Annual Meeting Review

It appears that most homeowners thought the meeting went well, they did address the issue that we brought up and now statedna Board member must be a homeowner and have their name on the deed, which is what the rules required all along.

A big issue brought up is the trees in the front ofnthe phase one homes, some of these river birch trees roots are causing problems, they are considering removing them, I would like to see the problem ones removed and the non problem ones stay. Or remove them all but give homeowners the right to choose a different tree that is approved by the HOA that will not get as big and that has roots that will not cause an issue in the future. I woild just hate to see the entire street be treeless, I think that would not look good, and also removes a source of well needed shade in the summer.

Parking was brought up, they are going to look into providing a visitor parking area for phase two homeowners. Also the towing company will be making regular patrols through the neighborhood and towing inproperly parked cars and vehicles with commercial lettering.

Kuester advised we are in final negotiations with a new builder but they still will not say who it is.

If you were at the meeting click below and leave a comment, we would like to hear your thoughts.

HOA Annual Meeting Tonight!

So tonight is our annual meeting, homeowners will not be voting on any issues, proxy votes were for them to make quorum only. Homeowners will be expected to sit and listen and not to participate as it should be.

1) Lets see what Board of Directors are present as a reminder here is a list of the current Board.

Here is the main issue that is important for us the homeowners, Mercedes no longer exists but they still somehow control our HOA, not us the homeowners, why you may ask?

The family who owned Mercedes Homes wants to sell the unfinished lots to a new builder, if they can sell the lots WITH CONTROL OF THE HOA, they can ask a higher price. A new builder can than come in and change the governing documents, raise our rates and use the HOA for their gain as Mercedes did and Kuester continues to do.

So how does Kuester use the HOA for their gain? Here are some examples:

1) They keep 50% of all late fees collected

2) They charge new homeowners "Account Setup Fees" in the amount of $325.00 which is very high compared to other HOA's, and they keep 100% of this!

3) We pay them monthly management fees, also in the budget you will see money for office supplies and other misc fees, 100% of which go to Kuester, as the HOA itself does not have an office.

4) When we had an insurance claim for the hail damage last year, Kuester hired themselves as the project manager, paying themselves $40,000 of OUR money to themselves.

They continue to hire contractors they have relationships with and not by the lowest bidder or who is best for the neighborhood, an employee of Kuester actually tried to get her relatives business to do the gutter clean out, luckily the sub-contractor saw through that and insisted on hiring their own crew and not using the family members crew, but make no mistake this type of thing goes on all the time.

If you are at the meeting you should ask questions like:

1) Why do we have Board of Directors who no longer live here and no longer participate actively in the HOA?

2) Why is Mercedes Homes still in control of the HOA and not the homeowners?

3) Why are "non-members" which means non-homeowners are members of the board when the governing documents specifically require board members be members!

Understand neighborhood issues like the dues we pay, budget, and garbage collection will never be fully addressed or CHANGED until the HOA is transitioned from the control of the declarent (Mercedes Homes) to the homeowners. They have control and they are going to run things the way they want until they no longer have control so the single most important fact is why, when Mercedes Homes was dissolved did a transition to the homeowners did not occur. Make no mistake about it, it is illegal and they know it, they are taking advantage because homeowners are not informed, which is why this blog was created so you could be informed and voice those concerns to them at the meeting.

If we want lower HOA fees, a more responsive Board of Directors that we 100% choose than change has to happen, and we are going to have to fight for that, they do not want to give up control, because they are profiting from us.

We recommend you review the governing documents and budget, so you can be informed at tonights meeting!

Here are the current governing documents.

Here is the budget information.

As many homeownrs as possible should show up, there is strength in numbers, we have to let them know we understand what they are up to, and were not going to take it anymore, we want change, we want real change, and we want it NOW!

Gutter Clean-Out

Metrolina Maintenance, completed a gutter clean out yesterday, as usual no email blast or any other communication from the HOA to homeowners about this, so we thought we would let you know here.

Kuester and HOA Settle Suit with Homeowner

As we reported here a homeowner had sued both Kuester Management Group and the Harpers Mill Townhome Owners Association over late fees, word has come in today, Kuester settled with the homeowner so the case is now closed.

Kuester Management Group - HOA Contract

Here is a copy of the management agreement our HOA has with Kuester Management Group. This is an older copy however we doubt things have changed very much, this is just for your review and we have included a few notes below:

1) We reported here, about Kuester charging account setup fees, we do not see this anywhere in the Covenants, ByLaws, or in the Management Contract.

2) Kuester gets to keep 50% of all late fees they charge and collect.

3) Kuester has an annual 5% increase in their management fees built in to the contract.

Account Setup Fees!

We know times are hard for everyone, housing sales are slow because people cannot afford to by a home with our uncertain economy. But those that do buy here in Harpers Mill will find out that they are required to pay our management company Kuester Management Group an account setup fee of $325.00, in addition to their first months assessment fee of $125.00

Now we checked and cannot find anything in our ByLaws or Covenants allowing for such a charge, and we believe that 100% of these fees are going to Kuester directly not the HOA.

We also cannot find anything about these fees in the management contract with Kuester. According to some sources we spoke with, some HOA's do charge an account setup fee, but usually it is less than half what Kuester is charging our new homeowners.

We would suspect anyone who has paid such a fee may be able to go to the magistrate court with our Covenants and ByLaws and show that there is no allowance for this fee to be charged, and might be able to recover any account setup fees and legal fees that they have paid.

Harpers Mill Budget 2012 and 2013

Ok we are posting below both the 2012 and 2013 Budget so you can easily compare both:

Harpers Mill Townhome Owners Association 2013 Budget PDF Format.

Harpers Mill Townhome Owners Association 2012 Budget PDF Format.

Click on comments below to discuss or ask questions about the budget!

Ineligible Board of Director! - "The Proof"

We originally reported here  that Board Member Julia Colleen Jones was not a Homeowner here in Harpers Mill and as such should be removed form the board and replaced with an open and fair election at our next annual meeting on December 4th, 2012.

Later a Homeowner called Kuester Management Group and inquired as to the status of Julia Jones, as we reported here, she was told by Kuester that Board of Directors were not required to be Homeowners, they did not dispute the fact that she is not a Homeowner,

WE NOW KNOW KUESTER IS WRONG:

As stated in the Harpers Mill Townhome Owners Association ByLaws Article IV Section 3:

""QUALIFICATIONS:   Directors shall be members of the association.""

