21 Things Your Burglar Won't Tell You

You know those lame e-mail forwards you get that are full of misinformation? This isn't one of those. Some of this stuff is common sense; other parts you've heard before but it's all valuable information worth reading.

So here you go...

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THINGS YOUR BURGLAR WON'T TELL YOU:

1. Of course I look familiar. I was here just last week cleaning your carpets, painting your shutters, or delivering your new refrigerator.

2. Hey, thanks for letting me use the bathroom when I was working in your yard last week. While I was in there, I unlatched the back window to make my return a little easier.

3. Love those flowers. That tells me you have taste. And taste means there are nice things inside. Those yard toys your kids leave out always make me wonder what type of gaming system they have.

4. Yes, I really do look for newspapers piled up on the driveway. And I might leave a pizza flyer in your front door to see how long it takes you to remove it.

5. If it snows while you're out of town, get a neighbor to create car and foot tracks into the house. Virgin drifts in the driveway are a dead giveaway.

6. If decorative glass is part of your front entrance, don't let your alarm company install the control pad where I can see if it's set. That makes it too easy.

7. A good security company alarms the window over the sink. And the windows on the second floor, which often access the master bedroom-and your jewelry. It's not a bad idea to put motion detectors up there too.

8. It's raining, you're fumbling with your umbrella, and you forget to lock your door -understandable. But understand this: I don't take a day off because of bad weather.

9. I always knock first. If you answer, I'll ask for directions somewhere or offer to clean your gutters. (Don't take me up on it.)

10. Do you really think I won't look in your sock drawer? I always check dresser drawers, the bedside table, and the medicine cabinet.

11. Here's a helpful hint: I almost never go into kids' rooms.

12. You're right: I won't have enough time to break into that safe where you keep your valuables. But if it's not bolted down, I'll take it with me.

13. A loud TV or radio can be a better deterrent than the best alarm system. If you're reluctant to leave your TV on while you're out of town, you can buy a $35 device that works on a timer and simulates the flickering glow of a real television. (Find it at faketv.com.)

14. Sometimes, I carry a clipboard. Sometimes, I dress like a lawn guy and carry a rake. I do my best to never, ever look like a crook.

15. The two things I hate most: loud dogs and nosy neighbors.

(NOTE: Dogs over 40 lbs. are prohibited in St. Charles Place. Nosy neighbors are welcome.)

16. I'll break a window to get in, even if it makes a little noise. If your neighbor hears one loud sound, he'll stop what he's doing and wait to hear it again. If he doesn't hear it again, he'll just go back to what he was doing. It's human nature.

17. I'm not complaining, but why would you pay all that money for a fancy alarm system and leave your house without setting it?

18. I love looking in your windows. I'm looking for signs that you're home, and for flat screen TVs or gaming systems I'd like. I'll drive or walk through your neighborhood at night, before you close the blinds, just to pick my targets.

19. Avoid announcing your vacation on your Facebook page. It's easier than you think to look up your address.

20. To you, leaving that window open just a crack during the day is a way to let in a little fresh air. To me, it's an invitation.

21. If you don't answer when I knock, I try the door. Occasionally, I hit the jackpot and walk right in.

Sources: Convicted burglars in North Carolina, Oregon, California and Kentucky; security consultant Chris McGoey, who runs crimedoctor.com; and Richard T. Wright, a criminology professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, who interviewed 105 burglars for his book Burglars on the Job.

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This is one reason why we don't allow solicitors into the community; it's a security issue. We have no way of knowing that they're not going door-to-door to case our homes. Plus, the people knocking on doors are often scammers of some sort.

If you see someone passing out literature or going door-to-door, please tell them that they are not allowed here and need to leave. You don't have to debate the merits of their visit here. You just tell them that they are trespassing and that your next call goes to the police.

I also recommend not letting flyers, phone books and the like pile up in neighbors' doorways, either. Damage or theft to any home here hurts the value of the rest of ours.

