2009 Budgets – We Vote Next Month

We have added a number line items to this year’s budget. I had some questions about the budget that I am waiting to hear from our property manager. I have heard back from our Property Manager. Please see the comments below.

We have an increase in HOA fees from last year. This is due to the number of additional maintenance projects we have slatted for next year and for writing off bad debt. This year we are being very conservative with the line item. We are assuming a certain amount of HOA non-payment from those who might foreclosure in this economy.

When the budget was mailed out last week, we were applying for a loan to finance a large portion of the carpet removal and staining. However, we were denied by the bank. I do not think we are able to remove the carpet and stain the floors. I would like to keep an extra line item in the budget so we can save additional monies for the floors in next year’s budget. We will still apply the $75k from our reserves to the carpet removal. If we save money this year and apply the $75k from the reserves then we can take a loan out for a smaller portion of the upgrade.  The total cost is about $235k.

Here are some of my questions. Once I get an answer from our property manager about these questions, I will post the answers on our new website. We have a new forum dedicated to your questions. What are your questions? Do you ever feel like you don’t have a voice? Well, I’ve created an online community where you can share your opinions, ask questions and meet your neighbors. If we can build a better sense of community then I truly think we will enjoy living at Park North infinitely more.

I have asked for transparency for the staff budget line. I got this. We can discuss this during the meetings or on a one to one. I don’t feel comfortable posting people’s salaries on here.

Legal Fees went from $10k to $82k for collections. Why such an increase? Still waiting to understand this one more.

Bad debit collections went from $1k to $30k. This is assuming people do not pay their HOA dues. Is there any overlap over the legal fees? Still waiting for further clarification.

Building repairs- $20,500. Is this enough? We said no to a lot of repairs last year due to lack of funds. Are we sure we are budgeting enough? I want to know if we have money budgeted to repair the pool furniture.

Exterior door/lock replacement $6500 to $15k. Can I see what the plan is for this? Which doors will be replaced? At what cost? Some of this cost was absorbed in other repairs. This might be a little buffer for us.

Security enhancements/door locks. Is there any overlap with the item above?

Building engineering study was $14k in ’08. I thought this was supposed to be $5k. Isn’t that what we approved? Why the increase? Need further clarification.

I didn’t see painting in this budget. I asked if we taking the money out of the reserves or if the line item was missed. I think it’s coming out of reserves, but I want to be sure.

If you have any questions about a line item in the budget then feel free to ask them on our new website.

Have you had a chance to visit our new website? Why join our new community??? Well…

This new online community will allow us to:

• Receive announcement emails about the building such as towing rules, water shutoff, etc.
• Sell stuff to each other
• Find out how HOA dues are being spent (budgets)
• Stay informed about maintenance projects
• Welcome new residents
• Meet fellow residents
• Have open discussions about maintenance projects, budgets, property mgmt, etc.
• Plan community events
• Post local events for free
• Drastically improve communication
• Promote local business and receive discounts for residents

What you have to do:

Sign up for a free profile by going to http://parknorth.ning.com and bookmark the website. Create a profile page and upload a photo of yourself. By adding photos this will help to build a sense of community, plus, it makes it easier to say hello at meetings and in the hallways.

This online community can be used to sell stuff, promote your own business to residents, get updates about maintenance projects, meet your neighbors and read meeting minute notes from board meetings.

We have discussed removing the carpet in the hallways and staining the concrete. We have already posted photos of what the stained concrete will look like in the forum area. Check it out and add a comment to the forum. We encourage you to get involved in the online community by creating your own groups and/or forums, plus, you can participate in the many groups/forums already created. These forums are a great place to make maintenance suggestions. Management and all board members have already created profiles. Reach out to them directly and say hello- I have two profiles- one for Park North and one as myself, Renee. Plus, you can post local events for free.

Sign up and see how easy it is to use! http://parknorth.ning.com. We look forward to having your join our online community!

Join our Community and Build Park North’s Community

We have a number of maintenance projects projected for next year including removing the carpet and staining the concrete, repainting the hallways, etc. It will take a number of months to complete our maintenance projects. In the meantime, I would like to invite all of you to join the new online community I created for Park North. http://parknorth.ning.com

By creating a profile for yourself, I will be able to email you announcements about the building, our meetings and needed updates. If you are an owner, you can join the Group called Owners. In this group, we will have open discussions about maintenance, management staff, etc. Since this group is behind lock and key we will not have to worry about renters or potential buyers reading our comments. We will be able to be completely honest. I have already posted photos of what our stained concrete will look like in the forum area. There are a number of forums where you can participate and you can create your own groups and forums. I have also created a number of other groups to get the community started.

