Villages of Columbus - Columbus Square - Camden Place

[quote author="MojoJD" date=1254265765][quote author="Perspective" date=1254192919][quote author="sonicko" date=1254190873]We were considering buying in Camden. The issue being that we couldn't move in till February and if interest rates change we're still locked in and unable to get our $10k deposit back. Only other area of concern is that we have three cars and our options were either to buy on Severyn or near the models. Near the models I have a feeling parking for guests and for the third car is going to be limited especially when they build on all that land next to them. Severyn's is nice if they ever start construction of the park across the street.</blockquote>


Parking is already an issue near the models. A neighbor across from me who uses their garage as an entertainment facility has four cars and two Harleys - which means they have three cars parked outside of their garage. I've complained to the property management company to no avail. I also see "repeat/homeowner" cars parked in guest parkings spots regularly. I know they're homeowners' cars because they're the same cars every day for months.</blockquote>


Put a brick through his window. And tip one of the Harleys overnight. >:)



Also, the severyns area is nice regarding parking. Never had a problem, even right now with many neighbors still slowly clearing their garages from the move and parking outside more than usual. The park is slated to get going as soon as the Tustin park construction team finishes with Citrus Glen park over on Portola. Its in queue.</blockquote>


There was a plan 2 for $443 that we were considering on Severyns. It was another you couldn't move in till December and without being able to lock in interest rates it was kind of up in the air. We'll continue to look and see what comes up resale wise.
 
[quote author="Perspective" date=1254192919][quote author="sonicko" date=1254190873]We were considering buying in Camden. The issue being that we couldn't move in till February and if interest rates change we're still locked in and unable to get our $10k deposit back. Only other area of concern is that we have three cars and our options were either to buy on Severyn or near the models. Near the models I have a feeling parking for guests and for the third car is going to be limited especially when they build on all that land next to them. Severyn's is nice if they ever start construction of the park across the street.</blockquote>


Parking is already an issue near the models. A neighbor across from me who uses their garage as an entertainment facility has four cars and two Harleys - which means they have three cars parked outside of their garage. I've complained to the property management company to no avail. I also see "repeat/homeowner" cars parked in guest parkings spots regularly. I know they're homeowners' cars because they're the same cars every day for months.</blockquote>


Your HOA fees at work... You'd think that the property management company would have a clue. Try not paying your HOA dues, that'll get their attention! Anybody know what the CC&Rs; say about garages being used for purposes other than parking?
 
I'm pretty sure the CC&R's state that the garage needs to be used for parking and parking only. That means not for storage, not for TV's and ping pong tables and couches, not for woodworking, and not to use as a poker room. All of which is currently happening here in good 'ol Camden.
 
Hey Shooby... it looks like we could both help each other out. I have a thread called "low income housing abuse" regarding my problem neighbor.



Have you ever seen Hitchcock's "Strangers on a Train" ? ....think about it.
 
[quote author="Shooby" date=1254278894]I'm pretty sure the CC&R's state that the garage needs to be used for parking and parking only. That means not for storage, not for TV's and ping pong tables and couches, not for woodworking, and not to use as a poker room. All of which is currently happening here in good 'ol Camden.</blockquote>


This is typical of all CC&R and no one really enforce it. IHO is a big violator of such policy.
 
[quote author="bkshopr" date=1254282144][quote author="Shooby" date=1254278894]I'm pretty sure the CC&R's state that the garage needs to be used for parking and parking only. That means not for storage, not for TV's and ping pong tables and couches, not for woodworking, and not to use as a poker room. All of which is currently happening here in good 'ol Camden.</blockquote>


This is typical of all CC&R and no one really enforce it. IHO is a big violator of such policy.</blockquote>


I'm of two minds on this one - I DESPISE the very concept of HOAs and CC&Rs; from a personal freedom standpoint, but I also think that anyone who buys a home in a development "governed" by CC&Rs; knew what they were getting into and have no excuse for not abiding by them. The HOA should grow a pair and start enforcing, it impacts quality of life and potentially property values.
 
[quote author="bkshopr" date=1254282144][quote author="Shooby" date=1254278894]I'm pretty sure the CC&R's state that the garage needs to be used for parking and parking only. That means not for storage, not for TV's and ping pong tables and couches, not for woodworking, and not to use as a poker room. All of which is currently happening here in good 'ol Camden.</blockquote>


This is typical of all CC&R and no one really enforce it. IHO is a big violator of such policy.</blockquote>
Are you sure this applies to SFRs?



My last two homes mentioned nothing about garage usage... but it doesn't mention not being able to construct weapons of mass destruction which I'm sure the HOA would not like.



I wonder what BK has in his garage? Oh wait... does FP have CC&Rs;? That's where the weapons factory is.
 
