What would it cost you?

Because our assessments are calculated based on our property values we don’t all pay the same amount in HOA fees.  This makes it a little difficult to make the following illustration using only assumptions.  The purpose of this post is to show that it may not be as expensive individually as some residents think to actually help the club if it ever reopens.

If the HOA budgeted $280,000 for purchasing social memberships in the club, the club would net approximately $191,000 in membership dues assuming it gave a discount for upgrading to golf memberships.  The discount would be equal to the amount the resident was paying for the social membership through assessments; not everyone would receive the same amount of discount. 

$280,000 divided by $183,492,500 (total assessed value of all Turkey Creek property) would calculate into a millage rate of .0015 for this item of the budget.

The highest assessed home value is $493,000 and the lowest assessed home value is $79,500.

This means that the largest assessment would be $61.62 per month the lowest assessment is $9.93 per month.

The average would be $35.77 per month.

The club’s assessment would be $235.17 per month.

I am not considering the vacant lots assessment for possible discounts.  I just don’t feel like there would be enough of them upgrading memberships to include them in the average discounts allowed for upgrading memberships.

                    $280,000.00         Total assessments for social memberships

          Less   $  2 ,822.10          Club’s assessment

          Less   $85,848.00           *Discounts 

          Net    191,329.90            additional club revenue

*Discounts based on the average assessment for 200 homes times 12 months.

This is a rough estimation and it’s based on 2010 assessments.  The discounts could end up larger or smaller because of the upgrade discounts.

With this illustration, I am trying to show that not only would the club have to pay the assessments, it would also offer discounts for upgrades that would decrease the amount of revenue actually realized.

Mine and Walter’s assessment would be $16.76 per month.  It would sure be worth that to me to have the club open again.  I do believe that the club being closed has lowered the value of my home by so much more than $201.12.  This is the amount it would have cost me in 2010 to possibly ensure the club would have the revenue to remain open.

If you would like to calculate what this scenario would cost you per month, you would multiply the value of your property by .0015 and divide by 12.  You can find your assessed value on your 2010 tax bill or online at the property appraiser’s website http://www.acpafl.org/search.html.  Make sure you use the value under the column heading Market as this is the amount the HOA uses as the value of our property. 

Hopefully this post will show you that it won’t really cost you that much individually to support the club in this manner. 

The BOD is gearing up to create the budget for 2012. If the majority of the community would support something along these lines, maybe the BOD would be willing to add something like this in the budget in the event the club does reopens between now and the end of 2012.  This is a board decision, NOT a 75% affirmative vote of the owners.  The board could base their decision on whatever percentage they wanted and could also consider those who don't respond as neutral.  Hopefully, they would canvas the community to find out how many owners actually would support this expense.  If the club doesn’t open or if it does open and an agreement can’t be reached, the worst thing that could happen is that our 2013 assessments could be reduced because of the surplus we would have from 2012 operating expenses.

I mention the next thing just for comparison purposes.  The amount budgeted to transfer to reserves for 2011 is $314,879.00.  This money is reserved in part for capital improvements to be made 5,10 or 15 years from now or later as well as things in the current year.  Some people may be appalled to find out that some of their assessments will be used long after they have moved out of the neighborhood.  The total amount available in the reserve fund reported in June’s financial report on TCMOA's website is $416,854.25. 

The first budget workshop is September 13^th.  These workshops are open to all home owners and feedback is welcomed.  I urge you to join me in attending it and let the board know how you want your assessments spent.  If you can’t attend the workshop you can always email the BOD at board@tcmoa.com to express your wishes.