Annual Meeting Report!

So the annual meeting was held this past Wednesday night. Things went well Rita Barrett from Kuester hosted the meeting, there is a new landscaper starting January 1st they promise to take a little more care when working near siding, fences, pine needles and lave rocks. They also will be trimming branches on the river birches that are within 12 feet of the ground whenever needed.

The HOA attorney spoke about the current situation, basically BnA would not proceed with the purchase of the lots without declarant retaining control of the HOA. The Advisory Board reviewed plans for the new houses and had several issues of concern about how they would fit into the neighborhood, BnA was not taking any suggestions for changes and is proceeding the way they want, ignoring all feedback from the community.

There was some concern raised about the quality of the houses BnA is building, several homeowners feel the quality is well below that of the homes Mercedes built. It also appears although the new homes are still two stories with a garage based on the square footage they are quite smaller than the existing phase 2 homes.

Phase 2 residents are concerned about their lack of parking spaces and would like to use parking spaces in phase 1, or even have a parking area installed next to the pool at home owners expense, opposition was quick on these ideas, it was stated phase 1 does not want to be a parking lot for phase 2, and that phase 2 homeowners have two spaces with the extended driveways and have a 3rd space by utilizing their garages.

Phase 2 residents also would like a club house built somewhere, something they were promised by Mercedes when purchasing their homes.

Volunteers were asked to sign up to serve on a new board which is expected to be selected by the declarant in January, the declarant wants to have control in relation to selling the existing lots to BnA and completing the development, but does not want to be involved in the day to day operations of the HOA and intends to appoint a board and change the covenants to give them the authority to make those day by day decisions.

This is good and welcome news. It is estimated BnA will take just less than 2 years to complete the remaining lots as soon as the declarant sells the last lot to BnA than full control will transfer to the HOA board.

Also it was noted that BnA has their own contract with the declarant that requires them to complete the paving of the roads in Phase 2.

Developer Disolves HOA Advisory Board

We have learned that the Developer, Harpers Mill Community Developers, LLC the company still controlled by Mercedes Homes and their Creditors, has dissolved the Advisory Board which started out as our Board of Directors.

So now the homeowners have no representation and say in any matters concerning our HOA......

The annual meeting is December 4th at 7pm registration starts at 6:30pm

We urge everyone who can to attend, let them know we care about our neighborhood and we are watching what they do!

HOA Fee Increase

Starting January 1st HOA fees go up for all homeowners by $10 per month, this includes both phase 1 and phase 2.

Even though we the homeowners have no control over our HOA, it is important all homeowners go to the annual meeting, if we show up, we send a message that we care and that we want to be heard, and let the powers to be that we are watching what they do.

It was actually mentioned at the special meeting a few weeks ago that the attorney was gauging the level of interest from homeowners to report back to his clients, it doesn't send much of a message when 3 or 4 homeowners show up.

Please try to mark your calendar and show up to the annual meeting this December, we all need to be involved and we all need to be heard!

HOA Special Meeting Results

So the proposed changes did pass, to give the declarant now listed as Harpers Mill Community Developers, LLC which has been listed since the last change in 2007 although still ultimately the Buescher Family in Florida and their creditors full control until all lots are 100% complete.

BnA Homes is the builder but control of the HOA will stay with the developer. Several at the meeting did voice concern about BnA's involvement considering their track record this is understandable, once it became clear their was a lot of opposition to BnA, Rita Barrett from Kuester and Sandy Brink the President of our Advisory Board made claims that the BnA Homes that is going to build here is not the same BnA Homes associated with the Pasquinelli Family, or Portrait Homes in anyway, it was stated by them that the Pasquinelli Family is associated with BnA Management Company and not BnA Homes, someone has been seriously mis-informed.

Go to: http://www.bnahomes.com the official BnA Homes website scroll to the bottom of the page you will see it states copyright 2013 BnA Management, LLC so we know BnA Homes and BnA management are one in the same.

