Raintree Village Condos, Hermitage, TN 37076

MY FIRST EXPERIENCE AT A RAINTREE VILLAGE CONDO HOA MEETING

2012-01-29T19:02:00.002-06:00

I would have to say it was not a very good experience. There was only one good thing from this meeting and that was meeting Nancy Ware, who has been more helpful to me than the entire Board of Directors of Raintree Village.

At the beginning, I waited patiently for my opportunity to voice my concerns. After raising my hand and being given the floor, I had only said a few words, when I was publicly and verbally attacked by all three board members present at the same time. Their conduct, professionalism and procedures were appalling, which only made the whole situation confusing and out of order.

At the beginning of this meeting the President read “The Nuisance Law” for Davidson County and as the meeting progressed they (the Board) were the ones to violate this law by interrupting me, after giving me the floor to speak and by also allowing two or three other men to interrupt me while I had the floor.

As you can see from my previous post, I sent the Board a letter dated on January 10, 2012 I mailed the letter certified to the Board of Directors which included 3 months of my HOA payments. As of today, January 29, 2012, according to the USPS.gov’s website, no one from this board has bother to pickup mail from the P.O. Box for 19 days. After being told by this board that the association has no money, I find it very hard to understand why no board member would pickup from this P.O. Box during a time when homeowners are due to send in their HOA payments or was this a maneuver to charge unjustified late payments to my account.

I really felt that I would have at least been able to get a copy of the By-Laws when I attended this meeting but to my dismay this board stated that all homeowners wanting a copy of the By-Laws needed to pay the association $25.00 or pickup a copy at the Registrar of Deeds office. I purchased my Unit October 2011 at which time this association was given a $150 transfer fee, that should have at least included a copy of the By-Laws. In fact, what is $150.00 for? Thank goodness there are some good neighbors at Raintree and one gave me a copy of the By-Laws for free.

Now that I have had an opportunity to review the By-Laws I agree with the homeowners who objected to the vote being taken to re-elect Lorraine Kessinger and David Fensley (who didn’t find it necessary to attend) because all 54 homeowners were not properly notified of the vote, and I also questioned how they counted the votes. I would like to see that count on paper however Freda Swafford clearly stated that the By-Laws did not require ballots be taken for voting. Read Article IV Section 3 of the By-Laws clearly state that ballots are to be taken.

TO KEEP THE TRUTH STRAIGHT!

2012-01-29T18:41:00.004-06:00

January 10, 2012

Raintree Condominium Home Owners Association

P.O. BOX 875

Hermitage, TN 37076

Dear Raintree HOA,

By now we both know that you received my previous certified letter dated December 12, 2011 requesting a copy of the Raintree Condominium HOA Bi-laws. Unfortunately as of today you have chosen not to provide me with a copy. Therefore, I inquired about HOA information from other homeowners, which I believe to be a knowledgeable source. The homeowners informed me that my HOA fees are to be sent to the same P.O. Box 875, as my other correspondences. Due to the fact that I did not receive a proper greeting from any of the board members and the fact that I nor my realtor has received the Bi-laws requested I am sure that any late fees that normally would be incurred are to be waived. I have not received any other information about the water fee. I will assume that it is actually included in the HOA fee as well.

In an effort to stand up to my part of the HOA as I am receiving it from other Homeowners I am including money orders in the amount of $179.00 for the months of November, December, and January. Several of other homeowners have also informed me that they have received Pre- Addressed stickers, included with their invitation to the January 26, 2012 board meeting, I am sure it was an oversight and would appreciate it if you can send me the stickers as well. I personally would like to make my payments directly to the HOA account or to deliver them personally to one of the members. I do not want it to ever be an issue where you all can say that you have not received my payment and in reality it has been received and destroyed or misplaced

I am also sad to discover in the light of current events involving the HOA board and myself. That Susan Humphries is the epitome of the unprofessional, dishonest, and bullying character that seems to be the norm of this current HOA board. I of course was not happy about be singled out on several occasions by the HOA. From President Freda attempting to Bully me with her unprofessional call from here employer who she claimed was her Lawyers office that informed her that it was ok to tow my truck. Freda lied stating that I was blocking a resident with my Truck that just moved in a week ago. Then unprofessionally losing her temper shouting over the phone for me to shout up because I am trying to inform her of what is really going on. If that is your Lawyer and he really gave you that advice, to single me out and make that call. I suggest you get another one because I see you losing every lawsuit coming your way. The Misuse of our police department by Loraine who called lying to the police stating, they needed to come to get me because I assaulted the tow truck driver. Loraine was not even professional, brave, or smart enough to get out of her car to introduce or explain herself to me, but instead rather waste tax payer’s money and time with lies. Thank God that either the Police knew she was a liar or the Tow truck driver did not agree with the lie told by Loraine and informed us once again this is a Civil Suit not something for them to handle.

I blame the HOA for our parking situation I blame them for:

1.) Not providing me with the Bi-Laws to follow, so that I would not just follow the other homeowners lead and park in front of my garage (if it really is a policy).

2.) Lack of communication, I requested several times for you all to fix things on my Condo including my garage (before this incident with the parking occurred) you should have open your mouth, called sent a letter and the Bi-laws, policies whatever stating that I needed to fix my own garage so that I could make preparations to do that.

3.) When the parking situation was brought to your attention a meeting should have been called with all involved parties and it should have been discussed. Parking spots should have been assigned and policies reinforced, and if a policy was given to one and carried out it should have been carried out to all. You do not try to single one Homeowner out allowing the rest a pass. I have not received anything in writing stating that I should move because I am blocking someone; however I do have a letter from the HOA stating that no one in Building 11 should park in front of the garage. Every night several of my neighbors are. So tell me again why I was the only one you wanted to tow? And tell me again how this is fair to you? How do you. You only made matters worse. For me, my neighbors, the police each time you involved them on false call outs and for yourself. I wonder how you all sleep and night and if your churches know how you behave. If they do please never invite me cause somebody is not learning anything from attending.

4.) Given preferential treatment. Allowing some people to park in front of the garage and telling others not to but yet, giving us all the same warning.

5.) You all aren’t even smart enough to tow it when no other cars are around so at least you could have a better lie to tell the police and pretended that I was the only violator. Like I said you may want not only a new Lawyer but a team. In Lieu of what I have seen in my short time here you will need it.

The only thing this board has done is created stress, tension, and division in Building 11, throughout the community and with our much need police department. Not to mention, open themselves up for more unwelcomed expensive lawsuits. Now maybe you all love this Drama, but I prefer to live in peace with everyone.

Sincerely,

MY FIRST INITIAL CORRESPONDENCE TO RAINTREE PLACE CONDOS

2012-01-29T18:16:00.003-06:00

December 12, 2011

Raintree Condominuim Home Owners Association

P.O. BOX

Hermitage, TN 37076

Dear Raintree HOA,

I would first, like to tell you that I am happy to have the opportunity to be a homeowner in the Raintree Village Condominiums. This is my first time living in the Hermitage area and it appears to be a great community to raise my children. My family and I have had an opportunity to visit and become apart of several church and community organizations. We seem to have wonderful and friendly neighbors.

Second, I would like to be invited to the next HOA board meeting. I would would like understand how the HOA works and be an asset to help our association resolve some of the issues it appears to have. I may even choose to apply for a position on your board. I believe that together we may be able to make some positive changes to our investment as well as community.

Third, I would like to file a compliant on Ms. Susan Humphries. I spoke to Ms. Humphries, on October 14, 2011, upon moving into my unit, to inquire about the winterization that was done to my unit and the water being turned off. ( I still do not understand why the HOA waited until after the sell of the home to do this?) At this time Ms. Humphries promised that she would come to my unit, introduce herself to me, and provide me with Paper work on the HOA. (The fees, where I need to pay, rules and regulations, and what was covered by the HOA etc.) We also discussed my water bill. I feel $60.00per month is expensive and thought it was included in the HOA fee. Ms. Humphries went on to tell me what she paid and other people paid based on the number of people in their family rooms in their homes etc…., None of which made sense. I informed her that I just moved from a 4 bedroom 2 ½ bath house with six people and can prove we never paid over $40.00 per month for water and that included wastemanagement.. She told me that she would discuss the water bill with the board and get back with me. I stated that she needs to show me proof of how much water my unit is utilizing before I agreed to pay any water bill.