To be a member you MUST be a Homeowner, our ByLaws are very clear and concise on this point. As Julia Colleen Jones is NOT a Homeowner she is also NOT a "Member" of the association, and therefore ineligible to hold a position of any kind on the Board of Directors.

The question now is will Kuester Management Group and the current Board of Directors step up and correct their mistake, by doing the right thing, or will they continue to do business as usual?

Governing Documents

Use the links below to download in PDF format the governing documents of our HOA:

Click here to download the current Harpers Mill Townhome Owners Association Bylaws

Click here to download the current Harpers Mill Townhome Owners Association CCR's

Don't Forget Tomorrow Nights Meeting at 6PM!

Tomorrow night York County will hold a public meeting at 6PM in the Oak Ridge Middle School cafeteria. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the counties long range plan for the Lake Wylie area.

The long term future of Lake Wylie is of coarse important to us here in Harpers Mill, so if you can be there please let our voices be heard at the meeting!

Public meeting Nov. 8 to talk long-range plans for Lake Wylie

Blog Update!

We know from the stats we have many readers and followers, and thank you for that, this blog was built with the intention of keeping all homeowners informed of the current status of our HOA, and to not cause division withn the neighborhood, although some issues will cause some division, we are asking all homeowners to come together, to actively participate in the blog and the HOA as a whole to make it better for all of us.

We are open to any and all contributions, suggestions, news tips, critiques, and volunteers that want to make contributions on the blog.  You can email us at: Harpers Mill Blog eMail Address. We are not affiliated with Kuester Management Group, we are homeowners like you, your identity will be kept confidential.

We ask that all homeowners who read our blog give this address to your neighbors and get the word out, we need support for the up coming annual meeting. We need Homeowners to be fully informed before going to the meeting.

We do have some goals our goals are as follows:

1) Keep all Homeowners FULLY informed and educated about our neighborhood, and any related HOA activity.

2) To get Mercedes Homes removed from the board and the HOA turned over to the control of the Homeowners!

3) If we can accomplish Goal # 2 than we will ask for a special meeting to be called and open and fair elections held so all Homeowners can elect a new board made up of 100% Homeowners.

4) After accomplishing number 3 we will hope the new board will be bale to look into hiring a new management company, lowering our monthly HOA dues, and work on other HOA issues that you may need to be addressed.

We also believe that once we have full control, we would have a good lawsuit against the developer, who is owned by the Buescher family the same family that owned Mercedes Homes if they do not, come and finish paving the roads and making all repairs as required by law when the HOA is handed over to us the Homeowners. Understand with the current Board and Kuester at the helm this will never happen, considering it was Mercedes Homes that hired Kuester, and the Buescher Family of Melbourne Florida that are still hanging on to their Board spot even though they dissolved the corporation. The reality is Kuester Management Group and Mercedes Homes are the ones making decisions and running our current board.

Now you may ask, if they are out of business why are they hanging on to their Board position?

We believe they are doing this in an attempt to turn the HOA over to the new builder that they are in negations with to sell the remaining lots too. We are committed to not allowing this to happen, even if it comes to filling a lawsuit against the parties involved.

Let us be clear we are for a new builder to come in and finish building out the empty lots, but we are not interested in turning the HOA over to this new company so they can change the Covenants and By-Laws once again  to suit their needs and to raise our fees or create a special assessment to cover their Development costs that they would have to do, since Mercedes Homes and their development company did not finish.

In closing we are asking all homeowners to come together and to be fully informed about our HOA and their plans before the December 4th HOA meeting. Please tell your neighbors about this blog, email us any tips, news, reviews, or issues you would like to discuss your information will be kept confidential.

Than you,

Your Harpers Mill Blog Team!

Kuester Responds!

A homeowner called Kuester yesterday and asked who was Julia Jones, and how can she be on the board if she is not a homeowner here, their response was to say the By-Laws allow a non homeowner to serve on the board, the homeowner was not given any other information about her.

So we are currently undertaking a full legal review of both the Covenants and the By-Laws we will post what we find shortly, about this issue.

Kuester all responded to a Homeowner about whether or not they have anyone on the board: "No  Kuester nor any of it's affiliates sit on the Harpers Mill board." So that is good news.

FYI:

The Harpers Mill Townhome Owners Association is a non-ptofit Corporation in the State of South Carolina as such they are bound by Title 33 Chapter 31 of the South Carolina Code of Laws Here is a link for you: SC Code of Laws Title 33 Chapter 31.

Part of the above law requires that a member (ie: homeowner) be given the full name and address of any Board Member upon request. A "member" has requested this information for all current board members the HOA has 5 days to respond, the homeowner discussed this with both the SC Department of State and the SC Attorneys General's Office, both of which are responsible for enforcing this section before making their request.

Harpers Mill Poll Question #2

In the spirit of the current elections we have added a few polls for our homeowners! Here is question #2:

survey service

Harpers Mill Poll Question #1

In the spirit of the current elections we have added a few polls for our homeowners! Here is question #1:

web polls

So Who Are Our Board of Directors!

As per the Governing Documents of the Harpers Mill Townhome Owners Association, we are told hold elections every two years to elect a new Board of Directors. Homeowners are supposed to vote in fellow homeowners that they want to represent them, we all should know who our board is and hw to contact them, since that has not been the case we are going to help you out and publish who they are, we believe there are several who should not be on the board and that those who should not be, be removed and that Kuester Real Estate Management, and the current valid Board Members hold open and fair elections to fill the vacancies at our annual meeting this December 4th.

President: Sandra Brink 1522 Harpers Inlet Dr             s1sbrink@comporium.net

Vice President: Mercedes Homes - See Disturbing Fact #1 - Corporation Disolved, no longe rin existence

Treasurer: Dennis Kiplinger - See Disturbing Fact #4 - Lives in Alabama, house is for sale

Secretary: Dennis Kiplinger - See Disturbing Fact #4 - Lives in Alabama, house is for sale

Member At Large: Milton Becker - 1474 Harpers Inlet Dr

Member At Large: Julia Colleen Jones - See Disturbing Fact #3 - Not a homeowner

From what we can tell the only legal and proper current Board Members are Sandra Brink, Milton Becker and, Dennis Kiplinger. We believe all others should be removed and open and fair elections to replace them from the current homeowners should take place December 4th, 2012 at our next annual meeting.