It Can Happen to Anyone

While Tampa Bay Buccaneer player Sabby Piscitelli helped his team secure its first victory of the season, someone took advantage of a security breach at his South Tampa home, broke in and burglarized it, according to the St. Pete Times.

Point of entry? Rear door.

Wishful Thinking

It's called Chinese drywall so why shouldn't the Chinese govenment pay for the damage it's caused? That's the question Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) asked last night in Tampa.

Nelson was the keynote speaker at a forum devoted to the issue.

The St. Petersburg Times has a story about Nelson's efforts to get President Obama to raise the issue when he meets with China's president later this month.

Don't get your hopes up. Nelson himself approached Chinese officials himself this summer. "They basically blew me off," he said, according to the Times.

HOA Meeting Recap

The 2010 budget passed. HOA fees will remain at $213 and you should receive your payment coupons in a month or so.

The board passed a motion to join the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office's Neighborhood Watch program. It cost $.25 per unit. We have 268 units so the total cost is $67. You can e-mail communitywatch1 (at) verizon (dot) net for details on what we get for that and to volunteer for the Community Watch committee.

The board approved the purchase of No Tresspassing/Soliciting/Loitering signs to post at each of the three entrances of the community. It also approved buying an enclosed bulletin board that will go near the mailbox kiosk. The board will post community news there for residents.

HOA Meeting Tomorrow Night

Just a reminder from your friendly neighborhood bloggerman that the HOA Board of Directors meets tomorrow night. All homeowners are welcome. At this meeting, the board will pass the budget for next year.

There are also several other items on the agenda following that, including discussion about what kinds of screen/storm doors to allow and community security.

It starts at 7 p.m. Here's the location:

River of Life Christian Center
6605 Krycul Avenue
Riverview, FL 33569
(813) 677-4453


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Track Sexual Offenders

A Jacksonville-area girl's death reminds us to keep an eye on our children. If you're not aware, 7-year-old Somer Thompson left her school in Orange Park Monday. She never made it home. Police found her body in a Georgia landfill two days later.

Police have not indicated that they have any suspects so we don't know if this is a case similar to that of Jessica Lundsford, the 9-year-old Homosassa girl who was kidnapped, raped and killed by John Couey in 2005.

(You may be glad to know that Couey died earlier this year.)

But it clearly wasn't an accident. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has a website where you can search for for sexual offenders or predators within a radius ranging from 1/4 mile to 5 miles from our commuity. Here it is: http://offender.fdle.state.fl.us/offender/searchNeighborhood.do.

A search today turned up none in the community itself, one sexual predator and four other sexual offenders living within one mile of us. It's important not to overreact. It is the rare neighborhood that doesn't have some sexual offenders living in proximity to it.

This story is a reminder to take sensible steps to secure your homes from break-in and to use common sense to keep your children safe — such as making sure they have adult supervision at all times. In addition to keeping children from becoming victims of trouble, having adults around keeps kids from causing trouble too.

New Rules

You might be hearing about community rules that you had never been aware of and wonder about all the new restrictions that your HOA Board of Directors has passed in the short time that your fellow owners have run it.

Here's the thing: The owner-run HOA has NOT WRITTEN A SINGLE RULE. Zip. Zilch. Nada. None. Never.

New rules? There are none. Passing any new rules would require a meeting of all owners -- 30% of whom must show up to reach a quorum.

Any rule we mention -- such as the restriction on the size of dogs allowed in the community -- is something that was in the documents to which every owner agreed before they bought a home in St. Charles Place.

It is apparent that many owners did not read the rules. The HOA board is trying to notify people of the agreements they signed before buying here. The new pool rules sign you might have noticed on the cabana wall contains nothing new. It merely reminds people of the rules that have been in place since the community's beginning.

