The Villages at Maxwell Creek HOA Newsletter (3rd Quarter 2007)

Common Area Improvements

Between the drought last year, and the seemingly unending rain earlier this year, the HOA's Common Areas are due for some maintenance. Specifically:

Neighborhood Border Fence along Bethany and Maxwell Creek

The HOA has contracted with two companies to repair and clean/stain the wooden neighborhood border fence along Bethany and Maxwell Creek Dr. The fence repairs were done during the week of August 13th, and the cleaning/staining is scheduled for the first week of September.

There were three large sections of the fence where it was noticeably leaning, and those areas, as well as numerous warped and broken boards, were straightened and replaced where necessary.

These types of fences, when well maintained, should last about 20 years; ours is just over 8 years old. With these repairs done, the fence should be able to go another 3 to 5 years before additional maintenance is necessary.

Neighborhood Border Fence along Shelley

There are still sections of the brick fence along Shelley that need repairs. Although we've contacted about a dozen companies, none yet have shown interest in such a small job, and most have not even returned our calls.

Median on Maxwell Creek Dr.

Last year's drought really did a number on the plants in the median, and there are several areas off-balance where plants have died. We're talking to the landscape company about replacements.

Flowers at Entrance Signs on Bethany and Shelley

With not being able to water, we made a decision not to plant any flowers last year and through this summer. Now that the water restrictions have been lifted, we'll be putting in a variety of flowers for the fall and winter.

We're considering changing up the usual recommended pansies for a mixture of winter cabbage, dianthus, and then tulips and day lilies in the spring.

Crepe Myrtles on Shelley

For whatever reason, the crepe myrtles on Shelley have never really taken off. We're going to have the landscape company look into fertilization and other methods they can take to get these shrubs growing.

Fences and Landscaping in the Cul-de-sacs

Discussed for several years, the HOA will finally begin this project by adding short decorative fences in the cul-de-sacs on Malone. Further improvements, such as landscaping, walkways, and amenities (both benches and trashcans have been suggested) will wait until next year.

Tree Trimming

Most of the trees along Malone were recently pruned, we're going to have all of them (on Bethany and Shelley also) checked and pruned again this fall so that it's easy to walk underneath and around.

Dues Collection

Unfortunately, 2007 has turned into the worst year ever for payments on Association dues; normally by this time of year only a small handful of accounts would still be delinquent, but as of August 16th, there are still 22 delinquent homeowners owing an average of $1,031.67 per homeowner. Ten of those 22 homeowners have never responded to any letters from the HOA or the Association's attorney.

There has been much in the news lately about sub-prime mortgages and the difficulties surrounding those, but in this light the neighborhood is actually in good standing, and it doesn't seem as though this can be considered a related cause for the delinquent accounts; there has only been one bank foreclosure of a residence this year, whereas in previous years there have been 2 or 3 per year. There also haven't been any bankruptcies this year (that the HOA is aware of), so this can't be pointed to as a cause, either.

On the plus side (if there is one), the most delinquent homeowner in the neighborhood has started paying, and the HOA (thankfully) did not have to foreclose on the residence. Additionally, because of the much higher than expected number of homeowners that paid late, the amount of interest income predicted ($603) has almost tripled (currently at $1,728.36). There's a strong possibility at this point that we will be able to lower 2008 Association dues slightly because of the additional unexpected income. The exact amount for 2008 dues won't be decided until November, however.

We're not sure if it'll happen in time for 2008 Association dues in December, but a few features are planned for the HOA's web site are to allow homeowners to review their account and other information, direct links to immediately pay and credit the account through PayPal, and to print invoices and receipts.

We received a few questions about using PayPal this year, and we will have a list of common questions and answers available in time for the 2008 dues as well.

Fall Neighborhood Garage Sale

The HOA will be sponsoring a neighborhood garage sale on Saturday, October 13th from 7a-12p, and we will be purchasing advertising in area newspapers and putting signs out the week before and also will be hanging two large 10x2' banners from the neighborhood border fences to attract traffic from passers-by.

Committee Updates

Architecture Committee

Early next year several new features will be added to the HOA web site including the ability to submit Architecture Change Requests, deed restriction violations, and to review the status of previous requests.

There have been 222 deed restriction notices to 127 different homeowners since the beginning of the year.

The chairperson of the Architecture committee is Robert Butler.

Landscape Committee

In the last newsletter, we mentioned the recent hiring of TruGreen LandCare as our new landscape maintenance company. Unfortunately, due to consistent problems and inconsistent quality, we have hired a new landscape maintenance company, Lindsey's Lawn & Landscape, Inc.

We hope that a few of the neglected problems can now finally be taken care of, and we can finish off 2007 with some great looking flowers!

The chairperson of the Landscape committee is Stephanie Butler.

Social Committee

The Fall Neighborhood Garage Sale will be on Saturday, October 13th, from 7am-12pm. The Association will be purchasing advertising in local newspapers, and will also have signs displayed for drivers-by.

The annual Halloween Party will be held on Saturday, October 27th, from 4-6pm. There will be two idea meetings for the party held on September 25th and October 9th, and you are invited to come and help with the planning and give your input.

The chairperson of the Social committee is Yesika Fletcher.

HOA Contact Information

The Home Owners Association and its agents may be contacted in several ways:

• Through the HOA web site, at http://www.maxwellcreek.org/,
• By emailing the officers of the HOA, at officers@maxwellcreek.org,
• By emailing the HOA management company, at maxwellcreek@hoa-management.com or management@maxwellcreek.org,
• By calling or faxing the HOA at (972) 739-5221.
• Through U.S. postal mail at:
  Villages at Maxwell Creek HOA
  P.O. Box 2265
  Allen, TX 75013

We welcome any questions, comments, or concerns you may have. Please include your name and street address on all correspondence in order to expedite a response. Please allow two business days for your call or message to be returned.

Is there anything that you've wished to know more about or is there something you would like to share with other association members? If you want to suggest a topic, write an article, make a suggestion or even correct a mistake, please contact us at newsletter@maxwellcreek.org!