Disturbing Fact #4

Dennis Kiplinger is listed as our Treasurer and Secretary, of the Board of Directors, now Dennis as a homeowner is eligible to hold such a position (or in this case 2 positions) and many homeowners knew him when he lived here and he cared about the neighborhood very much, and was very active in the community,none of that is in question.

However more than 6 months ago he moved to Alabama. and is renting out his house here, now he is holding two Board Positions and Treasurer and also as Secretary, a Secretary should be at all Board meetings to keep notes on each meeting. as a resident of Alabama he cannot carry out his duties, as he cannot attend the monthly board meetings, or the annual meeting for that matter, nor can homeowners contact him as they should be able to contact each and every Board member.

We ask Dennis Kiplinger to resign his positions on the Board of Directors and ask Kuester and the current Board to hold open and fair elections to elect current homeowners to the two positions that would be open.

UPDATE: It has been reported that a for Sale Sign has been posted on his property which he has been renting out while he lives in Alabama, I guess now we know the rumors of his return are not true.

See Below:

Disturbing Fact #3

As homeowners we have a RIGHT to know who OUR Board of Directors are, heck they are all supposed to be elected by their fellow Homeowners, as far as Harpers Mill this is not the case, as outlined in each and every Disturbing Fact we are posting today.

Listed as our member at Large is Julia Colleen Jones, no one I have talked to knows who she is, in fact a search of York County Tax Payer documents and GIS Property Records reveals she is not even a homeowner here, if she lives in our neighborhood she must be a renter.

So again we ask Kuester Real Estate Management and the Current Board of Directors to STOP their Illegal Activity, remove Julia Jones as a Member at Large of the HOA, and hold an open and fair election to elect an eligible homeowner to that position.

See the tax search results below:

Disturbing Fact #2

In the latest Harpers Mill newsletter Kuester Management Group is listing themselves as a member of the Board of Directors, we do not know if this was a mis-print or not, however if it is true they should immediately remove themselves, a management company is supposed to be impartial, they are there to carry out the wishes of the Board of Directors.

One of the biggest expenditures we have is paying for a management company, an HOA is supposed to be run by homeowners, who elect a Board of Directors to represent them, the Board makes all financial decisions, if the management company has elected themselves to the Board of Directors, it would be a Direct COnflict of Interest and more than likely illegal as well, as they are not a homeowner.

We call on Kuester Management Group to immediately clarify if they do hold a seat on our Board of Directors and if so to immediately resign that position, and hold an open and fair election to elect a homeowner to that position.

If Kuester does not respond and we know they read this, than we can only assume they do hold a position on the Board of Directors, or maybe they can clarify at the December HOA meeting.

The image below is taken from the latest HOA newsletter listing the current Board of Directors:

UPDATE: Kuester in their latest mailing no longer lists them as a Board of Director, so this may have just been a mis-understaning, lets hope so.......                                          

Disturbing Fact #1

Mercedes Homes is currently listed as the Vice President of the HOA, however Mercedes Homes does not exist, They should have been removed from the board and a homeowner should have been elected to replace them, when they dissolved the corporation.

We believe they are listed on the board in an effort to continue to control the HOA giving the Homeowners no say.

We demand the current board of directors, and Kuester Management Group stop their illegal activity and remove Mercedes Homes from the Board of Directors immediately and hold a open and fair election for a new Vice President.

See below website from the SC Secretary of State showing Mercedes Homes as a dissolved entity a of 3/18/2011

Annual Meeting! December 4th 2012

The annual Meeting is December 4th at the Pine Grove Baptist Church, the agenda is as follows:

Update on a new Builder

Financial Report

Job of the Board of Directors

2012 Review

2013 Goals

Harpers Mill Newsletter

Using the link below you can download or view the latest Harpers Mill Newsletter in PDF format, published by Kuester Real Estate, there are several items that alarm us, which we will talk about in a separate post!

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/54625795/Harpers%20Mill%20Newsletter.pdf

Lake Wylie Area Plan - Community Workshop - November 8, 2012

FROM YORK COUNTY:

Good afternoon!

I hope that this message finds you well! We are excited to announce that the third public meeting, a Community Workshop, for the Lake Wylie Area Plan will be held on Thursday, November 8 from 6:00 – 7:30 in the Oakridge Middle School Cafeteria, located at 5650 Highway 557.  The purpose of this meeting is to introduce and obtain your feedback on a DRAFT future land use plan map.  Notifications for this meeting were mailed to all affected residents/property owners early this week (see attached). 

Additional materials pursuant to this planning effort are available online at the following link:

http://www.yorkcountygov.com/Departments/DepartmentsFP/PlanningandDevelopment/Divisions/Planning.aspx

Feel free to contact me, using the information found below, if you have any questions, concerns, or comments related to this planning effort.

                                                               

Thank you for your interest and involvement in this planning effort. 

We look forward to seeing you at the Community Workshop!

Sincerely,

Alison Rowland

Long Range Planner

York County Planning & Development Services Department

1070 Heckle Blvd. Suite 106

Rock Hill, SC 29732-2863

Direct: (803) 909-7233

Customer Service: (803) 909-7200

Fax: (803) 909-7478

Email: Alison.Rowland@yorkcountygov.com

Website: www.yorkcountygov.com

"All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today." - Indian Proverb

Homeowner Files Lawsuit Against HOA + Kuester

This morning a lawsuit seeking $195.00 was filed against the HOA, and Kuester Real Estate in York County Magistrate Court.

The homeowner, sent a payment for HOA fees about 6 months ago the payment was sent and received by Kuester on time, however Kuester changed the homeowners account number and sent the payment back, when the homeowner asked when did you change my account number, he was told 2 years ago, yet they accepted his payment every month for 2 years with the old account number without ever notifying him of the change. The homeowner resent the payment they sent back, but now it was a few days past the 15th so they charged him a $15.00 late fee.

The homeowner asked why did you charge me a late fee, and their answer was we never received your payment, when in fact they received it and than sent it back, he was than told because he had not had any other late fees in over a year, that this fee would be waived as a one time courtesy. The Homeowner was upset about it being a one time courtesy because he felt it was their fault not his they had the payment before the 15th, and they choose to send it back, and still never contacted him, but they were going to credit it back so no big deal.