I truly feel that if we have a strong sense of community whether you live at Park North or are an absentee owner then we can improve our property values, be 100% leased at all times and enjoy this property.

We can use this new online community to:

• Post important documents about budgets
• Welcome new residents
• Have open discussions
• Use this as a sales tool (photos, sense of community, etc.)
• Plan community events
• Send out announcement emails
• Drastically improve communication
• Post local events for free
• Promote local business and receive discounts for residents

What you have to do:

Sign up for a free account by going to http://parknorth.ning.com and bookmark the website. Create a profile page and upload a photo of yourself. By adding photos this will help to build a sense of community, plus, it makes it easier to say hello at meetings and in the hallways.

I represent two profiles on the Ning. I am Renee and I am also Park North at Cheney Place. Management will create their own profiles to communicate with our owners/renters. I created two profiles so that I can communicate on behalf of Park North and I could also communicate on behalf of myself as a regular resident.

Play around and see how you can best utilize the online community. It will take a few minutes for you to get accustom with it.

Let me know what you think. I will have to approve you to join the Owner’s community since I only want owners to be able to participate in the community.

-Renee

Update on 4th floor and damage from Fay

Unfortunately, due to water intrusion from Hurricane Fay the fourth floor experienced some leakage from the roof. The insurance adjuster came out on the property to estimate the damage. The water intrusion came from the platforms where the air conditioners sit on. This is a latent defect from the developer and was listed in the engineering report mentioned in a previous post. I was not apart of the discussion with the insurance adjuster so I am not sure what was discussed. As soon as I find out, I’ll let you know.

Why do I need to call my insurance carrier- if the leak came from the roof?

If you had water intrusion into your unit on the fourth floor then please call your insurance company, asap. Once the water seeped into your condo then it became your responsibility. Even though the leak came through the roof (common area) it is still your responsibility as soon as it enters through your ceiling- which means you’ll need to contact your insurance carrier. The water also seeped into the common areas such as the hallways. Our master policy will cover the hallways and the roof, but your ceiling damage is covered by your insurance. It’s an important distinction. Please make sure you have adequate condo insurance and if you are renting out your condo you must have condo insurance and ask your renters to get renters insurance. Each of us signed a document that stated we have condo insurance. Many people are misunderstanding what the master condo policy covers and are not getting condo insurance.

Condo insurance covers floor to ceiling, interior walls, etc. The renters insurance actually covers contents in the event of burglary, fire, etc. If you are an owner occupied unit, then make sure your condo insurance also includes contents.

You must carry condo insurance. Condo insurance is considerably less money than if you have to insure a single family home b/c the master policy covers your exterior and you only need to cover your interior by purchasing condo insurance.

I know some great insurance agent and I just renewed my condo policy and it was $324 for the year and I carry a lot of coverage. Let me know if you want the contact number for my insurance lady.

If you do not have insurance, please make sure you get a policy this week! I would also double check your coverage with your policy every year to make sure you are happy with the amount of coverage you have. It also makes sense to get it requited with other companies every year or so. I just did and it saved me $200 a year.

If you have any questions feel free to ask them here by typing a comment below.

Meeting on Thursday Night and Managing Expectations

A few weeks ago, I asked everyone to fill out a survey. The purpose of the survey is help prioritize projects for the building. However, only a fraction of our owners/residents have filled out the survey.

How can the board plan 2009′s budget and maintenance priorities without feedback? What is important to you? Our property manager commissioned an engineering report for our building. In this report, an engineering firm went around the entire building and prioritized the repairs that need to be made from high to low priority. Our goal is to address the high priority items as soon as possible. This is where you come in… We need your help prioritizing the medium to low priority and cosmetic enhancements to the building. Please fill out the survey and, if you can, please attend our HOA meeting on Thursday, August 27th at 7:30 pm in the Great Room. HOA meetings are the last Thursday of every month at 7:30 pm in the Great room.

I’ve received a variety of questions from residents. Below I wanted to address some of those questions. If you have a question about why something is done a certain way then please take a moment and ask. You can click reply below and post your question, ask in an HOA meeting or you can contact our front office to ask.

Why?