We also discussed the exterior light fixture that was hanging from my unit causing a potential safety hazard, Ms. Humphries assured me she would have someone look at it. I never heard back from Ms. Humphries. I have since tried to contact Ms. Humphries on several occasion including to obtain paperwork for my Condo insurance, I eventually gave her number to State Farm and requested they try to contact her. State Farm did contact Ms. Humphries to get the information. Ms. Humphries never contacted me to inform me of her plan to havethe HOA lawyers forward State Farm the information they needed for me to obtain insurance. After several attempts to contact her for various reasons, I finally spoke with Ms. Humphries on the December 7, 2011. I again explained to her that I never received the paperwork I requested and that she promised me on October 14, 2011. Ms. Humphries stated she faxed it to my realtor. I discussed this issue with my realtor, Kevin Coleman, who also attempted to contact Ms. Humphries on my behalf on several occasions without resolution. Mr. Coleman, stated that she did fax him some papers, but none of the documents were documents we requested or answered our questions. The biggest problem I have with that is that Ms. Humphries or someone from the HOA should have brought or mailed the papers to me. The complaints that I would like documented is the 1.) She is unprofessional 2.) She lacks any communication skills 3.) I believe she has been very dishonest in her dealing with me and I am praying that this is not the model of the entire HOA board.

Fourth, my unit 426. I am including photos of the needed repairs to my unit and need a schedule of when the repairs will be started and completed. The repairs include my back door which is not only rotting at the bottom allowing pest to enter my unit, but also installed incorrectly. The dead bolt on the door does not line up with the slot it should go in, therefore making it useless. The screen door is not installed correctly causing it to scrape against my deck and not close properly. There is several areas where the hardy plank siding that has been allowed to rot out allowing pest and other outdoor eliminates into my unit, the trim around windows needs replacing. My Garage door needs to be repaired, My mailbox is broken allowing my mail to get wet in rain. and I need Screens for each of my windows they have all been removed and I would love to open my windows and let in fresh air without birds and bugs coming in. I also do not want squirrels and other animals crawling on the branches over me and my daughters head when we are on the deck this summer. In fact a bird was eating a hole in the exterior front side of my unit. At the time the Maintenance/handyman was there to fix my light fixture and stated he could only patch it up a picture of the embarrassing patch job is included. I contacted Ms. Humphries around the end of October 2011 again, about my falling light fixture. I never received a reply. Due to Ms. Humphries lack of communication, I had someone fix it on a Sunday. Therefore when the maintenance man came to repair it on Monday it was to late. The roof needs to be checked for leaks, the gutters need a good cleaning and maybe even replacing, the tree in my neighbors yard that has been allowed to grow over my deck needs to be cut. I am tried of sweeping someone else’s leaves off my deck.

Fifth, When I contacted Ms. Humphries on December 7,th I inquired about the pet law of the HOA, I was informed that there wasn’t one I need to write my concerns about a pet to the HOA. I can not believe an HOA that was so many rules and regulations does not have a pet law? At any rate my Neighbor in unit 424 Raintree Place. Has currently purchased a pit bull puppy. I am bringing it to your attention because if you do have rules about pets I am sure that it falls into a do not have in these condo rules. If not I am making you aware of the liability this will cause the HOA if this dog is allowed out and attacks someone. We have all heard the stories of pit bulls, Clarksville and many other areas want to ban the animal from their city. Others are charging a fee to owners who own one. My concern is that the animal has nowhere to securely go such as a high fenced in yard to constrain him, also that he will be allowed by his owner to careless come out to use the restroom and attack someone. I love animals, my children would like to have a dog themselves. But insight of our living area, I know that I am also responsible for the safety of my neighbors and will not bring and animal into unit without making sure to the best of my ability that it does not pose a threat to me or my other neighbors.

I appreciate that my concerns be addressed immediately,

Sincerely,

Chantonya Merriweather

Raintree Village Condos, Hermitage, TN 37076: WHAT HAPPENS TO A PERSON WHO WILLING SIGNS A SWORN...

2012-01-29T18:07:00.000-06:00

Raintree Village Condos, Hermitage, TN 37076: WHAT HAPPENS TO A PERSON WHO WILLING SIGNS A SWORN...: It is purjury, as if you had lied in open court. An affadavit is like testimony before a court and lying in such a statement is like lying i...

WHAT HAPPENS TO A PERSON WHO WILLING SIGNS A SWORN AFFIDAVIT KNOWING IT IS A LIE?

2011-06-28T16:21:00.000-05:00

It is purjury, as if you had lied in open court. An affadavit is like testimony before a court and lying in such a statement is like lying in court and you could find yourself facing purjury or contempt charges.

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-happens-if-i-lie-on-a-sworn-affidavit.htm

SUSAN HUMPHREYS CONTINUES TO HARASS HOMEOWNERS THROUGH HER POSITION ON THE RAINTREE BOARD AT A HEAVY COST TO ALL HOMEOWNERS!

2011-06-20T01:43:00.002-05:00

Raintree financials records for December 31, 2007 showed the yearly cost to NES was $3,685.58 a year.

In the last year NES has installed 10 - 70" Wood poles with 2 Cobra 400 Watt Sodium lights on each pole. According to NES' website two 400 watt lights cost $31.68 a month and one 70" wood pole is $28.70 a month. Doing the math on 10 wood poles with 2 cobra 400 watt lights: $60.38 x 10 = $603.00 a month x 12 months = $7,245.60 a year. This is an added light expense because only a few smaller exterior lights were eliminated with the installation of these 10 streetlights. So, now Raintree is paying NES at a minimum $10,931.18 a year. NES' website states that each streetlight installation requires a 3 year contract.

Some of this mass streetlight installing may have been wanted but now Susan Humphreys has chosen to use this to harass homeowners that don't support her. She has chosen to install yet another streetlight, directly in a flowerbed area maintained by Nancy Ware. This streetlight would only directly effect the decks and patios of residents in building 6, 8 and 9 and yet they never asked these residents if they wanted this streetlight. According to a conversation Susan Humphreys had with a resident of building 8, a homeowner in building 7 and other buildings that can't even see the light wanted this streetlight.

There are already 4 streetlights installed that makes this area well lit at night. Placing another streetlight in this area is "overkill" not to mention it will cost the association another $724.56 a year added to the $10,932.18. If Susan Humphreys and her board members really were about doing the "right thing" they would replace the light bulb that is currently installed over the storage shed doors in this area. This light fixture cost the Association $39.00 a year.

TO USE THIS ASSOCIATION'S MONEY TO HARASS CERTAIN HOMEOWNERS IS TOTALLY UNFAIR TO ALL 54 HOMEOWNERS!

IN RESPONSE TO SUSAN HUMPHREY'S LATEST LETTER TO HARASS ME!

2011-05-31T19:50:00.017-05:00

In response to your letter dated May 24, 2011, where you threatened to fine me $200 for installing new flower beds, I submit the above pictures as proof that these flowerbeds have been maintained by me for years and that you, Susan Humphrey and Lorraine Kessinger (Board members) continue to personally harass me by making up new rules to accommodate more unfair and ridiculous fines to harass me with. Both of you are on a witch hunt because you are clearly jealous of my gardening skills which it is really a donation to the entire community and the environment that you can't understand.

The picture below shows your gardening skills:

Any further harassing letters from you to me should be sent to my attorneys.

Sincerely,

Nancy Ware

WHAT PROPERTY MANAGER WOULD BE WITHOUT A MAINTENANCE COMPANY!!

2011-04-25T20:33:00.004-05:00

During the April 21, 2011 meeting your Board of Directors told they are without a "Maintenance Company" and have been for a while. Any professional Management Company would NEVER be without a maintenance company for a complex they are managing.

THIS BOARD DOES NOT KNOW HOW TO MANAGE THIS ASSOCIATION!

THE HOMEOWNERS AT RAINTREE VILLAGE DO NOT DESERVE THIS UNPROFESSIONAL AND UNSKILLED GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS.

Is it FAIR! Surely It's Unprofessional in this Day and Age......

2011-04-25T20:30:00.000-05:00

to BAND email communications from Homeowners to the Board of Directors. These quarterly inventions of new rules to suit their needs is one more sign of AN OUT OF CONTROL "DICTATORSHIP".

$81,593.97

2011-04-25T20:16:00.001-05:00

The "April 21, 2011" Agenda that was recently handed out by the current Board of Directors stated that this $81,593.97 debt that they have allowed to accumulate is "way above FHA approval guidelines".........

COME ON FELLOW HOMEOWNERS.....AN $81,593.97 DEBT IS WAY BELOW FHA APPROVAL GUIDELINES. Its clear they do not know how to manage this Association and we are in desperate need of A PROPERTY MANAGEMENT COMPANY. (See our 1st post to this Blog - August 17, 2009).

Never in Raintree's history has a Board allowed the debt to get so "GROSSLY" out of control. This debt is higher than the selling price of the best units in Raintree Village and they can't sell them because of years of this Board's misconduct with our financials. Because of their lack of constructive knowledge on managing an Association, their inability to correctly read and interpret the by-laws fairly for all 54 homeowners they have single handily driven Raintree Village out of the "sellable" market. The Board continues to place the blame for this $81,593.97 debt on the homeowners when they are the ones who decided to "Self Manage" and not hire a Professional Management Company.

A Surprise Morning Visit from A Metro Detective!