Two months later he still saw the late fee on his account and called and again was told as a courtesy it would be credited back, and again two months later it was not, he called again and was told again the same thing it would be credited back as a courtesy. Eventually he emailed them and than was told it would not be credited back, unless he could prove his claim, the problem with that was he gave them all the bank information including payment confirmation numbers and everything showing the payment was sent on time, received by them and than sent back to him, because of the account number on his first phone call to them about the problem.

At this point the homeowner decided to file the civil suit, under South Carolina law if he prevails he is entitled to the original amount in question $15.00 which he did pay to the HOA, and legal fees, making the new amount of $195.00. We will update you as soon as we get any updates on the case.

Power Outage

As you know our power went out this morning due to a thunderstorm, Duke Power is estimating our power to be back on around 10:30AM.

Everyone should call Duke Power's automated power outage line, they dispatch crews in order that calls are received and by the most affected customers, the more that call and the sooner they call the higher of a priority we will be. The number is:

1-800-769-3766. 1-800-POWER ON

It will tell you an outage has already been reported in the area be sure to wait until the very end of the recording to press 1 to add your account to the reported outage.

New Builder May be on the Way Soon!

Last month several homeowners noticed a crew digging holes to take soil samples. This was being done as the remnants of Mercedes Homes is getting close to inking a deal to sell the remaining unfinished lots to a new builder who wants to come in and finish phase 2.

The new builder is reported to want to buildout phase 2 with homes very similar in look and feel as the existing phase 2 homes, but at least one model with more square footage than what was already available.

As more details emerge we will keep you updated!

Commercial Vehicles

We have received several complaints about commercial vehicles parking in the neighborhood overnight. We  checked and were told some homeowners we're mailed violation letters last week. Of course each homeowner who gets a violation letter has a grace period to correct the violation. Any commercial vehicles parked overnight after the grace period will be towed by the HOA at the owners expense.

Landscaping

The HOA has been getting estimates to replace the current landscaping company, we do not know if a decision has been made  yet or not, but we know at least one company that Kuester uses in other neighborhoods had come and worked up a bid.

We will keep you posted if we hear anything new, on the selection of a new landscaper.

ATTENTION PARENTS URGENT!

If you have kids that ride the bus to school from Harper's Mill than you need to read this, if you don't have kids please pass this information and the link to your neighbors with kids, this is an urgent matter!

This morning a couple driving an older model tan car, possibly a Ford approached Kids at the Harper's Mill bus stop and several bus stops in Forest Oaks. The car was driven by an older white male in his 30's he is reportedly the boyfriend of the female passenger who is described as a white female about 23 years of age with long curly blond hair wearing a lip and nose ring. It is reported she may have recently moved into a home in Forest Oaks.

According to reports the couple was very intoxicated and where seen drinking Four Loco, and offering it to the kids at the bus stop. For those that do not know Four Loco is an alcoholic drink mixed with Caffeine and sold in a can. It has been banned in many states and is known on the street as liquid crack.

The female passenger was also reprted to be talking about sexual activities with a 14 year old boy from Harper's Mill this morning at the bus stop

The Sheriffs Department is asking anyone with information on the indentity of the pair or a license plate number to call 911 and report the information and to give the following case number that has already been created for these incidents when making your report.

The report number is 201228833 also it was reported that one of the kids from Harper's Mill may have video recorded the incident on their cell phone, if you did please call the Sheriffs Department reference the above case number and provide them a copy if possible.

Finaly please remind your kids if anyone approaches them att the bus stop, lime this again to call 911 from their cell phone get as much information as possible like what they look like the make model and license plate of any car involved.

If they do not have a cell phone they can ask one of the other kids at the bus stop to call from their cell phones.

The Dumpster Once Again

Ok lets see where to start this time,

1) The Dumpsters are emptied every Monday Wednesday and Friday, if they are filled hold taking your garbage out until the next day when they are emptied, just common sense.

2) If they look full, I almost bet you can open the top and drop more in, or go to the other side of the dumpster and that side may have more room, or even push the last bag by the door back and almost always there is room behind it, again common sense.

3) If you leave garbage outside the dumpster prepare to get a fine, it is a $100 fine every time you leave garbage outside the dumpster, Why? glad you asked Waste Management does not clean up anything outside the dumpsters, the HOA has to PAY extra money for someone to come out and clean up any mess left outside the dumpster.

4) Do not send your young kids, they are either not big enough to get the garbage through the hole and are just not going to check the other side of the dumpster for more room, again just common sense.

5) If you really have a lot of extra garbage, or cannot wait an extra day to dump your garbage, take it to the York County Convenience Site, there is one on 274 and one off of 557, you can bring any type of garbage there and dump it for free, all paid for by your taxes.

6) If you see anyone from Phase 2 using the dumpster or anyone who lives outside the neighborhood using the dumpster report it to the HOA, or in the case of a non-resident the Sheriff's Department.

7) If you follow these simple tips and do your part to take some time and actually care, than it will save all of us money in our dues, reduce the chances that our neighborhood becomes infested with mice and coach roaches, which will save us money in extermination costs. It's really not that complicated if we all tried a little harder.

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If we continue to let people use the dumpster who are not suppose to, it will only cost us all more money, Phase 2 Homeowners have garbage cabs and a collection service paid for out of the HOA dues that covers them, the dumpsters are designed only for capacity of Phase 1, and of coarse non Harpers Mill residents should not be using our dumpster at any time. If we add more capacity that will only increase the cost and we will have even more people who don't belong dumping here dumping more garbage,

Now on to other business 733 WaterFall Way is the owner of some of the garbage left outside the dumpster today, if we find out anymore of the responsible parities we will let you know.

Dumpster Alert!

For some reason Waste Management, did not show up today as they usually do to empty the dumpsters after the weekend. Both dumpsters are now completely full, several homeowners and non homeowners have already dumped their garbage on the ground in front of the dumpsters, if you have garbage please hold it until they are emptied we will post an update tomorrow, hopefully Kuester can call them and get them out here.

There are several large black garbage bags left in front of the dumpsters all are full with mail with the address of:

Lawrence Morgan
4151 River Oaks Rd
Lake Wylie, SC 29710

If anyone knows who this is and why his garbage is at our dumpsters please email is or Kuester to report it.

UPDATE: Waste Management came this morning and emptied the dumpsters, now we just need Metrolina Maintenance to come and clean up the mess that is left.

