Aaron Layman's Katy Texas Real Estate Forum

Cinco Ranch Southwest Homeowners Association (Cinco II HOA) Now Serviced by CIA Services

Residents of Cinco Ranch Southwest received a new management company this month.  CIA Services located at 9800 Centre Parkway, Suite 625, Houston TX 77036 is now servicing Cinco II.  Cinco Southwest residents can ask for Karen Cooper, the new community manager.  The phone number is 713-981-9000 and you can reach her via email at cooper@ciaservices.com.

Residents of Cinco I will continue to be served from the Mason Road office ( Phone number 281-599-0408)

For more information about Cinco Ranch you can visit CincoRanchConnects.com

For more information about real estate and mortgage issues in Katy or West Houston contact Aaron Layman.  He is a licensed real estate broker and mortgage broker.  You can contact him directly at 281-994-5190.  You can also visit him on the web at www.AaronLayman.com.

HOA Fee Increase For Avalon At Seven Meadows

Residents of Avalon at Seven Meadows received a larger HOA bill this year.  The HOA fee for Avalon residents will now be $800, up from the previous $650 assessment last year.  The 2008 budget calls for projected expenses of $294,000 and a budget deficit of $54,000.  This will be a concern for residents going forward as the community works toward self-sufficiency and a manageable operating budget.

The two largest items on the budget include landscape maintenance and electricity, accounting for over 63 percent of the total operating expenses.  Spectrum Association Management and the Taylor Woodrow board of directors recently approved a new contract with Reliant Energy, but after discussions with Spectrum Association staff it appears that a more favorable rate would have been possible with another electricity provider.

When Taylor Woodrow is no longer subsidizing the operating budget and residents are solely responsible for the neighborhood, more prudent fiscal management will be necessary.  Avalon residents have already experienced this with the landscaping budget when the previous landscaping company was let go due to mismanagement.  Avalon is also on its third management company.  Spectrum Association Management picked up the account after Principal Management and Houston Community dropped the ball.

It should be noted that the $800 HOA assessment from Spectrum does not include the $740 assessment that all Seven Meadows residents incur.  Avalon residents are responsible for two separate HOA assessments.

For more information about real estate and mortgage issues in Katy or West Houston contact Aaron Layman.  He is a licensed real estate broker and mortgage broker.  You can contact him directly at 281-994-5190.  You can also visit him on the web at www.AaronLayman.com.

Seven Meadows HOA Meeting Scheduled For Dec 6th

The Seven Meadows Annual Meeting will be held at the Seven Lakes High School 9th Grade Center on December 6th.  2 Board members are scheduled to be elected.  Residents interested in being considered as a candidate can fill out the questionnaire form and turn it in by November 1st.

You can visit www.sevenmeadowslive.com for more information.

For more information about real estate and mortgage issues in Katy or West Houston contact Aaron Layman.  He is a licensed real estate broker and mortgage broker.  You can contact him directly at 281-994-5190.  You can also visit him on the web at www.AaronLayman.com.

Avalon At Seven Meadows Gets New Management

Avalon residents have a new management company.  This follows Avalon's separation from Principal Management and their short-lived affiliation with Houston Community Management.

Spectrum Association Management will now be handling resident issues for Avalon.  Spectrum is located at 1001 South Dairy Ashford, Suite 380, Houston TX 77077.  Their phone number is 281-343-9178.  You can reach Kennetta Spencer directly at extension 8178 or email her at KSpencer@Spectrumam.com.

New recycling service is now in effect.  Monday is recycle day.  Avalon residents can recycle newspaper, plastics, aluminum cans and bi-metal cans.  Glass is currently not allowed.

For more information about the Avalon community, contact Aaron Layman.  He is a licensed real estate broker and Avalon resident.  You can call him directly at 281-994-5190.  You can also visit him on the web at www.AaronLayman.com.

HomeOwners Associations

Owners associations are both a blessing and a curse.  On the one hand they help maintain the appearance and continuity of the neighborhood.  They also help maintain property values.  On the downside, they are often understaffed and can sometimes ignore resident's needs.

Here are some South Katy associations and contacts:

Cinco Ranch - www.cincoranchpoa.com  281-483-3011

Grand Lakes - www.pcmi-us.com  281-870-0585

Seven Meadows - www.pmghouston.com  713-392-7100

Avalon at Seven Meadows - www.spectrumam.com  281-343-9178

It should be noted that Avalon has a separate association from the main Seven Meadows development.  This situation arose because of the mismanagement of the neighborhood by Principal Management.  Avalon residents became fed up with the service from Principal and the Taylor Woodrow-controlled board and requested a new management company.  Most Avalon residents are looking forward to the removal of the unsightly speed bumps when Taylor Woodrow finishes the development.

Seven Meadows could still use improved landscaping and their budget seems to be rather bloated.  It would be nice to see Principal Management use the homeowners money more wisely and possibly add some additional amenities.  A few more tennis courts would be nice, but that's just my personal preference.

Grand Lakes is close to being handed over by the Trendmaker controlled board as they are finishing out their remaining home sites.  Maybe once the homeowners have control of the board they will put an end to the private tennis camp set up by a traveling tennis pro at the Grand Lakes courts.  The residents will hopefully realize that they  have been subsidizing this tennis instructor's business since the summer of 2000.  They should have been billing him for all of the tennis court maintenance during that time.  I was able to convince the association that this non-resident should not have a key to the tennis courts or be allowed to advertise in the community newsletter free of charge, but PCMI didn't provide any help beyond that. 

Cinco Ranch has matured into its own over the years, and the owners association seems to be operating rather smoothly.  As one might expect the Cinco Ranch HOA has already dealt with most of the issues that arise during development.  The Cinco HOA has a user-friendly website and is easier to deal with in general.  Based on their homeowners dues they have also been able to manage their budget fairly well.  This is likely due to the fact that the residents have direct input with the operations and budget.  Residents do a better job governing themselves than any builder board could ever hope to do.

For more information about HOA issues and operations contact Aaron Layman.  He is a licensed real estate broker in Katy, Texas.  You can call him at 281-994-5190.  You can also visit him on the web at www.AaronLayman.com.