Annual Assessment Info
Your 2008 assessment for property was set as $222.00. Empty lots are assessed at $55.50. The Great Northwest is a mandatory membership HOA, thus every property is subject to this annual assessment and deed restrictions. Details of approved budget will beprinted in the Passages and made available below in Adobe PDF format. Notice will be mailed to all property owners before the end of December. Payment will be due in our office by 7pm on January 31st to avoid late fees. If you feel you might bave problems meeting this deadline, please contact our office ASAP to make payment arrangements to avoid late payment penalties. See December and January issue of the Passages for more details. 2007 GNW Budget The 2007 Budget for the Great Northwest is now available here in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. The data included in this budget is was was originally approved by the Board of Directors in December 2006, and does not reflect any budget amendments which the Board has peformed since that time. Click here to download 2007 This document is 46kb in size and requires the use of the free Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available from www.adobe.com if your computer doesn't already have this useful utility installed. How Is The Assessment Amount Determined? Your annual assessment is restricted by our bylaws to not increase more than six percent (6%) over the previous year's assessment rate. There is no provision for automatic increases based on cost of living rates, or any other method. In theory, all changes in this amount are based on actual increases (or decreases) in operating expenses of the association. Item that can impact this amount would also include large expensive repairs to pools, replacement of vehicles (Security-2, DRACO-1, Maintenance-2, Recreation-1), new capital improvements (usually only approved after member input), or just the normal increases in fuel, utilities, insurance and even payroll. (Yes, we do pay our staff to be there.) Your Board of Directors (BoD) holds public meetings each year during the budget building process and accepts input from the residents. While we attempt to keep any increase in assessments as low as possible (after all even the BoD members have to pay it as well), inflation causes prices to increase each year, and thus our overhead of operating the facilities and organization are usually affected. All properties within the GNW are assessed the same amount, except for empty lots which have not yet been developed. Undeveloped lots are assessed a rate set as twenty-five (25) percent of the full rate which a normal lot that has a house already on it, has been charged.		Assessment Rate History Year Actual Assessment % increase 1976 $117 0.0% 1977 $117 0.0% 1978 $117 0.0% 1979 $117 0.0% 1980 $117 0.0% 1981 $117 0.0% 1982 $117 0.0% 1983 $117 0.0% 1984 $117 0.0% 1985 $117 0.0% 1986 $117 0.0% 1987 $117 0.0% 1988 $117 0.0% 1989 $124 5.98% 1990 $130 4.84% 1991 $137 5.38% 1992 $145 5.84% 1993 $148 2.07% 1994 $154 4.05% 1995 $161 4.55% 1996 $168 4.35% 1997 $178 5.95% 1998 $183 2.81% 1999 $187 2.19% 2000 $190 1.60% 2001 $193 1.58% 2002 $204 5.70% 2003 $210 2.94% 2004 $210 0.00% 2005 $222 5.71% 2006 $222 0.00% 2007 $235 5.86% 2008 $222  -5.86% * The above historical rate chart was last updated in November, 2007, reflecting the 2008 assessment rates as approved by the Board. GNW Staff We normally have around 18 full time staff positions budgeted as follows: Security - 7 Maintenance - 4 Administration - 5 Recreation - 1 DRACO - 1 In addition, we have seasonal staff, such as referees for the sports seasons, and lifeguard and other pool staff for the swim season. Visit our JOB LINE page for details about employment in the GNW.
What Happens To Those Who Refuse To Pay? The GNW has the legal right to collect assessments from all of our members. We have the right to file liens (referred to as AFONR, or Affidate Of Non Receipt) against the property, so that a property cannot be resold without first paying all debts owed to the GNW. We have the right to use a collection attorney and to charge 6% interest on past due accounts, plus recover costs associated with handling delinquent accounts (thus the late fees charged). We also have the right to foreclose on a delinquent property, if all other avenues of collection fail. The GNW is NOT in the property management business. We don't like to foreclose, and in fact, haven't had to foreclose in over 15 years. However, it is not fair to those who paid on time, to have to pay larger assessments in order to cover for those property owners who didn't pay their fair share of the association's operating expenses. Therefore, we have the DUTY to take action to protect the interests of those members who pay on time. In a typical year, around 85% of our members pay on time. Another 10% pay the first late fee and pay their balance by the end of February. Around 5% either enter into a post-payment plan, or default and get turned over for collections. The GNW Offers 2 Payment Alternatives Pre-Payment: You can pay in advance, accummulating a credit balance which is then applied toward whatever the next year's assessment rate may be. (Example paying $20/month for 12 months would raise $240 in credit. 2007 dues was $235, so you wouldn't have owed anything on January 31, 2007, and still have a $5 credit balance.) There are no additional fees charged to the member who choses this method of payment. Post-Payment: You can enter into a payment plan agreement where you catch up on the current year's assessments by making payments on a monthly basis, starting in January or February, and completing by the end of June. There is an additional fee ($25) charged to the member who choses this method of payment to cover the cost of handing, but much less than any late fees would have been in the event of non-payment, and there will be no legal fees added as long as the account is paid up by the final due date.		Who Owes What? To Whom? This amount is often referred to as "Doubtful Acounts", and you will hear much said about that balance if you read various newsletters around election time, or have attended board meetings when the budget is being discussed. This amount is owed to the association by delinquent members. The following details was extracted from a report received at the end of September 2007 by the accountant, regarding accounts currently placed for collections with the attorney. We have 177 accounts placed for collection as of 9/15/2007. We have received $68k (2007 YTD) in collections from the collection attorney's actions against our delinquent property owners.  We have a total delinquecy of $259 on the books, with an average of $1,464 per account.  Only 4 delinquent accounts had balances greater than $5k each.   Only 10 delinquent accounts were in bankruptcy. Most delinquent accounts have balances in the $1,000-$2,000 range, but some were less thatn $100 due to payments being made.   Action was pending in court (to obtain judgement) against another half dozen or so accounts as of the first of October. All accounts placed with attorney have AFONR (liens) filed against the property. We have about 100 accounts who defaulted on their 2007 payment plans.  We have begun the process of filing AFONR (liens) against those properties and mailing a 10 day demand letter (certified mail) to the owner before their account is be turned over to our collections attorney. What's The Payment Cycle? Assessment notices are mailed to all owners of record in early December, with a due date of January 1st, and a final due date of January 31st. Payment Plans were offered to all who could not pay by the 31st, to avoid legal and late fees. Late charges were added on February 1st if not paid. Late charges were added March 1st if not paid. Liens were filed (AFONR) on or around April 1st if still not paid. Accounts were turned over the collection attorney on May 1st if not paid. Final payment on payment plans due by end of June, cycle of collection starts if not paid. All deferred late fees added to account, AFONR is filed with demand letter, and account is turned over to the collection attorney. * Note: This cycle will be changing slightly for 2008 assessments in an effort to improve collection rates and be more member friendly.
Great Northwest Community Improvement Association, Inc. 8809 Timberwilde San Antonio, TX 78250-4331 (210) 681-2983 Voice or (210) 681-2986 Fax info@greatnorthwest.org