payment plan. Each of the two 209 letters, if mailed, will incur a $25 charge to the Homeowner’s account ($35 for rental property). Homeowners with delinquent accounts who are not on a payment plan can anticipate being sent to the attorney for collection once the action date in the second letter expires. The Board would prefer to see all of these delinquent accounts on payment plans rather than being forced to send even one account to the attorney for collections. We are using a law firm that has the most reasonable rates we could find but they are still attorneys and they do not work for free.
Mike Harris
President, Oakwood Glen Association