Halloween Get-Together Flyer

Yesterday someone placed a bunch of flyers at the mail kiosk about a Halloween get-together at the pool. Your humble blog author did not see them but an HOA board member cleaned up the mess after the flyers had fallen to the ground.

There are a couple of problems:

1. People have to work through the HOA to post any notices in the community, otherwise it's just like any solicitor distributing advertising flyers, which we don't permit.


2. The event itself invites dogs to the pool area. Dogs are prohibited in the pool area at all times. Food, even Halloween candy, is not allowed there, either.

Speaking of dogs, the declarations (the community rules), to which every buyer in St. Charles Place agreed, specifies that dogs must be 40 lbs. or less. You have no doubt noticed dogs here that exceed that limit.

Please understand, the HOA does not oppose people meeting. It is not trying to get in the way of your right to freely assemble. Just beware that if you do want to organize a gathering that both the meeting and the means you use to publicize it must follow the community rules.

HOA Fees Not to Rise in 2010

The HOA Board of Directors has approved a preliminary budget for 2010.

Despite a significant rise in electricity costs and the continuing effects of the foreclosure crisis, savings in other areas will let us keep the HOA assessment at $213 per month, while continuing to build reserve funds for necessary maintenance and repairs of our property.

Several mild hurricane seasons gives us a break on our insurance, which is our single largest expense. We also negotiated new contracts and hired new vendors for some of our services, such as landscape maintenance, that we expect will give us both better service and a better price.

This makes up for big rate hikes from Tampa Electric, which you will also notice on your own power bills. Foreclosures will cost the community because people not paying their mortgages are also not paying their HOA Fees.

Final approval of the budget happens at the Oct. 27 HOA meeting. Homeowners will receive copies of the budget with notice of the meeting in the mail in about five days.

Here again is the location of the HOA meeting:

River of Life Christian Center
6605 Krycul Avenue
Riverview, FL 33569
(813) 677-4453


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Secure Your Sliding Glass Door

I mentioned seeking ways to secure my sliding glass door, which has been the entry point for crimes in other units St. Charles Place. A fellow owner did some of my homework for me. Here are his thoughts:

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I've had multiple conversations with the police with regards to the implementation of security devices and have also done a lot of my own research before installing our stuff so hope some of this helps.

Security Features:

1. Brinks / ADT / Other actively monitored security system. Be sure to use sign and stickers in highly visible areas.


2. Yard Sticks. In the area above the sliders you can get $.61 yard sticks at Home Depot and screw them into the frame, which blocks the sliders from being popped off the track.


3. Door Pin. Get the door pin - $3.75 - and (carefully) drill a hole through both doors to install, which will make it easier to control the double sliding doors we have.


4. Sliding Door Security Bar. Cost: $16.47. Install one end on the inside slider door and install the receiving end on the outer sliding door (Rather than the wall across from the inside door). When you lower the bar it not only adds stability, but actually works on both doors instead of just one.


5. One thing that people often neglect is blocking that space on each side of the sliding door blinds where individuals can come up to the doors and peer right into the spaces where TV's and the other valuables they are looking for would be located. In the cross piece along the top and front of the blinds there is an extra blind piece that is inside the framework. You can take that piece out of the frame and then secure it along the side of the blinds with tape or some other fastener to limit the space available for thieves to peer inside your living rooms. I really don't have a visual for this, but hopefully my description works well enough.

Notes:

1. When using larger diameter pins or locks, be very careful with the drilling process. I actually popped one of my windows on my first attempt. It ran $300.00 to fix and took a week.


2. When you get a new alarm system installed, be sure to test it out occasionally by setting it off during the day with the doors open and allowing the community to hear.


3. If you take time and do it on your own, you can keep the expenses below $25.00 and it will save you so much more in headaches and stress.

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The only thing I'd add is that a Hillsborough County sheriff's deputy advising us on starting a Community Watch group told us that monitored security systems don't do a lot of good. Criminals know they can get in and out before the police arrive. If you get a security system, he said, get one with a siren alarm.

