Re: Fw: Board election 2011
Rich Kwok
I appreciate you stepping forward and clarifying that you had initiated the events that I had outlined in my prior email.
I also appreciate that your intention is to help the community. I acknowledge that we at 2707 had a situation with the washer because when Best Buy installed the washer, they had forgot the parts (mounting kit and my roommate with the a/c had met with them when they had the part and told them it was the wrong house) so we had to leave it outside for more than a fair share of time. Also I had no knowledge of the gentleman's agreement. When I had a party, I had requested Adriana to provide the guest slips. I am fascinated that you have a file on my property with a history better than I remember :) But regardless, let's not dwell on the small stuff nor attack people over email.
Needless to say, and moving forward, I think we have the basis for an understanding with the Gentleman's agreement. Let's also include the date on the windshield note as well as the owner name in addition to their phone # and unit #. I think a lot of homeowners including myself were not aware of it (board member only policy? just kidding!). Also I invite you to bring any areas of concern about my property to me or Lana. My cell phone # is (408) 569-2327
Danny,
Thanks for your invitation to participate, but I'll pass for now and I appreciate your feedback.
My business takes a lot of time and our industry is under attack by the Fed:
http://tbwsdailyshow.com/2011/03/28/federal-reserve-study-flawed-13-of-all-u-s-homes-vacant/
http://tbwsdailyshow.com/2011/03/30/judge-rules-in-favor-of-federal-reserve-regarding-loan-officer-compensation/
This will have a bigger impact on house values as lending gets tighter. Those of you that reached out for free help in loan modification, I hope the info was helpful.
I created a google group called cordeterravillassj, so anyone can just email cordeterr...@googlegroups.com. Everyone has the power to add members (no voting needed :) ) Best of luck to all the candidates.
Warm Regards,
-Rich
(408) 569-2327
Mr. Kwok,
I believe a clarification is needed about the events you mention in your email.
1) On summer 2008 I repeatedly noticed a car parked without a valid parking permit; one day I called Rebello for a tow service.
While the car was being hitched your guest showed up saying that was his car so I told Rebello to suspend immediately the tow.
Few days later I begun to notice two cars (one was your guest’s) showing the same parking permit (#29) at the same time, I reported
the issue to the board. Our President replied ” The HOA member who is parking two vehicles at the same time using two identical Guest Parking placards is being issued a courtesy notice by mail and personal delivery by me that any further parking of two vehicles simultaneously using the same number placard will result in towing one of the two vehicles at their expense and the issuance of a fine by the HOA Board of Directors”.
Few days later your guest car begun to show a valid parking permit and no more parking problems occurred.
2) We all are aware the parking space is limited in our community that’s why all the owners agreed on what I’ define a “gentlemen agreement” which
is: occasionally we have some guests and need to park more than one guest vehicle, guest cars are required to show through the windshield a sign
saying unit and phone # of the owner being visited so that in case of need of other owners the guest cars will be arranged in other way.
Too my knowledge all the owners are happy with this “gentlemen agreement”.
Yes, sometimes I took advantage of the “gentlemen agreement” so did you since some times I noticed cars parked in the driveway showing the
above mentioned courtesy notice with your address
3) I never park (parked) my vehicles on red curbs, I would encourage you to call a tow service any time you witness such a violation
By the way: in our driveways (no matter what the width is) the curb color doesn’t matter, vehicles parked anywhere (including in front of
the garage door) other than authorized stalls are in violation of the Fire Code and our CC&R so they are towable
4) The Fire Department officer declared that the red curbs were illegally re-painted.
I didn’t say you re-painted the curbs I just found weird that neither you nor the owner of unit 2711 nor anyone alse noticed the until I reported
it
5) I agree when you say “ … all owners have rights …”. They have the right to question the Board about some potential violations, the Board
has the duty to let them know wheter the violation is real or not. That’s why I reported to the Board:
a) your window AC unit installation
b) the presence on your patio of a washer machine apparently hooked up
c) all architectural alterations I mentioned in my email
I believe I neither acted like a Gestapo officer nor like a “socialist” I just wanted to know if those installations were approved by the Board.