Why do we not have card access on all of our doors? Unfortunately, when our building was built the developer did not add card access to most of our doors. The cost is incredibly high to add card access to the doors because electricity needs to be run to each door. The card reader is not the expensive part of the enhancement, but there is a cost and it adds up when you do multiple doors.

Why is our Club House closed when you need to use it? Our Club House is open when our front staff is in the office M-F (9-5pm) and Sat (12-4pm). Unfortunately, due to theft and vandalism we are unable to leave the club house accessible without someone keeping an eye on it. We struggle with people stealing weights out of they gym and cannot afford to have things stolen from the Club house/ Great room. There may come a point where we want to spend the money on a card swipe and cameras for the Great Room. If this is something you are interested in then please fill out the survey and let us know.

Door frames are cracking and hard to open. When the building across the street was built, it caused our building to settle a little. This settling is evident in the building door frames. This was actually one of the issues brought up on the engineering report as a high priority. Our property manager is getting quotes from contractors. Once we have three quotes, the board will evaluate the quotes and choose a vendor. If we can do the repairs this year then we will. If we do not have the funds (depends on the cost to repair) then we will have to add it to 2009′s budget. Aside from the frames, we are replacing each of the door locks one by one. They are expensive to replace so we are staggering it over the year.

Replacing the carpet & repainting the building interior. We have to make a decision if we want to replace the carpet for new carpet or if we want to rip the carpet up and stain the concrete. They both have advantages and disadvantages. I’ve discussed the carpet issue in a previous post under maintenance.

We will need to make a decision in the next month or so about what we want to do with the carpet in order to plan for ’09. We have a couple of choices. Regardless of what option we chose, it is going to be an inconvenience for all of us when our floors are being redone.

1. Replace carpet for new carpet. This option is cheaper. Our carpet has lasted 7 years and not the 10 years it was expected to last. We have heard a lot of complaints about the carpet and the fact that some owners allow their pets to defecate on the carpet and not clean it up. On a side note, if you see this happen, please let the front office know, asap. This is our home and it is disrespectful to all of us who call this home. (We are in the process of getting quotes for carpet replacement.)

2. Replace carpet for stained concrete. This will last longer and require much less maintenance in the future. We will not have to worry as much about pet issues and this will save us money in the long run. Also, we will be able to reduce the amount we put away into our reserve b/c a portion of it goes to carpet replacement. Please stop by Uptown next door if you are concerned about a noise issue. They have exposed concrete. Our finish will dramatically different. It will be look more like marble because of the process. Our goal is live up to our luxury status. (estimated cost is $235,000)

3. Keep our carpet for another year and only replace the pieces that need to be replaced the most. We have some spare carpet. No cost and no inconvenience. However, in 6-12 months from now, we’ll have the same issue. We will have to wait to the next budgeting cycle to make a decision.

Once we decide what we want to do with the floors then we can paint the walls. It doesn’t make sense to repaint everything and then redo the floors. The walls are going to get scuffed up and damaged. We know some of the walls desperately need a repainting. However, the wall paint has aged and the color has changed over time. This is why you see touch up paint all over the building that is a different color. I am a big proponent for getting a fresh coat of paint on the walls. It will make our hallways brighter. This is why I keep pushing the survey. The sooner owners/residents take the survey then the sooner we can start making decisions and improving the property.

Lounge chairs. Our pool furniture needs to be redone. (Requested quotes)

Parking garage repainting. We received quotes to repaint all the lines in the parking garage because they are faded and hard to read. The quote was for more than $35,000 to repaint the lines with specific road paint. As with everything else, we would need to prioritize this project and evaluate the cost of everything together and what that means for your HOA fees. Is this something that is important to you? Then let us know by completing the survey.

Fence behind the building. Since we still have a pending lawsuit with the lot next to us, the fence company would not put up the fence. Now the fence company will not refund the deposit we paid them. Our property manager is working through this. The issue with the lot next door is almost resolved. Now, we are suing them to reimburse our legal fees.

Security. If we deem security is an issue and we need more of it then we need to increase our budget for security. Right now, we are spending $25,000 for monitoring the building Thur- Sunday night. If we want 24 hour coverage then we will need to get quotes for this. I would estimate our cost would increase dramatically. I am trying to work with a locksmith to offer all of us a discount to add an additional lock to our front doors. I’ll keep you posted. I highly recommend we all add an additional deadbolt that we can lock from the outside. This will be a huge deterrent for criminals. Even with added security, the security guard cannot be every where at the same time. We have a lot of ground to cover with our building from floor to floor, stairwells, parking garage, courtyard, pools, and walking around the entire building.

