This post originally was published several months ago. It was published to reiterate the Board’s stance on the subject of rentals. Heretofore, the Board has only stated its disapproval of rentals; the subject of sanctions has not been discussed. The paragraphs in italics below are a snapshot of an email I sent out recently outlining what actions the Board may take if the no-rental order is violated.

Recently the Board consulted with our attorney and clarified language of Article XIV, Sec. 14.5, of the Master Deed. The Board found that it, on behalf of the Association, may approve or disapprove rentals as so stated in the aforementioned Section. The Board has, therefore, reaffirmed its commitment to making the Trace a community of homeowner-families as was originally envisioned. The Board states its position as follows:

No further rentals will be approved in the Trace, nor may a condominium be sold for the purpose of renting.

The Board may exercise this authority by way of the Master Deed and such authority may only be modified by a convention of the membership—i.e., the general meeting or special meeting called for the purpose. The Board will continue to allow current rentals until the subject condominiums are sold; at that time the condos must be sold to be occupied by the buyers, their families, or guests.

This morning I counseled with our attorney about a few subjects including renters.  He again confirmed all the above; so, we turned our attention to the subject of sanctions–that is, the consequences to a homeowner who violates the no-renter directive established by the Board.    Below is an outline of what is likely to happen to such a homeowner; but, I am suggesting these as options for the Board.  The Board controls scale, scope, and character of any sanctions so the sanctions may be different than those described below.

• Month 1… The Board of Directors encumbers the homeowner with a Special Assessment in a dollar amount set by the Board.   To get rid of this assessment the homeowner may either get rid of the renter and move into the condo or sell the condo.
• Month 2…If the homeowner fails to correct the renter situation or does not pay the Assessment, the Assessment may be increased.
• Month 3…If the homeowner has not corrected the renter situation and/or not paid the Assessment, the Board may begin foreclosure proceedings and force the condo to be sold to settle the Assessment arrears and find a compliant buyer.  Anyone who becomes a member of the Association, or any homeowner association, automatically agrees to such proceedings as they are written into the governing documents.

Again, this is just one plan of action the Board can take.

M Marshall/mmarsha@protonmail.com

I have been meaning to do this for some time–to give ROT members the most granular look into the Association’s finances that has ever been provided to them. Before becoming Treasurer, I had often requested a copy of our bank statement to get an inside view of where our money was going. I was never given that report. Up until 2022 all we, as members, were given was a tax-basis general condition report from our accountant, who up until then, took care of all our financial duties. Now that we are in charge of our own cash flow accounting, we have access to much more meaningful reports about our finances.

The software that we use to track our money is called MoneyMinder. It is a web application and is, therefore, executed through a browser. Everything is done online and nothing is stored locally. In other words, all the data generated by the software as accounting functions are executed is stored in the cloud–on a server in another state. MoneyMinder is a great fit for our small condo association; it does basic accounting for small non-profits, like us, and is not bloated with too many bells and whistles. It can tell use how much money we have in the bank at any instant and can produce all the reports we need to tell us where our money is coming from and where it is going to.

Each month I provide several reports to the Board of Directors–our monthly statement from First Security Bank, a financial Overview from MoneyMinder, a Reconciliation Report, and an Accounts Receivable report. There are a flock of reports available in MoneyMinder showing the various facets of our financial condition and they, including the aforementioned, may be viewed by any member who desires to see them. It is your right. The four reports noted above are published to this web site each month and can be found in the sidebar under the title “Financial Reports“. If you click on this link, you will be presented with a dialogue box asking for a passcode. The reason that this information is passcode protected is that we don’t want it to provide unfair advantage to contractors who may bid to sell us services.

If you would like to see these reports, and more, you just have to text “passcode” to my number and I will reply with the current passcode. The passcode will work for 24 hours and then expire and be replaced with a new one. If there is something specific you would like to see regarding our finances (invoices, income and expense information, deposit slips, etc.), please contact me….mm

“Their remembrance be as lasting as the land they honored.”

Daniel Webster

If you look at the bottom of the sidebar on the right you will see a new entry–“Treasurer Education”. This will be a new section dedicated to training our future Treasurer(s). If you click on it, the first page of the new section will open up. There is nothing on it now; but, as I build the program this page will serve as a sort of index that will direct you to various training modules. Some of these modules will be created in-house and some will be pulled from other websites.

Although some members will be conscripted for this training, it is hoped that all members review them as there is much to learn and give insight into our financial matters. Thanks

M Marshall

Turn up the volume and watch this without crying.

