Yesterday was David's hearing date with the HOA about the siding and rotting wood that were problems with the house.
Anyone that has been following this situation should know that David did not receive his resale packet, which means that he was not given any warning in advance about any problems he would need to fix due to violations with the HOA's rules and regulations, amongst other things.
He was a bit nervous, and so I wrote up both a list for him and a semi-formal letter for him so that he would have everything he needed on one sheet as well as something to hand to them if need be that explained his "plight." They were both fairly simple, and they helped get to the point. At the top of each I centered his full name, address, and phone number.
And I even highlighted in red the parts for him that 100% applied to the situation in the likely event that he had little time to actually discuss his issue in full. This way, his father, who was going to be there with us, would also be able to look over the sheet before hand so that we were all on the same page, so to speak. I'll go ahead and paste them below:
STATEMENTS:
- I am a first-time home-owner. I work a full-time job and attend college part-time.
- I moved into the townhouse in August.
- I did not receive the Resale Packet; I was told by the Real Estate and Settlement agents that the HOA would supply me with the packet and was then told by the HOA after receiving the notice for this hearing that the bank should have supplied me with the packet.
- I did receive the Welcome Packet, but it was the day after my fiancée's car was towed, for which I paid $150.
- I fully expected to receive a notice to fix the siding and rotting wood but did not expect the first notice I received to be a final one summoning me to a hearing.
- I had already begun repairs to the outside of the house before I received the notice.
- I concentrated my efforts for the first few months on the inside of the house and getting myself moved in.
- The inside of the townhouse needed a lot of work -- paint, carpets, new dishwasher, ceiling repairs, wall repairs, bathroom repairs etc.
- I have already finished repairing the siding, and I have replaced the primary problem with the rotting wood on the front of the house. There is still some touch-up needed to be done, but the primary issue with the rotting wood was taken care of before I received the notice. -- this is the reason I do not have a before/after picture of that repair.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
- Removed large weed/tree from the backyard
- mulched the front yard -- previously just dirt
- trimmed front bush
- repaired rotting wood
- repaired siding
- fixed back-door
INTENTIONS:
- remove satellite dish(es)
- put up fence in the backyard
- remove trees in the backyard and front yard
- cover the front bay area with aluminum or vinyl
- replace garage door
- power-wash siding, replace
QUESTIONS:
- How can I get my resale packet? -- Where do I go? How much do I need to pay?
- As I do not have the resale packet, are there any more issues with the house that I should be aware of and can expect a notice for?
Cannon Ridge Board of Directors,
I have not received my Resale Packet. I was told by the Real Estate and Settlement agents that the HOA would supply me with the packet and was then told by the HOA after receiving the notice for this hearing that the Bank should have supplied me with the packet.
I fully expected to receive a notice to fix the siding and rotting wood but did not expect the first notice I received to be a final one summoning me to a hearing.
I have already finished repairing the siding, and I have replaced the primary problem with the rotting wood on the front of the house.
The rotting wood was taken care of before I received the notice in October; this is the reason I do not have a before/after picture of that repair.
I would like to know how I can get my resale packet. I will pay for one if need be, but it is very important to me to be able to properly maintain my property.
As I do not currently have the resale packet, I would also like to know if there any more issues with the house that I should be aware of and can expect a notice for.
Respectfully,
At work that morning, it just happened to be the one day in several months of just sitting at his desk programming and answering phone calls that his bosses decided that they and he needed to go to a data center and unload and unpack a bunch of big cabinets.
Needless to say, David had to leave work an hour early to come back home and take another shower because he was all sweaty and smelly by the end of the day. So I scrambled to find him a new outfit while he took a shower, and by about 5.30, he was good as new -- stressed, but good as new.
We fretted a little over whether or not his new outfit would be considered appropriate or not and finally decided to bring along another sweater just in case his dad commented negatively on his choice of shirt.
He called up his dad one more time just to make sure he could make it, and then we headed out the door at about 6pm in order to get to the hearing on time, which was at 7pm at city hall.
