1 ALISO VILLAS HOA A Community Association FEBRUARY 2017 NEWSLETTER Editor: Kathy Miramontes Email: [email protected]RULES & REGULATIONS The revised and updated Rules & Regulations were approved after the 30 day comment period at the November board meeting. These were are not new rules, just arranged in an easier to understand, more logical order and have been posted to the Aliso Villas Website: www.alisovillashoa.com Be sure to register to login. Offsite owners, please make your tenants aware of the rules. Suing your HOA is suing yourself and your neighbors. Oftentimes, owners do not understand this and do not understand the impact this has on the entire community. An HOA is ONLY funded by its members FOR its members. All the money the HOA has in its budget comes from the membership itself. Those members are you and your neighbors. The money comes from the dues the members pay. (Simplified terms). The money gathered needs to roughly equal the amount of the HOA expenses and fund the re- serves, which is the money collected for things like roof replacement, painting and other big projects. IF a member decides they are going to sue, where will the money come from to pay the HOA's lawyer to represent them? It has to come from the HOA's funds. What if there are not enough funds to cover the legal costs or the award? The HOA will have to either raise the dues of the HOA or have a special assessment. The suing member would be sub- ject to paying higher dues or the special assessment to cover their own lawsuit. The kicker is if the suing owner doesn't pay the special assessment or dues, the HOA can place a lien on that owner for not paying. Essentially, they are paying for part of their own award or legal costs the HOA incurred defending themselves against their suit. While the HOA carries insurance, some claims are not covered. Even when the insurance company provides a de- fense, litigation such as the one entitled Caldera v. Aliso Villas that was filed by the owner of 23098 Via Pimiento cre- ates issues for owners attempting to refinance and sell their homes. This problem persists as long as the litigation is pending. IF the amount awarded is above the insurance limits, then the members may have to have a special assess- ment to pay the difference. Also, claims make insurance premiums higher and results in a risk of insurance cancella- tion. It is always best to attempt resolution of disputes with the HOA without court intervention. The Davis-Stirling Act pro- vides for internal dispute resolution and other means to resolve disputes without filing a lawsuit. Owners have the right to a hearing with the Board. After a hearing, the Board has the responsibility to advise the owner of its decision within 10 days. The Association’s policies are distributed each year and can be found on the community website http://alisovillashoa.com. APPROVED RULES & REGULATIONS Aliso Villas Website: www.alisovillashoa.com Homeowners, be sure to register to login. Offsite owners, please make your tenants are aware of the rules. ALL PET OWNERS A portion of YOUR HOA fees goes to purchase doggy bags, EVERYONE should be using them. Unfortunately not everyone does. Report offenders to our Community Manager [email protected]Did you know…. Approximately 150 million Valen- tine's Day cards are exchanged annually, making Valentine's Day the second most popular card-sending holiday after Christmas. Or That ..LEMONS CONTAIN MORE SUGAR THAN STRAWBERRIES. OR MACADAMIA NUTS ARE TOXIC TO DOGS OR THAT YOU BURN MORE CALORIES EATING CELERY THAN IT CONTAINS (THE MORE YOU EAT THE THINNER YOU BECOME)
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RULES & REGULATIONS The revised and updated Rules & Regulations were approved after the 30 day comment period at the November board meeting.
These were are not new rules, just arranged in an easier to understand, more logical order and have been posted to the
Aliso Villas Website: www.alisovillashoa.com Be sure to register to login.
Offsite owners, please make your tenants aware of the rules.
Suing your HOA is suing yourself and your neighbors. Oftentimes, owners do not understand
this and do not understand the impact this has on the entire community.
An HOA is ONLY funded by its members FOR its members. All the money the HOA has in its budget comes from the
membership itself. Those members are you and your neighbors. The money comes from the dues the members pay.
(Simplified terms). The money gathered needs to roughly equal the amount of the HOA expenses and fund the re-
serves, which is the money collected for things like roof replacement, painting and other big projects.
