HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - August 21, 2015
Published: Fri, 08/21/15
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This HOA May Cut Its Water Bill in Half. Could Your HOA Do the Same?
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In this week’s tip, we reveal how an Arizona HOA has racked up tens of thousands in savings on its water bill.
Crystal Gardens is an Avondale, Ariz., association with more than 900 homes on 72 acres. Its board and manager declined to comment for this article, referring questions to its vendor, Chris Husband, the owner of Phoenix-based Liquid Technologies LLC, which focuses on water conservation for commercial properties, HOAs, and other clients.
“We do an assessment and audit of the community and come with a plan,” says Husband. “We’ll say, ‘If you take these steps, this is what you’re likely going to save.’ Then we work with board members, managers, and landscapers to implement the strategy. There’s no silver bullet in water conservation. It’s just having the right products, people, and strategy.”
Crystal Gardens started its water evaluation process in late 2014 and began implementing its conservation strategy in 2015, reports Husband. It started by hiring him to do an audit, after which he came back with a punch list of changes he recommended to the HOA’s irrigation system. Husband then installed the upgrades the HOA agreed to make, and today he manages the system for the HOA.
“Their reasons for doing this were two-fold,” recalls Husband. “It was about fiscally being responsible. The HOA always wants to save money. And they want to save water. You can’t watch the news without hearing about the drought in California and what’s happening out there.”
Crystal Gardens spent about $125,000 on water in 2014, and if Husband’s predicted savings are accurate, it’ll end up spending about $75,000 in 2015. The most important moves Crystal Gardens made? They increased the efficiency of their irrigation system, and they replaced their old timers and instead installed smart water controllers, says Husband.
Get details on both tactics, and find out how much money the HOA spent to upgrade its irrigation system, in our new article: http://www.hoaleader.com/members/1222.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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Recent articles posted at HOAleader.com:
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How One Arizona HOA Cut Its Water Bills Big Time
To lend our California readers a hand and give readers throughout the country a jump on how to shave their water costs, here we dig into the details of how an Arizona HOA is dramatically cutting its $120,000 annual water budget.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/How-One-Arizona-HOA-Cut-Its-Water-Bills-Big-Time.cfm
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Is This HOA Board's Insurance Policy Fair to Owners?
A Colorado lawyer recently blogged about a condo association that has a $50,000 per-unit deductible on its insurance for water-related incidents, and its policy is to require owners to cover those deductibles. Here we weigh many questions, including whether this is smart in the first place and whether it actually saves the condo much on its insurance premiums.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/This-HOA-Boards-Insurance-Policy-Fair-Owners.cfm
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California Court Hands HOAs a Big Win on Rule Enforcement
In this week's tip, we discuss a California court case that our experts are universally calling really, really good news for HOAs.
In The Villas in Whispering Palms v. Tempkin, an appellate court OK'd a board's "resetting" of its enforcement of a pet rule.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/public/California-Court-Hands-HOAs-Big-Win-on-Rule-Enforcement.cfm
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How an HOA Board Got Back on Track in Enforcing Rules
A recent California appellate case provides a nice roadmap for HOAs that have slacked in enforcing their rules but want to get back on track.
In The Villas in Whispering Palms v. Tempkin, the court OK'd a board's "resetting" of its enforcement of a pet rule. Here we explain the case and offer lessons if your board wants to fix its inconsistent enforcement of rules.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/How-HOA-Board-Got-Back-on-Track-in-Enforcing-Rules.cfm
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Veterans Claim They Were Denied Access to HOA Pool
A retired military couple is raising a ruckus because, as renters, they were being denied access to their HOA's pool on the basis that the HOA's rules require an owner to be present.
Is it smart for HOAs to have owners-only rules? On the flip side, if the rule is enforceable, does the renters' status as veterans mean it shouldn't be enforced against them?
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Veterans-Claim-They-Were-Denied-Access-HOA-Pool.cfm
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