From Your Homeowner Liaison

By Sonja Perez, CAAM, CMCA SRCA Homeowner Liaison

The Job of Community Compliance

In my role as the Homeowner Liaison for Scottsdale Ranch Community Association (SRCA), I receive a lot of sympathy as my primary role is to perform compliance inspections and contact those that need a friendly reminder. It is not the easiest job, but, at the same time, it can be rewarding in the fact that I have a role in keeping the community looking good. On many occasions, I am able to assist residents with their issues within the community. I am no stranger to working with community associations as I have been in the HOA industry since 2004. My positions have changed over the years from administrative assistant to community portfolio manager to my current role. I have been with SRCA for almost five years and, can honestly say, I would not want to be anywhere else.

For this article, I wanted to take the opportunity to review the compliance policy in Scottsdale Ranch and to provide a better understanding of the process.

The job of the Homeowner Liaison is a multi-faceted position doing property inspections, responding to matters regarding property and neighbor issues as well as common area landscape matters.

There are 20 subdivisions, 19 sub-associations and the Mercado within Scottsdale Ranch. To define these terms; subdivisions are the communities that are only governed by the governing documents of SRCA and are made up of single-family homes. Sub-associations are communities that, in addition to being a part of SRCA, they also have their own governing documents and their own Boards of Directors. The sub-association communities are a mix of condominiums and cluster residential but also include La Privada and Morningside Apartments.

All of these properties (3,939) are inspected on an on-going rotation. Some I will visit every three weeks while others might be every 4 – 6 weeks depending on the type of properties within that area and includes monthly inspections of Lake Serena’s waterfront properties. If there is an issue that arises with a particular property, I will not wait until the next inspection on the rotation but will investigate the matter as quickly as possible. For example, if there is an RV in a driveway that has exceeded the 24-hour rule for loading and unloading, if I receive a call or an email about it, I will go out and document the violation and address accordingly. I get a number of calls from residents stating there has been a violation on a property for weeks and they are wondering why I have not addressed it. The reason I don’t know about the issue is because I am not in one particular community every day or every week but will gladly address the issue if I am made aware of it. I also receive calls from residents who have received a violation notice and think that I am singling them out. Please understand that there are 3,939 homes in Scottsdale Ranch, and that does not leave time to single out a particular home. I can assure you I take my job very seriously and always treat everyone fairly and with the professionalism and respect they deserve.

A common misconception is that I have the ability to make residents compliant. If a resident decides to ignore notices sent for a violation, then I have to rely on the compliance policy and ultimately legal action, if the issue is not cured. Like anything, there is a process and that process can take time without the cooperation of both parties.

All violations are processed based on federal and state statute, the rules of the community, and the compliance policies. If you receive a compliance notice, you may notice the letter includes the date of the violation, who witnessed the violation, what the violation for the property is and what portion of the governing documents has been violated and a date for resolution. A picture will be included whenever possible.

Please understand when notices are sent it is not personal, it is an effort to uphold the rules of the association that all residents make a commitment to abide by when they purchase a home in Scottsdale Ranch. To me, compliance is about education and encouragement to adhere to the rules. I am here to help, and I am always available to assist with any issue within my power.

If you would like more details regarding the rules for SRCA or the compliance and fine polices, please review the SRCA Administrative Rules and Architectural Guidelines on our website at www.scottsdaleranch.org or contact me at the SRCA office.