Before Criminals Come Calling

Though written for those who rent out their properties, the article, Before Criminals Come Calling Have a Security Plan, is good reading for anyone in the community because it has information about basic steps to secure your property.

It also has food for thought especially for owners who rent their properties. It explains that you want to keep the unit as safe for tenants you would keep it for yourself because of the potential liability involved.

It also spells out why you want to perform criminal as well as credit background checks. If you rent to someone who turns out to be a known criminal who does his misdeeds here, you could get sued! It might cost you a bit of money in the short run but could save you -- and those who live near your unit -- a lot in the long term.

Professional Security Patrols?

A victim of a break-in theft today proposed hiring a professional security guard to patrol the neighborhood during times crimes have typically happened in our community.

I have asked that the issue of hiring a security patrol be added to the next HOA board meeting's agenda. That meeting is Oct. 27 and is also our budget meeting. All owners are welcome to attend.

I have also sent our property manager a list of questions about whether it is common for HOAs to take on hiring security patrols, what the liability would be if either the guard or someone else was injured during the course of a patrol, what the cost would be and where we find qualified people to provide such a service.

Security is expensive. In a brief discussion on the matter at a previous board meeting, it became clear that we will not be able to afford to hire someone to cover all the hours that people are typically away from their homes. We'd have to hire someone to work different shifts on different days each week to ensure that criminals could not predict when we were unprotected.

Be aware that this may or may not be something that is in the board's power to consider. You should also know that even if it is something that the HOA can -- and wants to -- take on, action will not happen immediately. If the board is convinced of the merits of the idea, the vote at the meeting would likely be to solicit bids for security service.

Whether hiring professional security happens or not, we still have the responsibility to look out for each other and to protect ourselves.

HOA Meeting Date Change

The next HOA board of directors meeting, originally scheduled for October 15 will now happen October 27.

It was pushed back due to delays in getting our proposed community budget for next year, which we will approve at the meeting. This process should take 20-30 minutes. After that we will address other community business. As always, all owners are invited and encouraged to attend.

The board's focus is trying to hold down costs so that HOA fees don't rise. Electricity rate hikes mean that our power costs for things such as street lights will go up 15-20%. However, thanks to several calm hurricane seasons, we should see some relief on the cost of our community insurance, which is our biggest expense.

We have been soliciting bids from vendors for services such as our landscaping maintenance. We will soon have a new company mowing our lawns. I'll provide details here soon.

If you have any issues you'd like added to the meeting's agenda, send them to board(at)stcharlesplace(dot)us.

One Day - Two Break-Ins

Two residents reported break-ins to their properties today. Both were end units; both times the criminal or criminals popped the rear sliding glass doors off with a crowbar.

From accounts I have heard, that is the entry point for all these crimes. When we met with a Hillsborough County Sheriff's Deputy earlier this year at the Riverview library, either he or someone else there mentioned a device that you can attach to your sliding glass door that makes it much more difficult for someone to pry it out of its frame. If anyone remembers what that was and where you can buy one, I'll mention it on the community blog.

These crimes have happened during the day, mostly between 10am-2pm. One of the affected residents suggests hiring security to patrol the community during that time.

The idea was broached at a previous HOA board meeting and the advice we got was that hiring someone every day would probably be cost prohibitive, even at just 10am-2pm.

However, we may not need someone every day. We could hire someone to work 2-3 days a week -- making sure that they aren't the same days every week so that criminals can't predict when we're unprotected.

I have asked that we address this issue at the next board meeting. If this is something you have ideas about and want the board to hear them, please plan to attend. The meeting has been moved to October 27. It will also be our annual budget meeting.

HOA Meeting Recap

Thursday night we had our second HOA meeting with the elected board of directors.

Bill Stitt from Bouchard Insurance detailed the insurance coverages our community has. You have insurance that covers the interior or your home. The community insurance covers the structure of the building, the exterior and the roof. It also covers common areas of the community. Basically everything outside of your home.

