MWHOA Survey

Number of Surveys Received: 26

No.	Question	Yes	No	No Opinion	Comments
1	When proxies are being used, do you favor these being posted on the Website?	7	11	6	Would like to discuss at meeting. Only for “specific” items, ie voting for a specific proposal “yes”/”no”, Not __ use or have access to computers/e-mail-such items would still need to be mailed, either individually or with the quarterly newsletter. I don’t think proxies should be used at all. One person could misrepresent the issues to his/her neighbors and then highjack a meeting or community vote. Instead of proxies, anyone who has all that time and energy on their hands should use that energy to get neighbors to attend meetings in person where they can hear both sides of any issue.
2	The Homeowners Association has a generic email address (info@montgomerywesthoa.org)	XX	XX	XX	XXXXXX
2a	Have you ever used this email to communicate with the Board?	12	13
2b	What other ways have you used to communicate with the Board?				Phone Talked directly to the nearest Board member in my area; Never needed to communicate with them. Email Attendance at MWHOA meetings Mail In person in passing Go talk to the people Talked with Board Members None Speaking directly w/board members Response to letter by F/U letter?? Phone call and letter Phone Phone Telephone Telephone and home visit By phone or in person By email and phone
2c	Have these communication methods been satisfactory?	23	2		N/A No on 1^st try, and Yes on 2^nd Very quick response
2d	Do you have suggestions for improvements with communications with the Board?		4		Phone or email Yes; None Newsletters are helpful and informative Community website Make sure answer timely – most recent was very timely and nice.
3.	Currently the list of homeowners and addresses is available to homeowners upon request.	XX	XX	XX	XXXXX
3a	Should this list be openly available to the public on the website?	4	22		Absolutely not! If you can be “unlisted and unpublished” in the phone book – it must also be so in this information. Addresses should NOT be on the MW website AT ALL. This info is available at other websites. I can’t see any purpose for it on our site except to make things easier for junk mailers and others who want to invade our privacy. If you want to contact your neighbors, just walk over and knock on the door.
3b	Should homeowners have the option of not publishing their name and address on the website?	23	2		Absolutely! This is a “must”. It’s a clear “privacy” issue.
3c	Do you have any other suggestions regarding releasing homeowners/residence directory information?		2		Why would this be necessary? Don’t do it. Don’t Do Not favor name/address being released to anyone other than board members. Only with homeowners/residence permission I do not think that HOA’s are required to have websites – thus it can not be required that homeowners must have their addresses/names published and readily available to “the Hoards” to access. Give clear instructions on how to opt out Terrible idea Should be revealed only by the HOA President It shouldn’t be done Shouldn’t be released without homeowner’s permission
4	The Homeowners Association has a website at MontgomeryWestHOA.org.	XX	XX	XX	XXXX
4a	Have you ever visited the website?	20	5
4b	Have you ever downloaded any documents from the website?	11	15		Would if in word or PDF
4c	If so, have the formats been accessible and readable?	11	2		NA I did see some of the documents are scanned, but they were still readable.
4d	Do you have any suggestions regarding improving the website?		2		NA No-it looks great and is quite comprehensive Email notification capability to homeowners/residence on upcoming events and board decisions
5	Have you received a “friendly notice” of covenant violation? If yes, continue to Question 6. If not, skip to Question 7.	3	4
6	If you have received a violation notice, would you make any changes in the wording of the letters to make them clearer? Specifically, is it clear how the friendly notices fit into the entire covenant enforcement process including your rights as a homeowner?		2
6a	Are the timeframes for the response clear and reasonable?	7	3		Not always, some people have extenuating circumstances that the board is unaware of and/or is not considering, ie, serious illness of family member over extended time preventing family from even attempting to correct violation, nor should they have to at that time. Give at least 120 days – for example if we are having a roof issue it may take that long to afford to do something.
6b	What improvements would you suggest?				None None More of them to violators I do not want MWHOA to send out violation notices Put a list of common violations in the newsletter
6c	Is there additional information that should be posted to the website regarding the rights of homeowners regarding covenant violations?		1		Not really – it is all pretty clear in the information that is there Where it states in covenant that “friendly notice” of covenant violations are to be sent out. Also, some of the specific violations that are cited should be highlighted in the covenants specifically as they are in the notices. I do not see any need of doing this.
7	Article VIII of the Covenants requires the Board to ensure homeowners are in compliance with the Covenants. In order to ensure fairness to all homeowners, the Board currently does a walk through the entire neighborhood twice a year and informs homeowners of anything that appears to be in violation of the covenants.	XX	XX	XXX	XXXXX
7a	Do you have any suggestions for improving the way the Board ensures compliance with the covenants?	2	3		No opinion; No, but the walk through is really helpful. When a neighbor sold their home years ago they were surprised to learn about their violations first before closing. The walk through let’s homeowners like me know what is needed – my home is ready to sell; I think this has been done well and when I see other communities I think that the board has done an excellent job.; This is a good way, that they do things. A walkthrough is good. My only comment is that the common areas are used for yard waste/tree pieces, and then the homeowners nearest the waste get a letter when indeed it wasn’t that homeowner. Children riding bicycles on homeowners’ properties and on the common grounds with loud noises and on the sidewalks. Have a response sheet included in the notice so the homeowner can send a response, thereby easing response and informing the board of their circumstance or plans to correct the matter. Notice to homeowners/residence when the walkthrough will take place No the walk through twice a year should be enough. Quarterly walk throughs If covenants are to be effective, they need to be enforced in a fair, consistent and impartial manner. A “twice-a-year” walkthrough seems to be a good way to accomplish this…some homeowners might be reluctant to voice concerns to or about their neighbors. Perhaps if more folks would serve on the board +/or the AERC…more homeowner participation would be helpful….is twice a year sufficient?? The community newsletter helps remind folks of covenants – in should be continued. Nothing specific except I recommend everyone be reviewed and informed consistently. There is an opinion that not everyone is being/reviewed and violations identified in the same manner. Don’t do walk through – if your neighbors have an issue they should bring it to you and use the board as last resort. No improvements needed. The board members are respectful of everyone’s property and more than enough accommodation is given to those who don’t keep up their property. People that are complaining need to realize how important it is to keep our community as nice and consistent as possible to help ensure that our home values are maintained. Yes, we were told 3 years after a violation was made. Not sure it is really done twice a year. Walk throughs seem to be a good way to enforce Please continue the current practice. Maybe quarterly walk throughs – historically, board has not taken aggressive actions to clear violations – hope as always, this improves.

