Information on the 2007 Assessment and 2008 Dues

Dear members of our community,

Over the last few weeks, Brenda Osfeld (treasurer and homeowner), David Mitchell (managing director), and I (Scott Tabar, vice president and homeowner) have been working on the budget for Ross Estates Home Owner’s Association and we have been trying hard to ensure that we are able to give our community a balanced budget.

I am very regretful that it is inevitable that the annual dues will have to be increased so that we will have a balanced budget for 2008. It was very disappointing to hear last week at our meeting with the Dixon Builder’s HOA board members that Dixon Builders is unable to make any contribution to the HOA for 2008, which results in a greater burden for our current and future homeowners. Unfortunately, we have no choice but to raise the annual dues since it is paramount that our community remains viable to protect the investments of our homeowners. Indirectly it is also very important to help Dixon Builders meet and exceed their goals for building more homes so our community will reach build-out sooner than later and at that point we will have full control over our HOA.

As everyone probably realizes by now, either via email or snail mail, that there have been unexpected expenses in the community in 2007 and as a result have unfortunately ran over budget. The decision to send out an assessment to cover the balance of 2007 was not an easy one to make, but it was a necessity. If we did not end 2007 on budget, then we would only have to make up for it in the 2008 dues, which would have greatly distorted the 2008 budget.

I have received a few emails pertaining to the tone of the 2007 assessment adjustments and I would like to just say a few words about it. The timeliness of the letter is really bad, we all realize that, but it is important to try to get all outstanding bills paid before then end of 2007. We were planning on Dixon Builder’s picking up the extra burden for the 2007 overruns, but unfortunately, they are not able to make any contributions, so as a result, we realized last week that we had no choice but to send out the assessment. I felt it was important that the length of the letter was to be kept to a minimum and if we tried to include all of the supporting details behind the assessment it would have become unmanageable in length and it would have delayed the mailing. In the next week or two, David Mitchell will be sending out the notice for the 2008 dues, due on January 15th, and in that packet will include the financial details that he is putting together. Through this website, Brenda and I will be providing additional information and will be explaining in greater details the nature of the events that have been unfolding.

One point I do want to make clear, is that the stated $25 late fee is part of the standard policy on HOA dues. The HOA Covenant covers in detail the structured payment of dues and fees. We did not intend on this statement to be threatening or intimidating, but more so as a reminder of the rules that govern all aspects of the payment of our dues. I personally want to make it clear that if these additional requirements are putting an unreasonable burden on your financial budget, please let David Mitchell know and I will personally see to it that we can set up a reasonable payment schedule to help you avoid the late fees. Please note, you would still be responsible for the dues, but we will be willing to work with you on when they can be paid. It is also very important for me to stress that we take your privacy very seriously and any accommodations made will be held in the strictest of confidence.

I realize there are a lot of questions that need to be answered and I will do my best to put together the information and post it to this website for all to read. I do not want to underplay the importance of getting you this information, but at the same time I need to ensure that due diligence is performed in making sure all sides of the details are accurately portrayed as well as I am capable of. In these times it could be easy to point fingers at Dixon Builders, who is our developer of our community, but at the same time it is important to realize that they are in hard times with the current state of the new housing market, which is the case for most developers right now, some of whom have gone under. We also cannot forget that they have gone the extra mile in the past few years and picked up the slack on various items without passing the additional costs on to the HOA, and for that we should be grateful.

Here is a short list of items that I want to discuss in the near future:
1. The 2007 budget and why it ran over
2. The current 2008 budget and what to expect in the future years
3. The pond
4. Cutting expenses through the formation of subcommittees
5. Protecting the community from the high cost unbudgeted expenses
6. The future potential of Ross Estates and why we are in a much better situation than most other communities that are still under development

In the mean time, please check this website once or twice per week for updates and spread the word to your neighbors. If you have any questions that have not been addressed, then please send me an email and I will try to answer your questions directly and also incorporate them in to this site so all will benefit.

Scott Tabar
scott(dot)tabar(at)fuse(dot)net

Coming Soon...

