Landen Meadows Residents Forum

Axa · 2008-04-11 23:10:17

Bumgardner lists their services provided on their website here

Among them that caught my eye are below - since we are all members of the association, do we have access to these records, and can we expect to be party to them when released ?

Bill Approval (We contact the specified person on the Board)
Bill Payment
Financial Report Preparation (Completed Monthly)
Tax Return Preparation (We provide the information to an outside contractor)
Year-end Financial Report
Year-end Audit (Review) (We provide the information to an outside contractor)
Budget Preparation (We assist the Treasurer in preparing the annual operating budget)
Reserve Analysis (This may be done with the assistance of the Board as well as an outside contractor)

Others...

Monthly Association Status Report
Rules, regulations enforcement (We handle this at the Board of Directors direction)
Minor repairs/maintenance (Performed by outside contractor)
Pool, spa, sauna and equipment (Performed by outside contractor)
Tennis Courts (Performed by outside contractor)

How much value for money are we getting our of this crowd ?
How much presence and influence do they have beyond a benign smiling face at the agm ?
How much of what they do is available to homeowners audit and inspection ?
Have they always been our Association ?
Like any organization providing a service are they open to scrutiny ?

Damn Yankee · 2008-04-23 16:44:26

BUMgardner must have finally spoken with my neighbor because he finally mowed his hay field last week. Beggars can't be choosers as he only knocked it down with a weedwacker and left the "hay" laying on top of the remaining lawn.

Sure would be nice to get some type of report from these folks on what it is they do besides collect A LOT of our money and then seem to be invisible. I suspect that complacency has much to do with why they are used as our agency.

DY

Axa · 2008-04-23 17:48:08

I have approached the NC chapter of the Homeowners Resource Center for an answer on this and will post their reply.
Basically how much visibility can we as homeowners expect from Bumgardner.

It is frustrating to be so much in the dark really - most dissatisfaction stems from lack of communication or knowledge. how are we to know if we are getting our money's worth if noone knows to act as a watchdog ?

I'm not accusing anyone of any wrongdoing, but we should apply the same principles we apply in our day to day lives - it is lunacy to pay for a service if you are not exactly sure what you are getting for your money. Our board does apparently a satisfactory job with the tools they have, but why just lie down and accept that Bumgardner is doing the same ?

Damn Yankee · 2008-04-27 17:24:07

While discussing the assessment yesterday with the representative, it was brought up that neither one of us have ever seen a Bumgardner marked vehicle patrolling our neighborhood.

I had been told in the past that they DO drive through the subdivision in a marked car. Not that I have seen them and I do work from home some days and have a great eye for such details.

As I mentioned before, they apparently have spoken to my neighbor as the hayfield has been mowed. I wonder if they sent a letter or knocked on the door.

I will say this much, if the assessment does pass, I will be more vigilant about the service we receive from Bumgardner as I want them to keep on those residents that continue to neglect their yards. If I can cough up $300 to beautify the pool and entrances, then they can enforce the rules and get the offenders to follow the rules.

Axa · 2008-04-27 18:12:03

I think like anyone who is unsupervised or not kept on a tight reign, Bumgardner does the minimum amount required in order to avoid being conspicuous in their lack of effort. I for one have never seen any sign of Bumgardner in the 4 years I have been here.
I think you have a point DY - a lot of your money is going to feed these people, and there is not a whole lot of accountability for it. I bet there are plenty of choices out there for management companies.

Look back at my first post in this thread. How satisfactory is Bumgardner in completing there roles they claim ? I suspect there is a case to be made that we are not getting quite the value for money that we seek.

My questions stand...

How much value for money are we getting our of this crowd ?
How much presence and influence do they have beyond a benign smiling face at the agm ?
How much of what they do is available to homeowners audit and inspection ?
Have they always been our Association ?
Like any organization providing a service are they open to scrutiny ?

That said I have not yet received a reply from them to my email sent a few days ago.

I think there is a similarity between this special assessment and the recent school bond that passed. Remember the shock and horror among CMS when their bond was voted down ? The citizens really were sending a message of no confidence and an urgent appeal for more accountability and transparency. Now while our HOA board is far from as incompetent as the group of monkeys running CMS, at least a no vote in LM could send the same message.

If only the members of the LM board weren't so terrified of posting on this forum, we could perhaps get some answers.

Damn Yankee · 2008-04-27 18:48:37

My wife emailed Bumgardner about the neighbor's yard and I don't think she ever got a reply back. That does not bode well for your request but if in fact they do not reply to you, then I would suggest that we start asking the HOA board these same questions and demand answers.

Not sure if the lack of posting here has to do with fear as much as given this litigious society in which we live, there would be a huge uproar if the HOA had to defend a lawsuit.

