Insurance Presentation

At the April 16, 2009, the first part of the Talltree South Board Meeting was a presentation by John Manougian of Manougian Insurance Agency, Inc. made a presentation on condominium insurance and answered questions. He had a great deal of experience in the condominum insurance business.

Items he mentioned that I found interesting included the fact that more than half of condominium owners do not carry insurance on their individual units.  I found this rather shocking, as I always make a point of having insurance on my unit and want my tenants to have renter’s insurance as well.  I remember when we had the fire in 2004 and discovered that many owners and renters did not have insurance, and wanted the board to put them up.  Had they had insurance, that could have covered them. Without it, all we could do was refer them to the Red Cross.  Even though they could not live in their unit, and many lost their possessions, they still had to pay their mortgage and condo fees. That’s not a good position to be in, particularly when insurance is not very expensive to begin with.

Mr. Manougian also stated that effective March 1, 2009, FNMA was requiring owners who purchase or refinance to present evidence of insurance.  We really should have him explain this in a newsletter article in the near future.  FNMA also has requirements in terms of the number of rental units vs. owner-occupied units; we need to check on the exact ratio requirements.

President’s Report

The move to Cardinal Management Group will be effective May 1, 2009.  New coupon books will be issued. The site manager will stay Jason Smith, but he will be augmented by Rick Balzhiser, who currently also manages our sister property, Talltree Gardens. We are already using their emergency phone number.

Financial reports were received just prior to the meeting, so had not been analyzed in detail, but the association was within budget. Delinquencies were holding steady, but at least not climbing.

No minutes have been received so none were reviewed and approved.

Pool Association

The whitecoating and pool repairs have been completed. New pool furniture has been ordered. The new pool rules were discussed, including limiting the number of passes per unit and reducing the price of guest pass fees. The next pool association meeting will be June 9, 2009.

Grounds Maintenance

  • The bench near the tot lot will be replaced by a new bench purchased last fall.  Tumbled wood chips should be installed soon if they have not been already.
  • Some dead limb and tree removal should also have been done by now.
  • The trash enclosure nearest the pool will be replaced.

Site Manager’s Report — Jason Smith

  • Fire extinguisher inspection and maintenance has been performed, under budget. Furnace inspections are still coming in and those remaining will be handled as violations.
  • “Tips to avoid towing” signs have been posted in all buildings as of a few weks ago, and they direct new move-ins to the site office to get tags and stickers. Fewer people are being towed.
  • The storage room door of 4915 was secured promptly.
  • Approximately 30 violation letters have been sent and will be followed up on. Additional ones are in process. An official “complaint” or “incident notice” form has been drafted and will be finalized and distributed.

New Business

  • Street sweeping — the bid by ProGrounds to sweep the streets was approved. Street sweeping will be done in early May.
  • Bids for exterior painting will be obtained in the coming month, including painting and necessary repair of balconies, window trim, furnace room doors, and exterior doors. It will include glazing, framing, caulking, etc., and will be done one building at a time.  It will include separately priced vent repair and painting, and railing painting. We will get about six bids and select the best.
  • Pool pass applications, guest pass applications, and pool rules will be distributed. When pool passes are received, they will be distributed to residents whose units are current on their condo fees, up to 5 per unit. Additional pool users may purchase guest passes. No passes will be for sale at the pool.
  • Concrete repairs will be considered.
  • Move-in fees will be invoiced on units that are sold.  We will amend the move-in policy to incorporate this.
  • Our collections policy will be revised to be synchronized with the shift to Cardinal Management Group.
  • We will develop a policy of no smoking in hallways, storage rooms, and laundry rooms.

The next board meeting will be deferred to May 27, 2009, due to schedule conflicts. Subsequent meetings will be the 2nd Wednesday of each month.