Sorry about the long post, but there is a lot to communicate. Feel free to ask questions and I’ll do my best to address them.

Update on Fay – We received some water damage

With all the hard rain we have had last night and today. The property has suffered from quite a bit of water intrusion through out the fourth floor and one unit on the first floor.

We’ve taken measures to try and stop as much of the leakage as possible.

However, permanent repairs will not take place until the rain has stopped and we can have the roof contractors out on there to properly fix the leaks. We believe its related to the white coating the developer had put on the flat landings in combination with the actual doors that were installed originally. The doors are interior style doors, the same type we have on the units to the halls. They were not designed to deal with the massive amounts of water being driven against them by the storm.

It is possible that the damages by be substantial enough for us to file an insurance claim. Bridgette has already contacted our agent and gotten the ball rolling for that and we will keep you updated as the situation progresses. Additionally, We have taken pictures to include with our latent defects suit against the developer.

-This was written by Jason the President of the Board. He is volunteered to help and is spending a couple of days this week in the office.

Please reach out to the front office if you see any water damage in the building 407-426-8300.

Hurricane Preparedness

Here are some do’s and don’ts when it comes to hurricane preparedness. We want all of our residents to be safe!

Do:

• Remove all loose items from your terrace or patio (hanging plants, lawn chairs, etc.)
• Close and lock all windows and sliding glass doors.
• Draw all shades. Close all blinds and drapes.
• Place folded towels on window sills and inside the bottom of doors leading outside to absorb any leaking water.
• Locate the exit stairway nearest to you and count the number of steps from your door to the exit (in case lights are out in the hallway).
• Check and close all faucets, unplug electrical items from wall outlets and disconnect television from cable or satellite dish
• If the wind starts to get bad stay in your condominium in a room with few or no windows.
• Determine a location outside of the building for members of your family to meet in the event you are asked to evacuate.

Don’t:

• Tape your windows, this wont help them stand up to the wind or keep them from breaking of they are hit.
• Use gas powered devices in your units or on your terrace or patio.
• Pull the fire alarm unless there is a real fire in the building.
• Dial 9-1-1 unless you have an actual life or death emergency.

National Hurricane Centers “Hurricane Supply Kit” http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/prepare/supply_kit.shtml

As a friendly reminder, if you haven’t taken our Park North survey then please click here.

Just in case:

<!–[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]–><!–[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]–>Park North Management at 407-426-8300

Park North’s Security Officer at 407-625-1364

Police non-emergency line 321-235-5300

Tell us

Please report any property damage asap to the front office. The front office can be reached at 407-426-8300.

Notice of Public Hearing + Notes on Your Door

Notice of Public Hearing

I’m not sure if you’ve received a green letter in the mail about a notice of public hearing or not, but if you have let me tell you what it’s all about.

The lot adjacent to our building is 800 N. Orange; Ustler Development purchased the lot over a year ago. We involved lawyers and got them to reduce the size of the building by 66% from the original plans. Initially, they wanted to set the building back 3 ft from people’s patios. The purpose of this hearing is because Ustler Development wants to set the building back 46ft. (This is 46ft from the 3ft originally planned- great work by our outstanding lawyer, Karen Wonsetler + team) Since the city of Orlando only allows for a 25ft set back- they require a public hearing for the 46ft set back. Please leave a comment if you have any questions about this hearing. All of you are welcomed to attend the hearing. From our perspective, this 46ft is the best scenario we could have hoped for.

Notes on Your Door

I’m sure all of you have started receiving the notes on the door from an owner. I have personally communicated with this owner and asked him to attend our Board meetings. I have also asked him to fill out our survey. I am asking everyone to fill out the same survey to review everyone’s feedback in a central location- this ensures everyone is heard. We want all of our residents to share their opinion on what they think needs to be changed and updated at Park North.  The Board is impartial. We need to look out for everyone’s interests and not only of those who scream the loudest [Survey link]

After communicating with this owner, I’m still not clear on what his objective is. We all want the same thing to make Park North a great place to live and to increase our property values. I have asked him to put the survey link on his website and he has refused. I have asked him to attend our meetings to discuss everything in an open forum and he also refused. I tried to communicate on this website, but he became hostile. I also tried communicating with him in email and I received the same hostility. I created this blog to open the lines of communication. I heard some owners say that they were not being communicated with, so I volunteered to write this blog to help with the communication issue. I want all of us to work together. I implore all of you to get involved and attend our HOA meetings and/or post your comments on this blog for all residents to read if you are unable to attend our HOA meetings. [Meetings are the last Thursday of every month. Meetings start at 7:30pm in the great room]

