General Manager’s Update – 6-25-20

Dear Residents,

The Landings Association’s Board of Directors approved the next three-year Property Owners Annual Dues Proposal at its June Board Meeting. The proposed amounts for the next three years are $2,070, $2,170, and $2,270, for an annual average of $2,170. Over the three years, this proposal achieves the minimum amount in the Association’s Capital Reserve Fund for those reserves to be considered “adequate” by industry standards. Otherwise, we are at risk of depleting those funds and not being able to repair and replace the Association’s assets. You can read more about the Reserve Fund in the Budget Box. Since the last Annual Dues vote in 2018 fell just short of owner approval (by 0.7%), the dues have remained at $1,850 the last three years. As previously reported, the Association made adjustments to operational expenses (eliminating and reducing costs that would have the least impact on the community), as well as deferring some capital repair and replacement projects. Now, absent approval by owners, more impactful operational and reserve cuts will be required. Not maintaining our almost $80M of capital assets is not a sustainable course of action and negatively impacts community property values. This is a good time to point out for our newer owners, that The Landings is unusual in that owners get to vote whether to increase the dues. In most communities, the Board is granted that authority up to a certain level. This also is something that makes our community so special. By the very nature of holding such votes, the Board and Staff must be responsive to the needs and desires of the owners, which creates improved dialog and high accountability. The proposed annual dues still remain below the average national annual HOA dues of $2,400 - $3,600/year (Realtor.com). The Board, Finance Committee, and Staff explored various amounts for each year. Although there is a larger increase in year one, the proposal still does not achieve the minimum “adequate” Reserves funding target of 30% until the end of year three. This decision was made to reduce the burden on owners by phasing in the full target over the three years. Communication with our owners in advance of voting in September will be more challenging in this time of COVID-19, but we will ensure all owners have access to the information you need to make an informed vote, as well as to ask questions. We have created a special webpage (landings.org/annual-dues) to act as a repository of pertinent information and documents, along with Frequently Asked Questions that will continue to be updated. You also can send questions to webmaster@landings.org, and the most appropriate person will respond with the answers. Finally, we have created a 25-minute video, posted to the Association’s YouTube site (youtube.com/user/LandingsAssociation) that discusses the proposal in more detail. It was presented at June’s Board Meeting. I encourage all owners to take the short time required to view this video to be more informed about our community’s recent past, present, and desired future.