Police Activity at the Pool

This afternoon several York County Deputies responded to the pool after receiving reports of several intoxicated person acting disorderly and harassing families at the pool. One home owner was there with their young children and when one of the intoxicated individuals took the child's ball and started swearing at the parent because their 6 year old child was splashing around in the pool getting water in his alcoholic drink. Another home owner with two small children said they do not go to the pool anymore on Saturday or Sunday afternoons, because the same group of individuals is always there and drinking heavily. Another home owner saw these same individuals at the pool today with a funnel that was being used with alcohol this afternoon.

Deputies gave the partiers a warning, and left. The HOA is going to have to address this if it continues every weekend, the pool is no longer a safe and enjoyable environment for home owners with young children.

Expansion Tank?

A homeowner reported that last week his thermostat malfunctioned on the hot water heater the additional heat build up caused more pressure in in the pipes which caused one to rupture, spilling water from the attic all the way down to the laundry room, kitchen, dinning room, and living room, causing extensive water damage. It was noted while replacing his hot water heater by an engineer with York County Natural Gas and by a South Carolina certified plumber that had an expansion tank been installed the line would probably not have ruptured.

After some investigation it has been found out that if your incoming water pressure is 80 psi or greater you are required by County Building Codes to have an expansion tank installed, at time of construction. The water pressure in this neighborhood can average between 70 and 90 psi depending how you have your pressure regulator valve adjusted. This valve is located under the emergency cut off switch installed in the hall closet outside the laundry room in phase 1 homes.

An expansion tank can be purchased at Lowe's for $40 and installed by a plumber for about $100 and is installed on the cold water side of the pipe just before it enters the hot water heater,

Most phase 1 homes do not have this installed and should consider adding one, to reduce the chance of a pipe failure.

The incident that occurred last week on Harpers Inlet Dr is the second such incident at a home in Harpers Mill this year.

Police Blotter Sunday August 5th, 2012

Around 10:30 this morning, York County Sheriff's Deputies responded to a home on Waterfall Way, for a Domestic Dispute. A husband and wife were heard fighting over the 911 line by dispatchers, the wife left the home with their 3 kids the husband stated that his wife was under the influence of drugs and did not want her driving the kids. York County Deputies attempted to locate the mother and children but they had already left the area.

North Carolina: Family wins suit over HOA Violation and FInes!

Published: July 24th, WSOCTV.com

Judge orders HOA insurance company to pay family $20,000

MINT HILL, N.C. — 

Brian and Lori Phelps are finally at peace in their Mint Hill home.

They didn't know a 2009 move from California to the St. Ives neighborhood would end in a big court battle.

Brian Phelps said the HOA started charging them with violations when they planned to build a patio. After 14 violations, fines and even a lien on their house, the Phelps got a lawyer.

“We felt we had no choice," said Brian Phelps. "The gun was to our head."

They sued St. Ives.

Earlier in July, a judge ordered the HOA insurance company to pay the Phelps $20,000 for attorney fees.

READ FULL STORY AND WATCH VIDEO HERE!

The Mentality

I just do not understand how anyone could think it is ok to dump their couch on the side of the road. This is what someone did yesturday. A couch was left on the side of the road yes in front of the dumpster area, they were close but not close enough.

Large items like this are to be taken by the homeowner to the York County Covienance Center.

We encourage anyone that sees a home owner or anyone for that matter leaving their garbage on the side of the road to call the York County Sheriff's Department at 803-329-1110 leaving unwanted items on the side of the road even in front of the dunpster area is illegal under state law and is an ARRESTABLE OFFENSE under the states illegal dumping laws.

Attention: AT&T U-Verse Customers

If you have AT&T U-Verse here in Harpers Mill, and were up last night around 12:30am you may have noticed the service went out for a few minutes and came back on, you may not have noticed since it came back on your internet speed is very slow.

According to AT&T managers, they have found a problem with the equipment serving our neighborhood, there is a fiber optic cable that feeds some hardware which than sends the TV, Internet and Phone signals for U-Verse to our homes.

They are still not sure if the hardware is failing or there is a fiber optic cable problem, however they are investigating it and they will dispatch a fiber repair crew tonight between 12:30am and 5:30am or a crew to replace the failing hardware, either way you may have slow internet speeds until this is resolved and you may also loose service overnight while they do repairs, the problems should be fully resolved within 24 to 48 hours. We will update you as soon as we get an update from AT&T.

The current problems do not affect you if you have regular DSL, or POTS phone service (Non-Uverse) or if you have fiber to the home, which is most houses in Phase 2.

Sad News!

Early Sunday morning, River Hills Rescue Squad received a call for a man unconscious at a residence on Shady Pond Dr, upon their arrival CPR was started Piedmont EMS arrived a few minutes later and helped River Hills, the patient was transported to a local hospital but unfortunately did not make it.

The victim lived in Harpers Mill since 2007 and was a well respected and liked resident here in the community. He leaves behind his wife and 3 kids, our prayers and sincerest condolences goes out to his family and friends.

Blog Update!

Well we just surpassed the 1 month mark of the blog, we also are about to hit 1000 Unique page views. We want people to know that this blog is here to keep homeowners up to date on the happenings in the neighborhood good or bad, we are not here to sugar coat things we tell it like it is.

We all pay HOA fees and we all have a vested interest in the prosperity of the neighborhood. We hope to spark some more participation from homeowners, the next annual meeting will be a big one for us, as it is the first where we the homeowners now control our own destiny.

We also hope by drawing attention to some of the problems and rule violations that it will make people think twice before they do something, keeping the dumpster neat and clean, picking up after the dogs, taking care of the common areas and generally abiding by the HOA Rules, local ordinances and state laws, this makes the neighborhood more enjoyable for everyone. But it takes a community effort and participation, and sometimes a willingness to help a neighbor who needs it.

We encourage everyone to particpate by commenting below, you can also email us with news tips and updates, comments, or feedback by clicking this link: Harpers Mill Blogger .

Police Blotter - July 1st & 2nd

At approx 9:30 pm on July 1st the York County Sheriff's Department responded to a call for a county ordinance violation - fireworks, in the area of Shady Pond Dr.

At approx. 1:30 am on July 2nd the York County Sheriff's Department responded to a disturbance in the area of Water Fall Way, they were advised of a female that was acting disorderly upon arrival the disturbance had moved to the pool area, where deputies made contact with the female and two males that were involved. The deputies gave the female a ride back to her residence in Clover.

