Annual Assessment Info
2010 Assessment $222 Your 2010 assessment for property was set at $222. Empty lots are assessed at $55.50.  The Great Northwest is a mandatory membership HOA, thus every property is subject to this annual assessment, as well as deed restrictions. Details of the approved budget will be printed in the Passages and made available below in Adobe PDF format.  Notices are mailed to all property owners before the end of December.  Payments are due at the GNW Lodge by 7pm on January 31st to avoid late fees.  If you feel you might have problems meeting this deadline, please contact the lodge as soon as possible to make payment arrangements to avoid late payment penalties.   How Is The Assessment Amount Determined? Your annual assessment is restricted by our bylaws not to increase more than six percent 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.  Items 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 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, the BoD members are your neighbors), inflation causes prices to increase each year; thus, our overhead of operating the facilities and organization can be affected. All properties within the GNW are assessed the same amount, except undeveloped empty lots.   Undeveloped lots are assessed a rate set at 25 percent of the full rate which a developed lot with a house has been charged. 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 Affidavits 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 six percent 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.  In fact, there hasn’t been a foreclosure 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 don’t pay their fair share of the association’s operating expenses.  Therefore, the GNW has the DUTY to take action to protect the interests of those members who pay on time. In a typical year, around 85 percent of our members pay on time.  Another ten percent pay the first late fee and pay their balance by the end of February.  Around five percent either enter into a post-payment plan, or default and get turned over for collection.		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% 2009 $222 0.00% 2010 $222 0.00% * The above historical rate chart was last updated in Decmber, 2009, reflecting the 2010 assessment rates as approved by the Board. GNW Staff We normally have around 16 full time staff positions, budgeted as follows: Community Manager (1) Security (5) Maintenance (4) Administration (4) Recreation (1) DRACO (1)   In addition, we have a contract CPA, two part time security officers, and seasonal staff (such as pool staff and sports referees). Visit our JOB LINE page for details about employment in the GNW.
The GNW Offers 2 Payment Alternatives Pre-Payment:  You can pay in advance, accumulating a credit balance which is then applied toward whatever the next year’s assessment rate may be.  (Example:  Paying $20 a month for 12 months would raise $240; so  depending on what the assessment is set at, you possibly wouldn’t owe anything on the following January 31, and could even have a credit balance, or owe just a small amount. Post-Payment: You may enter into a payment plan agreement which allows you to pay the current year’s assessments by making payments on a monthly basis.  Agreements must be signed by the end of January to avoid late fees being added, and must be paid off by the end of June.  There is an additional fee of $25 to use this plan to cover the cost of handling, but this fee is less than a late fee would be.  There will be no additional fees added so long as the account is paid up by the final due date. ID cards will not be updated with the new year’s stickers until after the account is completely paid up.		Who Owes What? To Whom? ((This is being updated)) What's The Payment Cycle? Assessment notices are mailed to all owners of record in mid-December, with a due date of January 1st, and a final due date of January 31st. Payment Plans are offered to all who cannot pay by the 31st , allowing homeowner to avoid legal and late fees being added. Late charges are added in February to accounts that are neither paid nor put on a payment plan. Liens (AFONR) are filed if accounts are not paid by the end of February. Accounts are turned over to the collection attorney if not paid by the end of March. Final payments on payment plans are due by the end of June.  If not paid in full, the collection cycle starts.  All deferred late fees are added to the account, an AFONR is filed, and the account is turned over to the collection attorney.
Search The Great Northwest web site for any topic by entering your key word(s) and click on the SEARCH button.
Great Northwest Community Improvement Association, Inc. 8809 Timberwilde San Antonio, TX 78250-4331 (210) 681-2983 Voice or (210) 681-2986 Fax cm@greatnorthwest.org