In the next week or so, I will be trying to post to the Ross Estates Resource page the complete documents on the four policies that were included in the August 2007 newsletter. The only difference will be that the detailed documents have references back to the HOA Covenant to identify the foundation of such policies.

I have also been having on going conversations with David Mitchell pertaining to how and why the HOA and the HOA Board operates the way it does. I will be trying to formulate these kernels of knowledge in to various documents so that they too can be posted here. I would like share as much about our community as I can.

So please, keep an eye out for informative information on this site. If there are any topics you would like me to expand upon, please send me an email (see Useful Contacts under Important Links on the main page).

Introduction to RE HOA's Design and Review Subcommittee

I, Scott Tabar, serving our Home Owners' Association as Vice-President, am honored to announce the formation of our first sub-committee: The Design and Review Subcommittee. Brenda Osfeld, our HOA Treasurer, & I have appointed John Burch to chair the committee with Brenda and myself as the members.

I think you would agree with me that our homes within this community are a significant investment that each one of us has made. With our initial investment made within Ross Estates, we are keenly interested in the continual growth in value that we expect from our homes and this community. There are many new subdivisions on the market today and in the process of deciding where we were wanting to call home, we probably visited most of them, but we all found a common interest in this one, Ross Estates.

Being fellow homeowners, we, the Design and Review Subcommittee, are taking our roles within the committee very seriously, but each of us has our own individual and slightly different perspectives that will give the committee a well-rounded voice to best serve everyone in Ross Estates.

This committee will strive to best protect and nurture our investments. We will be working with you in the capacity of reviewing and approving all property change requests. We will also be clarifying policies that may be ambiguous or misleading; answer questions and respond to all constructive feedback.

Please visit our website at http://ross-estates.blogspot.com for additional details concerning the subcommittee, policies, documents, and how to contact us. We will be adding more information as time permits.

I would like to introduce you to our subcommittee members and have asked them to share with us, their commitment and perspective for our community.

John Burch: Coming soon to this website.

Brenda Osfeld: Coming soon to this website.

Scott Tabar: "The developers of our community have taken a keen interest in
ensuring that all members of our community have a say in how it is to be ran and what its future may hold. This extends to all homeowners who currently own homes in Ross Estates and those who will be purchasing them in the near future. The developers interest is to keep up a certain standard until a future board represents all 177 homeowners. From that point on, we will be free to decide the future course of Ross Estates. My interest is to maintain and preserve our current community standards and to prepare the homeowners board to take full control over this community. I realize that some policies may need clarification and at times they may clash with our individual interests in our personal property and our visions of the community, but it is important to remember that the members of this committee are stewards of Ross Estates and we must consider every one's interests, even to the 177th member of the community."

Introduction from New Board Member Brenda Osfeld

Hello Members of the Ross Estates HOA,

My name is Brenda Osfeld I live at 2245 Ross Estates Dr with my husband Mike, we moved here in November of 2004. We both have grown children. Mike has two daughters and one grandchild with one grandchild due to be born later this month. I (Brenda) have two grown sons who live in Kentucky with three grandchildren of my own. I look forward to meeting each and everyone.

Best regards,
Brenda Osfeld
mikepowerstroke (at) fuse (dot) net

Introduction from New Board Member Scott Tabar

I am honored that the Board of Directors have decided to have both Brenda Osfeld and I serve our community as newly appointed members of the Board.

My wife Betty, my daughter Anna, and I moved on to Pond Ridge Circle in August 2006.

My reason for serving on the board is to represent the interests and concerns of us, the homeowners. My goals are to help build a strong foundation for our HOA so when our community is given full control we will be ready. I am very much interested in helping to build our community and to help ensure that our investments are properly nurtured. I do look forward to meeting and working with each every member of our community.

As it is mentioned in our April 2007 newsletter, Brenda and I will be transitioned in to our new roles over a period of time, so please continue to address all issues and concerns to the managing director.

Sincerily,
Scott Tabar
scott (dot) tabar (at) fuse (dot) net