I believe the Board did a good job forcing you to remove the above mentioned hardware, how our community would look like if other owners installed window AC unit and washing machine on their patios? Of course a loss in value would occur . Same if other owners would install in their garages SPAs pouring water into the driveways, same if other owners would perform modifications like those I mentioned.
However I believe the Board hasn’t been fair in forgiving other owners for their modifications.
Just one example: The Board explains why they approved some architectural modifications without submitting an architectural request (as our CC&R states) but they don’t say why they define illegal the potting job done on the patio #2665 (as stated by the latest Board Meeting minute) so how can the owners know what’s legal and what is not?
6) I dropped my letter into the mailbox of my neighbors because
a) I am not sure if my email distribution list includes all of them
b) I noticed that most of neighbors don’t have often the chance to attend regular HOA meetings (neither do I) so I thought to bring to their attention some facts (not a list of potential violations) recently occurred.
c) I clearly said I was going to drop my letter in order to reach all of them, whoever didn’t want it could send me a short notice
7) It is not clear to me what you mean when say: “…In terms of the below, you cannot discriminate between board members and non board
members …”; perhaps you mean I was wrong not including the Board Members in my email ? If so this is my answers:
I reported my violations to the Board (through Adriana Da Silva) and the Board replied (still through Adriana Da Silva) to me what I mentioned
in my email.
I already said my intention was to let the rest of the owners know about some facts that happened in our community.
8) I’d like to assure you I won’t ever send you either a letter or an email
9) Reply to your question: “What if your email causes people to come to our house to look at our curb?”
Let me remind you that “those people” are your neighbors and have the right to check if any driveway (including the one in front of your
unit) meets the Fire Code (FC) requirements. As you may know failure in meeting the FC requirements determines pretty expensive fines that we all pay
Let me also remind you that each driveway is part of our common areas and doesn’t belong to any individual owner
10) Owners checking how an architectural modification effects one property (hence the community) are not spying
11) I am not doing politics I just care about this community
12) Your email doesn’t shock me at all
Thanks and regards,
Marco Mancinelli
----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Rich Kwok <rich...@farereo.com>
To: man...@earthlink.net
Cc: renter...@gmail.com; samsp...@hotmail.com; annik...@hotmail.com; jrc...@yahoo.com; arle...@att.net; evere...@msn.com; jomac...@yahoo.com; macelps...@yahoo.com; rga...@hotmail.com; fger...@gmail.com; cristi...@yahoo.com; mah...@mahaatek.com; ka...@mahaatek.com; clam...@yahoo.com; langy...@yahoo.com; cly...@hotmail.com; kevinl...@yahoo.com; to...@hotmail.com; samfa...@yahoo.com; mikelon...@yahoo.com; trerry...@yahoo.com; arunpr...@yahoo.com; hiena...@gmail.com; timtoa...@yahoo.com; trang_ng...@hotmail.com; trungt...@yahoo.com; t...@yahoo.com; tr...@epius.com; arm...@hotmail.com; phng...@yahoo.com; lauh...@yahoo.com; tasl...@gmail.com; ysuzu...@msn.com; andrew...@yahoo.com; ip...@hotmail.com; peng...@lmco.com; sheila...@yahoo.com; wi...@yahoo.com; beny...@gmail.com; kennyz...@yahoo.com; Sandro Renteria <sandr...@sbcglobal.net>; MelS...@aol.com; dann...@gmail.com; tim...@gmail.com; silvia <ofthe...@yahoo.com>
Sent: Wed, March 30, 2011 12:47:13 AM
Subject: Re: Board election 2011
Hello, I have not spoken out about these issues because usually Lana (Hien) and I try to keep our peace. But I definitely do NOT want to be referenced or used as a pawn in this political battle. I was waiting for my lawyer to respond with a cease and desist but he's out of town right now. As owner of 2707, I do not like the implications expressed in the email from Mr. Mancinelli below. To us (as a friendly peaceful couple), it feels like we are being watched. We moved in, in August 2008, we had accidentally parked our car (without permit) in the reserved parking area of 2715 homes (not on red) only to have it towed without warning. What a way to welcome a new homeowner right! I am not making any accusations, or implying anything, so whoever did this, I understand that we could have been mistaken for apartment renters I suppose. Coincidentally, months later, we noticed a car parked in back of 2715 (near patio) but with a note saying "having dinner inside". We did the right thing and did not call the tow truck even though it was parked in the red. (even if it didn't have a note, we would kindly have left another note with a warning). Mel calmed us down to avoid senseless and expensive litigation (not taking any sides).
