Dear Winston Ridge Owners:
The Board of Directors is aware of the Facebook discord related to the recent publication of trash can screening compliance expectations and also recent compliance violation letters sent by Elite from their latest neighborhood inspection and would like to allay the emotional turmoil that has arisen neighbor to neighbor and neighbors to Board.
Right or wrong, for years, property owners and HOA members have complained that Elite and the developer have done nothing for this neighborhood. Cries went out to fire Elite for their lack of performance. Then some things started happening. Over the past two years, the second pool has opened, the HOA Board has been turned over to the neighborhood, and Elite has changed property managers for Winston Ridge. The neighbors who served on the board have spent months examining the details of our collective situation for many areas of legal vulnerability and have taken actions – (improved insurance coverage for common areas so socializing/beverages are less restricted), financial oversights (have opened multiple CDs to gain interest income stream for the HOA), and gone from closed Board meetings to open meetings with owner forums to encourage direct communication with the Board. A webpage was created with direct email access to Board members based on the area of concern to streamline 24/7 access to Board members. Monthly posting of minutes and financial reports on both Elite’s website (About Us – Winston Ridge Homeowners Association, Inc. 139 – Raleigh, NC (cincwebaxis.com) and the WinstonRidge.org website (Winston Ridge HOA, Inc. – Living on the Ridge!) are available. We continue to work to improve based on feedback, guiding principles and legalities for HOAs.
In the past, our neighborhood had inconsistent compliance inspections. The Board has recently been educated that a proper neighborhood inspection involves a visual inspection of the properties with an eye for each area of compliance being satisfied. Inspections are not done looking for only one compliance issue and turning a blind eye to all others. Any visually confirmed noncompliant condition on the day of a neighborhood inspection receives a noncompliance letter UNLESS there is a note on the property for an ARC approved variance. When neighborhood inspections are done this way, it should be pretty easy to then know what to fix through a maintenance project or to reach out to Elite to discuss the situation further. HOA neighborhoods have covenants and having a management company inspect consistently for compliance is part and parcel of a HOA neighborhood. If you have received a violation letter recently, it is for one of those two reasons and no other. The Board can and has stepped in and worked directly with owners and Elite when requested.
Could we, as a Board, do better as we adjust to a new manager who is fulfilling the contractual expectations Elite was hired to do? Obviously communication could have been better and we pledge to improve communication. We are still seeking volunteers for a communication committee. What we would ask of everyone so as to avoid any further discord, please take some time to review the binding covenants for the Winston Ridge Subdivision and even the processes for changing them. Maintaining our development’s covenants is one way to protect your real estate investment. Maintaining them with a positive attitude toward one another – even better! And if you are in a hardship situation, please reach out to a Board member so we can help you find a solution to the challenge.
In community,
The HOA Board