PREFACE

Virtually since incorporation, there has been some confusion on what the approval process is for making modifications to your property here at Riverland Park.

  • The rather abrupt, and very unprofessional, turnover of control of the Home Owners Association from Crescent Builders in December of 2014
  • The legal issue with former Marshland Communities, our first and only property management company
  • The creation and subsequent dissolution of the Architectural Control Board (ARB)

To name but a few.

CURRENT PROCESS

Currently, the majority vote of the Board will determine approval of any project proposed by any homeowner in the community.   The required documentation remains the same, however, and is summarized in Article V – Architectural Control, of our governing document, the Declaration of Covenants, Restrictions, and Easements.  In addition you will have to comply with all local government permit requirements and local building codes.

STEPS TO FOLLOW:

  1. Consult the Current Board Sentiment to see what is generally acceptable or not acceptable
  2. Send an email to members of the Board with all the required documentation as outlined in the Docs.
  3. Expect to have one or more Board Member(s) ring you doorbell within a few days.  We will, of course, schedule with you the day and time.  Be prepared to physically show the Board Member(s) what you want to do.  This may require your contractor to be present.  Be prepared to discuss alternatives to your plan as the Board member(s) will try their best to accommodate you should your plan be immediately unacceptable.
  4. Once all the documentation is received, and after the field meeting, there will be a review of your project with all the Board Members.  If approved, you will get an email from the Board telling you to proceed with your project. If rejected, you will also get an email explaining why the project was not approved.
  5. If, during the course of construction, your plans change you must contact the Board for immediate review.  We will try to get to you the same day as we know this can happen unexpectedly and often time is money.
  6. You will once again get an email stating if the modification has been approved.

WHEN DO I NEED TO ASK FOR PERMISSION?

The short answer is ALWAYS!  Be smart and ask for permission first.  In order for us to self manage efficiently it is in EVERYONE’s best interest to follow the process.  Legal proceedings to correct a problem are costly, uncomfortable and can cause unnecessary animosity in the community.

CONSEQUENCES OF NOT GETTING PERMISSION

There are serious consequences if you try to avoid getting proper approval and your project is deemed unacceptable to the Board.  Remember the Board can reject your project simply based on aesthetics as they see it.  Yes, it is subjective and you may feel it is not fair,  but that is part of living in an HOA.  It is what you signed up for when you bought here.  The fact is although it is your property, you do not have 100% control of what you can do with it, at least on the outside.  The HOA is constantly looking out for the best interests of the entire community.  Remember too, that you can change the way the Board views the world by volunteering to be on the Board (hint hint).  It is so much fun….

This is what the Board can legally do if necessary:

  • Levy a daily fine of $50 per day, per offense.
  • Put a lien on your house once the fines accumulate to any number the Board feels is appropriate.  Currently $2,000 is thought to be a good number.
  • In the case of an infraction (i.e. you don’t maintain your lawn or something of that nature),  the Board can hire a contractor to remedy the infraction and then charge you with the cost.
  • Bring you to court when you are in violation, after you have been served notice to remedy in 30 days, and you refuse to remedy.  In addition, any legal fees incurred by the Board to bring you in compliance will also be charged back to you.

Suffice it to say,  neither the Board, or the community at large, wants to go down this path and every effort possible will be made to avoid it.  Please don’t make us do it, we already give many hours to the community that we will never get back in our personal lives.  Remember too, that no one, including the current Board members, will want to volunteer if there are constant problems like this to address and ultimately this self management experiment will fail, we will need to re-hire a property management company and all of our HOA fees will increase, and rather dramatically. Help us help you!