Mine eyes have seen the glory
Of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage
Where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning
Of His terrible swift sword;
His truth is marching on.

Chorus
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.

I have seen Him in the watchfires
Of a hundred circling camps
They have builded Him an altar
In the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence
By the dim and flaring lamps;
His day is marching on.

Chorus
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.

He has sounded forth the trumpet
That shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men
Before His judgement seat;
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him;
Be jubilant, my feet;
Our God is marching on.

Chorus
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.

In the beauty of the lilies
Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom
That transfigures you and me;
As He died to make men holy,
Let us die to make men free;
While God is marching on.

Chorus
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.

At some point you may want to let someone have entry to your home for a short time and you trust them enough to let them have the passcode to your garage door. This is, presumably, a safer alternative to giving them a key to a passage door as a key may be lost or duplicated. A few of the folk you may grant access to are:

• House sitter, baby sitter, pet sitter.
• Guest or relative staying with you for a short time.
• Neighbor looking after plants, pets, etc.
• Realtors
• Contractors (painters, electricians, plumbers, etc.)

Although giving someone your regular passcode is a convenience, you should absolutely change the passcode as soon as their tenure in your home is no longer needed. It is not a matter of distrust as much as it is the preservation of your peace of mind knowing that only you control entry to your home.

However

A better way of granting temporary entry to your home is to provide a temporary garage door passcode to the entrant–a passcode to which you can assign an expiration time. You can have the passcode expire within one hour to 255 hours (about ten days). Once it expires it can no longer be used and you can keep and continue to use your regular passcode. If you have a wireless keypad at your garage door, simply open the cover and you will find the instructions for creating a temporary passcode inside the cover; it can be done in less than a minute. I have reproduced the instructions below for your review.

M Marshall

We (the Board and I) are looking for one or two individuals who are willing to take over the role of Treasurer for the Association. I have been acting Treasurer for the past year and a half and I will continue in this position for t he foreseeable future; but, we need to create some depth in this job in case I can suddenly no longer serve. The work of the Treasurer is vitally important to the functioning of our organization and continuity of this position must be maintained.

The demands on the Treasurer are minimal for the most part; however, a few days of the month may require more than a few minutes. For those who have a talent for organization, the processes and procedures will be easy enough to learn and should not tax your time too heavily.

As interim Treasurer, I will teach you everything you need to know to do the job. You will need basic computer skills–a computer will be provided to you for your tasks. You do not need to know accounting principles, although you will certainly learn some accounting along the way. You will need a printer to print checks and you will need to be physically able to retrieve mail from our neighborhood mailbox. You will also need to be able to make deposits at our local bank. I will initially help you with all these activities until you are comfortable doing them.

I will remain as Treasurer for some time; your training will prepare you to take over the role at such time that I am no longer able to fulfill it. Thank you for your consideration.

M Marshall

It’s been a while since I went out with my 5d (camera); but, I did get out this afternoon to take a few photos of the beautiful flowers to be found in the neighborhood. The variety of colors and shapes is most satisfying and I tried to include as many as I could. The beauty of the flora here invokes a contentment and peace that reflects the psyche of our community and is thus the reason for the title of this post–“Live Easy”. Click the play button on the player below for some easy listening while you watch the show…mm

The daffodils have proclaimed that spring is imminent. Spring, of course, means that tornado season is also coming. There are plenty of tornados that occur out of season as well; in fact, one of the deadliest tornado outbreaks in our state happened on Christmas day–a little over a decade ago. To the point, tornados can occur any time of the year, but are more prevalent in the spring.

Searcy has been very fortunate; it has not experienced a destructive tornadic storm in the 74 years of my lifetime. The closest it has come is the devastating tornado that leveled the town of Judsonia just a few miles away, killing over 50 of our brothers and sisters. That storm happened on March 21, 1952.

The Trace has been blessed with a generous and caring member who has provided the only accessible storm shelter in the neighborhood–Carolyn B, owner of condo #24 where the shelter sits in the back yard. This post is a reminder to all who know and an instruction to all new members who may not know that the shelter is available to anyone who may need it. Although many choose to shelter in their homes, all should know that this bunker is ready to protect if the weather becomes dire. I watched the contractor construct it over a period of weeks. and there is plenty of concrete, steel, and skill embedded in this structure to defeat the strongest tornado.

Go by condo #24 and familiarize yourself with the location of the shelter. Practice opening the door and operating the latching mechanism so you will be prepared in the future in case you need to use this refuge. Most importantly, when the weather threatens to be dangerous, seek a safe place–this one will always be available to you.

Thanks Carolyn…mm