Month: July 2021

At Berkley Court, the current process that issuing violations (and issuing accompanying fines) is the below:

Now what are the chances that the Board will find that the homeowner is right, and the violation shouldn’t be issued, when it requested that the violation be issued in the first place? Especially, considering, 2 of the 3 current board members were the ones that (illegitimately) passed an amendment in 2017, that effectively allows the Board to fine homeowners a first offense (instead of a sending an initial courtesy warning letter).

Let’s make this real with an example:

A fair decision as to whether the violation is warranted is nearly impossible for the following reasons:

• The property management company, RISE AMG, is incentivized to issue as many violations as it can, without requiring any evidence as it collects a $25+ fee for every violation issued (and knows it extremely unlikely that the violation will overturned as the Board has requested the violation in the first place)
• The Board has no motivation to find for the homeowner, and admit that it was wrong, especially with the current (unelected) members of the Board who have a questionable track record in carrying out their fiduciary duty to the association

How do we make this system better?

• Do we have a committee that reviews all violations that is separate from the Board?
• Do we require that the property management company to only issue violations supporting evidence (such as a photograph or witness testimonials) and a clear reference to which covenant or restriction is being violated?
• Do we repeal the policy of fining upon the first offence to ensure everyone is knowledgeable about community rules and the violation process?

Post your suggestions below!

A new resident recently moved in to Berkley Court from another state. She was notified shortly afterwards by her landlord that the Board had complained about her presence in the community.

As a responsible individual, she thought it best to contact a Board member to see if she and they can speak directly and address all concerns. Here’s how our new neighbor started the conversation:

Here’s how the board member responded to a new person in our community:

And finally, the response back to the board member by the tenant in question:

Now, we understand that serving as a board member is a volunteer position, on top of all the other responsibilities one may have in life. Board members may not have the time or energy to be able to welcome every new resident when they arrive, provide them an orientation of where things are in this community and how they work, and point them to resources that would come in handy like a welcome packet with codes and a comprehensive list of regulations and customs.

However, is it too much to ask for board members to exercise professionalism and civility, to not assume that folks are guilty before being found innocent, especially upon the first interaction?

We want our community to be full of responsible individuals, and welcoming to all. If we needlessly harass those living in our spaces, the quality of folks seeking to buy or rent in our community diminishes, as no tenant wants to remain under hostile conditions.

The above also leaves us open for lawsuits, which affects all of us (as assessments and insurance costs rise to cover the risk), even if it is just a few people engaging in bad behavior.

As homeowners, do we want this board of directors to be our representation to the world?

For the last few years, Berkley Court’s Homeowner Association has been primarily governed by a triumvirate, serving as its Board of Directors and officers, for the past 3-5 years. These directors are:

• Rita Flores– President
• Ceceilia Carrizalez (nee Thompson)– Vice President
• Lisa Hernandez – Secretary

Now the Board has several responsibilities, as outlined in the current Texas laws and governing documents of the Berkley Court homeowner’s association. The Board is to work on behalf of the homeowners to help in administrative and governance duties to ensure the property is maintained well for a safe and secure environment.

The current Board has hired a property management company, Rise AMG, to help in its management of the property. As per the RISE property manager, this is the description of RISE’s responsibilities:

This is a shortlist of items which have concerned homeowners or residents in the management of Berkley Court Condominiums, by the current (unelected) Board of Directors and property management company (Rise AMG).

• The current (unelected) Board of Directors has made homeowners pay for repairs in common elements that is the responsibility of the association to cover, as per the governing documents
• The current (unelected) Board of Directors has not provided appropriate oversight of its managing agent and the property management company is allowing (the unelected) board members to use association funds for personal gain in return
• The current property management company, under the oversight of the (unelected) Board of Directors, has not maintained the association’s books and records, as per Texas state law, and do not respond to requests to examine the documentation by members of the HOA
• The current (unelected) Board of Directors has not held regular association meetings on a quarterly basis, open to all homeowners, as required by the association’s governing documents, despite repeated requests by various homeowners
• The current (unelected) Board of Directors, nor its designated property manager, responds to urgent repair requests such as lack of water or remediating black mold in common element areas
• The current (unelected) Board of Directors has approved its designated property manager to use unlicensed and problematic vendors, driving up the maintenance fees for homeowners, without services being adequately provided or damaging homeowner property in the process

We need new directors to clean house, right wrongs, and ensure that we have an independent managing agent that is providing a service that is of value to all. Otherwise, all homeowners and residents of Berkley Court will suffer in the long run, financially and legally.

If you are a homeowner at Berkley Court, now is the time to stop the misuse of funds and abuse of power. Please contact us to see what you can do to get our community back on track.