Also, the implication of the curb is both slanderous and libellous. We do not have paint nor would we do such a thing. In terms of the A/C unit, we had a roommate that refused to get our permission and just put something temporary in the window for the summer. We immediately pointed out the CC&Rs which required approval of such a unit. We had a long, stressful argument about her rights etc with her lawyer boyfriend which was way too much. We eventually had to terminate the lease. There was really no forcing as listed below except for a letter. But next time just knock on the door we'll be happy to address these issues without having to get a letter. Why waste the board's time? If our roommate didn't comply we would have sought legal action. That little AC unit cost us rent money and a lot of stress and time spent.
Back in 2008, when we bought our property, we did not intend to live in an environment that feels very socialist. While Mr. Mancinelli outlines the list below he feels he has contributed to, it is really not necessary or appropriate. It feels like a school hall pass monitor listing his tickets, running to be class president, and I mean no disrespect in this analogy. The economy is tough, jobs are difficult, everyone's hurting. The last thing we need is to have a war between neighbors. I spend 10 hour days at my job, and I really just want to come home to Peace.
I have lived in several HOAs since my first house 10 years ago; I really haven't had any problems or issues unless they were tenant related (if rented). I had successfully negotiated new garage door discounts in my first HOA with a well known manufacturer. The HOA is just that, an association of home owners, not the Gestapo. The one thing that I like about what we have is that we don't have homeowner apathy. Some other HOAs the board members do not even have board meetings. The one thing I don't like is complaints without solutions. When I first moved in, I got a complaint that I don't smile at my fellow neighbors.... well I fight banks all day and help people avoid foreclosure so it's hard to smile when you have a stressful job. I was going to even offer modification services with no charge to homeowner neighbors, but the reality is, that it's difficult to feel love when you're always picked on. Imagine a friend coming over, and you're going to meet him at your house, only to see his car (drives a PT cruiser), get towed as you enter in to Corde Terra Circle. The tow truck driver won't stop once the car is hitched. Or when your girlfriend's car is about to get towed right in front of your house (a different incident). And Rebellos isn't across the street... You have to pay the garage fee on the order of at least $380. Before my neighbor's foreclosed (2703), a prospective buyer asked me how it was living here.... I actually hesitated in answering because I had to evaluate this internally. The house foreclosed and that affects our value more than a bunch of trees (and I say this again not to be offensive, but from a professional perspective as an agent). I know a lot of our neighbors that have foreclosed recently as well.
The reality of the situation is that the more short sales and foreclosures, the less "healthy" the lenders consider the HOA. Which means those people that buy into our neighborhood, will not be able to get financing. Basically if they get to the level of 15% or more delinquency, Fannie Mae will not buy the loan which means lenders will not fund the loan (purchase OR refinance). I mention this because, you as fellow neighbors have the ability to affect this. Who wants to live in a socialistic place? I had thoughts of short sale-ing or foreclosing before my modification. When homeowners decide "hey this place is way too much, they leave". They don't pay their HOA dues, the HOA gets delinquent overall and no one can buy here except all cash people. That will reduce the house values far more than the misplanted trees. HOAs can and do go bankrupt, ever see a friend who lives in a complex with an empty swimming pool?
