What is the HOA like in Cinco Ranch? (lawyers, houses)

[chris_ut]

Originally Posted by poohzilla

The HOA in Cinco Ranch has a lot of rules and regulations, but unfortunately, none of them are enforced. There are cars parked all over the street in my neighborhood and the HOA does nothing about it. There are supposed to be no fireworks, but it sounds like a war zone around here on Independence Day and New Years Day. They don't clean up the firework mess either. There are also supposed to be no solicitors, but there are signs on my door knob almost every day.

Sign hanging does not violates a no solicitation request. Solicitation is when they knock on your door and try to sell you. Door hanging is called canvassing.

[JQCitizen]

I completely agree. The pools here are great. The location is excellent and Katy ISD runs some of the best schools in the state of TX.

[Psycho Ranch]

Over the past 8 years living in Cinco, we are very unsatisfied with the HOA's performance. The so-called rules are selectively enforced and we have been lied to by senior HOA staff. Habitual offenders are not dealt with beyond the silly little letters sent.

Enforcement is pure fluff.

At close to a grand a year dues, this management company has quite the little gravy train going here.

Do yourself a favor ... pass on Cinco Ranch.

[sbhubbell]

Originally Posted by Psycho Ranch

Over the past 8 years living in Cinco, we are very unsatisfied with the HOA's performance. The so-called rules are selectively enforced and we have been lied to by senior HOA staff. Habitual offenders are not dealt with beyond the silly little letters sent.

Enforcement is pure fluff.

At close to a grand a year dues, this management company has quite the little gravy train going here.

Do yourself a favor ... pass on Cinco Ranch.

Nice user name...you think anybody is gonna take you seriously with a name like that?

[cheryjohns]

Originally Posted by Psycho Ranch

Over the past 8 years living in Cinco, we are very unsatisfied with the HOA's performance. The so-called rules are selectively enforced and we have been lied to by senior HOA staff. Habitual offenders are not dealt with beyond the silly little letters sent.

Enforcement is pure fluff.

At close to a grand a year dues, this management company has quite the little gravy train going here.

Do yourself a favor ... pass on Cinco Ranch.

I have had quite a few clients buy in there and they still love it. Some have moved to bigger houses as time went on, but remained in Cinco. Of course, they weren't Psycho.

[SteveArmy]

Go Psycho Ranch!

[tdhg566]

Originally Posted by Psycho Ranch

...At close to a grand a year dues, this management company has quite the little gravy train going here..

Your comment about the management company's "gravy train" drew my interest. I don't live in (or near) CR or conduct any business with them, but I am familiar with large HOA budgets. So being a curious sort I looked up this year's Cinco Ranch I budget, which is available online to anyone

http://www.cincoranchpoa.com/pdf/Cinco-I-Budget.pdf (broken link)

Maybe you could point us to the management company's "gravy train" line item? I couldn't find it. Maybe one of the line items is mis-labeled? (there were some "fees" on the income side of the ledger that seemed strange, like "attorney fees" [$55,000], which I would have expected on the expense side??? maybe those are kickbacks? ). They also expect to dump a good chunk ($710,273) into the capital reserve fund in 2010. Don't know what capital expenses the CR HOA must budget for (e.g. roads behind community gates will be maintained by the HOA and not the county, and them puppies is expensive), so maybe this is a reasonable amount.

My point: I suspect only a small fraction of the CR homeowners have even looked at the HOA budget or have clue one how much landscaping, maintenance and repairs, security, utilities, etc cost.

I know I have conversations like this frequently with uninformed people in my POA. They enjoy the landscaping and the security and the well maintained POA, but they have no clue how much that costs or whether their dues are reasonable.

[piyf]

Originally Posted by Mom2Feebs

The fee is $750 annually and from what I hear, it is a good, strong HOA. Maybe a little too strict for some folks, but that's what keeps property values up.

How does it keep values up?

[SteveArmy]

Originally Posted by danieloneil01

How does it keep values up?

they pay a fee so they can be taxed and insured higher on their properties, because they cherish the 10k gain they get on the house theyre paying for in 30years

[tdhg566]

Originally Posted by danieloneil01

How does it keep values up?

By providing an incentive, through penalties/fines, for people to take care of their houses rather than letting them become run-down. It also provides a guaranteed source of funding for the maintenance of common areas. I lived in a "voluntary dues" civic clubs for many years, where work days had to be organized to maintain the common areas, and minimal ($20/yr) dues were only paid by maybe 50% of the residents. That only works, however well it works, on a very small scale. It never works in an HOAs with thousands of homes and miles of common areas to maintain. Too many people opt-out and let someone else take care of things, all the while enjoying the benefits that come from a well-run neighborhood.

But you'll find plenty of people who have an extreme dislike for HOAs. Those folks simply shouldn't live in one.