What would it take to dissolve the HOA

We have been asked about dissolving the HOA, so we thought we'd post some information. This information is not all inclusive, but touches on the more difficult points.

First, a vote of all 178 homeowners would need to be taken and all 178 would have to vote to dissolve the HOA. This can be tricky as we have a several owners that live out of Utah and out of the Country. It might be difficult to convince them to vote to dissolve an HOA and we are not sure the 18 homeowners with common area as part of their property would be pleased with what it will entail.

Second, there are 4 waterlines that feed our grass and trees that would need to be capped off (if Davis Weber Water Co would allow it). The 18 homeowners along the park strip would be required to change their sprinkling system (if they have one) to add the sprinklers behind their homes to their systems. If they don't have one, they would have to figure out a way to get water over the fence to the grass and trees behind their homes. Clinton City has already told us that they will not allow cement or xeroscaping to be be put in to replace the grass. The HOA isn't currently making a profit on the dues, so there won't be excess money to help these homeowners make the changes without large assessments. The 18 homeowners would also need to mow their park strip regularly, even if they are in the middle of the fence and have to walk all the way around. They would also be responsible to maintain the trees.

Third, legally changing 178 home owner's titles. All 178 titles in our community have the HOA and CC&Rs recorded within them. The common area is listed within those CC&Rs so the CC&Rs would need to be recorded as dissolved along with the HOA. We would need to go to the County Recorder with a legal document prepared by an attorney, that would be recorded against all of the properties. We are not sure how much that would cost, but the Davis County Recorders Office Website states 10 dollars for the first page, 2 dollars for each additional page, and 1 dollar for each legal description on the document after the 1st one. This might need to be done for each home, we would have to look into it further with an attorney.

There are a few people in the community that believe that if we just ignore the HOA, then it will just go away. It won't go away, 178 homes have an HOA recorded for them, the grass and trees needs to be maintained and Davis Weber Water Co has to bill someone for 4 lines of water. We all have CC&Rs recorded for our titles (even if we didn't know about it upon purchase of our homes) and therefore, they are legally binding agreements.

As your HOA Board, we are not opposed to dissolving the HOA, but realize it is much more difficult than just forgetting about it.

Expenses

We have had a few requests to post the expenses of the HOA. This information will be available at the annual meeting, but in the meantime, here is some info for you review.

Froerer Management - $445 per month, plus $1 per letter sent
For more info on the services they provide, check their website at www.froerer.com.
We contacted:
FCS Community Management $534 per month, plus service fees for letters
Wasatch Property Management didn't think we were big enough
E Property Management Group never returned calls
Alliance Property Management $1335 per month
Real Property Management $3560 per month

The Green Feet Co - $65 per week ($260 per month) for mowing, weeding, trimming and to apply fertilizer, cost of fertilizer additional
We contacted:
LMS (Ivory's landscaper) chose not to bid due to the small size
Gratiest Lawncare $105 per week, $75 for fertilizer, additional fees for trimming or weeding
Rodriguez Lawncare $75 per week, $55 for fertilizer, won't trim, will weed for additional fees
Luis Gonzales $100 per week, won't trim or weed
(Froerer will provide snow removal for $40 per hour)

American Family Insurance - $765 per year
Breakdown is:
$1,000,000 coverage liability for the common area $440.00
$10,000 coverage for fence $100.00
$4,000,000 coverage for D&O policy $125
$5,000 fidelity bond $100
We contacted John Henry Smith Insurance and their quote was $1141 per year.
We contacted Sentry West Insurance and their quote was $2828 per year.
We contacted State Farm and Heiners but never received calls back.

Water Bill for 4 lines $1171.17 per year

PO Box $48 per year

Additional expenses can be items like extra letters, accountant to prepare taxes, deductibles if insurance is needed, etc.

So if you break that down into monthly amounts:
Management $2.50
Lawn care $1.46
Insurance $.36
Water $.55
PO Box $.02
Total $4.89 per house per month

Feel free to email us if you have questions.