In terms of the below, you cannot discriminate between board members and non board members. Also OWNERs are part of the HOA legally so you cannot exclude those that live here vs those that don't. They pay their HOA dues and have voting rights. Failure to give them those rights even by proxy would reduce the chance of a quorum during a voting period, which would mean the HOA would be in violation of its by laws. But it's a bad idea to discriminate, all owners have rights.
We are fortunate to have a modification: http://farereo.com/richloanmod.pdf - actually several. It's a long arduous process (much like a short sale). We intend and desire to stay here a long time. We too have lost equity like all of you. We too hope that it can come back. Imagine an empty neighborhood with the rebellos tow truck doing circles on Corde Terra every ten minutes. The price of freedom is too expensive if it comes at this cost. If you are a new homeowner, welcome, and I apologize if this email shocks you - it's not intended to do so and my experience may be a unique series of unfortunate events.
I'm a super nice guy, and I would be happy to sit with any homeowners thinking of short selling, before foreclosing (before the Obama 2012 mortgage foregiveness expiration). Because if everyone does that, my HOA dues will go up and my value will go down even further. But before you think of leaving the neighborhood, I hope that whoever is president in 2011 takes this into consideration and makes changes so we all benefit. If by chance, we make this a super desirable place to live, we are all going to benefit with built up equity.
There's a great book called "Don't sweat the small stuff". My mom taught me not to dwell on the little things, the past is the past. You can live your life in other people's shadows or you can make a difference before your time is up in the world.
Mr. Mancinelli, this email is not intended to be an attack or recourse, I just wanted to share our thoughts. We would sincerely apprecaite it if you do not drop the list of "possible infractions" into everyone's mailbox. It contains accusatory items that is not really warranted. Lastly we value our privacy. What if your email causes people to come to our house to look at our curb? And our garage door happens to be open? I appreciate everyone's time in reading this email (I apologize that it's long but I've been super busy and hadn't had time to address this in full fashion). I wish everyone the best of luck in your campaigns and endeavors and I applaud everyone for showing interest in being involved in the HOA.
Lastly, I want to reassure everyone that no matter my experience, *we* at 2707 will never ever tow your car as was done to us in the beginning. If you don't have a note on your windshield, the worst we'll do is put a nice note for you with a smiley face. We just want to live in peace :)
Sincerely,
Rch & Lana / 2707
From: "marco" <man...@earthlink.net>
Date: March 27, 2011 10:13:07 AM PDT
To: "marco" <man...@earthlink.net>
Subject: Board election 2011Dear neighbor,
as you are aware, we will soon be voting for a new president and treasurer of our HOA board. I would like to inform you of a few instances that have occurred in our community. My hope is that by providing you with these facts you will make the best choice in electing the new president and treasurer.
Please note I have documents supporting my allegations below.
Case 1
On September 2009 I noticed that the red curb between units 2711 (our current President’s property) and 2007 (non-board member property) was re-painted grey. Maybe they repainted the curb to park more cars in their driveway.
Why would these owners do such a thing?
Is it possible that owner 2711-2007 didn’t notice what happened?
Is it possible that our President didn’t notice that significant change right next to his garage door? He is the same person patrolling our community looking for violations and threats that may occur in our common areas, how come he missed the re-painted curbs?
I waited few weeks thinking that those changes were part of a project aiming to re-design the fire lanes before contacting the Fire Department. The FD officials I spoke with didn’t know anything about the changes to the curbs and said the changes I’m speaking about were done without any authorization.
The FD ran one inspection and gave me copy of the report to be addressed to our HOA which I did during the board meeting held on 10/06/2009. In the meeting our president declared he wasn’t aware of any paint job in front of his unit; however he agreed to have the curbs painted in compliance with the fire prevention inspection. The FD ran two more inspections before declaring the driveway was back in compliance with the fire code.
I never knew who was responsible for that violation; the owners? Some crazy guys who love to mess with our curbs? Who knows!
