Links for Key Documents
2026 Proposed Budget
2025 Budget
Latest Budget Comparison(September 2025)
Remember, the September Budget Comparison only accounts for 3/4 of the spending of each account of the current year
Thoughts, background, and ideas
As residents, the HOA board members had the same questions you do:
– How are we doing financially? Where should we be?
– Where does our money go for the HOA?
– What is it going to cost for all the activities we are encountering and will encounter?
The reality is that a fair amount of information is available on the HOA management website – but it is not always easy to decipher. Especially the question of, “where are we and where should we be?”
The board has been working to review all aspects of those questions. Some answers are easy and some have taken a lot of digging and debate.
Where are we?
We started off the year about $100K behind in our reserves for the cost of the road replacement. The crushed drain pipe cost us most of the road reserve fund just to identify the issue and replace the crushed section of pipe. The pipe still needs to be secured with grout to prevent constant water intrusion and lined with a fiberglass sleeve – those processes will require just over $200K in additional funds.
During the drain repair process we will have the rest of the drain pipes examined for the first time to look for other issues and provide a report on the state of the drain system. Examining the drain system is supposed to be completed every three years.
We have been shorting the reserve funds for a long time and our goal is to get the HOA back on track so we don’t face these issues in the future.
There are a number of other parts of the community that have been neglected over the years, or are simply old. Some of the 30-year old plants and shrubs in our common areas are in need of replacement to properly represent the community. We will be updating these areas in ways that are minimal in cost but will maximize the effect. These efforts have been on hold until the bigger projects – and budgets – have been decided.
The 2026 budget increase will represent more than the 5% increase we would see in random years. The two main reasons are the loan repayment and the increase in reserves. Combined, these two items are more than our HOA dues from previous years. The board planned on obtaining a 15-year loan but found the terms and lower cost of a 10-year loan would save homeowners $8,000 in initiation costs $150,000 in interest over the life of the loan.
The 2024 Reserve Study is something we currently have to abide by and requires $68,500 to be in our reserve fund by the end of next year. Possible issues with the rest of our drain system is the big question. We don’t know if there are any other immediate issues or if there are any other repairs that we can plan for in the future. Underground drains are easy to ignore since they are unseen – until they do not work.
The challenge with this year’s budget is twofold. The past budgets have been carried over without updating or adjusting. Switching management companies a few years ago only amplified issues. If the current budget looks confusing in some areas, it is because items have been mislabeled. When we started the year, budget line items included AC repair and pool gate repair which do not exist in our community. Some adjustments have been made already. Once we get through this budgeting cycle, the budget will be simplified to make more sense for everyone.
The other issue is that certain years will have large onetime or periodic needs that are not annually reoccurring – Lake fountain replacement, gate maintenance, abnormal legal fees, etc. The current budget is based on what we have seen in the past years, as well as anticipating upcoming items.
There may options for reducing dues in the future barring any other large costs:
- A possible loan adjustment if all the borrowed funds are not needed.
- Reallocation of the current budget items that can be adjusted down if not utilized.
- Commission an updated reserve report that will be more accurate once we complete our current projects and fully fund reserves.
We are working to make it easier for future boards to have a solid grasp of the community needs and resources.
We want it to be as easy as possible for the homeowners to understand the situation – and the challenges.
We want the dues to be as low as possible but be enough to properly sustain the community.
Right now with the with loan and the reserves we are in a reconciliation phase to get our community back in track financially and physically up to date the way it should be.
How much do we generate each year from HOA dues, what is our budget?
Currently ~$134,000 annually
There are other revenue sources such as late fees but these cannot be factored in the budget.
Do we have money on our accounts now?
Yes we do have funds for operations but our reserves have been lowered dramatically with the pipe repair process.
Where does our money go?
Currently, the biggest items are:
- Landscaping ~$42,400
- Insurance ~$9,000
- HOA Management fees ~$15,000
- Reserve Requirements ~$21,000
- Electricity and Streetlights ~$20,000
- Water for common areas ~$10,000
- Lake/Fountain Service ~$3,600
- Gate and irrigation repair ~15,000
- Legal fees ~ $5,000
These large items alone account for $141,000 of the $134,560 in dues. We are already in a deficit with major items alone. Other items such as CPA, postage, copies, Internet access, security cameras, etc. are not included in the list above. We have been benefitting from lower dues for many years but not keeping up with the costs of the community and definitely not with the amount of the reserves.
We are working to reduce expenses. Anticipated savings over the next year:
- Replacing the streetlights to more energy efficient LED bulbs which will save the community $2,800 per year.
- Switching pond maintenance companies to save $1000 per year.
- Moving to a new HOA management company that will save $4,000 per year.
- Adjusting the Commitment fee for new homes that will increase funds for our community by $2,600 with the two current homes on the market
These adjustments represent $10,400 in eventual savings for our community. It is not gigantic compared to the new budget but it is not insignificant either. This represents almost 8% savings of our current annual budget and a much larger savings than if the dues were raised by the maximum of 5%.
The road reserves and general funding deficit were known issues, the pipe collapse was not. Regardless, we are working to deal with both issues while also updating our community.
Questions and Answers – Will be added as asked
send questions to Alex Gubert – alexwchoa@gmail.com
Q1: What is the timeframe for the loan?
A1: 10 years
Q2: What is the loan rate?
A2: Anticipated to be 6% unless we find a lower rate