As far as the most recent note on the door, it says that associations are collapsing in this tough market. You have absolutely nothing to worry about with Park North’s association. As many of you noticed, we prioritize repairs and spending on big items. Currently, we have a percentage of owners who are past due or have foreclosed. Since these owners have not paid their dues, we do not have this money to spend on certain repairs. We run our associations primarily as a cash business. If we do not receive the HOA dues from some residents then we are not able to spend that money. Certain maintenance projects need to be put on hold until we can afford to make those enhancements. We manage the cash flow and budgets very carefully. We do not want to be that association which gets in financial trouble. Imagine if we didn’t have the money to pay our vendors- then our vendors would stop providing services such as landscaping, cleaning services, etc. We manage the budgets closely so we have the funds to pay our vendors.

Managing budgets

We make sure we meet our reserves each month. I know some owners are upset that we still have certain repairs that need to be made. I completely agree. Now, we need your help prioritizing those repairs. We can’t do everything at once. Last month, we received an engineering report. We paid an engineering company to come out to Park North and inspect every nook and cranny. He came back with a set of recommendations from high priority to low priority. Some of the cosmetic changes some owners/renters are requesting might be a low priority compared with the other items that need to get done such as a roof repair or the garage door encasing. We are still committed to getting the cosmetic repairs made; however, when people do not pay their HOA dues then we have to cut the spending on something and generally cosmetic enhancements are cut. By taking the survey, you are telling us what is important to you. This will help us know what we can and cannot cut or if we have to increase our dues to meet your cosmetic expectations, etc. The reality is- we are paying for people who foreclose/declare bankruptcy. We might not be paying for it by paying more dues, but we are paying for it when it comes to budget cuts and maintenance projects. Our lawyer, Karen, is doing everything she can to collect these dues from those who are not paying. You can read more about this in the last post.

Small Changes lead to big things

We are replacing our bulbs in the hallways with energy saving bulbs, but only when a bulb burns out. [I'm a green advocate so expect to see more posts about how Park North can go green in the weeks to come]. Our building spends a ton of money on water and waste water. A decent percentage of our fees go to these two bills. Any suggestions on how to lower them? We also spend a lot of our Park North staff’s resources cleaning up each trash shoot. If you have trash, furniture or a box that will not fit down the shoot then please walk over to the dumpsture on each floor to dispose of it. Each floor has it’s own dumpster for this exact reason. Imagine how many trash shoots our building has. Each morning, our groundskeeper has to go from room to room and floor to floor cleaning them. He spends 4 hours a day handling our trash that we did not properly dispose of. If we properly disposed of our trash then he could spend that time fixing something around the property instead. Also, please, please, throw your trash away and do not leave it outside your door or in the stairwell. This is rude to do to your neighbors. Also, do not throw your trash on the street. Our staff has to spend the time to clean the street which is actually city property. Park North cleans it to make it look nicer, but it’s actually the City of Orlando’s job to clean the street. If we left it up to the city, it could take a few days to clean up. If you see someone doing this or if it’s your neighbor, please tell the front office. We need to put a stop to this.

Pools Close at 10 pm or Arrests will follow

Regardless if you are an owner, renter or guest the pools closes at 10 pm. Moving forward if you are at the pool past 10 pm you will be:

First time: Trespassed

Second time: Arrested

The noise disturbances from the pool continues to wake residents who face the pool. This issue has gotten out of hand and instead of having the security guard ask for the people to leave the pool- we are working with the police to arrest those at the pool after 10 pm. We will also place notes on everyone’s door to this effect.

Balconies too

Also, this noise problem applies if you are on your balcony. If you or your guests are being loud- please go inside your condo. Sounds in the courtyard and pools resonate; every sound, word or laugh you make carries inside everyone’s condo. Personally, I can hear a person’s one-on-one conversation from inside my condo with the windows closed. This just shows you how much the concrete carries the sound.

We have new pool signage. The signage is on the doors which go out to the pools. This is everyone’s warning that you can and will be arrested for being at the pool past 10 pm. Click here to see the sign or visit the pool to see for yourself.