2011-04-23T08:44:00.015-05:00

On April 23, 2011 at 8:00am I received a visit from a Metro Detective who was following up on another unfounded, unwarranted, and frivolous complaint. It appears the Board of Directors and their alternates/agents have once again violation my TRO by filing these unfounded complaints in an effort to demean my character in the current lawsuit I have with them. The Detective found "No Vandalism" only rotten wood. It is apparent that Unit 607, Jarvis Rucks is only trying to get Raintree Homeowners to buy/repair his rotten fence. If he was successful with this he would move on to having Homeowners replace his windows and doors.

According to the Board's "Pre-Made" minutes from the April 21, 2011 HOA Meeting, Rucks went directly to find Board members to report the Metro Codes conversation right after it happened and within a "45 Minute timeframe" someone had vandalized his fence. But the Metro Detective stated that Rucks has clearly stated that this incident happened while his wife and himself had gone to dinner. Which in my opinion......its hard to keep a "LIE" straight.

The Detective found no vandalism, only rotten wood and conflicting stories on Ruck's part so he was closing this frivolous complaint.

In the April 21 minutes, the Board stated clearly that "This Board will be enforcing this provision (Nuisance Clause) when a homeowner reports any "source of annoyance" that continues to occur on a regular basis. I am officially reporting Rucks to the Board as being a "Nuisance" in my life on a regular basis. I want to comply with the Board's new rule and a copy of this complaint on Rucks will be mailed to the P.O. Box.

I fully intend to pursue Rucks for violating the TRO to gain favors from the Board of Directors.

Note to the Board: Please read, copy and file for future reference!

A Visit from Davidson County Metro Codes

2011-04-10T10:01:00.003-05:00

Metro Codes department received their first complaints about unit 605. It took the new people in Unit 603 to make the first and only reports to Metro Codes. It was "Condemned - Unfit for Habitation" by Davidson County Metro Codes on Friday, March 8, 2011. Metro Codes stated they are writing Unit 605 up as a complete "TEAR DOWN" because it will cost more to fix than its current value. The inspector from Metro Codes stated several times that the Board of Director should have used a little "common sense" and shut off the water so it did not do damage to any other units and they should have secured it. The Metro Codes Inspector told Jarvis Rucks (Unit 607) numerous times that the Board of Directors should have used common sense and boarded it up. All cost that the Association would have been incurred could have been recouped through a lien on the Unit, whether it be the homeowner or the bank. This Board is fully aware of the fact that the Bank had taken over this Unit. But even with the knowledge that the Bank had foreclosed on Unit 605 the Board did nothing to the secure all homeowner's property value at Raintree Village.

This Board has had the knowledge that Unit 605 had been abandoned by the homeowner since the flood of May 2010 and clearly did nothing to secure the French doors that were missing from this unit and did not cut off the water until the pipes burst in November 2010. So, the Board of Directors let this Unit remain wide open during the winter months and did nothing to secure our property value. Because of their negligent, as stated by Metro Codes, they have single handily lowered the property value of all our units and cause 607 to have additional interior damages by their failure to shut off the water and secure the unit.

Now this week the Board of Directors have put out a Newsletter stating that they are now going to require all Mortgage information from all homeowners. What are their intentions? This in some way will become harmful to the all current homeowners because this Board has already proven they don't know the correct thing to do with this information.

Also while Metro Codes was on the property Friday, March 8, 2011, with Jarvis Rucks present during the conversation, the inspector confirmed with me that the two fences in the front of building 6 having extensive wood rot from top to bottom was in violation of Davidson County Metro Codes and when reported would have to be repaired. This statement made by the Metro Inspector upset Rucks tremendously, so much to the fact that he made threats.

Rucks also stated that the flood cost him a lot of money making all the repairs, but what Rucks failed to tell the inspector was that Mt. Juliet Church of Christ has paid for all his flood repairs.

In my present Rucks also told the Metro Inspector that our Association owed him a new window. I tried to explain to Rucks that windows and doors are the homeowner's responsibility but he disputed my statement by saying that he should not be responsible for replacing his windows and door and he fully expect our Association to replace them. Rucks needs to read the Association Rules and Regulations which he clearly has not done. I definitely told Rucks that the day will come when the entire Association will know if this Board is paying for replacing windows, doors and interior repairs that should be performed by the individual homeowner and not Association funds.

Extremely Large Dead Tree Finally Removed!

2011-04-10T09:34:00.003-05:00

In March of this year huge limbs fell from the dead tree in back of my unit and it did over 2 thousand dollars in damage. Approximately over a year ago the Board repaired over 2 thousand dollars in damages but refused to remove the tree at that time. Even after the Board was notified through my attorney to theirs, they still refused to cut down the dead tree under their attorney's advice. This error in judgment has now resulted in more severe damage to my personal property and this Board is liability for their negligent.

ADVISE TO RAINTREE HOMEOWNERS - PAPER TRIAL...PAPER TRAIL....PAPER TRAIL. Without it you don't have grounds for damages.

Replacing 20 Year Old Rotten Deck Boards - March 25, 2011

2011-03-25T23:44:00.001-05:00

The 20 year old? deck boards were in bad need of replacing this year and as a single woman I could not do the job myself. I know its happening to a lot of homeowners at Raintree Village. I am continuing to improve my property value, so I started the project of replacing the deck boards, which will improve Raintree's property value. When I improve mine, I improve everyones. This was a large project so I had to hire a bonded, licensed and insured contractor. On Friday, March 25, 2011 their truck got caught in an unexpected rainstorm trying to deliver the heavy lumber that it took to repair the deck and it got struck in the "chickweed" aka "grass". While minimum damage was done the company was able to correct this problem by racking, shoveling and adding additional dirt and adding Kentucky 31 grass seeds, then correctly adding straw on top to the problem areas. With all the rain that has come and that is due to come this weekend this grass is sure to grow. They completed this task by night fall.

The only way to have any heavy work done on the back or side of most units, would be for a vehicle or trailer to drive in the "grass" area, as also done this week by Unit 137. On any given day of the week you can see trucks and trailers parked on the "grass" area of this complex.

I also learned from the professionals that if grass seeds and fertilizer was added annually to Raintree's creek bed there would not be erosion as bad as it is.

But I am certain that because its me trying to keep my unit from rotting away, the Raintree Board members will continue to harass only a select few homeowners with me at the top of their list, right next to Nancy Ware.

Thank You Councilman Gotto

2011-02-19T11:05:00.000-06:00

During the January 31, 2011 meeting where Nancy Ware and I had Councilman Gotto's undivided attention, we were able to express our concern about the dangerous busted curb at the exit on Hermitage Wood Dr. We are very pleased that he lived up to his word and had the City place a temporary barricade around the dangerous curb. This does fall under the City's maintenance and all it took was for someone who cared to report it.

BOARD CONTINUES UNFAIR PRACTICES AGAINST CERTAIN HOMEOWNERS - PART 2

2011-02-01T21:01:00.000-06:00

Unfair Scheme #2:
The Board claimed that there was only 29 eligible voters out of 54 homeowners, which is incorrect. The following units should have been subtracted from the 29: they are 428 rental, 422 rental, 420 rental, 417 rental, 216 rental, and 623 rental. All these units should have followed the rules and made the $150.00 deposit to Raintree most of them over 2 years ago. If you charge one owner....you should charge all owners who rent their units, even if they are your friends or sit on your board. They should be the first to pay it.

So, now take those 6 away from 29 and you have 23 (this math is correct).

Unfair Scheme #3
The Board stated that Unit 119 was being fined $500 for putting on a new roof without permission, $500 for power washing the building and $500 for parking in the grass. A total or $1500 in fines. BUT GUESS WHAT?
This Board used the proxy from Unit 119 to make up their 29 homeowners.

So, now take 1 away from 23 and you have 22 (this math is correct).

Unfair Scheme #4
The Board used a proxy for Unit 415. Sometime in 2009 this unit had a deck fire caused by renters and it has been told to us that the Vice President got tired of looking at it, so the Board used association money to help the owner repair it. To this day the association has not been paid back and late fees should be attached to this.

So, now take 1 away from 22 and you have 21 (this math is correct).

NO MATTER HOW YOU SLICE IT....21 IS NOT A QUORUM.

Unfair Scheme #5
The Board was also caught trying to use at least 2 old proxies that they did not have control of and was very shocked that another homeowner had them. In an attempt to intimidate the homeowners present, the Board required, for the first time ever, that the unit numbers be placed on each ballot casted.

REZONING COMMUNITY MEETING - JANUARY 31, 2011

2011-01-31T20:29:00.000-06:00

Janice Bradford and myself attended Jim Gotto's last community meeting on the subject of developing the land in front of Raintree Place which will effect at least 29 homeowners. Chance Allen, Roy Jones and their Engineer was in attendance. Once Jim Gotto understood why we were there, he immediately started negotiations with the owners for our concerns to become a reality.

One of the first things we did was to make it clear that we are not against future development of this land and that we appreciated Mr. Allen and Mr. Jones' thoughtfulness in eliminating the undesirable business that could occupy this space.

