"THE FOUNTAIN OF INFORMATION" - Thursday, February 23, 2006
Shameless Advertisement :-D Neighborhood Home Services (Lenny Vasbinder) is now available for painting the interior of your unit. My prices are very competitive and I will meet or beat any reasonable offer and since I live right here at FCC, I am available to you at convenient hours... when you are home or when you are at work or away. Give me a call to arrange for a FREE estimate. If you already have an estimate from another painter, I will look it over and give you a much better price in most cases. I can also do "detailing" of your recently renovated unit... things that your contractor did not do to your complete satisfaction or things you did not have on the contract. And yes, I even do windows... cleaning the old hurricane tape off of them, etc.
NEW GUTTERS ARE COMPLETED... BUT!!!!!
I was out of town for a few days but from a quick glimpse around the rear courtyard and front courtyard, the new gutters and downspouts seem to be completed. This will certainly help with some of the water infiltration into the brick walls BUT it will not eliminate the problem completely. The brick walls... ALL OF THEM... need to be "Sealed" properly. I have written about this previously and below are a series of articles about what needs to be done to properly repair (Seal) the bricks and mortar to stop the water infiltration. I understand that "Chet's Board" has actually started looking into having this done... according to rumors around the rear courtyard. I wonder if they feel this is something that the rest of you need to know... or do they just plan on doing this rather large project without telling any of you? Kind of like they've done everything else for the past SIX MONTHS. Here are a series of short articles to bring you up to speed on what needs to be done.
http://www.askthebuilder.com/Brick.shtml
http://www.askthebuilder.com/095_Brick_Water_Repellents.shtml
http://www.askthebuilder.com/B95_Clear_Coating_Manufacturers_for_Brick_and_Masonry.shtml
http://www.askthebuilder.com/B95_Brick_and_Masonry_Water_Repellents.shtml
http://www.askthebuilder.com/107_Brick_Veneer_Leakage.shtml
http://www.askthebuilder.com/B107_Brick_Veneer_Water_Leaks_High_Performance_Flashings.shtml
http://www.askthebuilder.com/198_Brick_Leaks.shtml
http://www.askthebuilder.com/B198_High_Performance_Brick_Water_Repellents.shtml
http://www.askthebuilder.com/B198_Preventing_Brick_Leaks_with_Sealers.shtml
http://www.askthebuilder.com/434-Clear-Brick-and-Concrete-Block-Mortar-Joint-Sealer.shtml
WE ARE GETTING SOME NEW NEIGHBORS - BAD NEWS AND GOOD NEWS!!!!!
From review of Real Estate records published in the Times-Picayune, a couple of units have been sold... either right before Hurricane Katrina or since then. I also understand that several units are under contract to be sold.
The BAD news is that several of our friends and neighbors have given up the fight against the OUT-OF-CONTROL "Chet's Board" and have chosen to sell their units rather than continue to put up with or be cursed out by Chet Hingle and ignored by "Chet's Board".
The GOOD news is that we will be getting some new blood in the community who have just invested tens of thousands of dollars and will want to get involved in FCCA so maybe things will start to change... for the BETTER!!!!!
Other GOOD news is that these "Sales" have basically increased the property values for everyone at FCC. Due to the shortage of available housing around the metro New Orleans area, FCC units are selling at an ALL TIME HIGH!!!!! For example, right before Hurricane Katrina, a 2BR unit sold for only 38K at a bank sale. Since Hurricane Katrina, a 1BR unit sold for 40K in an inter-family transaction (so it is not necessarily indicative of market pricing). Also, since Hurricane Katrina, several units are under contract for sale and I understand that a 1BR unit is under contract for 71K. Two different 2BR units are under contract for 89K and 91K.
Now... don't get too excited about selling your unit right away UNLESS you already have other affordable housing available to you as this price increase has affected all sales and rentals in the metro area. If you sell your condo for a high price today and you do not have other affordable housing, you will be forced to pay much higher rent or sale prices for anything else out there.
THE PENDULUM HAS SWUNG FOR OUT-OF-CONTROL H.O.A. BOARDS
More GOOD news!!!!! The Pendulum has started to swing back in favor of owners who are dealing with OUT-OF-CONTROL H.O.A. Boards around America. Thanks to the internet and now the general media, things are changing around America. Several States have passed legislation to give individual owners a bigger voice when dealing with an abusive or OUT-OF-CONTROL Board. Please see the following links for articles and websites dealing with this problem all over America. I have started the ball rolling in Louisiana and I have added several legislators to the mailing list for "The Fountain Of Information" so they will know, first hand, what is happening when an OUT-OF-CONTROL Board and Manager refuse to follow the Bylaws and Louisiana Law. Here are the links:
http://www.ahrc.com/old/HOAorg/Flash/12days.htm (I wish I would have found this one before Christmas but it's still applicable now. After the page opens, you have to click the "Click Here" button right below the AHRC logo and right above the rooftops in order to see the Flash Video.
Now onto the more serious articles and websites:
http://paralegalpros.com/hoa.htm (YOU HAVE TO READ THIS!)
http://www.latimes.com/classified/realestate/printedition/la-re-associations5feb05,0,921327.story?coll=la-class-realestate
http://seniorlifeusa.com/condos2.htm
http://paralegalpros.com/caipolls.html (READ THIS POLL!... Remember, this is one of the things leading to the changes that will benefit condo owners in the near future)
http://www.hoawatch.org/
http://www.ahrc.com/new/index.php/src/news/sub/pressrel/action/ShowMedia/id/2259
http://www.ahrc.com/new/index.php/src/news/sub/article/action/ShowMedia/id/2598
http://www.ahrc.com/new/index.php/src/tools/sub/comments/action/view/mediaid/2662/mediadb/media (Make sure you scroll down to Number One first and then read up the page. LOOK for my comments, Number Three and Six, in this article :-D)
http://www.ahrc.com/new/index.php/src/news/sub/article/action/ShowMedia/id/2672
http://www.ahrc.com/new/index.php/src/news/sub/letter/action/ShowMedia/id/2649 (Homeowners Rights Activists Rules Of Engagement!)
http://www.ahrc.com/new/index.php/src/news/sub/letter/action/ShowMedia/id/1848 (FIRST TIME BUYER, BEWARE!!!!! FOR OUR NEW OWNERS... but unfortunately they do not receive the "TFOI" newsletter yet!)
A FINAL NOTE...
I have finally found a FREE permanent place to "host" all of the files that I've been emailing for the past FOUR months. I only have a couple of them uploaded so far but I plan to upload the Bylaws, Declarations, Rules and Regs, "Approved" Lease Agreement, Monthly Management Reports and any other documents that become available to me that are of interest to the readers of "The Fountain Of Information". There is no charge for you to access and download the various documents you may need, any time you need to see them. Then you can print them on your computer as needed. Here is the link: http://hosted.filefront.com/TFOI
Until next time... let "The Fountain Of Information" flow!!!!!
Lenny Vasbinder, Editor
"The Fountain Of Information"
Brought to you by:
http://www.NeighborhoodHomeServices.com
Painting - Interior & Exterior, Hurricane Damage Cleanup,
Gutting & Tear-Outs, Sheetrock & Flooring Removal,
Handyman Repairs, Homeowner's Contractors Agent (HCA)
http://lennyvasbinder.blogspot.com
504-621-1870 eFax - 413-318-0742
NHSNOLA@Gmail.com
***Mardi Gras... the greatest FREE show on earth starts February 17, 2006 through Fat Tuesday, February 28, 2006. Come on down and help New Orleans recover from Katrina! This will be the best Mardi Gras ever!!!!!
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