I can understand the HOA board's position that it is better to have Bumgardner enforce the rules and send the letters but I think that if you buy here and receive a copy of the covenants, ignorance of the rules is no excuse.

I would be willing to bet that most (but not all!) of the offenders here in the subdivision would welcome help on how to conform to the rules. I would help anyone who asked me but unfortunately no one has as of yet.

I think if the HOA would somehow figure how to hold quarterly meetings more of the issues would be resolved. I haven't been able to attend the last two annual meetings due to business related travel, and would welcome a meeting on a Saturday for that reason.

Let's hope that you get the answers you are seeking and if nothing else, Bumgardner wakes up and feels the heat. I would think that the HOA board is noticing some of this banter as well.

Axa · 2008-04-28 14:06:21

Actually Bumgardner managed to get a profit and loss to me today

I haven't had time to look it over and make sense of it yet though. Since it really is a private document to be shared among residents only - I'd prefer not to publish it here as this forum is essentially public.
Send me a private message or post in this thread if you would like to have a look.

On a further note - I do feel this document is a valuable tool to keep residents in the know of the finances of our little company, and it should be made available online - not only upon request. I wonder how many residents have thought to request it up until now ?

Note to HOA - why not upload the worksheet to Google Docs and share by invitation. Keep the copy updated as we progress through the year.

nole420 · 2008-04-28 18:16:12

I totally agree with quarterly meetings. That way everyone could be kept abreast of all situations. It does not make much sense to hold one meeting a year and do it at 7pm during the middle of the week. It's hard for anyone with a family to make them. That could be the reason they do it. But of course trying to get them to hold additional meetings would require them doing something beneficial for the neighborhood other than swim meets and socials.
James,
I think it's great you requested a p&l statement from bumgardner. Maybe the reason the board has never offered up that info is because they don't want us to know what's really going on. Keep up the good work. If we don't ask the hard questions we will never get the answers!

Damn Yankee · 2008-05-13 23:44:45

Does anybody know what it costs to rent the banquet center on Bryant Farms Rd (the local bingo parlor)? I'm thinking the HOA should look into using that for the next meeting because :

A. It is closer to our subdivision.
B. It can accommodate more people.
C. The room is available past 9:00 P.M.
D. If the meeting goes bad, alcohol can be served!

Axa- please send me a copy of the P&L, as I would be interested in seeing where the money is going.

Thanks,

DY

Axa · 2008-05-14 21:12:35

Damn Yankee wrote:
Does anybody know what it costs to rent the banquet center on Bryant Farms Rd (the local bingo parlor)? I'm thinking the HOA should look into using that for the next meeting because :

A. It is closer to our subdivision.
B. It can accommodate more people.
C. The room is available past 9:00 P.M.
D. If the meeting goes bad, alcohol can be served!

Axa- please send me a copy of the P&L, as I would be interested in seeing where the money is going.

Thanks,

DY

That would be the South Charlotte Banquet Center
Here is their website by the way.
http://www.southcharlottebanquetcenter.com/
I like the sound of being able to enjoy a beer during the meeting - it may encourage a few more homeowners to attend, perhaps we could even use some of the entertainment money to run a tab for a while. The library room currently used is too small, and closes too early - everything was rushed at the last meeting

Just FYI, the covenants do note :-

"Meetings of Members shall be held within the project or as close thereto as possible"

Damn Yankee · 2008-05-14 22:29:08

I would imagine that the HOA will say that why pay for a room when we can use the library for free ?!?!?!

I would respond with the first three reasons I posted above. The idea of alcohol probably raises liability issues and given the potential volatility a meeting could create, it might be best NOT to serve beer. A few bottles/cans of liquid courage is probably more trouble for some than it is worth to the rest of us.

Of course, if the tennis courts were to be replaced by a clubhouse, we could hold meetings there, couldn't we?

Landen Meadows Residents Forum

#1 2008-04-11 23:10:17

Bumgardner Association Management

#2 2008-04-23 16:44:26

Re: Bumgardner Association Management

#3 2008-04-23 17:48:08

Re: Bumgardner Association Management

#4 2008-04-27 17:24:07

Re: Bumgardner Association Management

#5 2008-04-27 18:12:03

Re: Bumgardner Association Management

#6 2008-04-27 18:48:37

Re: Bumgardner Association Management

#7 2008-04-28 14:06:21

Re: Bumgardner Association Management

#8 2008-04-28 18:16:12

Re: Bumgardner Association Management

#9 2008-05-13 23:44:45

Re: Bumgardner Association Management

#10 2008-05-14 21:12:35

Re: Bumgardner Association Management

Damn Yankee wrote:

#11 2008-05-14 22:29:08

Re: Bumgardner Association Management

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