We quickly got down to negotiating what would benefit Raintree Village the most and that would be saving the grassy area that most residents believe belong to Raintree, but it does not. This area is located in front of buildings 8 and 9 on Raintree Place. Even though we have been cutting the grass for more than 30 years, it does not belong to Raintree. Nor does the stone wall at the garages and sidewalk entrance at building 11. Chance Allen has agreed to include in the bill that this wall would be left alone. If he had not been so gracious to do this and had we not been concerned enough to ask, that wall could have been bulldozed down under new ownership.

Mr. Allen has also agreed to place in the bill that the grassy area in front of buildings 8 and 9 will be left in its natural state to the tree line. He agreed to not "clear cut" the 20 foot buffer that surrounds this area of Raintree property. Even though when construction does come in a lot of what you see will be gone because there is presently a lot of undesirable growth in this area.

This negotiation should have been done by Raintree's Board but it fell on the shoulders of two very concerned homeowners at Raintree. Janice and I left this meeting very satisfied for our efforts and believe that Raintree will be the better for it.

Again, we would like to extend a "big thanks" to Mr. Chance, Mr. Allen and Mr. Gotto for working with us over our last minute concerns.

These changes will be included at the 2nd reading of the bill at City Hall which will be televised on Channel 3. So tune in for our changes.

Nancy Ware

NOW HOW DOES THAT WORK?

2011-01-31T20:22:00.000-06:00

Unit 619 currently has 5 adults, 2 grandkids and one dog residing in it. How is the water usage calculated if its not "metered"?

Who's Entitled to Personal Information....Homeowners or Renters?

2011-01-30T22:22:00.000-06:00

This Board obviously feels that Renters are! How else would the renter in Unit 623 be privy to know of every single court date, including general sessions judgment to show up at. Does she not have a life? Why would she care when she is a renter. She makes it a point to drive her neighbors to their judgment day. The board must be compensating her in some form. Maybe it was the new kitchen floors, cabinets and/or gutters, etc. her unit received one year ago. Still to this day I have not seen documentation where she finish paying her back HOA of $1,400 prior to losing her unit to the current owners. Can anyone show me this documentation that I have previously asked for? On top of that this Unit has not paid the rental deposit of $150.00 plus 36 months of $50 late fees which comes to $1,950. I fully expect Freda to place a lien on this Unit, after all Freda stated Thursday night that she would place a lien on anybody for $50 if it would get Raintree some money!!!! If you want the dead to pay it.....expect the living to pay it!

How Low Can This Board GO? How About 6 Feet Deep and I Will Tell You Why!

2011-01-30T18:03:00.000-06:00

We have recently had two long time residents to pass away. My deepest sympathy goes out to these family. Raintree has a flower fund account, but this board failed to use the flower fund money to send these families condolences of any kind. Now they are charging the deceased for water usage after death. Does this board not have any heart or sole for the deceased? What is wrong with these people?

BOARD CONTINUES UNFAIR PRACTICES AGAINST CERTAIN HOMEOWNERS - PART 1

2011-01-30T17:55:00.000-06:00

On January 27, 2011 the Board of Directors for Raintree Village presided over the annual HOA meeting with their main agenda being to keep Freda Swafford and Susan Humphreys on the board. In order for them to achieve this goal, they concocted several schemes at the expense of all homeowners.

UNFAIR SCHEME #1:

During the Board's explanation of the financials they announced that they have been attempting to enforce the rental clause as it is written in the by-laws for more than a year now. The Board is requiring all landlords at Raintree to pay the $150.00 security deposit for every rental unit on property. The $150.00 that is currently showing on the financials belongs to Unit 611 who was present at this meeting. Because he has moved back into his unit, the board said he would get his money back. There are at least 5 other rental units and 4 have been rentals for 2 or more years and are "guaranteed" votes or proxies for Susan and Freda. These 4 units SHOULD not have been entitled to a vote because they have not paid the security deposit plus the late fees. For one year alone the late fees would total $600.00. If the Board was being fair with all owners they would have enforced this with all Raintree landlords and would not have dared to use illegible proxies to vote themselves back in. Clearly this Board "picks and chooses" which Raintree landlords will pay rental fees and fines. It is practices like this that adds to the "gross misconduct" of this Board.

HOA Meeting -January 27, 2011 - NO QUORUM

2011-01-27T22:11:00.001-06:00

NO QUORUM.....29 homeowners eligible to vote out of 54 but the board had only 26 present or in proxies...... WHICH IS NOT A QUORUM. The board claims in order for Susan Humpheys and Freda Swafford to be re-elected they only needed 28% out of the eligible 29 voters!!!!!! THIS IS WHAT THEY ACTUALLY SAID. Freda, the accountant who does our books, actually said that 28% of the 29 eligible homeowners came to 15 and they had way more than they needed with 26. Now, in everybody else's "mathematic world" 28% of 29 is 8!!!!! Why are Raintree homeowners letting these women convince them that their BAD math is right....Do the math for yourself. Its this type math skill that lost us our FHA financing and it's this type of math skills that will take Raintree right into bankruptcy. STOP FOLLOWING THEM LIKE "BOO WHO THE FOOLS" AND THINK FOR YOURSELVES!!!

In order for this to be called a legal election I CHALLENGE YOU (the Board) to show me this rule in the Raintree by-laws or Roberts Rules of Order. Show me where it only takes 15 or 8 homeowners out of 54 to be considered a quorum!!!!

NOTE: More to come later, but I do want you to know that Freda Swafford clearly stated tonight that she did want to be on the board again, but due to the lawsuit they agreed to ban together. Then later in her conversation she made it clear that as soon as money was available she wanted a new dining room, floors, walls etc. Does not even the President of our Board have interior insurance?..........Wait...she does have control of our HOA fees to fix her interior. Now that is gross misconduct of our HOA monies.

THANK YOU!

2011-01-18T21:09:00.000-06:00

Thanks for the confident that some homeowners have for my knowledge and the job I did when I served on previous boards. While it is appreciated, at this time I have to decline the suggestions that I serve on the Board again. It is to Raintree's best interest that I continue my fight through the court system.

How Does a Foreclosed Unit 119, That Set Empty for 1 Year, Go To Top Of Board's Maintenance List and GET A NEW ROOF?

2011-01-17T15:45:00.000-06:00

1. Did Federal National Mortgage Association in Dallas, TX (The Bank) install a new roof on 119? or

2. Is there a new owner for Unit 119 and homeowners are now required to install their own roofs? Because I have been told for 3 years now that there is no money, not even to clean gutters. Supposedly the Board has a procedure they follow which requires homeowners being placed on a "Maintenance List" and all homeowner would wait their turn.

3. Or, did the Board get the Proxy for Unit 119 in exchange for a NEW ROOF?

WHY WOULD YOU GIVE POWER OF ATTORNEY TO SOMEONE YOU DON'T KNOW?

2011-01-10T08:39:00.001-06:00

By now homeowners have received proxies from the current board. Their proxies are designed to have control of your unit's voting power during your entire ownership. Giving anyone Power of Attorney to your unit is not something to take lightly. It can be used at any given time for any reason. This type of proxy is not legal under Roberts Rules of Order. Proxies are designed to be used for a specific date, time and purpose, with the homeowner knowing the proxy's "specific" purpose well in advance. A legal proxy is not required to be notarized but a proxy that is designed like a Power of Attorney to give someone the power to vote for you, for any purpose, at any time, without your knowledge should be a notarized document. It would be easy for the board member wanting your proxy to promise you that they will inform you of all uses, but the reality is the Power of Attorney proxy that you signed does not require they notify you prior to taking any vote or signing any petition in your name. This board collected the same Power of Attorney proxies three years ago and the majority of the homeowners who fell into this trap have either foreclosed or had to move. This is why they need to collect more from the current homeowners. For the last three years this board has used these proxies without the homeowners' knowledge. The only way this type of proxy is invalid is if you show up at a homeowners meeting in person. Its just like giving a stranger your credit card number, you lose control and have to cancel the card. Signing a Power of Attorney proxy is the same thing, if not worst because its the roof over your head.

The two positions up for re-election for another three year term is Freda Swafford, president and Susan Humphreys, treasurer. If you want to re-elect Freda or Susan you can do that with a traditional HOA Proxy that is designed "only" for that specific election. If you notice they did not tell you who you were voting for this time, so why would you expect them to do it in the future. The proxy should state what individuals plan to run for re-election and it should ask for nominees. You should also ask yourself why they want a lifetime proxy to your unit! Why does anyone need that much power and control of your home and they are not contributing to paying your mortgage.

REZONING AT RAINTREE VILLAGE

2010-11-29T19:20:00.000-06:00

It is the responsibility of our Board of Directors to make sure that all 54 homeowners are represented in this rezoning situation and make sure that we "RAINTREE VILLAGE" get something out of this deal. To my knowledge there is no petition going around to support Raintree Village and at this point there SHOULD BE!