If you have a mortgage, your bank may have requested copies of the declaration page which summarizes coverage of the master policy of our HOA. Bill Stitt can get you a copy. Email him at BillStitt@BouchardInsurance.com. If you are shopping for homeowners insurance, he can also with an agent who can help.

Other issues we dealt with included approving a new sign that will go onto the pool cabana spelling out the rules for the pool area. We discussed bids from landscaping companies and companies for pond maintenance. We discussed how to enforce the ban on street parking and the problem with garbage left outside the dumpsters.

(That's not an official account of the minutes from the meeting. They are just my top-of-mind recollection.)

We also adopted a policy to make sure we notify you earlier about meetings. Although the law says that HOA board meetings require only 48 hour notice, the board agreed that that was too little.

The aim is to post notice of meetings at least seven days in advance of the meeting. The original posting may not include the meeting agenda. If not, it will be added in time to comply with the 48 hour notice requirement.

Speaking of notification of future board meetings, the next one is scheduled for October 27 at 7 p.m. It is the annual budget meeting and will happen at the same church that has hosted the previous two meetings. I'll post the address and a map when we get closer to the date. If you don't want to wait, check this blog's archives and you'll find it there.

Ah, the Glory of Garbage

I am learning that serving on an HOA board of directors involves a significant amount of cleaning up other people's garbage. Sometimes more literally than others.

Notice anything odd about where the dumpster at the junction of Johanna Ave and Hawthorne Trace is right now?



Right. It's sitting outside its normal container. You're very astute. Why would the garbage truck driver put it there? Hint:



Correct! Because it wouldn't fit with all the garbage left there that people didn't bother to put inside the dumpster.

So guess who got to spend part of his late afternoon doing trash duty? Right again, amigo! Your humble blog author - slash - friendly neighborhood garbage man. Much to the great disappointment of the ants, flies, roaches and at least one toad that had come to feed on the insects.

By the way, if you're trying to diet but struggle to curb your appetite, clean up a dumpster area. That'll clear your food craving right up!

I could have waited for the person we pay to pick up trash around the community to do it. Didn't know we had one of those? Yep. We pay someone roughly $200 a month to pick up the trash that we're too lazy to put into the dumpsters ourselves.

Maybe I should have. Maybe if more people see how disgusting the dumpster areas get, they'd put the trash inside the dumpsters, like the sign on the gate instructs. As it is, there is some sentiment among board members to install surveillance cameras to identify the people who seem to insist on trashing our community.



They won't get any argument from me.

Community Security

One of the efforts discussed at the last HOA meeting was to set up a list of people willing to be called to help handle routine security matters that don't rise to the level of something that requires police involvement. They would be things such as confronting people at the pool after hours, people causing minor disturbances and solicitors.

People who noticed such activity could call people on the list until two or three who were available could go as a group to greet the offender.

Again, we're not asking that people who volunteer for this do police work. Nor are we discouraging people from not calling the police if they see criminal activity. This would be for matters in our community that need not involve the police but that should be addressed.

People willing to do this can e-mail communitywatch1@verizon.net.

HOA Meeting September 10

The next St. Charles Place HOA Board of Directors meeting happens Thursday, September 10 at 7 p.m. The location is the same as the August meeting. The address and map are below.

Remember: Board meetings are open to every homeowner in the community. You are not only welcome to attend but encouraged to do so. If you have things you'd like the board to address, please send your ideas to board@stcharlesplace.us.

River of Life Christian Center
6605 Krycul Avenue
Riverview, FL 33569
(813) 677-4453


View Larger Map

Parking Tickets

Cars parked illegally in the streets here in St. Charles Place were ticketed earlier this week. That was the first warning. Violators get one more.

Then they get towed.

Parking must be in driveways, garages or marked spaces.

