2026 Mid Year Newletter

Dear Residents,

As we reach the halfway point of the year, we wanted to take a moment to provide an update on how your HOA operates and how your assessments are used to maintain our community.

We often receive questions about what services are included in HOA management, what our landscaping contract covers, and why certain maintenance requests cannot be completed by the Association. We hope this explanation helps clarify the difference between the HOA, the community manager, and the responsibilities shared by all homeowners.

Understanding how the HOA works helps all of us protect the funds budgeted for our 2026 operating expenses while continuing to provide the essential services our community depends on.

What Is the HOA?

One of the biggest misconceptions about an HOA is that it is a service company that homeowners pay to maintain the neighborhood. It is not.

The HOA is the Association of all homeowners in our community. Each homeowner contributes through monthly assessments, and those funds are pooled together into one operating budget. When necessary, special assessments may also be approved to fund major repairs or unexpected community expenses.

Those pooled funds are used to pay for the essential services and obligations that keep our community operating, including insurance, community water service, electricity for our private street lights, garbage collection, quarterly pest control, annual termite treatment, landscaping, operation of the community pool, professional management, and other necessary operating expenses.

The HOA does not have its own money. Every dollar spent comes from the assessments paid by homeowners. That is why every expense matters. When the Association spends money on items outside the approved budget or outside our contracted services, it reduces the funds available for the services that benefit the entire community.

The Board of Directors, who are volunteer homeowners elected by the community, has a fiduciary responsibility to manage these shared funds wisely, make decisions in the best interest of the Association, and protect the budget approved for 2026.

Who Is Our Community Manager?

Our community manager, Shane Loftin, works on behalf of the HOA Board to carry out the Board’s decisions and oversee the day-to-day administration of the Association.

His responsibilities include coordinating vendors, obtaining bids, managing contracts, monitoring the budget, responding to homeowner concerns, communicating with residents, assisting with enforcement of the governing documents, and helping ensure that community operations run smoothly.

While Shane coordinates maintenance and works with our contractors, he is not a maintenance employee, landscaper, groundskeeper, or repair technician. His role is to manage the Association’s operations—not to perform physical maintenance throughout the community.

What Is Included in Landscaping?

Our landscaping contract provides routine maintenance for the community’s common areas and includes mowing, edging, trimming bushes and shrubs, seasonal pruning, and general landscape maintenance.

The contract does not include planting new grass, replacing damaged lawns, redesigning landscaping, or restoring individual yards.

While we would all enjoy seeing additional landscaping improvements throughout the community, projects such as planting new grass are not included in the approved 2026 operating budget.

Homeowners also play an important role in maintaining the appearance of their property by caring for planting beds, removing weeds, picking up litter, and helping keep the area around their home clean and attractive.

What Your HOA Assessments Cover

Your monthly assessments help pay for essential services that benefit the entire community, including:

• Mandatory HOA insurance

• Community water service

• Electricity for our private street lights

• Operation and maintenance of the community pool

• Weekly garbage collection

• Quarterly pest control

• Annual termite treatment

• Landscaping services

• Professional community management

• Other required operating and administrative expenses

These are the services that keep our community operating every day.

Items That Are Not the Responsibility of the HOA

There are certain responsibilities that belong to individual homeowners and residents rather than the Association. These include:

• Picking up personal trash and litter.

• Removing food, drinks, and personal belongings from the pool and common areas after use.

• Properly disposing of car parts, furniture, boxes, and other discarded items.

• Maintaining the area around your home that is not covered by the landscaping contract.

The HOA does not employ a maintenance person to perform miscellaneous cleanup or individual homeowner maintenance. When vendors must be hired to clean up after residents, remove abandoned items, or perform work outside of our contracted services, those costs come directly from the Association’s operating budget.

Because our pool is outdoors, occasional wildlife such as frogs, turtles, ducks, birds, and other animals is a natural occurrence and cannot be prevented or controlled. Our pool maintenance contract includes scheduled daily morning service during the summer season but does not include on-demand visits to remove wildlife outside of those scheduled visits.

If wildlife is present and you are uncomfortable using the pool, we encourage you to simply wait until the animal has moved on. If an animal appears injured, trapped, or presents an immediate safety concern, please notify management so the situation can be evaluated.

This year, the Association has experienced higher-than-anticipated expenses due to several unexpected water leaks. By working together, taking care of our own property, cleaning up after ourselves, and respecting the services already provided through our contracts, we can help protect the funds budgeted for our 2026 operating expenses and ensure they remain available for the essential services that benefit our entire community.

Our community works best when everyone understands that the HOA is not “someone else”—it is all of us working together to care for the place we call home. Every homeowner contributes to the success of our neighborhood, whether by serving on the Board, volunteering, taking pride in their property, or simply cleaning up after themselves and respecting our shared spaces.

Thank you for your cooperation and for doing your part to help keep our neighborhood clean, safe, financially responsible, and a place we are all proud to call home.

Sincerely,

Your HOA Board of Directors