Join the Conversation! 2010 Budget Input

The Board is currently reviewing the 2010 Budget -- and we welcome any input & recommendations about how & where our HOA money should be spent.

The Board is always interested in ways to save HOA money, to keep assessments low.

Often homeowners ask "where is all my money going?" and "what are my assessments spent on?" Here's a pie-chart to help answer this question, visually (based on the current 2009 Budget):



Please tell us:

What do you want the Board to consider when building the 2010 Budget?

Perspective (continued)

Some people have asked for more explanation of the September 12 post titled "Perspective", which detailed that Mt. Si Cottages is a $12 million corporation. Here is some more perspective.

• This corporation's largest financial asset is our property. This has a value of more than $12 million.
  


• We have annual revenues of nearly $120,000 (from assessments).
  


• We have annual expenses of nearly $89,000. (It takes a lot of money to run a $12 million corporation, even when we spend every penny carefully.)
  


• We currently save nearly $31,000 into our reserve fund each year (i.e. "savings account"). This money is set aside for major repairs & scheduled projects that will cost us a lot of money in future years. (A healthy reserve fund is important. It helps ensure that we wont get charged special assessments down the road. And it is critical for resale values -- because Lenders expect healthy reserves before they'll lend someone money to buy your house.) ** The Board is currently studying our reserve fund closely, to ensure that we adequately fund it. **
  
  
• Our corporation has 44 owners. (These are the 44 homeowners).
  
  
• The owners elect a Board of Directors, responsible for overseeing the management of the business.
  
  
• Every owner shares in the success or failure of this business.

Perspective.

Here's some valuable food for thought. There are 44 homes in our community. Let's assume an average home-value of $280,000. Think of that. This means we are each invested in a $12.3 million corporation (44 homes x $280,000). And every act of this corporation impacts our lives directly.