Also, the prohibition on commercial vehicles is not simply a community rule. It's a county ordinance. Note:

Sec. 6.05.02. Parking And Loading Standards.

Q. Parking of Domestic and Commercial Vehicles, Private Pleasure Crafts, Recreational Vehicles, Utility Trailers and Hobby Vehicles on Residential Property

2. Commercial Vehicles. The parking of commercial vehicles in any residential district is prohibited. This requirement shall not be interpreted to prohibit vehicles from loading and unloading in any residential district. However, on residentially developed parcels in the AM, A, AR, AS-0.4, AS-1 and ASC-1 zoning districts, the parking of one commercial vehicle per deeded lot shall be permitted provided the lot is at least one acre in size and legally recognized under the provisions of this Code. In such cases, the commercial vehicle shall be exclusively operated by a resident of the deeded lot. These requirements, except for minimum lot size, shall not be varied. However, these requirements do not apply to the parking of commercial vehicles on agriculturally zoned parcels when such vehicles are utilized for permitted non-residential activities on the parcel.

That means that the HOA Board of Directors does not have the leeway to make exceptions. This rule is not new. It was in the documents every homeowner got when they signed the contract to buy the home.

Violators who have not been ticketed or towed before now should think of themselves as having a really long grace period. It has now ended. The community itself could face trouble from the county if commercial vehicles are found parked here overnight.

Notice about Colonial Bank

As you know, we pay our HOA dues through Colonial Bank. That has changed with BBT&T's acquisition of Colonial last Friday. Sort of.

According to an e-mail to board members from the Vice President of Leland Management, our property manager at St. Charles Place, the bank's name has changed but the operations and staff should stay the same.‏

An excerpt:

The bank name will change from Colonial to BB&T. It is our understanding that it is and will continue to be business as usual. At this time, payments via auto pay, coupons and statements will remain the same and be processed even with Colonial Bank’s name on it. Homeowners should continue to make payments just as they have in the past.

You don't have to do anything different to pay your HOA dues.

Protocol for Chinese Drywall Remediation

If you have Chinese drywall in your home, one of the challenges you face is not knowing exactly what needs to be done to fix the problem properly. We may now have some answers. The Florida Professional Coalition For Chinese Drywall has established a protocol for what the remedy should be.

The organization's website offers information about the Coalition. You can download the entire protocol document in PDF format by clicking here.

St. Charles Place HOA board member Beth Burns, who who has Chinese drywall in her home, reports that the protocol detailed in that document is largely in line with the proposal that our builder, KB Home, has offered to fix the problem.

Beth has done volumes of research and is willing to share the fruits of her labors with you. She has investigated everything from how to get a revised assessment from Hillsborough County that will lower your property taxes to what three different attorneys say about KB's settlement offer.

Below is an e-mail that she wanted to reach anyone in our community dealing with the problem.

One of the most important issues for me at the moment concerns the current assessments on our properties for property tax purposes, as they have a deadline of September 14, 2009. The appraiser's office has been very receptive about adjusting the values of the homes. They are unsure of the exact calculations at this time, but are working with other counties to determine how they will reassess homes affected by Chinese Drywall. Generic information about appealing TRIM notice values can be found here: http://www.hcpafl.org/downloads/appeal_process.aspx.

I have been speaking with a woman at the property appraiser's office named Alexandra Fitos (FitosA@hcpafl.org). She has indicated that our community should complete the following items asap:

1) **Compile a spreadsheet of affected homes and owner contract information and send it to her office

2) Individuals may want to file individual appeals using the protocol on the website above (apparently it costs $15)

3) Gather documentation of the presence of Chinese Drywall to present to inspectors that will come to our homes to reassess (letter from KB, test results, pictures of corrosion, etc.)

