Town Crier Articles

On Sunday, February 25, fifty-five New Town neighbors cheered on the William and Mary women’s basketball team facing the lady Pirates of Hampton University at Kaplan Arena. New Towners were part of a large lively crowd supporting the Play4Kay cancer fund raiser which honors female survivors of all cancers that affect women. Tribe Mary players shed their traditional dark green for pink uniforms while the Hampton University team sported pink shoes.

     

The afternoon began with a pre-game pizza party at the arena where attendees won gift certificates and a team-signed basketball. William and Mary Assistant Coach Kenia Cole, who previously coached at Hampton, welcomed the New Town fans. She confided that she expected an especially exciting game since Hampton’s top scorer and all conference player, forward Nylah Young, had transferred this year to William and Mary.  

     

Young and her teammates certainly did not disappoint their New Town fans.  The game itself proved to be a cliffhanger with the Tribe pulling out a 66-58 victory largely from the foul line in the 4th quarter.

Homeowner associations (HOAs) are responsible for providing a variety of services to their members, as spelled out in their governing documents. How do we pay for these services?

 

The New Town Residential Association has only one consistent source of funding -- the homeowner assessments (commonly referred to as HOA dues) which are authorized by our Master Declaration and State law, and paid by each homeowner.  While our income is sometimes supplemented by project grants, some investment income, and closing fees, this additional revenue contributes only a very small portion of our budget.

 

Each year the Board develops a budget and generates projected Annual Assessments to be collected for both the General operating expenses (e.g. property management, trash removal, maintenance of streetlights and landscape, shared expenses with the New Town Commercial Association, legal and administrative expenses) and the specific Neighborhood expenses of our community (home landscaping, and various exterior maintenance and inspections provided solely to the Village Walk neighborhood.) Assessments also include a contribution to reserves to fund the replacement of amenities, emergency repairs, and other unforeseen expenses.

 

When expenses exceed the total amount of income collected by the Association, the Board of Directors has a limited number of possible options. They are:

1. To increase the amount of the Annual Assessments in the following year.
2. To reduce services and thereby the associated expenses for the Association.
3. To borrow money to cover the shortfall in funding.
4. To assess each homeowner a special assessment.

Our governing documents give the Board of Directors the authority to increase the Annual assessments and to assess homeowners a special assessment. In the case of Village Walk, there is additional specific language that allows the Board to use a special assessment to raise funds “for significant repairs, replacement or maintenance projects” if the Board finds it is in the best interests of the Association and the Village Walk Neighborhood to do so. Given the continued exterior construction problems in Village Walk, the Board has discussed the likelihood of a Village Walk special assessment since 2022, and is now proceeding to define how this would occur to be both fair to Village Walk owners and fiduciarily responsible to the Association.

 

It is a serious step for any HOA Board to contemplate a special assessment. A variety of factors need to be weighed including how quickly the funding is needed, what the range of expected expenses could be, payment options, and potential financial hardship situations. Paying a special assessment is mandatory for affected owners and nonpayment can result in serious consequences for both the owner and the Association.

February is “Responsible Pet Owners Month”. So, let’s remind everyone what it means to be a neighborly and responsible pet owner in New Town. Keeping your pet healthy and happy is important. Equally important is controlling your pet’s behavior in a responsible manner. Be considerate of those living around you.

 

Always clean up after your pet - Your yard should not be filled with your pet's waste, nor should you neglect to pick up after your animal when going on walks around the neighborhood. Pet waste stations are available throughout New Town with disposable bags. Use them and encourage other pet owners to do the same with a gentle reminder pointing to the nearest area. Steer your dog to the mulched areas in our common spaces to urinate when possible. Thank those you see following the rules!

 

Leash your dog – Dogs and cats are naturally curious, so try to control where they explore and most importantly where they “do their business.”  Would you want your landscape damaged?  Recently, the Association received this complaint:

 

 

And another example:

 

Do I know your dog?  Always seek permission from another dog owner before allowing dogs to "meet" while passing on the sidewalk.  Some dogs are anxious, older or more fearful and a more reserved approach is warranted. 

 

New Town loves its pets, but they can damage property if not managed responsibly. Pet droppings, noise, unleashed dogs, etc.-all of these situations are addressed in the NTRA Master Declaration (Section 7.1(x)) and Rules (Section 11.1 – Animals).  New Town pet owners should familiarize themselves with these requirements including those for use of the common areas (sidewalks, parks, alleys, etc.) in New Town. Report problems to our management company, Chesapeake Bay Management. Repeated violations are subject to fines including any poor pet management from tenants to NTRA owners. 

 

In the spirit of being good pet neighbors (minimizing complaints and possible penalties), share this article with neighbors or dog owners especially tenants who may not be up to date on our rules. Print it and pass it around!

 

Here is my story: I have worked hard to maintain my 10-year-old townhouse here in New Town.  It has recently been painted and I have always been quick to fix issues identified by the NTRA’s Asset Maintenance Committee.  I have even updated everything in the kitchen and have installed a new furnace and air conditioner.  I was ready to sell so that I could buy a single-family home in Charlotte Park.  My townhouse went on the market and the real estate agent said it should sell quickly.  Within a week I received three offers and I selected the best one.  It fell through just two days before closing, the buyer couldn’t get a mortgage on the townhouse.  The second and third potential buyers had the same problem.  No one would lend money for my beautiful, well-maintained, and upgraded townhouse.  I just don’t understand it.

 

The above story is fictional, but situations like this are happening all over the United States, and it could happen here in New Town due to changing lending requirements. Mortgage companies are in the business of making loans on local properties, and then selling those loans at a profit to investors in the secondary mortgage market.  In most cases Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are the companies that purchase secondary market mortgages.