2035 Shady Pond Dr & 2037 Shady Pond Dr

UPDATED: A couple who was renting 2035 Shady Pond Dr, was moving furniture yesterday July 1st, they moved out of 2035 and into 2037 Shady Pond Dr and they left several items in the dumpster area see below picture. As posted on the gate it is a $100 fine for leaving garbage in the dumpster area and not inside the dumpsters. This is because Waste Management only empties the dumpsters they do not pick up any trash left outside of the dumpsters, so now the HOA will have to pay a maintenance person to come and haul this garbage away to the County Connivence Center, or break it up and put it into the dumpster, costing all home owners extra and unnecessary fees.

Our suggestion is that Kuester Real Estate should send the owner the $100 fine right way so the owner can deduct it out of the tenants security deposit before it is returned to them.

If Kuester does not follow through on this than the cost of removing this furniture will have to come out of the HOA funds instead of the fine, and will just be another reason why our dues will never go down.

The sad part is this couple was driving a red pick up truck pulling a white trailer with "Arnold" bread logo on the back, another words they had plenty of room to load up the trailer and take all their excess garbage down to the county convenience center, instead of dumping their unwanted stuff on the rest of the home owners to have to deal with now.

The driver of the pickup truck was a cuban male about 6'4'' and the passenger was a white female about 5'2'' with short red hair. They both unloaded and dumped the items together in the dumpster area.

UPDATE 07/06/12: Kuester had Metrolina Maintenance come out and clean up all the times the couple left outside the dumpster. We believe the HOA was charged somewhere between $100 to $130 to clean up their mess but someone would need to get the exact number from Kuester. Also we do not know if the home owner was fined or not, but our guess is more than likely not. And home owners wonder why our monthly fees will never go down? this is why........

UPDATE 07/08/12: A source told us another home owner who saw them leaving the items offered to help them, properly dispose of their unwanted furniture, and their response was to simply walk away and drive off, they obviously just do not are about this neighborhood, but since they are renters we guess they feel they have nothing invested here, so why should they care?

Pool Chairs

For those who have been to the pool you surely have noticed that most of the pool chairs are broke in  some way. A home owner advised us that Kuester has ordered replacements that will be shipped to their office and than brought out here by their maintenance department. We should see the new chairs in the pool area in about 2 weeks from now so by about July 15th the new chairs should be out  at the pool ready for use.

Possible Water Interruption's Today 6/29/2012

Utilities, Inc the parent company of Carolina Water Service is working in the neighborhood today on Harpers Inlet Dr repairing a water main leak. They are digging up a parking area to access the pipe. They say they are going to try to limit any service disruptions to as little time as possible. Water was already turned off to the neighborhood for a few minutes and was probably not noticeable to most home owners. The work should be done around 2pm this afternoon.

Apparently the board and Kuester knew about this work ahead of time, but to our knowledge no home owners were alerted, we do have a community email list which is a perfect way to communicate things just like this to the home owners, we are unsure why no notice was sent out, since this could cause interruptions in your water service, it would have been nice to know in advance.

Lots of Sore Feet at the Pool

Kids all around the neighborhood and even many adults are coming out of the pool with cuts on their feet many which are so bad they are bleeding. Apparently this has been very common this year according to a homeowner who knows about pools told us, over the years the chemicals in the pool eat away at the bottom causing the surface to become very rough, a procedure known as "polishing" the bottom of the pool can correct this, however the pool would need to be drained. In the meantime many pool goers are buying pool shoes and hoping that the HOA will drain the pool and fix it at the end of the season.

Property complexes step into DNA testing of dog poop

Interesting article in today's USA TODAY:

USA Today: Property Complexes Step Into DNA Testing of Dog Poop

This is very interesting and is a new trend sweeping the country, being used by homeowners associations and apartment complex managers, maybe this could help solve our problems with people not picking up their dog poop.

Playground?

We have had a few homeowners contact us asking why we do not have a playground and how can we get one?

So we did a little research and asked around about this issue, here is what we found out:

1) The current Board Members, who are all single with no kids living with them in the neighborhood are completely against any playground, their claim is that the insurance needed would be so high dues would be raised to over $150 a month.

2) Some homeowners in phase 1 were told when they bought their home from Mercedes Homes that a playground would be built, although Mercedes plans never included a playground.

3) Many homeowners do not want a playground, they feel it would attract more kids from neighboring communities like Forest Oaks, which would ultimately cause more problems overall for the neighborhood.

From what we can tell, many believe there is plenty of room for a playground maybe near the pool is one  location mentioned, we don't believe the insurance claim, we feel homeowners should request from the board 2 or 3 estimates from insurance companies showing the cost of adding a playground to the existing insurance policy.

This comes down to two sides parents with kids that would like a playground and homeowners without kids that don't want the added expense or potential problems that a playground may bring. Either way we believe the board should get the estimates for both the cost to build a playground and to insure it. and let homeowners decide in a vote, however we don't believe this will happen anytime soon, with the current regime in power.

Car Accident

A Homeowner on Shady Pond Dr, near the intersection of Harpers Inlet Dr in the area near the dumpster, woke up this morning to find their car was hit overnight by another car and damaged. The South Carolina Highway Patrol was here and asked several neighbors that were around if they saw anything, but no one had seen who did it.

If anyone knows or had seen anything please call the HOA and let them know or let the Homeowner know, we think she would really appreciate it, if she knew who hit and damaged her car.

UPDATE: The persons responsible contacted the homeowner and resolved the situation.

Some Good News!

Metrolina did come today and clean up the dumpster area, they did a fairly good job from what we can see. The gate post has been temporally fixed, it was meant back a little so the gate will close, but it is still meant pretty bad and will proably bend right back in a few days, the pin will need to be replaced to be 100% fixed.

But there is no garbage outside of the dumpsters, hopefully we can all work together and keep it that way.

Forest Oaks Dog Walk Area

Well we just received an email from a home owner it is bad enough we have our own problems with residents not picking up after their dogs, this homeowner saw someone walking their dog next to his home and did not pick up after their dog, he asked the individual how old he was, and he stated he was 15, so he asked where he lived so he could talk to the parents about not picking up after the dog, the person replied that he lives in Forest Oaks, when asked why he was here, he said he was just here to walk his dog, he further stated that he has been walking his dog here in Harpers Mill for years. He was asked if he was here to visit a home owner he said "no I am not here to visit anyone, just here to walk my dog, I always walk my dog here", he said he does know people who live here, but he was not here to see them he was simply here to walk his dog.

