Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Monday, August 20, 2007
BACKGROUND INFORMATION - REPLACEMENT TRUSTEE VOTE
TO: All Blue Heron Homeowners
Background and Information for the upcoming BHHOA General Meeting
Sept 9th, 10:30am at the Firehouse
CURRENT TRUSTEE RESIGNS EFFECTIVE Aug 31, 2007
Linda Snyder, of Mauch Chunk Trust Company informed BHHOA, earlier in the year, that they were no longer interested in being our Trustee. The Trust company said that they could not cover their cost, for all the work that they did, and we suspect (like many banks) they were also not really interested in managing a property trust for 126 town homes and 40 acres of land. Bottom line - MCTC will no longer be our trustee after Aug 31.
The BHHOA funds will remain at Mauch Chunk Trust Co., earning interest and they are FDIC insured.
Under the current legal arrangement, the Trustee actually had the full AUTHORITY to manage our trust. They used an Advisory Board (consisting of BH homeowners) and reviewed major decisions with the Bank's Board of Trustees...but they had the legal authority. NOT BHHOA. BHHOA could change the Trustee with a majority vote.
That is why is was/is so important to pick a Trustee that we really trusted, with all that authority.
If you are interested in knowing what work the Trustee did....here is the list provided by Linda Snyder of MCTC:
Fielding Homeowners calls
Responding to vendors & suppliers
Keeping contact with Appletree Management Company and Blue Ridge Company
Process assessment payments as they come in.
Pay bills for the association on a weekly basis
Keep track of change of addresses, emails, and telephone numbers; and notify the corresponding secretary
Keep track of assessment payments
Keep track of insurance declarations
Send assessment notices at beginning of fiscal year. Also sending the series of notices if payments are not made; and send the semi annual notices out in November
Send the series of letters when not in receipt of insurance declaration pages
Buying insurance when necessary
Turning off water to unit(s) when lack of payment
Filing of property Lien when all efforts to collect fails
Prepare and process Resale Certificates
Prepare and process Prior Approval letters/requests
Send welcome letter out to new owners & notice to corresponding secretary
Prepare for the audit
Annually send out a copy of the audit to all homeowners
Prepare for the tax returns/ remit return and any tax due
Prepare the budget
Decide on the assessment
Prepare and keep track of the “Financial vs Budget” report
Remit estimate tax payments on a quarterly basis
Attend homeowner meetings
Call advisory meetings
Coordinate capital projects - roofing, painting etc.
SEARCH FOR A NEW TRUSTEE
A number of BH homeowners have volunteered MANY hours in this search effort.
30 banks have been contacted. Many responded, many said they are not interested. Other banks are still being interviewed. Some want to manage our funds and appoint an on-site manager.
Roy Miller informed us that it is becoming very rare to find a bank trust department willing to manage real estate.
When asked if there were any circumstances under which Mauch Chunk would stay on as
Trustee, Linda Snyder explained that it is a cost issue. At this time, Mauch Chunk is not making any money. With the liability and the work they do for our community, they would have to triple their fee.
The homeowners (search committee, some officers and board members) involved in this effort have utilized Jim Nanovic, a local attorney that represents many communities in the area, for advice throughout the process.
WHAT HAPPENS AUGUST 31?
After Aug 31, we have no legal trustee.
Our funds are still at MCTC.
SUGGESTED READING – PREPARATION FOR THE SEPT 9th MEETING
If you can still find it, look over the BHHOA Book of Governance and Homeowners Guide.
It contains great background, plus a copy of the Trust Agreement and Homeowners Association by Laws.
WHAT NEXT ? SEPTEMBER 9th – 10:30am MEETING AT THE FIREHOUSE
The search committee, officers and board are suggesting that on Sept 9th, we vote to make "BHHOA" the legal trustee, with all trustee authority. There is no intention for BHHOA volunteers to take on all the administrative work of the previous trustee. Rather, BHHOA would likely hire several entities to perform the trustee administrative and property management duties. It could include entities like......
A Financial / Administrative Management Company - Mauch Chunk and another Management Company will provide a proposal.
A Law firm
A Property Management Company – might be Appletree or other
Possibly other Service providers – such as a general contractor to oversee capital projects
It requires a majority vote to make BHHOA (or someone else) the Trustee. Until we get a majority vote, or a vote by proxy, we have no Trustee and we are really stuck in limbo.
QUESTION/ANSWER
Some people have asked, why don't we just hire Appletree to be our trustee? They are willing to take on that role.
The search committee states:
If Appletree is the Trustee, it is not a good situation for them to also be the property management
company. This is a conflict of interest. They nonetheless propose to be both. Under the current Trust Document, they would have AUTHORITY to do everything. Form the advisory board, collect fees, make disbursements, hire contractors, set budgets, and judge the quality of the work performed to name just a few things. There is no good argument for giving any entity this type of authority regardless of performance.
Submitted by
Ron Materniak
BHHOA Corresponding Secretary
Background and Information for the upcoming BHHOA General Meeting
Sept 9th, 10:30am at the Firehouse
CURRENT TRUSTEE RESIGNS EFFECTIVE Aug 31, 2007
Linda Snyder, of Mauch Chunk Trust Company informed BHHOA, earlier in the year, that they were no longer interested in being our Trustee. The Trust company said that they could not cover their cost, for all the work that they did, and we suspect (like many banks) they were also not really interested in managing a property trust for 126 town homes and 40 acres of land. Bottom line - MCTC will no longer be our trustee after Aug 31.
