Home of the Broadwater Court Homeowners Association. This is where home owners can find announcements, meeting minutes, and general information about the association.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Additional Info on Hail Damage
Greetings Everyone - We have finally gotten all of the estimates gathered for roof replacement for all buildings. A copy has been sent out to you today and you should receive in a day or two.More Soon!
There needs to be multiple legitimate sealed bids on the roof replacement project.
The single unsealed bid from Pyramid a good start. But it has three problems:
1) Too many people know what the bid is therefore it can be under-bid by a dollar...winning the bid for a rival and saving us nothing.
2) It may very well be far too much; My share of the quoted price takes all of my Insurance payment and commits it to the roof leaving nothing for replacement windows.
3) The Pyramid bid with all due respect to the "good intentions" at LUNA Properties is SUSPECT because it arrives through the good ol' boy network with the assumption that (based on their referral) it will get a green light and be the only bid considered. Watch Your Wallet!
Simkins-Hallin did the original roofing in 2004. Certianly they should be contacted in regard to the original materials and pricing and for a sealed bid on a replacement. All they have to do to make a legitimate bid is retrieve some of their own files... yet, they were not contacted at all. Evidently that lapse was out out of some bias toward this Pyramid outfit. Since we don't have full transparency on the association between Luna and Pyramid healthy skepticism is advisable.
This is ridiculous. OF COURSE A ROOFER IS GOING TO WANT TO REPLACE EVERY SINGLE ROOF IN THE COMPLEX. Does anyone really thinks this actually needs to be done? I, too, saw very little wrong with my roof, especially enough to warrant replacing the entire thing. Granted, I haven't gotten up there and taken a closer look, but you honestly think I want to pay over $4000 to basically replace a few shingles and patch some stuff up? And I've actually got a couple of shingles missing, so I do know that it does need to be fixed, but a whole new roof? REALLY?
Time and time again, LUNA leaves us out in the cold and tells us to handle things ourselves as they sit back and count their money. This time is no exception. I've gone to last two HOA meetings and at the last two HOA meetings, I've listened to everyone say "The exterior elements are covered by the HOA." TWICE. But when it comes time for them to actually back up this claim with what probably should be a small patch job, they tell us it's going to cost $13,000 per building out of our own pockets?
This is total crap. I put up with some of the highest HOA dues in the city and getting hit twice with 2 separate HOA dues because of a technicality. And I assumed it would be worth it because I thought that I was covered if something happened to the exterior elements like, I don't know, THE ROOF???, it would be taken care of.
Now I've read the bylaws and covenants and I read the amendment to article 14 that so gracefully skirts the issue of the HOA's insurance. But regardless of what that amendment says, it still says that the HOA is responsible for the repair and maintenance of the exterior elements of the complex, specifically mentioning the roof. If this is going to be the case every time and I'm going to be hung out to dry every time something like this happens, WHAT THE HELL AM I PAYING ALMOST $75 A MONTH FOR???? Planting, replanting and replanting (again) dead trees and a sprinkler system that doesn't even work? Give me a break.
I'll put up with it and probably pay my $500 insurance deductible to to get a new roof because I don't have any other options after waiting almost a month to even get this "estimate," but I must once again ask: WHY AM I PAYING SOME OF THE HIGHEST HOA DUES IN TOWN IF THIS IS THE KIND OF SUPPORT I'M GOING TO GET EVERY TIME????
I think there are a lot of good points made in the previous posts. I also believe that a lot of the things being said here illustrate a few other items that probably need to be addressed.
Before I being, I want to let all of you know I served on the board during the hail storm...so I may be able to look at this from a different perspective.
1. I do believe getting a second opinion is a good idea on the part of the home owners. I would be willing to be the majority of us haven't dealt with a situation like this and this is a learning experience for all of us. So, the more opinions and knowledge we can collect the better final decision we can make.
2. Not only are the roofing contractors suggesting the roofs be replaced, so are the insurance adjusters. These are people that deal with these items on a daily basis and in my opinion it would be wise for us to heed their advice.
3. Using a sealed bid system is an interesting concept. I've seen it used in the construction business before while bidding for work against other contractors. I'm not sure I believe this is the place for such a process. Sealed or not, I just believe we should look at the work being quoted, the price, quality, and warranty. Based on those items I think we can make an educated decision on what contractor to go with.