We got there nice and early, a bit before 6.30 and we were the only ones there for a while, which concerned us as there was no Information Assistant and the entire meeting was completely neglected on the scheduled events calendar. Furthermore, his summons gave absolutely no hint as to a room number or even a general location of the event.
By about 6.50, the waiting room was filled with people, all with letters indicating that they too were summoned there by Sequoia Managemant, which is our HOA office/management company. They were all confused and looking around desperately for a room number or sign that the meeting was indeed going to take place that night.
At 7 on the dot, David's dad walked in the door -- nice of him to show up but would have been nicer if he was there earlier to read over our statements/letter, etc. He was wearing a black hoody and blue jeans -- so much for our ponderance over whether or not David looked presentable enough.
Everyone was braced for the meeting to start; for the past five minutes, self-important looking souls had been entering a small meeting room off to the right, and rumors were flying around that it was the place. Some people had asked and were saying that the board was still waiting for a couple of members to show up before they began their proceedings.
David's dad had somewhere else that he needed to be, and it was almost fifteen minutes after seven. There had been no official word, so David's dad finally decided that maybe we should go in and at least ask about the procedure for the evening.
Afterall, the room was far too small for everyone to fit in at the same time, so we couldn't all really be scheduled for 7.00pm. That would be silly -- in fact, it would leave the entranceway packed full of people with absolutely no idea as to what was going on. No one could be that dumb, especially not someone elevated to a managemant position of sorts... oh wait... nevermind.
And so, we walked into the room and startled them as three people stumbling through the doorway uninvited.
The man at front of the table with a folder of documents in front of him asked us if he could assist us. David's dad, in turn, kindly asked what the procedure was for the evening. The man looked up from his chair and said simply that they were still waiting for one more board member, and then they would begin calling in home-owners one by one. Each home-owner would then have five minutes to explain their situation to the board and a letter with their decision would be mailed out to them within the week.
Then, David's dad asked the question of the evening: "Well, what if the problem has already been fixed?"
At this, the man's face lit up. "Oh, well, if the problem has been fixed, you can just let me know right now, and I'll be by the house later to reinspect."
"And that's it?"
"That's it."
Well, in that case, the man asked David for his name, fingered through his file to the record of his prior notice and made a quick note. David then handed him the before/after picture of the siding and tried to explain that he had the rotting wood mostly fixed before he even got the summons.
But, by that point, the man was no longer listening as the final member they were waiting for had just walked in and they were now ready to really start the hearing for people with real problems.
We were then shooed out the door in shock and stumbled out to our vehicles confused as to what had just happened and hopeful that maybe the resolution to the issue was simply that easy. They had absolutely no care or intent to care about David's resale packet or future problems. So that is a battle for another day -- probably in the very near future when we receive another summons in the mail because there is still traces of rotting wood on the front of the house that have yet to be fixed.
Genius. I woke up this morning and realized that David should have also handed the man that nice letter I had drafted up explaining the entire situation, but that would have taken some actual time for the brain's thought-process to kick in. Hell, they didn't even have time to smell David or give a crap about his appearance at all. I would say, oh well, at least they know his face now, but I highly doubt that since the man hardly looked up and we weren't there but a minute.
After the "meeting," I took David out to dinner at Kobe to help him destress a little since he has been really sweating this event since he got the letter in October. I think he enjoyed himself, but I felt kind of guilty for going out like that because it felt too premature too celebrate anything. I just kept telling myself that we were simply "celebrating" the end of that long-coming evening and not that the issue was resolved.
Anyway, I've been a bit agitated about the whole thing, and I am so sick of nothing ever seeming to go right. It doesn't help that I'm currently wallowing in my semesterly pre-bout of anxiety and depression right before school starts.
I'm positively convinced that something is going to go terribly wrong, and it bothers me not only that I am this jaded but also that I am right to be so. Is that really any way to live?
I know I know... it only gets worse here on in. But I'd like to think that I'll at least get used to it someday. That or just learn to ignore it all.