MORE MONEY SPENT TO THE "LEFT SIDE"!

2010-10-25T20:48:00.000-05:00

WAKEUP CALL TO RAINTREE HOMEOWNERS............This Board has been in place for almost three years and the only real improvements by them have been to the "left side of the road".....the side that the treasurer and president reside on. 90% of the board members have had several thousands of "OUR" dollars spent on possibly interior and definitely exterior maintenance on their exterior. There is one remaining board member that resides in the back of the property that has not had any visible maintenance work done. But be on the lookout for this one remaining board member to get her fair share of exterior work done on her unit before the annual election. What did you get??.....The same thing I got "NOTHING".

With election season coming up this is the time of year to request that your maintenance work be done. Please do not let your vote buy your maintenance because that is what your monthly maintenance fee is suppose to go for throughout the year. It is not just at the annual election time. I hope and pray for all of us that we all can get our maintenance issues fixed.

Remember to vote in the Nations' November election and know that your vote is one in a million......... but in Raintree's January election your odds are much better for the actual homeowners ......1 in 54!!!! Please use your vote wisely and don't give it away.

More information on the annual meeting to come.

OCTOBER NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH REPORT

2010-10-04T20:43:00.001-05:00

While leaving my condo to walk my dog, I noticed the open door to the abandoned condo at 605. I yelled hello into the condo several times and to my amazement there was another neighbor inside this condo. This neighbor has also recently started extensive renovation for May flood damage. He claimed that he had also found the door opened, but it was not open earlier that afternoon. He stated that the lock on the back gate had been cut and someone had been exiting or entering that way. I immediately called the police, who responded very quickly, to make an incident report. The neighbor who was inside had left the complex before the police arrived. The police felt that a professional have started renovations and it was not a break in.

Please report any incidents to your Neighborhood Watch President, Nancy Ware.

Lordly....Lordly...Have Mercy On Us!!!!!

2010-08-30T02:01:00.000-05:00

I also so saw all the equipment on property this weekend and I feel the same way. I also notice only one homeowner being privy to all of the firewood from this expensive tree removal project. This board should have sold all that firewood and got some of our money back.

There is a 4 story dead tree behind my unit, which has been dead for over a year now. This tree has caused thousands of dollars in damage to my unit and they still refuse to cut it down.

The cheap and improperly installed gutter guards are worthless. They are only causing more damage than they are worth. This board had one strip placed on the back of my unit and it has already clogged twice. They are overflowing and flooding my interior again.

ALL FOR THEM AND NONE FOR US!!!!!

2010-08-30T01:44:00.000-05:00

Friday, August 27 and Saturday, August 28 the Raintree board had a bucket truck, stump grinder, trucks, trailers and several men on property removing numerous live trees and maybe one dead tree from around building one, where two board members live. It is very costly to remove stumps and with the little funds that Raintree has that doesn't leave much for the rest of us homeowners who also have tree problems. This board is quick to tell homeowners that there is no money to fix any of their maintenance issues, but they can find money for their "PORK" projects.

This Board owes it to the entire association to clean every units gutters. The 37 units that have not received gutter guards should thank their lucky stars!! The handyman that the Board were using have incorrectly installed all their gutter guards, to the point that are causing more immediate damage than not having them. But this Board has neglected 37 units by not providing proper gutter and downspout cleaning for the last 2 years and counting.

HOMEOWNERS GET TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER (TRO) AGAINST RAINTREE VILLAGE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

2010-07-22T23:06:00.000-05:00

Possibly several homeowners at Raintree Village Condo have been (will be) wrongfully sued in Davidson County General Sessions for non-payment of HOA fees. Two homeowners were forced to counter-sue to protect their rights. This board claimed these two homeowners owed thousands of dollars in HOA fees, but they have continuously cashed their checks on a monthly basis for over 2 1/2 years, as bank records will prove. One of the homeowners tried to make an appointment to clear up this problem but was denied the opportunity. Shortly after being denied the appointment both homeowners were served with civil warrants via Davidson County Sheriff's department which was the first and only legal notice served. At the board's April homeowners meeting the BOARD seemed to be boasting about the warrants and liens with the conversation being directed at one of the homeowners. This homeowner went down to the Registrar of Deeds office the next day and discovered that not only are some homeowners being charged improper amounts of HOA fees but they also have liens placed on their units without proper procedures being followed. Within 10 days of being served the civil warrant, the liens were improperly filed with an increase of a thousand dollars. The liens were so wrongfully done that Judge Rubin had the board immediately remove it. Now that's wasted and misused Raintree monies by this board and they have every intention to keep wasting money to prove Susan Humphreys' record keeping is more accurate than any BANK.

This board, or any board for that matter, has a responsibility to the association to collect unpaid HOA fees..... but no board or group of people have a right to harass, slander, negligent or intimidate homeowners to the point that they had to ask the Court for a restraining order and received a full injunction from the Court to immediately stop the actions of these out of control board members.

IS THIS SERVING RAINTREE WITH INTEGRITY AND TRANSPARENCY?

2010-02-28T20:59:00.000-06:00

For the entire year of 2009 the majority of the 54 homeowners at Raintree Village DID NOT RECEIVE any gutter cleaning. Certain board members had their gutters cleaned and gutter guards installed. Instead of installing gutter guards through a FAIR and UNBIAS program, the current board put gutter guards all around their buildings and have left the rest of us to ROT! If a homeowner ask for gutter cleaning or guards they are informed that the association has no money. If you're lucky, they may send someone to clean out the front or back of your unit.......but you will not get both. Their handyman has been seen on property doing exterior, home interior and garage interior for board members and their committee members, but there is no money for the rest of us.

In Building 9 the roommates of the homeowners caused a gas grill to explode last summer and it cause extensive damage to the homeowner's deck. I have recently learned that the treasurer, Susan Humphrey, hired and paid for out of HOA funds the repairing of this homeowner's deck! We can't get gutter guards or even have our gutters cleaned, but she can write a check out of HOA funds to make repairs to a homeowner's unit which are not HOA responsibility but because the Board has this unit's lifetime proxy.

Their lack of experience with maintenance issues have caused interior damages for several homeowners and renters. This lack of experience is no excuse for the damages it is causing homeowners in property value and living conditions. By not allowing Raintree Village to be professionally managed, the only INTEGRITY and TRANSPARENCY that this board displays is "rotten wood, rotten doors, broken windows, inoperable garbage doors, potholes, sinkholes, a sinking creek, deteriorating asphalt, unlit street and sidewalk lights and creating a fire hazard all over the complex by not maintaining a leaf removal program."

2010 Annual Homeowners Meeting held for SELECTED Supporters ONLY!!!!!

2010-01-24T17:45:00.000-06:00

On October 14, 2009 the board of directors mailed to all 54 homeowners five pages of propaganda to support their personal vendetta against specific homeowners. They used homeowners funds for this mailing, but when it came to the 2010 Annual meeting they chose not to mail proper notice to all 54 homeowners and they instead emailed notice to a select number of their supporters. A couple of homeowners retrieved a notice from around the property, as they were routinely picking up liter on the grounds. This notice was poorly drafted and copied, no letterhead and no signature, very unprofessional.

Units 419 and 601 were not notified but chose to attend this meeting. The president failed to call this meeting to order, failed to read the minutes of their last annual meeting and failed to discuss or take a vote on the 2010 budget. It takes 28 homeowners of the 54 to have a quorum and be in the position to take a vote. With only 3 board members present the president stated they had proxies. 419 raised her hand and was acknowledged by the president to speak. She asked for the president to verify who she had proxies for. The president proceeded to read off the following units that had voluntarily sent proxies for this current meeting: They were 204, 214, 216, 407, 415, 429, 607, 611, 615, 621, 623 and 625. That totaled 12 units but 615 was present in the room. Which means they had a total of 11 proxies. Homeowners present in the room, that could vote according to this board were 115, 117, 121, 127, 129, 133, 135, 422, 425, 609 and 615, which totals 11. That gave them a GRAND TOTAL OF "22". There was no quorum. Without a quorum you cannot conduct official business and no votes can be taken.

This error in judgment was brought to the boards attention when 601 read Roberts Rules of Order. At that time the president agreed that they would follow Roberts Rules of Order but proceeded to made a phone call three minutes into the meeting. Ballots were passed out and the vote went on. It was quickly announced by the treasurer that the current vice president was voted back into office with 21 votes and the new member was voted in with 30 votes. How did they get "30" votes out of "22"?

Only 419 and 601 raised their hands in a clam and respectful manner and they were given the floor to speak, by the president. The board of directors did not like that questions were being asked about the validness of the meeting and the status of a quorum. It was not until units 115, 129 and 425 got loud and inturrpted with criticism against units 419 and 601(who had been given the floor) did the president chose to have the rights of 2 law abiding citizens denied their freedom of speech. The police arrived and 419 and 601 gladly left volunteerly from the bogus, corrupt and illegally called meeting.

