Acknowledging CC&R remedies

I fail to see just what this will accomplish to begin with.

We had a similar discussion years ago about sending thank you notes to people who complied.

We don't recommend it. Law enforcement doesn't send thank yous for complying with or remedying violations.

One of the reason we don't send thank you notes is that most of the time people are pretty darn ticked at you to begin with, regardless of how quickly they might have complied. Others are embarrassed if they didn't realize they were violating to begin with. In either case, most would just as much leave the situation behind them.

Now, if you want to issue a generic "thank you" in a newsletter that is very general and vague and just simply thanks people who comply with CC&Rs and thanks those people who have remedied past violations, then go for it. But a personal letter to each one is not really a good idea, based on our experience only. Your mileage may vary. . .

I don't know. I don't think it needs to be published, but I've often found that a heartfelt "thank you" helped ease any bad feelings. And if an association is going to "punish" bad behavior (violating docs and rules), then it wouldn't hurt to "reward" those that voluntarily correct that behavior, especially if it was minor and possibly out of ignorance (or forgetfulness considering the senior moments I've been having lately). Being nice in a community association is something we could use a little more of.

Joe

*warning realy "dry" response follows...*

You do not get "thank you's" for the things in life that you are SUPPOSED to do.

Minutes of an HOA are for BUSINESS matters - what actions taken by board on the business of the community.

Newsletters are for COMMUNITY news and information - post the "thank you's" here in generic form, no names. Do not send out "happy faces" or "gold stars" to members individually.

There was a previous post about dog poop, uncut grass of foreclose property, etc - owners who band together and spend a Saturday AM volunteering to do "community service" for their neighbors = thank you's in newsletters, and/or getting an award paid for with HOA funds = meeting minutes/business.

As HOA President of my community I have used "white elephants" (think that is the name of the "re-gifting" thing that is used to give an unwanted/un-needed gift to another), to reward membership. Gift cards, extra "freebies" from the company that I work for, same "freebies" from wife's company, anything that other owner's have "re-gifted" into the pool etc - all go to owners who have step-up for our community. These small gestures go a long way to creating "community" in an HOA.

*** although I think that it was a bad idea to give a $10 gift card to "Dunkin Doughnuts, to the couple jogging in the community (us) who could stand to lose a few pounds... smile

GloriaL: IMO, its giving non-compliance the spotlight in the wrong way. You are giving praise to those who have decided to comply when it is an expectation of where they have chosen to reside.

Don't think it would do anything to encourage those still in non-compliance to comply; it may work the opposite. You will most likely never be in 100% compliance all the time, so this sets a precedent for you.

However, an announcement at a residents' meeting would allow the community to realize that the Board is pro-active in resolving non-compliance and you are nearer your goal, etc., etc....

As a former "violator", if I got a letter in the mail acknowledging my "effort" to comply, I may crumble it up and tell you to "blow it out your....". No one is really that happy to clean up a violation. It most likely cost me money, effort, and time to do it. Plus, it may have been some small insignificant thing that was just ridicolous to enforce.

The appreciation of the compliance is gone is an award on it's own. How many times have you gone past a home that was in violation and suddenly that violation is gone? Most likely everyone will be saying "thank-GOD that is gone". Cleaning up a violation tends to resinigate through the HOA and turns positive on it's own.

Besides, no one notices the good you do until the bad comes out.

After reading all the above posts, I am comfortable in the decision with just the generic thank you that was included with the BOD Meeting Minutes, since it was part of the business discussed. IMO, it acknowledged compliance, acknowledged non-compliance, and made everyone else know that the BOD is working, all without naming names or violations. We will never be able to please everyone, and it is not the BOD's charge to try to do that, just uphold the CC&R's. I will bring my point of view to the rest of the Board about not sending out anything further, and wonder how it will be received. This is the first time that we have sent out non-compliance notifications (we are a fairly new HOA), so we are setting up procedures, and I think getting compliance is all the thank you we could hope for.

JM, seriously, I wouldn't do it. I wouldn't do it because we tried it in the past, and the people who get the letters DO feel more along the "blow it out your arse" mentality than feel any sort of pride or relief or gratitude that you appreciated what they did.

When I say we found out the hard way, I'm not kidding. One person wrote a HUGE vulgarity on the letter, which they apparently wadded up first, and sent it back. (they had gotten a notice for on-street parking.)

Another person brought their "thank you" letter to a meeting and tore it up in front of the board and left. (issued for property maintenance)

We figured if those were the ones we HEARD about, our ears should probably be burning from the ones who didn't bother to express their feelings about it. But even so, one of our Arch Committee members said that his neighbor (who had gotten a notice for trash cans and then a thank you when they were moved) told him that we should just let well enough alone. He was pretty embarrassed and annoyed that he got the notice in the first place, then he said that he felt that we were being patronizing with the "thank you." He said it just opens the wounds and to just let it go.

So, I know the tendency is to "thank" someone when they do something we ask them to, but sometimes you just gotta know when to back out gracefully.

A generic thanks in the newsletter is really the bst way to go.

Judith, I'm not sure I follow what you are asking.

If we have an open violation, we track it in a database (spreadsheet)

If we give someone XX number of days to remedy a violation, then a board member goes and inspects on that XXth day.

If the violation is fixed or remedied, then we mark the violation as closed and put a note on the outside of the file jacket for that lot of the date/time the violation was closed and what board member confirmed it.

If the violation still exists, or if the repair or remedy was not as required, then we send a second notice.

Now, if we are inspecting the violation remedy WITH the resident, which we've done on occasion, of course we will be very diplomatic, and have often thanked them in person during that final walk through. That's a given.

But we stopped sending the thank you letters a long time ago.