4. After the hail storm happened, we (the board) asked Luna to have someone look at the roof ASAP. Luna suggested Pyramid based on the quality of their work and nothing else. Luna acted quickly on behalf of the board and Pyramid was able to begin estimates within a week of the damage. Luna did nothing wrong here and the blame shouldn't be put on them for who was chosen for the initial estimate. We as homeowners need to understand that this is just an initial estimate. Now, as many are aware now, our by-laws don't require us to use the contractor suggested by Luna OR EVEN our board. This event has made it blatantly clear that it's up to us, as homeowners, to resolve our issues on our own.
5. I think there is a large misunderstand of what Luna's role is in the Broadwater Court complex. I say this because I also had the same feelings and resentment toward the management company in the past...until I kind of figured out what their role was it was pretty easy to put all the blame for things like this on them. Here is the deal, Luna's only role is to work for our HOA. What does that mean? It means they handle the accounting, the billing, managing the funds, sending out letters/bills/notifications. Basically, Luna acts on behalf of the HOA. They don't do anything without running it by the HOA.
So, with that in mind - I'll touch on a few other items. First, I agree with Jacob - the HOA dues are high. Why are they high? Because we wanted to be prepared (as an HOA) to deal with large scale damage...exactly what this hail storm brought us. In my opinion one of two things need to happen:
a) Lower the HOA dues and leave things as is... b) Amend the by-laws, put more responsibility on the HOA for the exterior of the units, and leave the HOA dues as-is so that the HOA can handle a situation like this.
Again, the by-laws weren't written by Luna or even the board. The board has made a couple amendments (when it could get the votes) to hopefully make things better. But at the end of the day, the initial by-laws were left to us by the contractor (Cascade Homes) and they were very poor. A lot of work needs to be done on these by-laws and we need new amendments to fix the loop holes, ambiguity, and frankly make them become something that protects the owners of the complex. This is something that needs full participation from all owners to accomplish. We recently passed an amendment for landscaping in which a board member had to go door to door just make sure some people provided a vote. That can't be the case if option (b) is chosen above.
Hopefully this provides a little bit different perspective for everyone and sheds some light on the situation.
Are you going to provide a "second opinion" on this? I am not an expert roofer but i can not see anything wrong with my roof...
ReplyDeleteThere needs to be multiple legitimate sealed bids on the roof replacement project.
ReplyDeleteThe single unsealed bid from Pyramid a good start. But it has three problems:
1) Too many people know what the bid is therefore it can be under-bid by a dollar...winning the bid for a rival and saving us nothing.
2) It may very well be far too much; My share of the quoted price takes all of my Insurance payment and commits it to the roof leaving nothing for replacement windows.
3) The Pyramid bid with all due respect to the "good intentions" at LUNA Properties is SUSPECT because it arrives through the good ol' boy network with the assumption that (based on their referral) it will get a green light and be the only bid considered. Watch Your Wallet!
Simkins-Hallin did the original roofing in 2004. Certianly they should be contacted in regard to the original materials and pricing and for a sealed bid on a replacement. All they have to do to make a legitimate bid is retrieve some of their own files... yet, they were not contacted at all. Evidently that lapse was out out of some bias toward this Pyramid outfit. Since we don't have full transparency on the association between Luna and Pyramid healthy skepticism is advisable.
This is ridiculous. OF COURSE A ROOFER IS GOING TO WANT TO REPLACE EVERY SINGLE ROOF IN THE COMPLEX. Does anyone really thinks this actually needs to be done? I, too, saw very little wrong with my roof, especially enough to warrant replacing the entire thing. Granted, I haven't gotten up there and taken a closer look, but you honestly think I want to pay over $4000 to basically replace a few shingles and patch some stuff up? And I've actually got a couple of shingles missing, so I do know that it does need to be fixed, but a whole new roof? REALLY?
ReplyDeleteTime and time again, LUNA leaves us out in the cold and tells us to handle things ourselves as they sit back and count their money. This time is no exception. I've gone to last two HOA meetings and at the last two HOA meetings, I've listened to everyone say "The exterior elements are covered by the HOA." TWICE. But when it comes time for them to actually back up this claim with what probably should be a small patch job, they tell us it's going to cost $13,000 per building out of our own pockets?