The BHHOA funds will remain at Mauch Chunk Trust Co., earning interest and they are FDIC insured.
Under the current legal arrangement, the Trustee actually had the full AUTHORITY to manage our trust. They used an Advisory Board (consisting of BH homeowners) and reviewed major decisions with the Bank's Board of Trustees...but they had the legal authority. NOT BHHOA. BHHOA could change the Trustee with a majority vote.
That is why is was/is so important to pick a Trustee that we really trusted, with all that authority.
If you are interested in knowing what work the Trustee did....here is the list provided by Linda Snyder of MCTC:
Fielding Homeowners calls
Responding to vendors & suppliers
Keeping contact with Appletree Management Company and Blue Ridge Company
Process assessment payments as they come in.
Pay bills for the association on a weekly basis
Keep track of change of addresses, emails, and telephone numbers; and notify the corresponding secretary
Keep track of assessment payments
Keep track of insurance declarations
Send assessment notices at beginning of fiscal year. Also sending the series of notices if payments are not made; and send the semi annual notices out in November
Send the series of letters when not in receipt of insurance declaration pages
Buying insurance when necessary
Turning off water to unit(s) when lack of payment
Filing of property Lien when all efforts to collect fails
Prepare and process Resale Certificates
Prepare and process Prior Approval letters/requests
Send welcome letter out to new owners & notice to corresponding secretary
Prepare for the audit
Annually send out a copy of the audit to all homeowners
Prepare for the tax returns/ remit return and any tax due
Prepare the budget
Decide on the assessment
Prepare and keep track of the “Financial vs Budget” report
Remit estimate tax payments on a quarterly basis
Attend homeowner meetings
Call advisory meetings
Coordinate capital projects - roofing, painting etc.
SEARCH FOR A NEW TRUSTEE
A number of BH homeowners have volunteered MANY hours in this search effort.
30 banks have been contacted. Many responded, many said they are not interested. Other banks are still being interviewed. Some want to manage our funds and appoint an on-site manager.
Roy Miller informed us that it is becoming very rare to find a bank trust department willing to manage real estate.
When asked if there were any circumstances under which Mauch Chunk would stay on as
Trustee, Linda Snyder explained that it is a cost issue. At this time, Mauch Chunk is not making any money. With the liability and the work they do for our community, they would have to triple their fee.
The homeowners (search committee, some officers and board members) involved in this effort have utilized Jim Nanovic, a local attorney that represents many communities in the area, for advice throughout the process.
WHAT HAPPENS AUGUST 31?
After Aug 31, we have no legal trustee.
Our funds are still at MCTC.
SUGGESTED READING – PREPARATION FOR THE SEPT 9th MEETING
If you can still find it, look over the BHHOA Book of Governance and Homeowners Guide.
It contains great background, plus a copy of the Trust Agreement and Homeowners Association by Laws.
WHAT NEXT ? SEPTEMBER 9th – 10:30am MEETING AT THE FIREHOUSE
The search committee, officers and board are suggesting that on Sept 9th, we vote to make "BHHOA" the legal trustee, with all trustee authority. There is no intention for BHHOA volunteers to take on all the administrative work of the previous trustee. Rather, BHHOA would likely hire several entities to perform the trustee administrative and property management duties. It could include entities like......
A Financial / Administrative Management Company - Mauch Chunk and another Management Company will provide a proposal.
A Law firm
A Property Management Company – might be Appletree or other
Possibly other Service providers – such as a general contractor to oversee capital projects
It requires a majority vote to make BHHOA (or someone else) the Trustee. Until we get a majority vote, or a vote by proxy, we have no Trustee and we are really stuck in limbo.
QUESTION/ANSWER
Some people have asked, why don't we just hire Appletree to be our trustee? They are willing to take on that role.
The search committee states:
If Appletree is the Trustee, it is not a good situation for them to also be the property management
company. This is a conflict of interest. They nonetheless propose to be both. Under the current Trust Document, they would have AUTHORITY to do everything. Form the advisory board, collect fees, make disbursements, hire contractors, set budgets, and judge the quality of the work performed to name just a few things. There is no good argument for giving any entity this type of authority regardless of performance.
Submitted by
Ron Materniak
BHHOA Corresponding Secretary
Sunday, August 12, 2007
BHHOA GENERAL MTG - SEPTEMBER 9th 10:30am
To: All BH Homeowners
There will be an IMPORTANT General Meeting of the homeowners association on Sunday September 9th from 10:30am to noon. (at the Firehouse)
The main purpose of the meeting is to vote on the replacement Trustee for the homeowners association. PLEASE try to attend.
You should all be receiving a proxy letter from BHHOA (sent by Linda Snyder of Mauch Chunk Trust Co on behalf of the homeowners association) regarding this issue.
Ron Materniak
BHHOA Corresponding Secretary
There will be an IMPORTANT General Meeting of the homeowners association on Sunday September 9th from 10:30am to noon. (at the Firehouse)
The main purpose of the meeting is to vote on the replacement Trustee for the homeowners association. PLEASE try to attend.
You should all be receiving a proxy letter from BHHOA (sent by Linda Snyder of Mauch Chunk Trust Co on behalf of the homeowners association) regarding this issue.
Ron Materniak
BHHOA Corresponding Secretary
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)