My thoughts about this case:
perhaps the President neglected this serious violation, perhaps he or another neighbor did it
Case 2
On September 2010 I reported an alteration performed by the owner of the unit 2707 (non- board member property). In my opinion the alteration was clearly in violation of paragraph 4.16 of our CC&R.
I also wanted to know if according to our CC&R (paragraph 4.14) the owner submitted an architectural request to the board for the approval.
The board forced the owner (non-board member) to remove the alteration since he didn’t have an architectural request approved by the board.
My thoughts about this case are they definitely did a good job
Case 3
On March 2011 I reported some alterations, I am going to mention the most significant performed in units 2711 (our president property), 2703 (non-board member). Even for these alterations owners should have submitted a formal request to the board in order to be approved however the answer I had from the board was as follows:
“The homeowners technically should have requested permission in advance however in this case you brought it to the board attention. The board inspected and determined there were no issues with the alterations and approved the repairs”
In 2010 the owner of the unit 2707 was required to submit an alteration request but he didn’t and was in violation and not even one year later other owners don’t have this obligation. Is that fair?
Below the alterations in object.
Unit 2711 (president property)
a) The owner installed a security door (please take a look at it and please let me know if you see it like an upgrade, I personally don’t believe so). My concern is that if other owners will want to install security doors like that, all our homes (already hit by the recession) will be de-valued since to the eyes of a potential buyer the community will look like it’s riddled with crime. Of course this is my personal opinion
b) The AC compressor has been covered with a wooden cover, including a portion of the external wall has been covered with wooden boards. I am not an AC expert but I believe the AC compressor must guarantee a proper thermal exchange in order to maintain an efficient cooling. If the compressor is covered with wood boards the heat will not dissipate anymore but rather will be accumulated. The compressor can overheat, generate an electrical short and possibly cause a fire. Do the board members have the skills, knowledge and capability to determine if this alteration won’t create any harm or issue in the community? I don’t think so, I hope I am wrong.
Unit 2703 (non-board member property)
a) A while ago (almost three years) the owner painted the floor of the patio with a color different than original one. Any time this issue was addressed to the board the
response was: “… we are evaluating what to do …”
After almost three years I reported again the issue again to the board and their response was:
The alterations is retro-actively approved and since the board is also the committee for architectural modifications, they can approve the alterations after it has been performed
You may ask: “Is this written in our CC&R?”; my answer is “No”
My thoughts about these cases,
Although the owners 2711, 2703 should have submitted an alteration request before making the modifications, they were not forced to remove the alteration like in case 2. Why is that? The difference I see between case 2 and case 3 is that our President was involved in a violation along with other owners. Perhaps he is using his power to try to bypass our CC&R for his own convenience?
Definitely the time to get a legal advice on these kinds of issues has come.
Case 4
Unit 2665 (non-board member property)
This unit was recently purchased by a new neighbor. Ziad Najem (former treasurer of the board) was the seller. Even for this unit there was a non-resolved issue since I joined our community (June 2008). The issue consists of two extra trees planted on both side of the property (common areas) by the previous owner (board member). Even in this case no action has ever been taken, just some words like: “… we are evaluating what to do …”
I recently reported this issue and asked the board about the status and the answer was: “…the trees will be removed by the landscaping company once the rainy days are over…”
Until Ziad (board member) owned that house nobody took any action for those trees and now they are going to be removed, now that a new homeowner (non-board member) bought the house?
The owner must not be very lucky: because he recently made a potting job on his patio (in my opinion it was very beautiful, I hope you had the chance to see it).
I read the copy of the minutes of the last board meeting and I read this “… Shinmoto (board member) moved “to impose first level fine against 2665CT for improper planters on the patio.” Sakata seconded the motion and it passed unanimously”.
My thoughts about this case,
Definitely if you want to do whatever you want in this community you must be either a board member or connected to him/her. A board member wanted to fine the owner because of the planters and our President seconded the motion. Our President who didn’t see the paint job on the curbs next to his house and the same President who made an alteration, bypassing our CC&R for approval.
I feel bad for all our neighbors who have been denied their verbal requests for an alteration same or similar to the above mentioned.