Also go to http://www.chicagorealestateforum.com/2011/04/13/well-known-chicago-home-builder-packs-it-up/  and read the last paragraph about the Portrait Homes Bankruptcy and you will clearly see that BnA has been around and is run by the Pasquinelli Family and the now defunct Portrait Homes.

It was also asked at the meeting by one homeowner about who would pay for the completion of the needed development, like paving the roads and finishing common areas in phase 2. There has been to date no money set aside by the developer and no claim of responsibility by them either, many homeowners are afraid those costs will be passed to them in the way of dues or even a special assessment, the costs of which could be over $500,000. The attorney for the developer seemed to say it was the county who would decide if paving the roads etc is required to be done by the developer or not. It appeared that Kuester seemed to think since the roads are private the county would have no say. Kuester is going to inquire and report to the homeowners at the annual meeting what they find out. One of our readers has also reached out to the county and we will update you when he receives a response.

This blog was mentioned at the meeting one homeowner stated they felt some of the information posted here was not accurate, the blog is here to inform homeowners and is written by homeowners, and has a stated goal to inform all homeowners so we can all be informed and be united to help make this neighborhood successful.

If you question any content or have concerns you can always leave a comment below any posting or you can privately email us at harpersmillblogger@gmail.com we accept all submissions, suggestions, tips etc.

So Just Who is BnA Homes, LLC Anyway?

We did an investigation to see what we could find out about BnA Homes, LLC and we got a lot of information, none of which is very encouraging. BnA Homes, LLC is actually BnA Management, LLC. BnA is supposed to stand for "best, new, affordable" but is best known in the  home building community as "Bruno and Anthony".

The background here can be somewhat complicated as there have been so many company names they have done business under but most notably the company was started as Pasquinelli /Homes, and is best known as Portrait Homes and just like Mercedes Homes they suddenly stopped building in 2009 and eventually filed bankruptcy. One of the few remaining businesses not included in thier bankruptcy was BnA Management. 

You can do Google searches using these names and you will find very few positive comments about the Pasquinelli brothers and their home building enterprises. Bankruptcies, lawsuits and investigations into their activities including a lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court, which names BnA as a defendant, alleges that a complex corporate structure enabled Bruno and Anthony Pasquinelli to transfer $87 million
from Pasquinelli Home building LLC to their own trusts and to various children and grandchildren
between 2005 and 2009. read more here -> http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-06-23/business/ct-biz-0624-builder-suit-20100623_1_pasquinelli-brothers-anthony-pasquinelli-bruno-pasquinelli

You can read about the details about their bankruptcy here -> http://www.chicagorealestateforum.com/2011/04/13/well-known-chicago-home-builder-packs-it-up/ lucky for them the bankruptcy stopped several lawsuits including one where a judge ordered the company to pay five families who bought new homes in Lake in the Hills a total of $1.1 million for violating the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.

Some of the other Pasquinelli Businesses include:

Normandy Homes and CB Jeni, interestingly enough after Portrait Homes ceased operations Bruno Pasquinelli Jr started CB Jeni and tries to convince people he had nothing to do with the demise of Portrait Homes, the company his father started and which he worked at for 20 years. 

Here is a link about their practices in Indian Land, SC included in this article is a response from their own superintendent of construction who clearly states they use HOA money to pay for repairs and other things that they as the builder are responsible for, and we wonder why they want 100% control of our HOA until the neighborhood is 100% complete, here is why we should be scared very scared:  http://www.ripoffreport.com/r/Portrait-Homes-Pasquinelli/Charlotte-North-Carolina/Portrait-Homes-Pasquinelli-Avoid-Portrait-Homes-at-all-cost-Quality-issues-untruthful-317574

And just when we thought there couldn't be a worse builder than Mercedes Homes!

A CALL TO ACTION!