[quote author="bkshopr" date=1254282144][quote author="Shooby" date=1254278894]I'm pretty sure the CC&R's state that the garage needs to be used for parking and parking only. That means not for storage, not for TV's and ping pong tables and couches, not for woodworking, and not to use as a poker room. All of which is currently happening here in good 'ol Camden.</blockquote>


This is typical of all CC&R and no one really enforce it. IHO is a big violator of such policy.</blockquote>


I suspect it is because the HOA doesn't want to get a reputation for being jerks. That said, the association has a fiduciary duty to enforce the CC&Rs;. I would suggest going around the complex and finding your violators, and taking whatever pictures you can get to document the violations. From there, I would send a letter to the management company and the board members detailing your findings, listing the specific sections of the CC&Rs; being violated, and describing how it is affecting your quality of life. In the first letter I would not suggest naming names or addresses or including the photos. Let the board and management company do their own investigation. You might offer something along the lines of "If you need further information, please feel free to contact me." If they do, then you might offer names, addresses, and photos. Also, go to your HOA meeting and reiterate the problems at the time allowed for owner participation. There is no need to suffer in silence. You pay your HOA dues, so put the HOA to work for you.



Of course, the caveat is you better make sure that you are in full compliance with the CC&Rs; too, because compliance cuts both ways. :)
 
Has anyone been paying attention to Zillow.com? The reason why I bring this up is because, as an interested potential resident of CS, I would like to negotiate a fair price. According to Zillow.com, the following addresses were sold for the following prices:



15229 Cambridge St.

SOLD: 8/26/09

PRICE: $116,500



15202 Calverton Wy.

SOLD: 8/20/09

PRICE: $126,500



15212 Calverton Wy.

SOLD: 5/26/09

PRICE: $126,600



1439 Charleston St.

SOLD: 5/29/09

PRICE: $424,000



1456 Madison

SOLD: 8/27/09

PRICE: $443,000



Can someone please verify if this is true? Or if these amounts sound reasonable? The reason why I ask is because Zillow has the properties estimated at a higher price then they have allegedly sold for (EX. 1456 Madison sold for about $443,000 and it was estimated at about $899,000).
 
It sounds like Columbus Square has decided to crack-down on resident street parkers. I received a letter outlining the program yesterday. You may be screwed if there are more cars in your house than there are spots in your garage because street parking will be more controlled/enforced. We'll see...



Hopefully Camden Place will enforce its Guest Parking spots too, so that residents don't just fight over these parking spots when they can't park on the street. I'm not sure what my neighbor will do with their four cars and two Harleys, but perhaps a townhouse was a poor choice in the first place?
 
[quote author="Shooby" date=1254981473]Do you know if you need a permit to park your third car on the street?</blockquote>


It sounds like there will be an application process, on a first-come-first-served basis, for decals to allow resident cars street parking. These exemptions are limited to one per household and our limited in number.



Residents? cars are allowed street parking from midnight to 6 am. I guess you have to get home late and leave early, which might work for my wife with the hours she?s putting in right now.



The burdensome part, if the rules are enforced, is that if you have guests park on the street, you have to go online and register the guest?s vehicle?s details and receive and authorization number and display that number in the parked vehicle. This won?t be too much fun if you have a party.
 
Wow. That is going from one extreme to the other. Is there any way to fight this? Why do they need to take this to the permit/registration level? Can't they just do garage inspections or something that is easier on the residents?
 
[quote author="Shooby" date=1255043010]Wow. That is going from one extreme to the other. Is there any way to fight this? Why do they need to take this to the permit/registration level? Can't they just do garage inspections or something that is easier on the residents?</blockquote>


How else can street parking be enforced? If people were honest, Columbus Square could simply require decals on residents' cars, and if a car with a decal is parked on the street ticket/tow it. One enforcement mechanism might be to have a hotline and encourage a "neighborhood watch" - then the annoyed neighbors can report residents' cars perpetually parked on the street. The first ticket would be a notice stating "We believe this car belongs to a resident. If it's reported parked on the street again, it will be a $100 fine."



I just think it's weird that Columbus Square is enforcing resident street parking (when it only appears to be a problem near Cambridge Lane, which is NO surprise), while Camden Place is doing nothing to keep residents out of the Guest Parking areas. Columbus Square's parking enforcement will only exacerbate Camden Place Guest Parking issues!
 
[quote author="Shooby" date=1255043010]Wow. That is going from one extreme to the other. Is there any way to fight this? Why do they need to take this to the permit/registration level? Can't they just do garage inspections or something that is easier on the residents?</blockquote>


You can fight it by contacting the board or the association as what was sent out is a proposal to be voted on later this month I think.



I read through it a couple times and can't really figure out a better way to enforce parking. My residence only has 2 cars and we park in the garage but I'd rather not have to wake up at 10am on a Sunday morning or something like that to let some bastard inspect my garage. The only reasonable way to force people into their garages is to enforce the public street parking, which is kind of an oxymoron in itself... so basically if you want to park outside of your garage, you need to prove that you have more than 2 cars, then you get 1 parking pass for your third car.
 
[quote author="MojoJD" date=1254182366]Do we ever receive audits of association funds? If not, I am getting to a meeting and proposing mailing out detailed audits/proof every quarter. If that doesn't work, I'm going to run for a seat and make it happen. Transparency is a must. It was just a few months ago when some association board member in a newport community was found to have embezzled well over 100K over the years.</blockquote>




any new developments on this? i'm curious as well...
 
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