The homeowner did call the Sheriff's Department who issued the person a warning, and directed the individual to leave the neighborhood.

It amazes us, we already knew Forest Oaks homeowners come here and illegally dump their garbage in our dumpsters, but we had no idea that Forest Oaks homeowners used Harpers Mill as their private dog walk.

The Dumpster Yet Again

1) The walk through gate has been broken and cannot close this has been this way for 2 weeks now and no one has come to fix it.

2) for the second week in a row, either Metrolina Maintenance Group has come out and charged us for clearing the dumpster area, or they just haven't shown up at all because the same garbage is still on the ground since last week.

3) Waste Management of Gastonia came this morning to empty the dumpsters but one is still half full, so they are not doing what they are paid for, we have noticed the last few weeks, that after Waste Management comes, they are not completely emptying the dumpsters, and this is becoming a regular problem.

Sow how long before our Board of Directors and Kuester Management Take care of theses issues? When we figure out how to make a poll we will put one up for all you homeowners to vote on!!!!

Harpers Mill Forclosures

In the recent newsletter that was sent out, the HOA mentions that if you are having financial difficulties to let them know so they can work with you. Now sometimes filling a foreclosure is a necessary thing to do, however, we have heard that the HOA has filled foreclosure paperwork on homeowners just 3 months behind, and they would not work with the homeowner at all. What is worse is if you having problems after 3 months that would leave you with a balance of $375.00 plus late fees, but when they file the foreclosure paperwork almost never notifying the homeowner before hand you suddenly have at least another $800 in legal fees added to your burden.

There is a recent case where a long term homeowner who was one of the first to live here, has always taken care of their home and never caused any problems to their neighbors is being foreclosed on by the HOA, we wonder how much they tried to work with this homeowner. We know the person in question lives by them self and lost their job about 6 months ago, we also know by looking at the court records the homeowner is not being forclosed on by the bank only the HOA, indicating that the bank is working with them in their time of need, we have our doubts if the HOA is doing the same.

If you want to see foreclosure records for the community follow these simple instructions, these records are open to the public and available online

!) Goto: http://judicial.yorkcountygov.com/scjdpublicindex/

2) Don't change anything just click "Accept" towards the middle bottom of the page.

3) In the box labeled "Last/Business" Type "Harpers Mill"

4) Than you will see a listing of all cases filed since inception of the community, you will notice there are 7 pages of records, to go through, some by banks some only by the HOA. We count 32 Foreclosures that the HOA has filled as the Plaintiff, many of which show a status of cancelled which means the homeowner paid the past due amounts including all the inflated legal costs that were added to save their homes.

We hope this will bring some attention to this, and hope the HOA is really working with homeowners that are having difficult times and not just filling the paperwork and adding tons of legal fees on top of someone who is already struggling and would work with the HOA if the board was sincere in really helping our fellow homeowners out.

Garbage Everywhere!

It would appear that Waste Management did not empty the dumpsters yesterday (Friday) like they normally do, it is Saturday morning and the dumpsters appear to be halfway full, which is unusual if they did just empty them yesterday.

To make matters worse a homeowner left a grill and several garbage bags outside the dumpster, now my first guess was that the homeowner sent their kid to dump their garbage and the kid could not lift the bags into the dumpster, but there is no way a kid could have brought the grill down to the dumpster area.

We have edited this post, removing the information on the homeowner who is in Phase 1 and did send their child back out to clean up the mess, they did a halfway decent job at cleaning it up, but this is a reminder to all homeowners, if your kids are young they may need help at the dumpster, and if they leave your trash outside the dumpster you can still be fined the $100 from the HOA.

We do not know if the same homeowner left the grill or not, there just is no way of knowing unless someone saw who put it in there, and if you did see who left it please email us or call Kuester Management.

Pool Opening This Weekend!

A message sent out by Kuester:

Just a reminder that the Pool Opens on Saturday, May 19th .   Pool hours are from 9am until 9pm.   You must have a pool pass to enter the pool area.   Passes will not work if your homeowners account is delinquent.  The management company will only be able update cards during normal business hours.  For a complete list of rules please visit the community website at www.kuester.com.  If you note any behavior or repair concerns during your pool visit this season please report to the management office at (803)8022-0004 or by emailing Rita at rbarrett@kuester.com

TV Drama Finally Resolved

The TV that has been in the dumpster area for nearly 2 weeks is finally gone, and though Metrolina Maintenance came twice since it has been there and charged us for cleaning the dumpster area and really did not do what we paid them for, a homeowner finally came and loaded the TV into his truck and took it to the county convenience center like the original homeowner should have done, this is the kind of spirit we need more of here in Harpers Mill.

Dog Poop!!

Below is a picture taken this morning near the main entrance to our community pool, which will be opening soon. As you can see it is a large mess, obviously left by a large dog. 

Here are the facts:  

1) It is a violation of the HOA Covenants to not pick up after your dog, punishable by a $25.00 fine per occurrence, this is enforceable by Kuester Management Company.

2) It is a violation of York County Ordinances to not pick up after your dog, punishable by a $470.00 fine per occurrence, this is enforceable by York County Animal Control and when they are not available by the York County Sheriff's Department.

So if you see someone walking their dogs and not picking up after them please call Kuester Management at 803-802-0004 or York County Animal Control at 803-628-3190 or The York County Sheriff's non-emergency number 803-326-2300

Just think it's a warm weekend afternoon you and your kids want to enjoy tho afternoon at the pool on your way there you are your kid steps in this, than your laying there on one of our nice lounge chairs next to the pool but you just can't get the smell of your mind, not picking up after our pets, has many ramifications including ruining the enjoyment of the neighborhood for our friends and neighbors.....

Unfinished Common Area Phase 2?

This pic is of an unfinished common area on Shady Pond Dr in Phase 2, homes on both sides of this common area were finished several months ago before Mercedes Homes or shall we say (Mercedes Premier Homes as the name they are now doing business under) Abandoned us.

The area is very rough and uneven and grass is not maintained on a weekly basis except the edges close to the road and the homes, so us homeowners would like an Answer from our Board of Directors about when someone will come in and level this area plant grass and some trees so that it will match the other finished common areas in the neighborhood?

