Nottingham Country Newsletter

The following is a status report of NCCIA Homeowner fee delinquency as of August 22, 2007:

At present the NCCIA has lawsuits filed against six homeowners in Nottingham Country who owe more than one year’s worth of annual assessments. Two of those are in process of being posted for foreclosure. Both of these have been long time delinquent homeowners in Nottingham Country and we have tried to work out a repayment solution to no avail.

At the end of August, we filed liens against 28 homeowners who still have not paid their 2007 assessment which was due 12/31/06. The cost of the filing and release of said lien is $100 and this amount was added to the amount due. By filing the lien, the homeowners will not be able to sell their home or obtain any financing on the property without first paying the amount past due. By not paying the $200 when due, the result is now a balance of approximately $350!

The homeowners who live on Dering Court and in the 700 block of Dominion have had to long endure the deplorable conditions of a single home located on each of those blocks. It is now a matter of public record that each of those homes has been foreclosed upon by their respective mortgage lenders and the owners no longer reside in Nottingham Country. The Board is hopefully that each of these properties will be cleaned up and the homes restored to inhabitable status. These two homes were undoubtedly in the worst condition of any in Nottingham Country. For a number of years, NCCIA pursued both of the homeowners for past due fees and numerous deed restriction violations. It would have been nice if we could have gotten the situation resolved much sooner but matters like this take a great deal of time and legal cost. As a result of their financial irresponsibility, both homeowners lost their homes to foreclosure which, sad to say, is a plus for the neighbors who live near by.

Considering the so called “mortgage crisis” we continually hear about in the media, Nottingham Country is experiencing approximately two to three lender foreclosures per month. This is a very reasonable number and proves out that we generally have a very stable group of homeowners residing in NC.

As always, the management company and the Board is willing to discuss delinquency matters and repayment schedules with any homeowner experiencing financial difficulties. We highly encourage you to contact Nancy Callaway, our representative at SCS Management, at 281-463-1777 or NCallaway@scsmgmt.com

Don Mach

NCCIA Vice President and Legal Liaison

As a resident of Nottingham Country you receive a statement from the trash company (WCA) once every 6 months for service. The Homeowner’s Association has agreed to transfer the responsibility for the contracting of the solid waste removal service to our MUD, Mason Creek Utility District (MCUD).

Beginning with the new contract period on October 1st the cost of solid waste removal will be part of the monthly charge from the MUD and you will no longer receive a separate statement from WCA. This should be a positive for those homeowners who do not like making two large payments per year as it will now be billed monthly.

The timing of this billing change is very opportune. The cost of service for each homeowner was due to increase sharply upon NCCIA’s contract renewal. By changing the billing method, each resident will experience a reduced cost as the sales tax will be eliminated plus a more attractive reduced rate for the entire district. These savings are being passed along to the homeowners equaling a substantial savings for everyone in the district.

The cost of solid waste removal will become a part of your monthly invoice from MCUD effective October 1, 2007 and the base rate will change to cover the cost of this service. While the monthly invoice cost will go up, the increase will be less per homeowner than under the existing system.

This change will bring Nottingham Country in line with over 95% of the subdivisions where solid waste billing is managed as part of the MUD or HOA bills and not individual billing to the residents.

There will be no change in solid waste service and WCA will continue to be our service provider. The days of service will be the same, we will continue to have a special heavy waste collection day bi-annually and our recycle program will continue as always. This change equals another opportunity for MCUD to offer the residents of NCCIA another tax free service with a real cost savings.

Robert Wills

NCCIA Treasurer

We noticed that some of the drainage grates have been blocked as a result of the heavy rains on August 16th and will not work properly if not cleared of pine needles and other debris. The Homeowners Association is not equipped to police the drains after each heavy rain and we ask that residents residing on the alleys to remove the debris from the storm drain in their alley. Where there is debris it is a good indication that the system is working, but we need some assistance. If we have more heavy rains, the water is not going to drain properly which will result in alleyway flooding. If there is enough rain, residents face the prospect of backyard flooding.

Please do not allow debris to gather in the alleyways as this will eventually cause flooding problems.

NCCIA Board of Directors

If you live on a cul-de-sac, and there is an island/esplanade nearby, this is for you!

NCCIA just recently had the sprinkler systems repaired on all cul-de-sac esplanades. They are manual however; therefore, we need volunteers to turn on and off sprinklers as needed. You don’t need a green thumb, just be willing to keep the grass or landscaping watered as necessary. The NCCIA does not have anyway to maintain these esplanades so we need the residents who reside on them to take the responsibility for watering. Our landscaping company will handle all of the other maintenance.

There are 33 such cul-de-sacs with esplanades through out sections one thru nine. I am sure all homeowners can appreciate these esplanades as they keep our neighborhood looking good!

If you find any problems with the island/esplanade please log on to our website www.nottinghamcountry.org and send me an e-mail. OR, maybe you have a need or an idea for the landscaping in the community; I would love to hear from you! I will do my best to be timely in responding. We have a responsible and available landscaping crew, as well as an irrigation company that will help us as much as possible.

Help us enjoy our neighborhood, volunteer, it is greatly appreciated!

Kim Svetlik

NCCIA

Landscape Director

http://www.nottinghamcountry.org/

There is a lot of good information about Nottingham Country on our website. We’d like to invite everyone to join the e-mail list through the website. If we have your email address, we can notify you of anything pertinent to Nottingham Country immediately. For instance, just a few weeks ago someone saw an alligator in the creek in Section Four. Our webmaster put out an immediate web blast message, and residents knew to keep their children away from the creek and walk their dogs elsewhere for a few days. To add your name to the email list, click “Email List” on the left side of the Home Page.

The latest approved minutes of board meetings are on the website. We have our meetings on the second Thursday of each month (there is a web blast message reminder for everyone on our email list), and we approve the minutes for the previous month. A few days after approval, the webmaster posts the minutes on the website.

Contacts, Security reports, Deed Restrictions and Bylaws are on the site as well as Current Topics.

So please enter your email address so we can keep you informed.

Carol Neef-Brown

NCCIA Director

NCCIA Web Site Report - October, 2007

August 25, 2007

Thanks to all of you who visited http://www.nottinghamcounty.org/ and offered suggestions and comments on the web site content.

If you haven't visited our web site lately, let me remind you that the latest happenings in Nottingham Country are posted on the Website first. Items like Heavy Trash Pickup dates, Election Results, Lost Pets and Safety/Security Incidents in our neighborhood are posted on the site. We also have applications and forms posted on the website – we will have our General Meeting and Election of Board Members coming up in November.

There are Board Positions Open
So if you think you might be interested in serving on the Board of Directors for the Nottingham Country Community Improvement Association, please visit our web site and download an application form. The forms can be found by clicking on the "Forms & Maps" link on the Nottingham Country Home Page: http://www.nottinghamcountry.org/.

Also, as a reminder, we do have a link to Sex Offenders on our site called Predator Check. Please check it out if you haven’t already. It’s good information especially for all parents and grandparents.

Please take a moment to visit our web site and Click on the “Suggestions” Link to offer your comments or suggestions or email the webmaster directly by sending an email to: WebMaster@NottinghamCountry.org.

We appreciate any and all ideas from our neighbors as to how we can improve our Internet presence and make our web site a useful tool for our neighborhood.

Remember, the “NEW STUFF” Button always denotes where the latest information is.

As a reminder, the Deed Restrictions for All NC sections, as well as, the By-Laws, are posted on the web site.



Sam Cresap
NCCIA Webmaster