Even though Park North is near downtown’s bar scene and we want this to be a fun place to live- we also want this to be a peaceful and enjoyable place to live. Right now, with the noise issue we are having at the pool(s) is making Park North an unpleasant place to live for many of our residents. Please be respectful of your neighbor and know that sound carries. Let’s make sure everyone enjoys living here.

How to stop it

If you live in an area that has a noise issue, please call the police non-emergency line immediately to report the incident 321-235-5300. Our goal is to get this issue resolved quickly. The only way this issue will be resolved is by getting the police involved. I think if we trespass enough people then the word will get out and those living at the pool will be able to get a good night sleep.

Playing your music too loud

Even though I have had great neighbors, I have heard from some of you that your neighbor’s music is disturbing. If you are a person you enjoys turning their music and base up, please remember that you share walls and ceilings with your neighbors. I think sometimes we have to be reminded, so please try to keep your music and base down. The only way to have true freedom is to move to a single-family home with a big yard. Then you can turn up your music, base, and be as loud as you like at the pool. Until then, keep it down.

We live in tight quarters and it is everyone’s job to be respect to those around them.

Tell us what you think – Take our Survey

I would like to ask that all of you spend a few minutes to fill out this survey I created. The elected Board of Park North wants to hear from all of its owners and renters. All HOA meetings are the last Thursday of every month. This seldom changes and if it changes we will post the new date in the mail room. I encourage all of you attend so that your opinion can be heard. There is an HOA structure so please make sure you either fill out this survey, post comments on this blog or attend the HOA meetings.  We want to organize all of your thoughts and concerns in one area by using the appropriate channels.

Click Here to Take Survey

I have only included 10 questions in the survey ranging from your opinion about the building maintenance to the management staff. Many of the questions are a fill in the blank because so that you can tell us your opinion versus just writing excellent, great, needs improvement, etc. We want these survey results to be actionable. Only your elected board members will see the results. If you would like to be added to our email announcements, please provide your email address when completing the survey (not required). I will use this to send you updates and other reminders.

The feedback you share in this survey will be invaluable. As I mentioned before, attendance at our meetings is poor. This survey tool is another way for us to engage our owners and renters to be able to share their thoughts, if they are unable to attend our HOA meetings. Nothing beats building a relationship and being able to thoroughly explain the rationale behind decisions, as you can in person. I think attending the HOA meetings where you can is ideal for all of our owners and renters. Kudos to all of you who attended last night’s HOA meeting! That was our biggest turnout to date!

Click Here to Take Survey

Suggestions wanted

If anyone has any suggestions on what we can do to get more people to attend our meetings or voice their concerns and opinions in a constructive manner then please click comments below and let us know. This website allows everyone to post their ideas, suggestions, etc.

On a side note (Laundry Rooms & Security)

Due to someone tampering with the laundry rooms, we had to lock the doors. If you need to have access to a laundry room, please contact Park North Management at 407-426-8300. They will register you and give you a key for the laundry room. The vandals that are tampering with the laundry room are causing water leaks which cause mold and other issues. The air conditioners in those laundry rooms are not working properly. The cost to replace them was very high. We can discuss adding this to next year’s budget if everyone deems this to be a priority.

As more things continue to be vandalized and stolen (gym weights as an example) the more we have to go on lock down. If you see any mischievous activities please report it to the Property Management or Park North’s security. If you are having a security issue please call Park North’s Security Officer at 407-625-1364.  If you see/hear people at the pools past 10 pm, or if a suspicious person is walking around the building or parking garage please call Security between Thur- Sun nights or the police non-emergency 321-235-5300. Let’s get involved and stop this vandalism and burglaries! Another condo unit was broken into this week. ADT Security presented last night at the HOA meeting. Please call the front office for the costs to get security monitoring. ADT offers a way for people without landlines to get monitored. Call to learn more.

Business Center Code

We are also struggling with vandalism in the business center. This is why the code keeps changing. If you need to access the business center, please call the front office and ask for the code before you need to use it.  If we all continue to let people vandalize our property then our maintenance staff will be spending their time cleaning it up a versus making the beautification improvements we all want. Plus, this costs all of us money when this happens.

Maintenance Needed? You tell us what should be fixed…

Some owners have spoken out about how the building is being maintained by making posts to this blog and by posting on a new website. I saw the flier in the mail room today.  I completely agree that our building needs a some TLC.  You tell us what should be upgraded, fixed or replaced and we’ll add it to the budget for 2009.

