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Just an idea here but Little Rock being an hour away - that's not a long distance away. If you need an air ambulance flight out of HS you'll be there in a jiffy spiffy. Even by ambulance you're only one hour from Little Rock. Not a long distance. I don't see the health care issue being an issue at all.
The other things I know nothing of, so you may have points with all of them. Need more information if anyone knows about the OP's other concerns about Hot Springs Village living.
yeah, little rock is less than an hour from hot springs. i drove over there and back yesterday, so this is not a google maps guess. as stated above, in air ambulance or even conventional ambulance, time is not much of an issue.
hot springs has two major hospitals. i know that st. vincents does heart surgeries, treat cancers and has a great system to support about any health issue. they even have a hospice area on the top floor.
i had some major heath issues a few years ago and i ended up in little rock. but, only because i had family in the medical field in little rock. little rock has absolutely great medical and is recognized nationally for several of its services. another nice touch, they do it with southern hospitality! my hematologist gave me his cell phone #!
Been in HSV about a year - my take on your questions
We had a lot of the same questions/concerns but still ended up moving here. I am in no way affiliated with the POA/Troon/etc. This is just what I have learned in my year.
1 & 3 -future poa costs/assessments & POA management - the assessments went up to $65 for developed lots, stayed around $30 for undeveloped lots. There does seem to be a backlog of deferred maintenance needs that will need to be addressed. We looked at a lot of planned communities. This seems to be an issue at many of them - the older ones have the issue now, the newer ones will have the issue in the future when the developer pulls out. Though some cities have gone bankrupt so there is no certainty anywhere. There is a master plan where the current management wants to move towards - so they do have plans for the future (it is published on the website if you want to look at it). They overhauled within the last 3 years or so - new GM, new controller so I feel they are attempting to take the community the right direction (ie towards growth and at least get an accurate picture of the financials). However there is a lot of opposition. People who do not want to pay anything more, people who don't like management, people who do not want the village to grow, etc. So much opposition that the $35 per month per improved lot is in an escrow account and not being utilized because there is a lawsuit (in AR supreme court now).
2 - Golf. The management seems well aware that golf usage is declining across the world and in HSV too. They outsourced some operations to Troon and have been more actively marketing golf to non-residents to get the courses more utilized. I think its still questionable if they can turn the tide and support this many golf courses. And if they can't, it will be devastating to the golf course home owners whose course(s) is/are chosen to close. Which will perpetuate the problem in #1 & 4
4 - unpaid fees. There is a ton of people not paying their dues. 98% of developed lots are paying but a large % of undeveloped lots are not paying (which is why they went to the 2-tier pricing - afraid all the rest of them would quit paying if the price increased). The POA has taken back a lot of lots for non-payment but I am unclear what they intend to do with all that land inventory. Also I think the largest non-payers are not individuals, but companies that bought large tracts intending to do something and then never did anything. I do think there is a problem with getting investors to invest in large-scale projects.
5 - thankfully we haven't had to utilize medical care beyond the basics - which we get right here in HSV
6 - no starbucks anywhere close enough for a morning cup of coffee. There are some places in the village and right outside the gates but nothing like a large city with 3 starbucks per city block (I moved here from Seattle). However you can buy starbucks coffee and brew your own and sip it while looking at the lake every morning
My thoughts as an outsider with family who retired to hsv. The dues aren't bad even if increased. There are a lot of amenities and those also add to the aesthetics of the area. It takes everyone paying their fees to maintain a pretty community. If you don't want to pay for amenities such as golf courses because you don't use then you probably shouldn't be moving to a community that has focused on being natural and beautiful and providing those courses. The manned gates are another perk that must be payed. The gates help cut down on lot of unwanted issues. I live in Houston and a lot communities with a gate pay 1200-2000 annually for HOA dues without the golf courses, lakes, trails
And parks that you have in hsv. The only thing preventing us from
Moving there is lack of restaurants and retail within super close range. Walmart isn't my first choice for shopping. As far as healthcare -- I had a parent get ill while visiting me in Houston. He most likely would not have survived anywhere except in our medical center as he needed surgery that only a handful of surgeons in the u.s perform. After they went back home, he became ill about two years later and was hospitalized at st Vincent's. He was ill but not deathly ill. However, the kindness and consideration and good care he received at st Vincent's in hot springs is to be commended. His treatment and the friendliness of the hospital staff was immediately noticeable and made a bad situation not so bad. Houston is a
Life saving medical center and we are thankful to be here but you don't get the overall warmth of a small city hospital. I worried about healthcare for my family but after seeing the treatment they receive in hot springs -- there is something to be said for quality of life in those elderly years vs just being a number in a crowd. It may not be the latest and greatest high tech but they do the job and do it while treating you well. Anything life critical - I imagine you can find in little rock. You just have to be comfortable going there and knowing your way around.
We lived in HSV for nine years. It is not "really" gated. At the main gate, people just whizz on through; nobody chases them and there is NO gate. Just old men as "guards." At the other gate , they tailgate to get through--this is how somebody came into our house after we moved and stole all our tv components. I know it was the movers. They robbed us blind.
