My Neighborhood

Being the HOA president for my neighborhood can be one of 2 things...fun or a total headache. Today...it's fun!

I'm excited at 2 of the 3 homes that are near me that are up for sale have signs now saying "Sale Pending". That's fantastic news! So in or about 30 days from now I'll be welcoming some more new neighbors to the subdivision. I was starting to worry about the red house around the corner in the cul-de-sac as it has a lot of upgrades and it being priced at $253,900 well that makes it the 2nd highest priced house for sale in our subdivision. There's another house out here priced at $259,000 and that's a "reduced price". When that house first went on the market it was priced at $325,000 yeah like that's going to sell out here. The funny thing is that the house I'm talking about is the one that we had put a bid on back in January and was in negotiations with the owner for a week and ended up walking away from. He was not about to come down to our price...come to find out that he never had another serious bid on his house since then.

I'm getting information together for another HOA newsletter. I want to get information about preparing our yards homes for winter. Since so many of the home owners out here are first time buyers I feel it's important to give them helpful advice on things like replacing the batteries in their smoke detectors twice a year, flushing out their sprinkler systems, putting down extra mulch around plants and watering trees and shrubs on nice days during the winter. Our homes are investments and without getting the right encouragement some might not get things done and have costly repairs to take care of in the spring. Flushing the sprinkler system is crucial as water left in the pipes can freeze causing the pipes to burst. And do I really need to draw out what can happen if we don't change the batteries in the smoke detectors???

My son recently asked me what my position as HOA president relates to in a government setting. I told him it's similar to being a mayor in a little town (a really little town). My goal is for us to have a community that knows all of it's neighbors, one where homes get top dollar be it new or resale. A place that one can come and to and say...That is where I want to live because they are impressed with how good our homes and streets look.

Another goal of mine is to get a neighborhood watch program going on...there's no such thing as being "too safe" or having "too many friends". I've got plans for this small but growing subdivision, by being positive and giving good advice on things from home care to garden maintenance to getting out and meeting your neighbors, we'll grown into a great community.