For homeowners who would like to sell they units, you would have been happy to know that there was in attendance at this meeting, a Florida investor named Diane Edwards. But unfortunately she was quickly told by the president that she did not want to invest in Raintree right now. Ms. Edwards was told to look elsewhere by the president. If anybody knows how to get in touch with Diane Edwards please email be a jrbradfor@gmail.com.

I am sure this board of directors will gladly spend homeowners money to mail a rebuttal to this posting......or will they only email a select few!!!!!!!

SNOW REMOVAL AT RAINTREE VILLAGE

2010-01-07T19:05:00.000-06:00

I have excess to salt to remove snow and ice. I have applied it to Hermitage Wood Drive and Rockwood Drive. I will try to do Raintree Place tomorrow. If anyone would like some for their fronts and sidewalks feel free to contact me at 889-6356, If one person (building captain) have concerns about the safety of their community, feel free to call me for supplies to remedy the situation.
I just placed this on i-neighbors.org and I have already received two calls. I would like to also remind everybody to leave your faucets running. I have received 3 calls from neighbors with no water. If your water will not come on you need to call a plumbers, you have frozen pipes.

raintree entrance sign (and Pile)

2009-12-20T09:56:00.001-06:00

Has the sign been fixed yet?? and has the pile of brush been removed yet?? Its been there over a year....
I keep trying to ask for that, but it seems to be left behind, maybe im pushing, but it seems to be really important to me.... its our entrance....

THIS BLOG POST ONLY THE FACTS!!

2009-10-12T11:19:00.000-05:00

RAINTREE BROKE BUT BOARD VOTED TO IGNORE $14,000 HOA JUDGMENT!

$14,000 Judgment Timeline

In 2006-7 Mark LePera was the owner of 4 units at Raintree Village. During his entrie ownership of these units, he refused to pay any HOA fees.

January 2007 - During a homeowner's meeting, Freda Swafford gave Jim Curly Properties a letter written by LePera (dated 1/8/07) stating that all the money he owed to Raintree would be placed in an Escrow account until treasurer, Susan Humphreys had control of Raintree's checkbook.

April 27, 2007 - Property manager had liens placed on all 4 LePera units.

June 13, 2007 - A civil warrant was filed against LePera in General Session on behalf of Raintree Village for unpaid HOA fees totalling $12,569.68.

August 30, 2007 - Raintree Village won a judgment against LePera for $14,114.43 (included Atty fees).

September 6, 2007- LePera appealed the judgment to Circuit Court.

November 15, 2007 - Circuit Court upheld General Session's decision and assessed all cost to LePera.

January 30, 2008 - After filing numerous lawsuits against the association, Susan Humphreys finally gained control of Raintree Homeowners' checkbook.

February 3, 2008 - Susan and Freda get complete possession of the Raintree's checkbook by firing Jim Curley Properties. Once Curley Properties was no longer the manager, Raintree funds had to pay the attorneys fees in this case which were included in the $14,114.43 judgment.

January 16, 2009 - At the annual homeowners meeting, Susan was asked why they had not pursued collecting the judgment from LePera. She claimed to know nothing about the judgment. That was not true.
According to the minutes for this meeting, that was published by this board, this issue was tabled until further evidence was obtained by the Board.

January 23, 2009 - Seven days later they held another meeting and published the following statement: "The legal issue of an outstanding judgment which was presented in the January 16th Meeting was discussed and is tabled for a couple of years by majority vote of the homeowners present." (NOTE: According to the by-laws, all homeowners are entitled to know when a vote is presented before the homeowners.)

October 2, 2009 - This board held a homeowner's meeting. Now that the association has no money in the general fund, Susan and Freda have decided to bring back the LePera topic and defend themselves for not attempting to collect this $14,000.00 debt. Susan's defense was showing the homeowners present copies of LePera's proxies where he assigned them to Freda. She tried to claim she knew nothing about his letter of January 8, 2007. She even went so far as to blame the attorney who won the judgment under the previous board for not informing them that LePera filed for bankrutcy, which became final May 2009 according to Susan. But the real kicker is that Susan and Freda both stated that they saw Raintree's $14,000.00 in an escrow account owed by Mark LePera. My immediate question to them was "why didn't they collect Raintree's money from LePera's escrow account" if they knew it existed? Well, Susan immediately told the other board members to call the police because I was being disruptive at their meeting. The other board members had enough sense to ignore her this time.

We're Broke and We're Paying a Salary to the Deadbeats!

2009-10-07T19:20:00.000-05:00

These deadbeats are the cause of this association being broke, they have wormed their way into Susan's heart and into the good homeowners' checkbook. These people with a long history of non- payment are being paid a salary for doing odd jobs (trimming shrubs, piling up debris, watching the pool, etc.) around the complex. Susan has led us to believe that this is all volunteer work, when in reality she's paying them with our funds. With many of the good people having a long history of paying their bills on time, now can not get any maintenance done because they are paying a salary to these deadbeats. If one deadbeat homeowner can be paid for this "so called" volunteer work, then why can't all the good paying HOA be comprehensive for work they do on the outside of their unit?????????

RAINTREE IS BROKE.....THANKS TO WHO?

2009-10-07T17:46:00.000-05:00

On Friday, October 2, 2009 the current board of directors set before the few homeowners in attendance and stated that the general fund has a negative balance. We are BROKE people and we can thank their "great", "professional" management skills. You don't have to be the smartest cookie in the jar to know if you spend more than you're bringing in, sooner rather than later you're broke. According to the financials that were made available to the homeowners in attendance, over the last few months they spent over $3,000 in association money cleaning and installing gutter guards on their units only, with full knowledge that the general funds were extremely low. The treasurer's excuse for spending this money is that "installing gutter guards is preventative maintainance. Sure it is, but only for her empty unit and the few friends she choses to do preventative maintainance on. The Board of Directors are put in place to serve all 54 homeowners not just a few. As much as this board preaches that this is exactly what they are doing, their actions show something entirely different.

In the history of this association it has never been this bad and it amazes me how homeowners and board members continue to back the costly actions of a treasurer who does not reside on property. Her actions with Raintree's money will never cost her the roof over her head, she lives in Mt. Juliet.

WHO'S A DICTATOR !!!!!!!

2009-09-22T12:58:00.000-05:00

During the entire year of 2007 the current board members accussed the previous board members of being dictators over the entire Raintree Village HOA, for not maintaining "curb appeal", and not allowing homeowners to attend board meeting.

Now this current Board has requested that the entire website i-neighbors be taken down for Raintree Village because they do not want homeowners to freely voice their opinions. They want the website taken down because it allows homeowners "free speech", which is what this country was founded on. THEY ARE A DICTATORSHIP!! They do not want homeowners to attend their "private" board meetings because they only care about the curb appeal in the front of buildings 1 and 2 OR if you are one of their "special" homeowner/renter. They Rule this Association with A DICTATOR "Do as I say" Attitude........don't express your opinions on i-neighbors, don't attend our private board meetings, and you should fully expect that Susan Humphrey (Building 1) and Freda Swafford (Building 2) to always place themselves before any other homeowner at Raintree.

This current Board is leading Raintree Village down a path to an extremely large Assessment within the next 2 years for each homeowner. There is no way this Association can survive this board's poor financial management skills. When it starts to get really bad for the Raintree homeowners, Susan Humphrey will have a safe Mt. Juliet roof over her head.

THEY NEED TO HIRE A PROFESSIONAL PROPERTY MANAGER!

They Say Its Not An Assessment....Then What Exactly Is It?

2009-09-18T14:46:00.000-05:00

Raintree Village's current board of directors has mailed certain homeowners letters informing them they are being required to pay an amount determined by the board, each month with your HOA payments . If this is not an "assessment" then what exactly is it. Condo Homeowners are not required to give this or any association money that is not an "assessment".

In their letter they state "Your water consumption fee average is based on your water consumption transaction history from UBS." Well I have all my invoices going back to August 2005 and my average bill is not what they are charging me. The monthly water bill from UBS included a maintenance and processing fee amounting to $4.91 ($4.91x12 months =$58.92). This number should not be considered when averaging water usage for each unit. They also state that this "will achieve real savings for each homeowner." Where exactly is this savings.

They did not tell us how they plan to get the thousands of dollars in unpaid water from the homeowners who did not pay their water bill to UBS. There are homeowners who owe UBS and this association thousands of dollars in water and this board's current action does not explain how they intend to get this unpaid water money collected. They just continue to take from the homeowners who pay. This board would not cut water off for non-payment of an assessment, now they want us to believe that they will disconnect water for not paying money to them that is not an association assessment. This move clearly shows that they do not know what they are doing.

There are Raintree homeowners who chose to turn a blind eye to what these board members are doing. They continue to feel that these board members can do no wrong. But this move is truly wrong for this association. Consider the fact that by February, 2011, the $32,000.00 Metro Water bill needs to be paid in full. Now that this board has cut off the reliable funds they received from UBS (at least $2,500 a month) they are taking a gamble that they will collect more than UBS did from homeowners.

