Do you use the Entrance?

We have 23 people in the subdivision that do not have to participate in the HOA.  I know that some of these people don’t see the value in paying because they don’t use the pool and tennis courts.  Even though you may not use the pool and tennis courts, I’m willing to bet that you use the entrance to the subdivision. A lot of the neighborhoods around us (I won’t name them) have homes that are lower in price and value, but have a better looking entrance to their subdivision with flowers and nice landscaping.  We need to make our front entrance reflect the value of our homes so that we can entice buyers into the subdivision when we want to sell.  If you are not a member of the HOA, please consider joining to maintain the entrance and landscaping.

As you can see in the picture above, our signs could use some TLC.  They are dirty and the letters are not in great shape.  Even though you may not use the pool and tennis courts and see no need to participate and pay dues, that doesn’t mean that the next owner of your home won’t find these things (swim/tennis) valuable.  Without money we can’t maintain them properly and keep them looking nice which can hurt your resell value.  If we had more money and participation in the HOA, we could:

1. Install new letters and signs at the front entrance (I’m getting a quote for this).
2. Add a row of trees along Marta Crane Drive (I hope we can do this in the fall).
3. Invest in even more flowers, mulch, etc…..
4. Improve the pathway between Mariray Court and the Pool to better connect our subdivision for kids that travel back and forth.
5. Re-pave the tennis courts.  The folks who play tennis can’t use the courts effectively, but it costs a lot of money to resurface them based on the amount of usage they get.
6. Install a new fence at the pool.  The old fence is falling apart.
7. Put in a basketball court to replace one of the tennis courts and
8. Add a new deck on the side of the pool to give people more space to grill, eat and visit with neighbors.

Hopefully you get the idea.  There is a lot that we could do to improve our subdivision and make it a better place to live, but we can’t do these things without money.  I heard that some people were not happy about the increase in dues.  I’m sorry that we increased them, but it was a necessary evil because we don’t have full participation in the neighborhood.  If we had all 90 homes participate at a price of $300 we would take in more money than we currently do with 56 homes paying $400.  I know that the economy sucks and money is tight, but we can’t let our neighborhood amenities suffer.  It is hard for anyone to move to a new home in today’s economy so we need to take care of the ones we’ve got to maintain their value.