If you want a GOOD dentist go to Dr Mason across the street from the main gate. He is really good. Inside the gate, the dentist Ed Blaine is to be avoided. He yelled at me twice when I was complaining he was hurting me. Nine years ago a female doctor inside the village told my husband he was in for kidney failure and "there's no pain." He's still with us. There is a married couple just inside the gate a Dr Mike and his wife . He is fabulous. When we were there they had three pools on a golf course. I was Nuts about them but I think they've been closed a long time for repairs. Not sure. They even had lifeguards, a snack bar, lockers, umbrella tables. they have the largest duplicate bridge club in America in a huge, lovely building. May I brag and say my hubby carries the highest score you can have? The golf courses (nine) are gorgeous. They look like velvet. We first lived in Magellan, near Lake Balboa. But when I found my dream home a mile away we snapped it up. The great thing about living in HSV for nine years was how happy we were. The depressing thing was we moved back to Texas for top notch medical care for my husband (we thought he'd die and he wanted me to be near my daughter)plus I missed years of my grandchildren growing up. I will always miss HSV and the friends we made. If you want anymore information on HSV or even on Hot Springs just let me know. Susan
Susan, a few things have changed. The gate security has been turned over to a contractor. I won't say how much it has improved, but it's definitely taken more seriously now. The card gates have all had cameras installed, and the gates close so quickly now that it would be difficult to "tailgate". This isn't a huge change, but it is noticeable.
The Desoto center has reopened with a nice restaurant inside the main clubhouse. The pool is still closed, not sure on the status of that.
the negatives ... The POA ran off the best restaurant in the village, Tanners, the POA wanted them to open for breakfast, Tanners explained that they had tried it and it was not profitable. The POA said serve breakfast or leave ... They left and opened a new place in the shopping center outside the east gate.
The Cranfords at the east gate has closed. Just closed this week, and I have not heard about another grocery store going in.
The Burger King at the west gate closed some time ago. McDonalds is said to have bought the building to open a location there, but the building is still sitting empty.
Things seem to be improving inside the village, but the poor economy is still claiming victims outside the village. There are several businesses that have gone under outside the gates, Cranfords, the Golf Shop notprth of Wal Mart, and JJ's Grill.
We lived in HSV for nine years. It is not "really" gated. At the main gate, people just whizz on through; nobody chases them and there is NO gate. Just old men as "guards." At the other gate , they tailgate to get through--this is how somebody came into our house after we moved and stole all our tv components. I know it was the movers. They robbed us blind.
If you want a GOOD dentist go to Dr Mason across the street from the main gate. He is really good. Inside the gate, the dentist Ed Blaine is to be avoided. He yelled at me twice when I was complaining he was hurting me. Nine years ago a female doctor inside the village told my husband he was in for kidney failure and "there's no pain." He's still with us. There is a married couple just inside the gate a Dr Mike and his wife . He is fabulous. When we were there they had three pools on a golf course. I was Nuts about them but I think they've been closed a long time for repairs. Not sure. They even had lifeguards, a snack bar, lockers, umbrella tables. they have the largest duplicate bridge club in America in a huge, lovely building. May I brag and say my hubby carries the highest score you can have? The golf courses (nine) are gorgeous. They look like velvet. We first lived in Magellan, near Lake Balboa. But when I found my dream home a mile away we snapped it up. The great thing about living in HSV for nine years was how happy we were. The depressing thing was we moved back to Texas for top notch medical care for my husband (we thought he'd die and he wanted me to be near my daughter)plus I missed years of my grandchildren growing up. I will always miss HSV and the friends we made. If you want anymore information on HSV or even on Hot Springs just let me know. Susan
Susan, what a wonderful testimony; people should all have a chance to read it when deciding if HSV is right for them. I feel the same about Bella Vista. Both have so much to offer. We were lucky when moving here: our grandkids were almost grown, one had graduated from college, was married and had a little girl: the other had just graduated and was about to marry. Add to that, within a few years, not only were both ther granddaughters living here in NWA our daughter and hubby moved here as well. Now we have the best of both worlds: our family within 20 minutes and we live in the community we are proud of.
Interesting about you husband: we also have been told hubby had or has kidney failure and yet, he is fine, active and looking forward to several more good years. We realize his kidneys are not working perfectly, but heck, my step mom lived to be 95 with one kidney not working at all and the other at less than 40%..
Its a double edged sword. The HOA is a pain but it also keeps some idiot from putting up a car on cement blocks. I have heard some horror stories about 20000 dollar trees being cut down with out permission.
Its a double edged sword. The HOA is a pain but it also keeps some idiot from putting up a car on cement blocks. I have heard some horror stories about 20000 dollar trees being cut down with out permission.
yes, POAs can be a pain and everyone always wants them to do more, for less, but thank God we have them. It isn't only the city codes that have to be followed, it is the maintenance they do, like mowing the shoulder areas, shoveling snow, yes, cutting down trees that are likely to fall in the next storm, managing the golf and recreation facilities, etc.
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Been in HSV about a year - my take on your questions