 

These two government-sponsored organizations control about 70% of the mortgages written in the United States. They control almost all of the secondary mortgage market with a list of criteria that must be met by a mortgage before they will buy it. Almost every mortgage company in the United States uses these criteria to evaluate a property and write a loan on it because they want to be able to sell the mortgage in the future. The loan requirements used by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been tightened significantly over the past several years.  

 

One of the tools currently used is a blacklist of over 2300 condominiums, homeowner associations, and cooperatives that are not considered to be eligible for mortgages if they are going to be bought on the secondary market.  This blacklist of associations is growing at a rate of about 100 associations per month.  If your homeowner association is on this blacklist, most financiers will not write mortgages on any of the properties in the Association because they want to be able to sell those mortgages in the future.  This forces all sales in blacklisted communities to go to cash buyers or to buyers using less favorable loan firms that specialize in non-warrantable properties.  The Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac blacklist results in depressed sale prices and low homeowner values throughout the affected community.

 

Homeowner associations may be placed on this blacklist simply by deferring maintenance and/or having unfunded repairs totaling more than $10,000.  In some cases, they may find themselves on the blacklist just because the Association is slow at repairing properties damaged by fire.  Problems in one part of a community affect the writing of mortgages in the entire community whenever that community is on the blacklist.  Even when associations are in the process of making the repairs and have signed contracts for the work, banks have been known to refuse to write mortgages throughout the community until all of the work is completed.

 

This is why it is so very important that we get the Village Walk siding issues and leaking rooftop decks resolved, and the Village Walk Replacement Reserve funded at the recommended levels sooner rather than later.  If we delay much longer, the New Town Residential Association might find ourselves on the mortgage blacklist and the property values for all of us will decline significantly. Plus, getting off of the mortgage blacklist is difficult and generally requires expensive legal intervention.

 

Paying assessments, especially additional special assessments, is never popular. But it is essential that we accomplish the needed Village Walk repairs and fund the replacement reserve to recommended levels as soon as possible. The repairs and associated additional funding are needed to maintain the well-being of those living in Village Walk homes and to protect the property values and salability of all of the homes throughout our community.

 

More information and specific examples of associations that have found themselves to be in trouble and on the blacklist can be found in the January-February 2024 issue of Common Ground (pages 27-29). This Community Associations Institute publication is written to support homeowner associations like the NTRA.  A copy of this publication is available in the NTRA meeting room.

 

Are you looking for a fun winter weekend activity?   On Sunday February 25, the Activities Committee is sponsoring a New Town College of William and Mary Women’s  Basketball Day at Kaplan Area at the 1:00 game against Hampton University.   Discounted tickets for this game will be available in advance.  Reserve yours today by contacting Jon Thomas: (914) 588-0335 jthomwm@gmail.com

 

Before the game New Town neighbors and their friends and family are invited to a reception at the arena at 11:45 with a FREE pizza lunch, raffles, and a speech by the coach.    

 

 

The Activities Committee will be sponsoring an afternoon Easter Egg Hunt at Abbey Commons on Saturday, March 30, with a March 31 rain date.   There will be two separate egg hunts, one for younger children (up to age four) and one for older children (five and up).  All New Towners and friends and family are invited.  Even if you don’t have kids or grandkids, come and watch the fun.

 

The first step you can take to prepare for a potential emergency is to keep yourself informed.  One way you can do this is to sign-up for JCC Alert.  

 

JCC Alert is a system through which you are informed of imminent threats to health and safety as well as informational notifications that affect your locations or work environments.  

 

System administrators will send notifications regarding severe weather, flooding, water outages, and more.

JCC Alert emergency notification calls will show as 757-564-2165 on your caller ID and emergency.management@jamescitycountyva.gov in your e-mail. 

 

For additional information and to sign-up for JCC Alert go to https://www.jccalert.org/.

Last year a group of New Town women organized several initiatives to “give back” to our James City County/Williamsburg community. Through residents' generous donations many bags of school supplies and more than 50 children’s winter coats were donated and provided to people in need. Thank you!

 

For the first quarter of this year, we will be holding a food drive -“Fill the Shelves”- to benefit those in need. Perhaps you saw the recent Virginia Gazette article outlining the challenges for those who are housed in locations without kitchens or appliances. https://www.dailypress.com/2024/01/24/helping-hands-volunteers-make-sure-meals-get-to-those-in-need/  It highlighted the reality of poverty in our area: “18.6% of people in Williamsburg are living in poverty, far exceeding Virginia’s statewide average of 10.6%.”  

 

 

Any collected non-perishable food will be donated to the House of Mercy and FISH for distribution. While all donations are appreciated, canned or packaged meat and fish (or other items providing protein) and grains (rice, cereals) are especially needed. We hope to have collection boxes accessible soon, but in the meantime, if you would like to contribute, contact Eden: edenaglenn@gmail.com or Gale: ladyhappy73@gmail.com.

 

On December 7th, New Towners started the holiday season at the second Holiday Bake-Off and Dessert Fest. They were greeted in the Legacy Hall lobby with a brightly decorated Christmas tree, and tables featuring holiday center pieces filled the room. The first part of the event was a juried baking contest with three categories:  cakes and cupcakes; cookies and bars, and a new youth category. 

 

Six New Town residents enjoyed serving as judges. About 70 attendees of all ages enjoyed watching the judging and applauded the winners.  

   

The second part of the event was the Dessert Fest during which New Towners got their sugar high tasting delicious samples from the Bake-Off’s submissions and also a wide array of other desserts from local bakeries. Sipping on coffee and tea, residents savored their desserts as they enjoyed conversation with tablemates and holiday music provided by Rick Richards.