IF a member decides they are going to sue, where will the money come from to pay the HOA's lawyer to represent
them? It has to come from the HOA's funds. What if there are not enough funds to cover the legal costs or the award?
The HOA will have to either raise the dues of the HOA or have a special assessment. The suing member would be sub-
ject to paying higher dues or the special assessment to cover their own lawsuit.
The kicker is if the suing owner doesn't pay the special assessment or dues, the HOA can place a lien on that owner for not paying. Essentially, they are paying for part of their own award or legal costs the HOA incurred defending themselves against their suit. While the HOA carries insurance, some claims are not covered. Even when the insurance company provides a de-
fense, litigation such as the one entitled Caldera v. Aliso Villas that was filed by the owner of 23098 Via Pimiento cre-ates issues for owners attempting to refinance and sell their homes. This problem persists as long as the litigation is pending. IF the amount awarded is above the insurance limits, then the members may have to have a special assess-ment to pay the difference. Also, claims make insurance premiums higher and results in a risk of insurance cancella-
tion. It is always best to attempt resolution of disputes with the HOA without court intervention. The Davis-Stirling Act pro-vides for internal dispute resolution and other means to resolve disputes without filing a lawsuit. Owners have the right to a hearing with the Board. After a hearing, the Board has the responsibility to advise the owner of its decision
within 10 days. The Association’s policies are distributed each year and can be found on the community website http://alisovillashoa.com.
"If You See Something, Say Something™" is a national campaign that raises public awareness of the indicators of ter-rorism and terrorism-related crime, as well as the importance of reporting suspicious activity to state and local law enforcement. CALL 9-1-1 and report suspicious activity. Do not call our Community Manager, a board member or the patrol company.
Across the nation, we're all part of communities. In cities, on farms, and in the suburbs, we share everyday moments with our neighbors, colleagues, family, and friends. It's easy to take for granted the routine moments in our every day—going to work or school, the grocery store or the gas station. But your every day is different than your neigh-bor’s—filled with the moments that make it uniquely yours. So if you see something you know shouldn't be there—or someone's behavior that doesn't seem quite right—say something. Because only you know what’s supposed to be in your everyday. Informed, alert communities play a critical role in keeping our nation safe. "If You See Something, Say Something™" engages the public in protecting our homeland and community through awareness–building, partner-ships, and other outreach.
PROTECTING CITIZENS' CIVIL RIGHTS & CIVIL LIBERTIES
The "If You See Something, Say Something™" campaign respects citizens' privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties by
emphasizing behavior, rather than appearance, in identifying suspicious activity.
Factors such as race, ethnicity, and/or religious affiliation are not suspicious. The public should only report suspi-
cious behavior and situations (e.g., an unattended backpack or package, or someone breaking into a restricted area).
For more on the above campaign, check it out online at : https://www.dhs.gov/see-something-say-something
And for more on our local Neighborhood Watch go to- http://ocsd.org/
NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH PROGRAM—In years past we have invited the OCSD to speak to our
residents at an Open Meeting, most recently we even had our now current Mayor Wendy Bucknum speak. We ’d like to hear from our you residents if you’d be interested in having an Open Town Hall meeting and invite officers from the OCSD to speak on one or more of the following topics:
BIKE SAFETY, CATCH A CROOK, CHILD CAR SEATS, CHILD SAFETY, HOME SECURITY TIPS, IDENTITY THEFT, SCAMS, PERSONAL SAFETY, WHEN TO CALL 911, CHILD ID, CYBER SAFETY, AND DNA KIT. A good tip: Ask to see the identification for any repairman or delivery person before opening your door. If you are suspicious, call to verify.
If you are interested and will attend, please let us know by sending an email to the board addressed to our community manager, [email protected] or myself at [email protected]. To invite OCSD to speak, we need to guarantee a participation of at least 50 residents. You do not have to be an owner to attend. Date and time will be dependent upon interest/response, but it
would be sometime in the spring (March, April or May) in the evening between 4pm—7pm. PLEASE WE NEED YOUR FEED BACK TO BEGIN PLANNING THIS EVENT.