Attendance at our HOA meetings

Each month we have an HOA meeting where we discuss these issues. Each year we create a budget for capital improvements, maintenance, etc. Let us know what enhancements you recommend we make to Park North and we will add it to the budget. However, we have had limited to no attendance at these meetings so it’s challenging to make decisions which will affect all of you without your input.

Do you Think Carpets Need to be Replaced?

We received a couple of different proposals to pull up the carpet and stain the concrete. If we remove the carpets all together this will save us money in the long run. By removing the carpets, we will no longer have to carpet clean and vacuum. The building staff will need to sweep and every six months the floors will need to be treated. This style looks very sophisticated; the Portfolio Hotel floors are stained. This process will take about four weeks while the floors are being replaced and treated. The cost is about $235,000. We will be able to use a small portion of the reserve funds for this capital enhancement. The rest will be special assessed and added to next year’s budget. This means our HOA fees will increase. We also have the option of replacing the carpet for carpet. The expense will be less initially, but we run the risk of having our carpets look the same way they do now in less than two years.  Uptown next door to us has exposed concrete floors. I have asked number of tenants if they hear anything in the hallways and they said it was minimal noise. Go visit and see for yourself and then let us know which you prefer.

Painting the Interior Hallways

It’s challenging to move forward with painting the interior when we have not made a decision about the floors. Once the floors are redone then we can repaint the interior of the building. The color will be decided later. Please attend our HOA meetings to share your opinion on what color palette we use and when we should paint. We have not received a proposal for this yet so I have no costs to share with you.

Other Enhancements

Without anyone’s input, the Board is running blind. We are unable to take your opinions into account since no one attends the HOA meetings. Personally, I do not feel comfortable making capital enhancements to the property which will increase everyone’s HOA fees without the input of other owners.

HOA Fees

Last year we were told that our owners needed the HOA fees to go down. The only reason they were lowered is because our insurance went down. When we purchased our condo units from the developer in 2004  the property insurance was $140,000. In less than a year our insurance was raised to over $380,000- this happened to everyone in Florida. We were not able to budget large capital maintenance improvements because of this property insurance increase. Our insurance has gone down which is why our HOA fees were lowered. However, we did not go back down to $140k. We broke the middle.

Your Recommendations…?

What improvements should we make? Is there a limit on how much we should spend in one year? Should we prioritize the improvements? How would you prioritize the improvements?

A side note, Property Values

Some of you have stated that our property values have gone down because of the maintenance issues. Even though I do agree our building needs some TLC, I do not think it is the reason that property values have gone down. I snagged a few paragraphs from an Orlando Business Journal article that mentions the real estate market sentiment. Having lower HOA fees then most condos downtown is a selling point! If we drastically increase our HOA fees then we might force some people into foreclosure which will cause our values to continue to go down. Also, if we increase our fees then buyers might not want buy in Park North. We need to think of all of this when deciding what to do for next year.

Market Sentiment

Orlando Business Journal article June’s edition

The Florida Association of Realtors on Thursday reported its first jump in sales in Orlando-area monthly home sales since late 2005.

Association members in the Orlando metropolitan statistical area reported a total of 1,641 homes sold in June, a nearly 3 percent increase when compared with 1,595 homes sales in the same month a year prior.

The existing median sales price was $219,500 in June, a 15 percent decrease from $258,100 in June 2007.

The existing condo market, however, continued to see sales decline. June condo sales totaled 172 in the Orlando MSA, an 8.5 percent drop from the 188 that sold in the same month in 2007. The condo median price was $132,900 last month, a 15 percent drop from June 2007′s price of $156,900.

The declines we are seeing Park North are happening everywhere. So no amount of paint will fix these declines. The overall condo market will need to improve before we see our prices go back up.

Snippet take from the Orlando Sentinel

Statewide, Realtors sold 11,700 homes in June, off 5 percent from a year earlier, and the median was down 16 percent to $205,500. That means about $2.4 billion worth of single-family homes were sold in Florida during the month, down from $3 billion in June 2007.

Another 3,628 condominium units were sold statewide in June, down 6 percent from a year earlier, with a median price of $183,700 — off 14 percent. Metro Orlando’s condo market was fifth-best in terms of sales: 172 units, down 9 percent, with a median price of $132,900, off 15 percent. Fort Lauderdale recorded the most condo sales in June — 591 — down 1 percent, though the median price was down a sizable 20 percent to $156,200.