2012 Devonshire HOA mid-year update

On behalf of your hardworking Board of Directors, I extend greetings at the halfway point of 2012. It has been approximately six months since our development was required to take control of the day to day running of the Devonshire development from The Barton Group, as they decided to close their business on December 31, 2011. Since that time, our entire community has gained considerable knowledge as to what we were handed, what was not done, what needs to be done, and how to get it done to bring our development to the level we all expected when we bought our property here in Devonshire. Your elected Board has met at least once a month since January to discuss our current financial state, what our future financial picture looks like, how to live and work within the development By-Laws and Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&Rs), working with the Wake County Planning Department and the NCDOT, as well as how to be great neighbors to each other and attract property owners to the remaining lots for sale in our development. Thankfully, interest is picking up for new homeowners.

I would like to bring to your attention a few significant achievements your Board has been able to accomplish during the first six months of leadership:

1. We assessed and established an HOA budget that meets our current financial obligations to maintain the basics of the development and established a Reserve fund.

2. We negotiated or eliminated contracts that had an adverse financial impact on HOA expenses.

3. We worked with the Wake County Tax Assessor’s Office to highlight an error in the Wake County Tax records that had caused our HOA to be incorrectly charged property taxes for the well lot. We are currently working with them to get reimbursement for back-taxes paid.

4. Working with our HOA management company, Kohn-Ell, we are learning how to work within the spirit and letter of the CC&R sections for the wellbeing of the development.

5. We continue to work with the Wake County Attorney regarding the Bonds to be called to complete the road work that was not completed by the original developer. Please note that all estimates show the actual road & drainage work needed to bring our development roads to the acceptable level required for takeover by NCDOT will exceed the value of the Bonds.

6. We have set up a community website and included helpful resources for our HOA members, including the CC&Rs, Bylaws, monthly financials, architectural request form, and announcements. Be sure to check our website regularly for updates.

https://sites.google.com/site/devonshirewakeforest/

7. We have created minimum new home guidelines and a new construction review package for builders where neither existed before, and placed them on our Devonshire website for anyone to see and use. As a point of information, minimum new home square footage in Phase I is 2,500; minimum square footage in Phase II is 3,000. Our Architectural Committee will be closely reviewing any new construction package submissions to ensure that new houses fit the “look and feel” of our community.

As your Board continues to work on your behalf for the good of the development, we ask that everyone consider and understand a few things that apply to us all:

1. Your Board is responsible to uphold the current By-laws and CC&Rs for everyone in a uniform and consistent manner. Any changes to our CC&Rs require approval of 75% of the voting members of the HOA.

2. As residents, we are all responsible to follow the CC&R requirements unless proper procedure is followed to change an element.

3. As residents, if we plan to do ANY modification to the exterior of our home or property, an Architectural Review form needs to be submitted in advance to the Board for review. You can find this review form on our Devonshire website.

4. The Board asks that everyone take personal responsibility to ensure the care of their property is within the expectations of the CC&Rs, and not to abuse adjoining or nearby property with your trash, yard waste, or vehicle storage.

5. The DOT right-of-way that is approximately 25’ from the center of each road will ultimately need to be clear of all plants, trees, shrubs, or material that exceeds 12” in height. NCDOT will NOT consider taking over the maintenance of our roads until their right-of-way is clear, as is required by law. We have worked with our current landscaping company, HuntScapes, for fixed pricing movement of any plant that may need to be moved.

6. When the time comes to actually do the road & drainage work required in our development to bring the roads up to NCDOT standards, in addition to the Bond money that may be secured, your Board does anticipate the need to impose a special assessment on each non-builder-owned lot to meet the funding demand to complete the repairs. Any estimate would be speculation at this point, as there are still too many variables in play for a firm estimate of any assessment. Please understand that your Board is extremely aware that any extra assessment may cause hardship on some homeowners and is diligently working on any and all opportunities to minimize not only the cost of the roadwork needed, but ultimately on the assessment that may be needed.

Your Board thanks you for your patience and understanding as we continue to live, work, and learn about the responsibilities of running our HOA. We are open to any and all questions or comments regarding our HOA management and welcome the engagement of all members of our development in making Devonshire a place of enjoyment for all.

On behalf of your board, I am sincerely,