Since the time to elect new President and Treasurer has come I really believe we must take this opportunity to vote for candidates that will lead us away from this negative way of managing our community.
Requirements the new elected board members must meet should be the following:
1) Board members must not show a selective enforcement of the CC&R since in the community we all have same rights and same duties
2) Board members must comply with the CC&R first of all because they are owners like us; secondly because they must show to ethically fit their duties and responsibilities in order to be trusted by the community
3) We have to define some architectural standards for home improvements. We all like to improve our homes however we are part of a community so we need to define some architectural standards for the architectural changes we may want to do.
Please do not believe the current board members will do that if re-elected since they had plenty of time to do that, they just preferred to illegally approve some alterations, perhaps for some personal convenience.
4) Board members must stop pushing us to believe we are under siege of terrible gangs. This neighborhood is safe! Please check the crime reports (San Jose Police Department) for area centered on our street and extended for several blocks, you’ll see 0 crimes reported in the last three years
(I checked the last three years just because that’s the time I spent at Corde Terra). There have just been just very few minor problems same as in many other neighborhoods even better than ours. This neighborhood is safe!
5) We should not re-elect board members more than one or two times in order to avoid that friendship with some owners may determine a board biased toward some owners
6) Let’s make sure that in all next elections we’ll vote for owners who live at Corde Terra and don’t just own the property so that they’ll be fully aware of what happens in our community
If you would like to see a change in our Board and would like to run for President or Treasurer in our community please contact me and/or submit your name. As neighbors who care about our community as a whole we would like to know your ideas and/or plans about how to improve the board in taking care of our community needs.
Thanks and regards,
Marco Mancinelli
2715 Corde Terra Circle
Email: man...@earthlink.net
P.S.
Since I am no sure my distribution list includes all the owners so I am going to put a print copy of this letter in each mail box in order to reach each owner, I hope it is not too much bother for you
--
Your business is important to me,
Rich Kwok
Real Estate Broker, FORECLOSURE ALTERNATIVES REAL ESTATE (DRE license 01352601)
________________________________________
2003-2006 Century 21 Centurion Individual Producer; Short Sale negotiating experience, DRE-Approved Loan Mods with no Upfront Fees, Foreclosure Alternatives Certified”
1925 Concourse Drive, Suite D, San Jose, CA. 95131
Off: 408-573-1109 | Fax: 408-519-6758
Email: rich...@farereo.com
I have a heavy spam filter so if I don't respond to your email please call me up! Maybe I didn't get it. I also respond to texts but indicate who you are please! Also my assistant Marisol can help you, please call the office #.
The information contained in this electronic transmission is intended only for use by the addressee(s) named herein, is confidential and may be subject to the attorney-client, work product or other applicable privilege. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient or the employee or agent responsible for delivering this message to the intended recipient, please be advised that any dissemination, distribution, copying or use of this communication is prohibited, and the reader should delete it immediately from his/her computer.
--
Your business is important to me,
Rich Kwok
Broker, FORECLOSURE ALTERNATIVES REAL ESTATE (DRE license 01352601)
________________________________________
2003-2006 Century 21 Centurion Individual Producer; Short Sale negotiating experience, DRE-Approved Loan Mods with no Upfront Fees, Foreclosure Alternatives Certified”
1925 Concourse Drive, Suite D, San Jose, CA. 95131
Off: 408-573-1109 | Fax: 408-519-6758
Email: rich...@farereo.com
I have a heavy spam filter so if I don't respond to your email please call me up! Maybe I didn't get it. I also respond to texts but indicate who you are please! Also my assistant Marisol can help you, please call the office #.
The information contained in this electronic transmission is intended only for use by the addressee(s) named herein, is confidential and may be subject to the attorney-client, work product or other applicable privilege. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient or the employee or agent responsible for delivering this message to the intended recipient, please be advised that any dissemination, distribution, copying or use of this communication is prohibited, and the reader should delete it immediately from his/her computer.