This is an issue and a question that the current elected Board of Directors should answer and deal with, we have almost $90,000 in a reserve funds is it that hard to take s little out and get this done?

We all know this was Mercedes Homes responsibility, and really is the responsibility of the developer which is s subsidiary of Mercedes and is still in business so lets get this done and send the Buescher family in florida the bill!! My guess is though this will never happen as long as we have Kuester Management as our HOA management company as they still hold allegiance to the Buescher family and they would not want to rock the boat, although maybe they will prove us wrong and actually step up and do what is right for the homeowners and not there own business interests for a change?

Lake Wylie Magazine?

Ok below is a pic taken on Harpers Inlet Dr near the second entrance to our community, it is a box full of undistributed Lake Wylie Magazines, which is completely water logged and has been there for several months, so this brings up some questions?

1) Who and why where they left there in the first place?

2) Why has no homeowner disposed of them? (I would think one of the 8 homeowners who use that mailbox on a daily basis would have taken it upon them selves to dispose of this unsightly mess?

3) Assuming the answer to question 2 is that no homeowner wanted to take this on themselves, why didn't any of them call Kuester Management and let them come to dispose of this mess?

4) When will someone actually take care of this, whether it be Kuester Management or a Homeowner?

5) How do we prevent this from happening in the future?

I ask number 2 because as Homeowners we all have a stake in this community, we should be able to take care of our own yards and help keep up with the common areas around our own homes, and if it is something we cannot do on our own or feel uncomfortable doing on our own than we should be calling the management company so they can do what we pay them to do.

Just because the HOA cuts our grass and sometimes trims our bushes and sometimes replaces dead trees and shrubs, does not mean us as homeowners can't pitch in and help out, and keep our neighborhood clean and neat. If you have pride in your home and your yard and your community than this should not even have to be brought up, because you would be doing this already.

Just a Little Update

We received an email from a concerned homeowner, the email expressed concern that this blog may be to negative and cast a bad light on the neighborhood, and so cause high tensions between homeowners. Our answer is that we are not here to be negative, we are here to help make the neighborhood a warm and welcome environment for all homeowners. Also we hope to bring change to how the HOA is run, up to now actual homeowners have had very little input everything has been controlled by a chosen few and few home owners show up at the annual meetings, why? because if you have a problem or complaint, it is largely ignored the HOA Board and Management Company really seem to feel they do no have to answer to anyone, this needs to change homeowners need to have more input and the people in charge need to do a better job of communicating with the homeowners in general and need to be held accountable.

This is why we have stressed homeowners are welcome to participate in this blog by either emailing us or commenting. In the few days this blog has been up we have already had 52 unique page views, and several emails of feedback which were all positive.

Yes if a homeowner emails us pictures, video, or other evidence that a fellow homeowner is breaking rules we will call them out on it, in hopes that they will discontinue that kind of behavior, especially issues with the trash as all homeowners have a stake in this, the more that homeowners abuse it, the more it costs to correct and all those costs get passed to each and every home owner in terms of HOA fees and even to renters in how much they pay for rent. Hopefully there will come a day where rule violations are rare and everyone does their part in taking care of our neighborhood and following the rules.

We hope this clears the air a little on what we are trying to accomplish and why we are doing this, we thank our supporters and welcome them and the ones who may not like us to participate, because everyone's opinions do count, nothing will ever change if we don't talk about it.

Metrolina Maintenance Group

Metrolina Maintenance Group is the company employed by Kuester Real Estate on behalf of the Harpers Mill Townhouse Owners Association to do maintenance. Also every Monday morning they come and clean the dumpster area and are supposed to take away any large items left outside the dumpsters by homeowners. Over the weekend we posted the picture below showing a TV and child's exercise bike that were left by a homeowner. Well Metrolina came on Monday and cleaned the dumpster area and got rid of the exercise bicycle, but left the TV. Though I am not sure why they would not have gotten rid of the TV which is what we pay them to do.

I have a guess that possibly they felt it was to heavy and need 2 people to come and move it, if true that is even more money the rest of us homeowners will have to pay out of our dues. So if you know who dumped this TV please email us or call Kuester, so these extra costs can be passed back to that homeowner or at least so the HOA can fine them the $100 for leaving garbage outside the dumpster. The $100 fine won't fully cover the costs that the rest of us are going to have to pay, but at least we could re-coop some of the cost, and hopefully Metrolina can actually do the job we are paying them for and have paid them for on Monday and come and dispose of this TV that now has been there for at least a week.

How to Participate

If you would like to add a new topic to this Blog, just email your story any pics or videos you may have  to me, by clicking my name HarpersMillBlogger.

And of coarse you are more than welcome to comment on any post you wish, although comments will be moderated if neccessary.

The Mess Mercedes Homes Left

Well since Mercedes Homes is now out of business even though the Buescher Family of Melbourne Florida, who owns it is still in business just under a new name Mercedes Premier Homes, which was filed by them a month before the bank shut them down for not paying their bills, has left us the Harpers Mill Homeowners a bill of $575.00 per mow to mow all the undeveloped lots that they left us with. Legally the builder is responsible for this cost and the cost of any repairs required before turning the neighborhood over to the Home Owners Association when the neighborhood is complete, but by closing their business Mercedes Homes and starting a new one called Mercedes Premier Homes, they have escaped that liability and dumped those costs on us, not very fair I believe.

Harpers Mill Dumpster Area - Phase 1

Well an unknown Harpers Mill Home Owner left the garbage in this picture a TV and kids exercise bicycle next to the dumpsters for phase one, which now means the Home Owners have to pay Kuester Real Estate's maintenance department at least $100 for a service call to come and pick this garbage up and either dump it in the dumpster or cart it away to the York County Garbage Convenience Center. I for one am tired of having to pay for my neighbors laziness....

If you know who this garbage belongs too, please let us know so we can pass that information to the management company.

Hello Harpers Mill Home Owners

Since the HOA seems to be incapable of enforcing it's own rules, maybe publicly posting homeowner violations will help stop some of the problems we have been experiencing in the neighborhood, everything from not picking up after dogs, throwing garbage on the ground next to the dumpster instead of inside the dumpster, etc, etc, etc......

If you are a Harpers Mill Home Owner and would like to add violations to the list, just email me pictures or videos of the said violation with any other information you may have and we will get it posted.

Thanks.