	Question	Keep covenant the same	Would like to see Covenants changed so that each party pays their own expenses no matter who prevails	Comments
8	Currently the covenants state that reasonable legal fees and other related costs associated with covenant enforcement be recovered by the prevailing party. (please note that either the CCOC board or Court would make the award of reasonable legal fees to the prevailing party, the MWHOA board would not make this determination) This provision currently protects the homeowners from frivolous lawsuits from the Board and protects the neighborhood from frivolous actions by individual homeowners. Do you favor this or having the covenants changed to have each party pays their own expense?	22	2	No frivolous suits needed! Would like this discussed further at the meeting. Keep covenant the same This is necessary to protect against frivolous lawsuits.

9	Do you have any specific changes you would like to see made in the Covenant and AERC Guidelines?
	No Opinion
	No
	Do away with the “split rail” fence only they look trashy and we should be allowed to have “privacy” in our backyards, would probably stop a lot of the barking dogs as well.
	I would be willing to pay extra dues to have snow removal services.
	Greenlink should give a discount to homeowners who want their yards cut etc.
	There should be a list of approved changes to properties/houses, so one doesn’t have to go through the whole approval to change your door color or patio stones.
	No
	No
	Nothing specific I can think of just now!
	Again, I think we should go back to having neighbors going to neighbors if there is an issue not having the board go around looking for violations. Makes the board look like jerks/overzealous.
	If an owner wants to put a metal roof on their house, the neighbors should be able to say yes/no. Over whole court said sure – the board said no-why? Metal roofs are superior.
	Give more time for big ticket violations. Our gutter is ½ down – and we want to fix it but have no money. Some of us are on a cash basis and have to save up.
	If going to improve/plant things in a court (mourning dove) ask those in the court if they/or what they might want.
	Get rid of all the mulch piled high around trees-it kills them. They are on Centerway –perhaps we don’t oversee Centerway.
	Do not raise quarterly HOA fees – stop using the lawyer and save money. Limit spending – get it back to $89 – it was enough then!
	We moved out of Montgomery Village because their covenants didn’t allow work trucks, and were so picky about even the color of your front door – sometimes it seems like we are headed on that direction. When you make your trips around the neighborhood looking for violations.
	I appreciate all you are trying to do. I know its thankless work because I was once on the board. No on wants you all to disband – we just want you to stop trying to control everything – it’s a little much. Let people do what they can/’want on their properties with some guidelines to follow and if we all want so and so to be able to for an example, have an extra shed to house their storage – then so be it if the neighbors don’t object.
	No
	MWHOA needs to do a better job of keeping abreast of technological advancements as it pertains to products used in the construction and maintenance of homes. (ie solar, wind, metal roofing, etc..). MWHOA is a laggard in this respect.
	Allow different types of fences
	Move latitude in house color/trim
	Mandatory service on the board for a certain #years – 2? 3?
	Sell common areas to those homeowners adjoining them
	Give parking spaces to townhouses