The TENNESSEE CONDOMINIUM ACT OF 2008, which went into effect January 1, 2009,
§66-27-414 (c)(3) clearly states "The cost of insurance may be assessed in proportion to risk and the costs of utilities must be assessed in proportion to usage."

They cannot charge Raintree Homeowners for water by occupant/occupants and your unit's square footage.

What Happens to Homeowners That Paid UBS in ADVANCE!!!!!

2009-09-16T11:45:00.000-05:00

There are several Homeowners at Raintree Village who paid their water bill in advance, some paid the entire year in advance. Since the Board has fired UBS effective 10/1/2009, these Homeowners are entited to receive a refund from this board. Since UBS sent this money to the association, the association should refund and/or credit these homeowner's HOA fee. If the entire association will no longer be paying a water assessment to UBS why should these homeowners be penalized for paying in advance.

When Will this Board Tell Raintree Homeowners?

2009-09-14T13:13:00.000-05:00

At the last homeowners' meeting this current board told homeowners they would be informed of how they would proceed in collecting unpaid water and HOA from homeowners by August 31, 2009. To date, no homeowner has been informed, but this current board has cancelled UBS meter reading services for Raintree Village effective Oct. 1, 2009 (confirmed by a phone call to UBS). The rumor is they plan to increase our HOA by square footage to pay the Metro Water bill. This is not confirmed, but just when do they plan on telling homeowners how they plan to recover the water money lost by firing UBS?

RAINTREE BOARD FIRES UBS!!!!!

2009-09-14T12:53:00.000-05:00

According to Heather Smith, Unit 202 and it has been verified by UBS that effective October 1, 2009 they will no longer bill Raintree residents for their actual water usage.

In 1997, 2/3 of Raintree homeowners voted to sub meter as a fair and divided way of collecting everyone's fair share of water usage. Now that this current board has allowed the water debt to hit in the tens of thousands of dollars, they find the easy and cowardly way out is to clear the water debt by firing UBS, waiving all debts and imposing a higher HOA on the half of homeowners who do pay their bills.

If they don't have the balls to cut water off for gross non-payment, how will they ever grow the balls to make people pay once all records from UBS has been destroyed. So, once again this board has blown over $10,000 for failing to attempt to collect unpaid water assessments.

They are disregarding the legal amendment to our by-laws dated March 8, 1997 where 2/3 of all homeowners voted to amend the by-laws. Board members cannot legally eliminate sections of the by-laws. It takes 40 homeowners (2/3) to vote and approve their plan of destruction. The only way they can get 40 homeowners to agreed to eliminate this, is to let homeowners who owe this money vote. I'm sure these deadbeats will vote for it.

Our by-laws clearly state that you can't owe money to vote on any issue.

2009-09-09T21:04:00.000-05:00

WOW!!!!! PICTURES SHOW MORE THAN A THOUSAND WORDS!!!!! HOW ON EARTH!!! THIS IS WORSE THAN i EVER THOUGHT!!! COME ON PEOPLE!!! ALSO, I HAD A PERSON SIGNED UP TO LOOK AT THE CONDO OVER LABOR DAY WEEKEND, THEY GOT INTO THE ENTRANCE TO RAINTREE AND TURNED AND CANCELLED DUE TO THE "RUNDOWN APPEARANCE OF THE COMMUNITY" THAT SAYS A LOT. tHAT IS NUMBER THREE TO BACK OUT DUE TO COMMUNITY APPEARANCE.

PLEASE STOPPPPPPPPPPP SPENDING MONEY ON UNECESSARY LAWN CARE LIKE WOODS CLEEARING WHEN MY GOD, THE BACK OF A PORCH OR HOUSE AND ROOF IS FALLING OFF, EXCUSE ME, FELL OFF!! WHAT THE HELL??? WHY IS THIS CONTINUING?
AND YES NANCY YOU ARE RIGHT. DELINQUENT MEANS LATE PEOPLE!!! FHA STATUS WAS DROPPED DUE TO NON PAYMENT AND LATE PAYMENTS OF FEES AS WELL AS FORECLOSURE.

RAINTREE NEEDS HELP AND THIS BOARD IS MAKING SOME BAD CHOICES.
WE NEED HELP.....
we ALL of us need to help this situation. we need to figure this out now.. not later when all of our homes are crumbled and rotten. oh wait, that is already happening.

Removing the "Noise Buffer" by Building 1

2009-09-04T20:03:00.000-05:00

There is so much traffic in this area, why would you use our money to keep trimming this forest again when the money is better spent elsewhere, i.e. roofs, siding, wood rot replacement.etc. etc.....We needed that done as bad as we needed a new concrete pool deck. It's almost time for this board to spend our money on straw and scared crows to stay around and scare the Easter Bunny away. To top it all off, the view I have is Building 9's 35 year old rotten roofs to view every time I step out my door. But if they don't care, why should anyone else.

Raintree has a history of gutter cleaning twice a year and more often where needed. This board of directors chose not to clean gutters at all this year, instead they chosen to place gutters guards on units occupied by board and committees members first. They have stated if there is any money available after they complete their buildings then they will do more. So, that means to me that whoever "kisses their rear end" and agrees with their reckless spending, will get gutter guards next. I personally have trees growing in my gutters and this board told homeowners at the July 30th meeting to clean their own gutters. I am physically unable to clean gutters and do exterior maintenance, but that's why I live in a condo and pay an HOA fees, on time, every month.

Current Raintree Board Members uses Lawncare Services for their benefit ONLY!!!!

2009-09-04T14:10:00.000-05:00

On September 1, 2009 Raintree's Board of Directors used the lawncare service to remove bushes and trees from the aboved pictured area of the complex which backs up to a mini forest. This particular area happens to border the condos owned by the president and treasurer of this current board. They have no problem using HOA money on their personal choices. But when it comes to homeowner safety and total curb appeal for the entire complex, they claim we have no money, so do it yourself. This board has made it CLEAR to homeowners that are not on their "supporter list", that the association's lawncare service, Shine Down, will not cut or trim their bushes or shrubs. If they want it done, they have to get out there and do it themselves.

This board continues to use HOA money on personal projects that benefits them first and the rest of us "whenever". They have chosen to spend thousands of dollars on gutter guards for their buildings and has stated, as recently as July 2009, that they will not have the entire complex gutters cleaned. If we want our gutters cleaned, do it ourselves to save the association money.

Another One Bites the DUST!!!!!!

2009-08-27T20:16:00.000-05:00

So, what do they know that some of YOU don't know. How about that we are really, truly going belly up in a hurry. They are bailing out as fast as they can join this board. But they have no where to go without giving it away because we are already in a world of hurt.

First we had board member, O'Connor in 428, who didn't really live here and didn't really know see what went on since he was not here 99.9% of the time. I can only speculate that he didn't like the current conditions of Raintree and decided it was a good time to go. Now, another board member has recently placed his unit on the market, Unit 409 is now for sale. Once again history is repeating itself, where board members have allowed this community to run down while they use funds for their personal pet projects (i.e. new water infrastructure, allowing their supporter to be extremely delinquent with fees) and then they sell and run. Financial show that board members for 1997-98, and 2004-5 left with large amounts of unaccounted monies on Raintree's books. "Mark my word, here we go again". It's true the rotten wood did not happen overnight, now you know why.

Once board members place their units on the buyer's market, the ethical thing to do would be to resign from the board of directors.

Don't blame this blog for you not being able to sell your units. Blame the current board who has lost your buyers financing (FHA).

"WHO ARE THEY PAYING?"

2009-08-26T23:19:00.000-05:00

The Board of Directors has the ability to hire an outside entity to perform the duties appointed to them as spelled out in the Association By-Laws, if they choose. Because of that "option" in our By-Laws, this current board has chosen to "self manage" and perform all of the assigned duties themselves, including collecting unpaid HOA and water assessments. If they performed this task to the standard of a property management company, outstanding assessments would not have grown to over $30,000 in the last year & a half. As of July 2009 this Board of Directors has done nothing to collect unpaid monies since they took office in January, 2008. The amount of uncollected fees just continues to grow and no "firm action" is being taken to recoup any of this monies. Although the president has stated on several occasions that they have placed 9 liens on units that owe money, there is no record of any liens placed with the Register of Deeds' office. There are no civil warrants filed on Raintree's behalf in General Sessions for 2008 and none thus far for 2009.

Between February-December 2008 and January-July, 2009 this board has spent $13,507.62 in Association money on attorneys/professional fees. At their last homeowners' meeting (July, 2009) I asked Freda and Susan what service was provided under "professional fees". Freda's response was, they hired someone to plot the locations of all the water pipes in Raintree. My response was that should fall under plumbing and she stated I did not know what I was talking about. Well, if plumbing jobs are being paid under "professional fees" who's being paid under "plumbing"? Until they produce checks proving this wrong, the finances they have supplied to all homeowners show that this Board used Association money to pay $13,507.62 in legal bills they acquired prior to becoming Raintree board members. It is illegal for the current board members to pay attorney bills they acquired to eliminate the 2007 Board of Directors.