Looks like we got rid of one bad builder just to be replaced by another one. BnA Homes, LLC wants to hijack our HOA, here is the scoop and what you can do about it:

They have sent homeowners a letter stating our HOA cannot function properly unless we vote on their proposal, this is simply not true, legally we should have a board made up of homeowners who control our HOA, the declarant was Mercedes Homes, Inc.,. which was dissolved back in 2011 legally at that point the HOA should have called a meeting and elected homeowners to the board to replace the declarant, but this did not happen the Buescher Family of Melbourne Florida, who owned Mercedes Homes kept control using Kuester Real Estate Management as their pawn, since they not us the homeowners hired Kuester in the first place, it did not matter that Mercedes Homes was a family owned business, because the declarant was Mercedes Homes, Inc a corporation that cease to exist when they filed bankruptcy and deregistered with the South Carolina Secretary of State.

The remaining unsold lots remained under the control of another Buescher family business named "Harpers Mill Community Developers, LLC" they have sold these lots to BnA Homes of Chicago Illinois.

Fast forward to today, BnA Homes hired a local attorney which is who is holding this vote next week they have not been very forthcoming with our current advisory board our insiders have told us, in fact they have pretty much pushed them aside stating that they just don't need or want their input at this time.

What the change in the covenants is for is so that control of OUR HOA can be transferred from Mercedes Homes to BnA Homes, and that they KEEP CONTROL until every last house is built and sold, meaning if anything happens to BnA Homes, like they go bankrupt and do not finish the last house they would still retain control of the HOA.

This is all about MONEY Harpers Mill Community Developers, LLC aka the Buescher family can get more money for their unfinished lots by also turning over our HOA to the new builder, we also suspect Kuester which also owns a real estate business is in on the sale and making a percentage.

This change gives our new builder complete control of the HOA, including how much we pay every month in dues, violations, and community rules as examples.

I do not think there would be a large opposition to this at this point if their request was somewhat reasonable like retaining control until 85% with a drop dead date which is normal in a situation like this. To remind those that do not know we had a drop dead date back in 2007, the first homeowners moved in to Harpers Mill in 2003. when 2007 came Mercedes changed the covenants and removed the drop dead date, but no BnA Home, LLC wants control until 100% of the neighborhood is down and has no drop dead date.

At this point our concern is BnA Homes has now come in, has shunned our advisory board and is requesting control until they decide the neighborhood is 100% complete, they have not reached out to any homeowners to introduce them selves or tell us their plans, it has all been kept secret between them and our good friends at Kuester Real Estate, this is un-acceptable.

HERE IS WHAT YOU CAN DO:

There has been some talk that the vote does not matter, do not buy into this talk, if it truly did not matter they would not have a vote, however more than likely if just a few home owners vote yes it will probably give them enough votes to move forward, the only way to counter this, is for EVERY HOME OWNER TO VOTE ABSOLUELTY NO! either in person or by proxy!

VOTE NO ON OCTOBER 31st, 2013 at the office of Palmetto Law Associates, 1171 Market Street, Suite 2014 Fort Mill, SC 29708 or by proxy.

Police Activity!

Police were called to Shady Pond Dr several times today, for a landlord tenant dispute and neighbor dispute, apparently an eviction for the tenant there is in progress, the renter never put the utilities in his name as was required by his lease the homeowner had the utilities disconnected after the tenant had already agreed to move out on September 15th and didn't. The tenant started using one of his neighbors water and electricity by taping into the outside fixtures.

Police were called in the morning and took a report by phone from the neighbor, than the tenant called the police and tried to press charges on the owner for having the utilities turned off. Later in the day after another neighbor saw the tenant taping into and using another homeowners utilities police were called again, this time the tenant was put on trespass notice from his neighbors yard by the Sheriffs Department.

Shots Fired

Police recieved a report of a disturbance at a residence on Shady Pond Dr between a female and her x boyfriend a resident here around 11pm tonight, a few minutes later a second call came in stating that the female was trying to break into the home and shots were than fired. It appears the original address given out was incorrrect the incident took place on Water Fall Way, no one was actually shot.

