Poor Decisions and Bad Management
Why we need to change!
Poor Decisions and Bad Management
Why we need to change!
How is This Adding Value?
Beechtree HOA Needs Major Changes!
When you purchased your property, did you read the bylaws, covenants, and handbook? Do you know or agree that the Beechtree HOA can foreclose on your house if you have $1 in fines? HOAs are run by volunteers who require no training or knowledge and that causes problems for everyone. HOAs have too much power and homeowners have little recourse to defend their property. The Beechtree HOA enforces random or made-up rules as they see fit.
Here are three changes we can make to prevent gross negligence in the future:
- Our neighborhood has over 30 acres of community property. Donate it to the Town of Cary.
- Require capital expenditure to be in the budget and approved by the community.
- Replace outdated covenants with more realistic operating agreements between the HOA and homeowners.
How is This Not a Violation?
In 2021 the Beechtree HOA gave then HOA president Marty Adams approval to use the greenway to haul multiple truckloads of fill into his back yard using a skid load. On 21 November, 2021, the Montibello Cul-de-sac became a staging area for Marty’s retaining wall project. This consisted of around 100 trips along the greenway, back and forth, over multiple days, damaging parts of the asphalt and making a complete mess.
This entire project was poorly planned from start to finish. First, to access the greenway, Marty had to pass through private property, a pedestrian easement owned by the Myers family that is only intended for pedestrians. This should never have been allowed without their permission. Here is the video of the first altercation caused by poor HOA planning. How do you turn a good neighbor into a bad neighbor? Allow the president of your HOA to run through your yard for his own personal benefit.
Incompetence!
Here is the rundown of everything wrong here:
- No Town of Cary permit was given to Marty to use the Montibello Dr. Cul-de-sac as a staging area for his project.
- No permission was given to Marty by the Myers family to use their property.
- The greenway was never closed down and the community residents never notified that the greenway would be used for construction equipment.
- A section of Marty’s retention wall was built onto community property that required further HOA expenses. All construction should be surveyed so encroachment does not occur.
- The greenway was left a muddy mess for months. How was any of this approved by the board and the Architectural Review Committee (ARC) committee?
Poor Management of Funds and the $40,000 Basketball Court
In 2020, our treasurer, Patty Cheng, wanted to add a capital expense for the basketball court repair to the annual budget and get community approval before spending money on a major project. The board’s original discussion was to spend an estimated $27,000 based on a reserve study from 2017 but the expense was never added to the budget against Patty's wishes. This project was rushed with no input from the community. The cost quickly ballooned to $40,000 with all the unexpected added features and upgrades. A number of homeowners had expressed concern that the HOA board members were conducting a personal spending spree with HOA funds, but nothing has ever been done to correct this.
To control spending and prevent surprises, all capital expenses need to be in the budget. As homeowners we have a right to know how money will be spent. This is extremely unprofessional behavior. There are no controls over HOA spending and there should be rules and policies in place for capital expenditures in the budget.
In May 2024, the HOA spent $120,000 on repaving the greenway on the 30 plus acres mentioned above. It shouldn’t be surprising that there are already issues arising. The gravel is washing away because the stone that was used is too small, the contractor dumped nasty fill on our property that is clearly a violation of the conservation easement the community has with Wake Soil and Water Conservation District, and the construction destroyed vegetation that was never repaired. This project was poorly managed, and we should offer this property to the Town of Cary for public use. The Town of Cary is in a better position to properly care for it.
The $7,000 Fine
In 2021, shortly after Patty Cheng left the board, she was fined $7,000 for having potted plants on her rental property.
With this HOA “It’s better to ask forgiveness than permission”. These photos show 4 yards in the Beechtree HOA. Can you tell which one was fined $7,000? This was the second year that plants were growing here in pots. Because Patty put in an ARC request to plant them in the ground and have a nice edible landscape for her renters it drew attention. Her direct neighbors had no issues with this proposal, but her ARC was rejected because they said vegetables are not allowed in front yards. The covenants or HOA handbook don’t state that vegetable plants are not allowed in the front yard, only that they need to be approved. Patty received a violation letter for potted plants but there is nothing stating Potted plants are not allowed. Many homeowners do this. Why was Patty’s plants a violation and the others not? If you live in our neighborhood, don’t draw attention to yourself by submitting an ARC request or piss off the HOA board about a basketball court.
Unrealistic Violation Letters
The entire violation process is highly subjective, loosely enforced, based on who you live near, and who your friends with. HOAs are staffed by people with no sense of aesthetics, and too often define "aesthetically inappropriate" as "different from my house". Here are two examples of ridiculous violations with unreasonable timelines or threats of fines I have received.
The first is to let my backyard go natural like the adjacent 30 acres of community property and like many of my neighbors along the greenway. My yard backs up to a natural area via the greenway, but for some reason I could not convert mine. Also, it appears in 2024 you can do anything in your backyard now without and ARC request, including building a retention wall.
Many of us, the second example, received violation letters that the brown mold growing on our roofs are a violation and we need to have them professionally cleaned. This hadn’t been an issue for 30 years but now it is a violation. This is a perfect example how the HOA can determine that at anytime something is a violation. All we can do as homeowners is complain and hope the management company and board will agree with us. If not, you must comply no matter how ridiculous the request or get fined $100/day.
If we are truly neighbors, why aren’t we helping each other out more. I have mowed and mulched my neighbor’s yard and they mine. This is how you form a community. Not by sending threats and nasty letters. Here is a snippet from our covenants. Why not give it a read? You can email your thoughts and ideas to beechtreeHOA1988@gmail.com