FHA states "High Delinquency Rate" not "Foreclosure"

2009-08-23T20:42:00.000-05:00

FHA clearly uses the term "High Delinquency Rate". In no ones dictionary does the word "Delinquency" mean "Foreclosure". How did Unit 429 get FHA approval in December 2008. It only make sense that one of the units currently up for sale (i.e. 428) requested recent financial from this current board (FHA requirement) and the "Accounts Receivable" for June 2009 was $29,005.83. That's the "High Delinquency Rate".

The honest reality of this situation is that we are in worse shape than FHA knows. Because this number does not count the unpaid water bills of $10,000 plus and the colorful/bad spending habits of this current board.

If foreclosure does pop up as a reason for withdrawal of FHA, this association has Mark LePar to thank for that. Even though the association won a $14,000 judgment, this current board has chosen not to pursue this money, because Susan Humphreys, as a homeowner, made a deal with LePar to receive his 4 proxies in 2007. She promised him when she was elected to the board, they would waive his judgment (documented).

Oh Lord, What Have They Done?

2009-08-23T17:45:00.000-05:00

As long as this board does not have the backbone to collect unpaid HOA and water fees we will never go back on the FHA approval list. We now have a new board member to place their home on the market and one previous board member who tried to sell his home and the best he could do was lease it. There is now a total of 8 units on the market, all within discovering the bad financial position this association is in. Freda, Susan and Lorraine's' inexperience in managing other peoples money has place this Association is in a serious financial situation. Which now they are speaking of a $10,000 assessment or raising our monthly HOAs on a monthly basis to accommodate their reckless spending habits.

There is really only 2 ways this FHA situation can be remedy and that 1) to forge the books or 2) make the homeowners who don't pay their HOA and water fees PAY. Those are the only 2 ways to get out of this situation. Let's hope this Board does not chose the illegal choice of forging our books.

HOA debts are up to $30,000 plus and our water assessment has lost another $12,000 in the last year and a half.

our landscape service is cut in half, while the cost of cutting the grass has tripled. Homeowners are forced to do their own landscaping, if any is getting done. We have lost all our "curb appeal" with this "fly by night, unprofessional company". But its all for a good cause because it keeps the president's grandsons earning an living. This has to be an ethical issue.

We have a deadbeat homeowner who has never paid a water bill and not many HOAs, who now has an adult son living with her and living off all the paying homeowners. All paying homeowners are paying for him to take showers and to built a unnecessary wall at the pool ($800), plus any other odd jobs the board can find to pay him for.

This board allows a renter, who has lost her condo, who also owes back HOA (as of 2007, $1,400). (A____ put a canceled check where your mouth is.) This individual has used profanity numerous times on this website and continues to speak for the board. She tries to belittle the honest, educated homeowners with her uneducated, common grammar. Most recently she has chosen to preach to homeowners on charity issues, respect and love tho neighbor. Charity beginnings at home "Pay your bills". Any of your supporters need to get out their personal checkbooks to contribute to your "pity me account" and stop taking from the good people who just want to come home, mine their own business and pay their bills. Stop stealing from these people. Also let it be known that as president of the neighbor watch for the last 9 years it has been captured on camera, neighbors stealing from neighbors. (i.e. patio furniture).

We are all on a "fixed" income and we have all seen hard times and will see them again. Most people, when put in the position of hard times, make sacrifices and forgo luxury items such as recently installed satellite dishes and vacations to the Biltmore Resort.

God Help Us!!

new info!! must read

2009-08-19T16:00:00.001-05:00

EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW... HOA FEES ARE INCREASING....!! THE WATER CO UBS IS BEING CANCELLED I OCTOBER 1. EVERYONE HOMEOWNER WILL BE FINED WATER FEES ACCORDING TO SQUARE FOOTAGE!! WHAT DOES SQ FOOTAGE HAVE TO DO WITH WATER CONSUMPTION???? ALSO, AS I AM MOVING OUT NEXT WEEK, I WILL STILL HAVE TO PAY THE FULL WATER FEE EVEN THOUGH NO ONE IS LIVING HERE!!! WTF KIND OF THING IS THAT???? SO THEY WILL GET MY HOA FEE, BUT NOT MY WATER FEE.

ALSO I JUST GOT OFF THE PHONE WITH SUSAN HUMPRIES WHO SAYS, NO DONT YELL AT ME, RESPECT, SHE JUST YELLED AT ME GALORE AND HUNG UP ON ME.

JANICE, NANCY TELL ME HOW TO CALL AN ASSOCIATION MEETING. A SPECIAL ONE. WE NEED TO VOTE ON THESE ISSUES. I KNOW WE CAN DO THAT!!!

i hate the board. I will admit, I thougth anne cannady was on the board, i kind of like her, she is the one outside working her butt off. she aint even on the board!!! LOL

Raintree Village Needs a Property Manager!!

2009-08-17T12:20:00.000-05:00

The current Board of Directors took it upon themselves to "self-manage" when they came into office January 2008. Needless to say Raintree Village Condos in Hermitage, TN are showing signs that they really do not know what they are doing.

Raintree Village Condos, Hermitage, TN 37076

MY FIRST EXPERIENCE AT A RAINTREE VILLAGE CONDO HOA MEETING

TO KEEP THE TRUTH STRAIGHT!

MY FIRST INITIAL CORRESPONDENCE TO RAINTREE PLACE CONDOS

Raintree Village Condos, Hermitage, TN 37076: WHAT HAPPENS TO A PERSON WHO WILLING SIGNS A SWORN...

WHAT HAPPENS TO A PERSON WHO WILLING SIGNS A SWORN AFFIDAVIT KNOWING IT IS A LIE?

SUSAN HUMPHREYS CONTINUES TO HARASS HOMEOWNERS THROUGH HER POSITION ON THE RAINTREE BOARD AT A HEAVY COST TO ALL HOMEOWNERS!

IN RESPONSE TO SUSAN HUMPHREY'S LATEST LETTER TO HARASS ME!

WHAT PROPERTY MANAGER WOULD BE WITHOUT A MAINTENANCE COMPANY!!

Is it FAIR! Surely It's Unprofessional in this Day and Age......

********$81,593.97********

A Surprise Morning Visit from A Metro Detective!

A Visit from Davidson County Metro Codes

Extremely Large Dead Tree Finally Removed!

Replacing 20 Year Old Rotten Deck Boards - March 25, 2011

Thank You Councilman Gotto

BOARD CONTINUES UNFAIR PRACTICES AGAINST CERTAIN HOMEOWNERS - PART 2

REZONING COMMUNITY MEETING - JANUARY 31, 2011

NOW HOW DOES THAT WORK?

Who's Entitled to Personal Information....Homeowners or Renters?

How Low Can This Board GO? How About 6 Feet Deep and I Will Tell You Why!

BOARD CONTINUES UNFAIR PRACTICES AGAINST CERTAIN HOMEOWNERS - PART 1

HOA Meeting -January 27, 2011 - NO QUORUM

THANK YOU!

How Does a Foreclosed Unit 119, That Set Empty for 1 Year, Go To Top Of Board's Maintenance List and GET A NEW ROOF?

WHY WOULD YOU GIVE POWER OF ATTORNEY TO SOMEONE YOU DON'T KNOW?

REZONING AT RAINTREE VILLAGE

MORE MONEY SPENT TO THE "LEFT SIDE"!

OCTOBER NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH REPORT

Lordly....Lordly...Have Mercy On Us!!!!!

ALL FOR THEM AND NONE FOR US!!!!!

HOMEOWNERS GET TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER (TRO) AGAINST RAINTREE VILLAGE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

IS THIS SERVING RAINTREE WITH INTEGRITY AND TRANSPARENCY?

2010 Annual Homeowners Meeting held for SELECTED Supporters ONLY!!!!!

SNOW REMOVAL AT RAINTREE VILLAGE

raintree entrance sign (and Pile)

THIS BLOG POST ONLY THE FACTS!!

We're Broke and We're Paying a Salary to the Deadbeats!

RAINTREE IS BROKE.....THANKS TO WHO?

WHO'S A DICTATOR !!!!!!!

They Say Its Not An Assessment....Then What Exactly Is It?

What Happens to Homeowners That Paid UBS in ADVANCE!!!!!

When Will this Board Tell Raintree Homeowners?

RAINTREE BOARD FIRES UBS!!!!!

Removing the "Noise Buffer" by Building 1

Current Raintree Board Members uses Lawncare Services for their benefit ONLY!!!!

Another One Bites the DUST!!!!!!

"WHO ARE THEY PAYING?"

FHA states "High Delinquency Rate" not "Foreclosure"

Oh Lord, What Have They Done?

new info!! must read

Raintree Village Needs a Property Manager!!

$81,593.97