We will post any updates as they come in.

Breaking News: New Builder; BnA Homes

From Kuester: You will note the new builder signage at the entrance to the 2nd phase.  BnA Homes is currently under contract to purchase some or all of the lots from the Declarant.  It is our understandings the homes will closely miror our existing homes.  We will continue to bring you more information as this matter develops.

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Keep in mind any new builder who buys the unfinished lots from Mercedes Homes, will also take control of the HOA and our finances, we don't have an opinion yet of BnA Homes, but we hope for the best, but we need to keep up with what they are doing and how they are doing it, to ensure we do not get taken advantage of.

BnA homes appears to be a small company based out of Chicago, which fairly recently opened an office in Charlotte. A Google search reveals very little about them, although it does not appear they are a licensed business in SC at this time, we will investifgate further and keep you posted.

Phase 1 Tree Trimming

UPDATE: Tree Triming was delayed by one day, and should start tomorrow July 17th.

A-1 Tree Stump Grinding will begin trimming all of the trees in the 1st Phase on Tuesday July 16th, they will begin on Harpers Inlet, Waterfall Way and finish on Shady Pond.   You don't have to be home for this service but we ask that if you are home and note that they are working in your area that you temporarily move your vehicle from the work area.  They will knock on doors to alert owners as well.

If you have any questions please contact Kuester Mgmt. at support@kuester.com or by calling (803) 802-0004

Arrest Made in Harpers Mill

According to a York County Sheriff's Department report a 19 y/o female who was visiting Harpers Mill, met a 17 y/o black male who is stayimg with a relative on Water Fall Way for the summer, the female asked the teen boy if he knew where she could buy some marijuana, he told her to wait by the pool for him. A few minutes later he returned to her and said it was ok to come with him, he brought her to 1446 Harpers Inlet Dr while at the home she purchased marijuana from a white male at this residence.

After buying the marijuana she stayed at the residence and used the drugs with several subjects. One of which was a 16 year old male whom she and the others at the home pressured into trying the marijuana with them.

Later that evening the parent of the 16 y/o contacted the Sheriff's Department about the incident. The female was arrested and charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor, she is currently being held at the Moss Justice Center, the court denied her bond on the charge, she faces 3 years in prison and up to a $3, 000 fine, her next court date is in October.

The Sheriff's Department has an ongoing investigation into the matter and also into drug activity in the neighborhood.

If you see anything suspicous report it to the YCSO by calling 803-628-3059 and press 1 at the prompt.

Police Blotter

Police recieved 2 seperate calls for fireworks being set off to close to their homes on Shady Pond Dr tonigjt at 11pm.

Drug Activity

There has been ongoing drug activity at a home near the intersection of Dragon Fly Drive and Harpers Inlet Drive close to the community pool.

The drug activity includes both use and sales of drugs and involves both adults and teens.

If you see any suspicous activity in the area please call the York County Sheriff's Department immediately.

Blog Update!

Yes we are still here, its been quiet recently, but we do have a few updates for you:

1) The request to paimt phase 1 doors like phase 2 was denied, homeowner has asked for an appeal.

2) The pool is open once again, so far no complaints have been recieved.

3) An Audio/Video tape from the patrol car of a York County Sheriffs Deputy was released showing Mr. Plummer from Waterfall Way who pressed charges on Mr. Beatson from Harpers Inlet Dr telling police he was upset with Mr. Beatsom for complaining to the HOA about his Pitbull. We had been told 4 seperate homeowners complained about this dog prior to this incident whether Mr. Beatson was one of them is unknown, but Mr. Pllummer clearly was blaming him for the complaints while deciding whether or not to press charges, as of now the case is going to a jury trial, and the dog remains as Mr. Plummer has told the HOA the dog is a therapy dog for his son, which if true would exempt him from the HOA rules banning  Pitbulls.