This is total crap. I put up with some of the highest HOA dues in the city and getting hit twice with 2 separate HOA dues because of a technicality. And I assumed it would be worth it because I thought that I was covered if something happened to the exterior elements like, I don't know, THE ROOF???, it would be taken care of.
Now I've read the bylaws and covenants and I read the amendment to article 14 that so gracefully skirts the issue of the HOA's insurance. But regardless of what that amendment says, it still says that the HOA is responsible for the repair and maintenance of the exterior elements of the complex, specifically mentioning the roof. If this is going to be the case every time and I'm going to be hung out to dry every time something like this happens, WHAT THE HELL AM I PAYING ALMOST $75 A MONTH FOR???? Planting, replanting and replanting (again) dead trees and a sprinkler system that doesn't even work? Give me a break.
I'll put up with it and probably pay my $500 insurance deductible to to get a new roof because I don't have any other options after waiting almost a month to even get this "estimate," but I must once again ask: WHY AM I PAYING SOME OF THE HIGHEST HOA DUES IN TOWN IF THIS IS THE KIND OF SUPPORT I'M GOING TO GET EVERY TIME????
I think there are a lot of good points made in the previous posts. I also believe that a lot of the things being said here illustrate a few other items that probably need to be addressed.
ReplyDeleteBefore I being, I want to let all of you know I served on the board during the hail storm...so I may be able to look at this from a different perspective.
1. I do believe getting a second opinion is a good idea on the part of the home owners. I would be willing to be the majority of us haven't dealt with a situation like this and this is a learning experience for all of us. So, the more opinions and knowledge we can collect the better final decision we can make.
2. Not only are the roofing contractors suggesting the roofs be replaced, so are the insurance adjusters. These are people that deal with these items on a daily basis and in my opinion it would be wise for us to heed their advice.
3. Using a sealed bid system is an interesting concept. I've seen it used in the construction business before while bidding for work against other contractors. I'm not sure I believe this is the place for such a process. Sealed or not, I just believe we should look at the work being quoted, the price, quality, and warranty. Based on those items I think we can make an educated decision on what contractor to go with.
4. After the hail storm happened, we (the board) asked Luna to have someone look at the roof ASAP. Luna suggested Pyramid based on the quality of their work and nothing else. Luna acted quickly on behalf of the board and Pyramid was able to begin estimates within a week of the damage. Luna did nothing wrong here and the blame shouldn't be put on them for who was chosen for the initial estimate. We as homeowners need to understand that this is just an initial estimate. Now, as many are aware now, our by-laws don't require us to use the contractor suggested by Luna OR EVEN our board. This event has made it blatantly clear that it's up to us, as homeowners, to resolve our issues on our own.
5. I think there is a large misunderstand of what Luna's role is in the Broadwater Court complex. I say this because I also had the same feelings and resentment toward the management company in the past...until I kind of figured out what their role was it was pretty easy to put all the blame for things like this on them. Here is the deal, Luna's only role is to work for our HOA. What does that mean? It means they handle the accounting, the billing, managing the funds, sending out letters/bills/notifications. Basically, Luna acts on behalf of the HOA. They don't do anything without running it by the HOA.
So, with that in mind - I'll touch on a few other items. First, I agree with Jacob - the HOA dues are high. Why are they high? Because we wanted to be prepared (as an HOA) to deal with large scale damage...exactly what this hail storm brought us. In my opinion one of two things need to happen:
a) Lower the HOA dues and leave things as is...
b) Amend the by-laws, put more responsibility on the HOA for the exterior of the units, and leave the HOA dues as-is so that the HOA can handle a situation like this.
Again, the by-laws weren't written by Luna or even the board. The board has made a couple amendments (when it could get the votes) to hopefully make things better. But at the end of the day, the initial by-laws were left to us by the contractor (Cascade Homes) and they were very poor. A lot of work needs to be done on these by-laws and we need new amendments to fix the loop holes, ambiguity, and frankly make them become something that protects the owners of the complex. This is something that needs full participation from all owners to accomplish. We recently passed an amendment for landscaping in which a board member had to go door to door just make sure some people provided a vote. That can't be the case if option (b) is chosen above.
Hopefully this provides a little bit different perspective for everyone and sheds some light on the situation.