HPW1 Engaged Concerned Residents

To read about the why this website came into being, scroll to the bottom of the page.

ELECTION RESULTS

 Our 2025 Board as a result of our election and two appointments.

President:  Don
VP:  Arpad
Secretary:  Pat
Treasurer:  Camille
Director:  Eric
Director:  Barbara Davis  (appointed)
Director:  Karen Stern (appointed)

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Let's encourage them to:

1.  Strive to abide by the law & our governing documents (which are a contract with each owner).

2.  Promote transparency and community engagement.

3.  Understand that for a non-profit corporation and condominium of this size, professional management is demanded.  Just as we use an accounting service, we should have a property manager to oversee day-to-day operations and engage with the Board (who will provide direction, and address policies.)

4. Work to hold costs in check, within the requirement to adequately maintain our property. Neglecting upkeep to hold costs down would violate our governing documents, the law, and the Board's responsibility.  

POOL UPDATE

The pool work was completed in mid-February 2025.  The pool is open for use.

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT : Food for Thought

Some Quotes from a Reddit thread:

 "Professional management gets rid of the horror stories. It adds some cost, but removed a lot of your downside risk."

"Unless it's a small complex I generally like professional management." 

"On the financial side, a management company is almost always a huge improvement."  

"But overall, managers add stability, encourage education, and bridge the gaps in policy between different sets of Boards." 

"I'm currently the president on my HOA board which uses a management company, we have 80 units. I would strongly agree with the others saying it can help keep things on track. " 

From Google A.I.

 While technically a large condo can be self-managed, it is generally not recommended due to the significant time commitment and complexity involved in managing a large community without professional assistance; most experts advise against self-managing a large condo building, as it can quickly become overwhelming for volunteer board members and lead to potential issues with maintenance, finances, and legal compliance. 

Key points to consider:

• High Time Commitment:
  Managing a large condo requires a significant amount of time from board members to handle day-to-day operations, maintenance requests, financial management, and conflict resolution, which can be difficult to sustain for volunteers with full-time jobs. 

• Expertise Required:
  Professional property managers have specialized knowledge in areas like contract negotiation, legal compliance, and maintenance best practices, which can be challenging for a volunteer board to replicate. 

• Potential for Disputes:
  Without a neutral third party to mediate, disagreements among residents can escalate more easily in a self-managed community. 

• Liability Concerns:
  Board members in a self-managed condo could face personal liability for decisions made if not properly informed or executed. 

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We now (2025) have part-time Property Management through a company called BEMO Association Partners. Time will tell how this works out for us. A condo with 368 units typically uses a full-time full-service property management company with robust software.  Such full-service property management allows Board members to extract themselves from day-to-day operational tasks.  However, it is possible to hobble together what is needed.  Again, time will tell how this new slate of services and support works out.  Fingers-crossed.

HISTORY OF WHY THIS WEBSITE CAME INTO BEING

This is a website created by me (Liz), a fellow HPW1 unit owner and former Board member.  This website was initially create on May 15, 2024 to inform residents about a change in the color of our buildings via a process that violated both Florida law and our community's governing documents.  This change of the paint color was pursed despite numerous communications to the 2024 Board about the legal requirements for such a change - which they ignored.   The 2024 Board had many opportunities to "do the right thing," and mitigate the repainting costs.  You can review the chronology on the Paint-Color Matter page.  

Note also that the Board chose hypocritically (given owners are required to use licensed and insured contractors for personal work) to use an unlicensed and uninsured paint contractor, putting the community at unnecessary risk.

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In the summer of 2024, a link to this site was sent out as a one-time email to as people in the community for whom I had email addresses.  That was about 150 addresses (of 368 units).  

FYI: The official website of the community is www.hpw1.org.