ARC Request for Painting Front Doors in Phase 1

A homeowner sent the following ARC request to Kuester today for his home and is also aaking to allow this option for other Phase 1 homeowners:

I am requesting to be able to paint my front door black, leavig  frame white exactly the same as phase 2 homes, attached is my completed ARC request form. I am also asking the HOA to allow all pbase 1 homeowners to paint their front doors if they desire to match phase 2. Phase 2 has several different color doors, black, white, dark brown, dark blue, dark burgandy, and dark green. This has less of an impact in phase 1 as the front doors are not directly visible from the street, as they do in phase 2, but this ties the phases together making it look more like one neighborbood.

Well update you as soon as the homeowner recieves and answer,

Harpers Mill Animal Regulations!

This is a reminder to all homeowners, we know there has been some controversy and confusion about certain breeds of dogs that are not allowed in Harpers Mill, so for clarification Section 11 of the CCR's states the following breed of dogs are not allowed to be kept at any residence in Harpers Mill, this includes: Pitbulls, American Staffordshire's, Terrier's, and Rottweilers.

All homeowners agreed to abide by these rules when they purchased their home, and if you are a renter it was the responsibility of the homeowner to make you aware of the rules of the community when you signed your rental agreement.

It was mentioned in the Community Newsletter published last week by Kuester Management, that they are in the process of investigating several complaints about dogs of the above breeds residing in the neighborhood.

Kuester is asking anyone who would like to register a complaint about these type of dogs living in the community to please email them as much information as possible about the animal to: support@kuester.com 

A link to the original document is here.

To aid in identification  and to provide more information specifically about the breed of dogs(banned  that are banned from Harpers Mill, we have provided the links below:

Information about Pitbull's can be found here

Information about American Staffordshire's can be found here

Information about Terrier's can  be found here

Information about Rottweiller's can be found here

Police Blotter - 2 Incidents

March 29th: Police were called to Shady Pond Dr in phase 2 for a child custody dispute.

March 30th: Police were called to Shady Pond Dr in phase 2 around 6pm for a female walking on Shady Pond Dr that was intoxicated.

No arrests were made.

Missing Cat, Please Help!

My beautiful calico long hair cat has gone missing. She ran out of the door Saturday night and has not returned. Her name is Miss Tina, she has only one bottom tooth left (her bottom eye tooth), she is microchipped, up to date on all shots, small (about 6-8 pounds), and very skittish. I will be posting flyers around the neighboorhood tomorrow and over the weekend. !!!IF YOU SEE HER PLEASE CALL 980-245-0522!!!

Report any sightings or info in the comments below!

Police Blotter - 1 Incident

On March 8th police were called after a homeowner witnessed two kids smearing dog poop all over the front of the community mailboxes on Shady Pond Dr, these are the same kids believed to be responsible for leaving dog poop on cars in the neighborhood, reported in an earlier story on this blog, when the homeowner who called the police, went to get the address of the home where the kids lived their father Homoer Plummer of 745 Waterfall Way came out and called the other homeownr a child molester, since he was trying to get their address to give to the Sheriffs Depatment, than the kids involded admitted to smearing the dog poop on the mailboxes, so Mr. Plummer went to clean the mailboxes before the police arrived,  the other  homeowner was trying to video Mr. Plummer removing the dog poop, when suddenly Mr. Plummer charged at the other homeowner and was making verbal threats as captuted on video.

Despite Mr. Plummer aggresively charging the other homeowner and Mr. Plummer being caught on video verbally threatning the other homeowner, Mr. Plummer pressed charges on the first homeowner for aledgiatly threatning him.

HOA Inside our Homes?

A homeowner has just informed us that he has had a long standing dispute with the HOA, over some electrical work that was done at his home. The homeowner states he had an email from the York County building inspector that his home meet all building code requirements, and he paid for a licensed inspection of the specific items of concern to the HOA.

