Everyone:
First I want to apologize for the open letter. It is a policy of Lake Villas that no one (including Board Members) can utilize our email list except myself for news on what is happening at Lake Villas.
That said, I value the concerns raised by the letter and intend to address them, both in this email and at the Board Meeting. A variety of circumstances have contributed to our current standing, some of which were out of our control, and some of which were choices made for deliberate reasons.
Our long term concern is indeed getting our monthly dues down. The biggest driver of our monthly dues is insurance costs, accounting for more than half of our budget. We all know the price of insurance in Florida has been skyrocketing. Last year we budgeted for a 12% increase, but the increase we received was 25%, creating a shortfall that we must address this year.
With that in mind, two of the largest projects we've undertaken have been directly tied to getting our insurance costs down: alumiconns and the ongoing landscaping work.
As you know, Lake Villas has fronted the costs of the alumiconn work, including both materials and labor, in order to get it done more quickly and at the lowest cost to residents. The total combined cost for this was over $90,000, which was paid out of the reserves and will eventually be fully recouped from the unit owners.
The other insurance issue was the large oak and camphor trees around the property, which pose both a risk of falling on buildings during hurricanes and of their roots damaging building foundations and underground plumbing/drainage. This cost $74,000 (budgeted at $30,000 annual). The city of Altamonte also requires us to plant new trees to replace those that were removed.
Beyond insurance, the other major problem we've been tackling is code enforcement violations. We've had to correct all wooden and paver steps throughout the property and add railings anywhere there is a step-down of more than 7.5 inches. We have been working under deadlines to complete this work and avoid a $100,000+ fine, and have thus far spent $38,000 on steps and $35,000 on railings between materials and labor. We are still working on this issue, so this amount will grow, particularly as code enforcement is now requiring we pull permits for each building to be inspected.
While we have the landscaping company on the property, we've been dealing with several other issues because it is more efficient and economical to do so at the same time. We have repaired walk paths throughout the property (both an insurance and code enforcement risk), added concrete walls and repaired pipes and gutters to address drainage issues (which can lead to erosion and building damage), repaired and added sprinklers, removed stumps and debris, installed new plants and mulch, dirt and grading, and exterior paint. (Approximate costs: Pavers - $18,000; new trees and landscaping - $90,000; drainage issues - $23,500; sprinklers - $10,000; paint - $8,000).
We were also required to complete a reserve study, costing $12,700 total. This was required by new legislation passed in response to that condo building collapse in south Florida, and had to be done by a deadline.
Other miscellaneous expenses have included $13,750 to have one of our buildings tented for termites, a new golf cart which cost $2,750, mold remediation for one unit costing $6,600, and repairs to the adult pool projected to cost $8,000.
There is some good news: we have the potential of getting our back exterior wall near unit 652 and the wall in front of unit 690 installed as a condition of releasing 8 feet of Lake Villas property. This will need to be reviewed by our attorney and voted on by the membership, but will result in an approximate cost saving of $100,000 if approved.
Collection of outstanding dues is currently being handled and will be addressed by the property manager at the meeting. The proposed assessment is needed to refill the reserves.
I understand everyone's concerns about the financial impact of these costs. But there's just no way around the fact that we have a 50 year old property that is both in need of major repairs, while also subject to the high costs of a volatile insurance market and new regulations from the state and local governments on older condominiums.
The best way we can get our costs down is by reducing our insurance premium, that is the goal we are working towards via many of the above projects. We do not do ourselves any favors by refusing to fund necessary repairs and maintenance.
We have plans, and a timeline, and a budget for all the projects we've undertaken, and I'll do my best to answer all questions at this week's Board Meeting. Nobody is happy about an assessment, and I understand that everyone is focused on that, but there are many positives here. Every condo owner in Florida is facing higher costs right now, and we're managing it as best we're able to.