The homeowner was informed today that the Board of Directors is still not satisfied, they want a full inspection done inside his home, which he is adamantly against. He states they have no legal right to inspect anything on the inside of his home, leaving him no choice but to file suit against the HOA.

This is important because it will set a precedent allowing the HOA to enter the home of any homeowner to do an inspection if they want to. they told the homeowner they believe they have that right under the guise of safety.

Of coarse this means that our monthly HOA fees will go to an attorney to represent the HOA, in this matter, and if the homeowner wins he will ask the court to have the HOA pay all of his legal fees as well.

But the homeowner believes the fight is well worth it to stop the HOA from entering our homes at anytime, for any reason.

We will update you as soon as we hear more.

Dog Poop Wars!

A homeowner on Shady Pond Dr WHO DOES NOT OWN A DOG, came out this afternoon to find a bag of dog poop on her car windshield, now first I will say if someone tried that on me, they better hope I do not catch them, that is an act of aggression and will be defended, cameras are on and recording and charges would be filed, in the mean time, if anyone knows who or even why this was done to this homeowner, please feel free to leave an anonymous comment below, or email us at harpersmillblogger@gmail.com we would like to catch the perpetrator and ensure this does not happen again.

All Dog owners be put on notice it is a $25.00 fine from the HOA for not picking up after your dogs, it is also a $470.00 fine from animal control or the sheriffs department and a court date for not picking up after your dog, or not having it on a leash, this incident will have everyone watching closely who is walking dogs and what they are doing. Leaving dog poop on someone else's property is an act of harassment, and you can be charged with a misdemeanor punishable up to 30 days in jail or a $1000 fine or both, you would probably also fine yourself slapped with a restraining order which if you violate it than becomes a felony.

Good Luck!

Want To Install a Fence?

A Home owners asked about fencing in their backyard, we responded to them and are reporting the information here for everyone just in case someone else is also thinking about doing this. The HOA does allow a Home Owner to fence in their backyard with White Vinyl fencing. Here is the information:

"I live in Harpers Mill and I was wondering about the fencing...where do we go to complete our fences? Is there a specific type and place we must purchase? What is cost of these? "

You must get a copy of your platt from York County. than you need an ARC form from the HOA, Fill out the ARC form, and draw your fence line on the platt and send it to Kuester for approval. You can get the fencing at Loews or Home Depot, it has to be white vinyl. I would maybe even take a picture of the style you want to purchase and send it with your ARC application and platt to Kuester.

Here is a copy of the ARC application you need: Harpers Mill ARC Applicaiton.

Also CALL (888) 721-7877 Before you do the installation have them come out and mark the wires in your yard, I do not believe there is a charge and it is the law, in our backyards there are many wires that feed our house and our neighbors house, from phone lines, cable TV lines, electrical lines and gas lines, all in our backyards, some only 4 inches deep.

South Carolina Call Before You Dig!

Hope that all helps.

Is Your Personal Information Safe With Kuester?

Probably not, this morning a home owner in Harpers Mill received an email from a Legal Coordinator at Kuester Real Estate, attached was a letter between a Home Owner in (Mcyntire Home Association in Charlotte, NC)  and an attorney along with a detailed accounting of their HOA account.

The letter was a negation between the home owner an attorney and Kuester, to try to resolve a delinquent account.

The interesting thing is the home owner who received the information never had correspondence with the person at Kuester who accidentally emailed him the information.

This should be a warning. nothing today is private anymore.

Christmas Tree Dumpster

The dumpster is now next to the pool this is for phase 1 and 2 homeowners, for your christmas trees only!

""FROM KUESTER""

Hello Harpers Mill Owners,

The Christmas Tree Dumpster has been delayed until Wednesday, January 2nd.     It will be conveniently placed near the pool.   The dumpster is for use by both 1st and 2nd phase residents.   It should be used for Christmas Tree disposal only (no household trash).   It will remain onsite through January 11th.   

We wish everyone a Happy and Safe New Years!!

-Harpers Mill Board of Directors