**I'd be happy to begin the spreadsheet for our community. Please spread the word to your neighbors.

On another note, here is a link to the first protocol for remediating Chinese Drywall: http://www.chinesedrywallprotocol.org/Home_Page.html. Click on "Protocol". This contains the 26-page document I spoke about last night (at the HOA board meeting -editor). Thankfully, what KB is proposing in their settlement does follow the general guidelines presented here, with the exception of the micro-cleaning of personal belongings (and a lot of very vague wording in the replacement paragraphs).

Finally, please spread the word. If a neighbor of yours has Chinese Drywall, please have them log onto stcharlesplace.us to obtain the latest updates for our community.

Thanks to all of you, and I look forward to speaking with you soon.

Regards~
Beth Burns

As mentioned, Beth has consulted with three attorneys, two of whom she says have reviewed KB Home's settlement offer. She is willing to share their recommendations with you. Click here to contact Beth directly. Remember you can reach her or any of your HOA board members on the community website www.stcharlesplace.us.

If you know you have Chinese drywall in your home, it is highly likely that the others in your building do, too. Please share this information with them. Point them to the website where they can find a link to this blog.

HOA Meeting Tonight - Agenda

The HOA meets tonight at 7 p.m. Scroll down to the previous entry to get the location address. Below is the agenda. You'll see that it includes an open owner forum for you to raise any issues not already scheduled and to offer your opinions on those that are on the agenda.

CALL TO ORDER

PROOF OF NOTICE

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

1. Budget Meeting 2008
2. Annual Meeting 2008
3. Turn Over Meeting

MANAGEMENT REPORT

NEW BUSINESS:

1. Landscape Contracts
1. Lease Letter Notices to Owners
2. Pond Maintenance
3. Traffic/Parking
4. Community Pool Monitoring
5. Web Site
6. Budget Meeting/Annual Meeting Schedule
7. Other new business

NEXT MEETING-BOD TBD

OWNER OPEN FORUM

ADJOURNMENT

Don't Forget -- HOA Meeting Tomorrow Night!

The first HOA meeting led by the board of directors elected by homeowners in the St. Charles Place community happens tomorrow night at 7 p.m.

Be there or be a parallelogram!

River of Life Christian Center
6605 Krycul Avenue
Riverview, FL 33569
(813) 677-4453


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HOA Issues Clog Court Dockets

I came across an interesting article in the St. Petersburg Times today.

It concerns how disputes between homeowners and their HOAs can balloon into major and expensive legal cases for both sides. It's interesting reading from a number of perspectives. Some of them don't apply to us because, for instance, we aren't individually responsible for lawn care around our homes.

It discusses a State Representative from Tampa's effort to create an inexpensive way to resolve HOA disputes. Kevin Amber's Home Court Advantage program would allow mediation within 90 days at a cost of $300. Governor Crist vetoed the law last year and the state senate adjourned before considering the matter this year.

Another point it raises is how HOAs are compelled to enforce community rules without exception to protect the integrity of the HOA and the community rules.

One thing the article doesn't mention saliently is how the HOA is not some nebulous secret entity out there somewhere designed to cause people trouble. If you own a property here in St. Charles Place, YOU are part of the HOA. The board members you elected are your fellow owners. All of the current board members live in in the community.

The community rules aren't imposed on you from some invisible, faceless force. They're the rules to which you agreed when you bought your home here. In some cases, such as the requirement to pick up after your dogs, the community rules merely repeat county ordinances. (That's right! It's illegal in Hillsborough County to leave your dog's poop on the ground.) We could not change the rule if we wanted.

If you have concerns about the HOA and how it's run, get involved. Stay in contact with the board members. Show up to HOA meetings -- the next one is next Tuesday. The board does not -- and cannot -- meet without you being invited.

Chinese Drywall and Property Assessments

If your home has Chinese drywall, you may be able to get a revised assessment of its value from the Hillsborough County Appraiser's Office. This could reduce your tax bill. The county plans to have comprehensive set of guidelines for adjustment in a week or so.

It asks that individual homeowners not contact the office directly right now because it will create a backlog that will bog down efforts to create the assessment guidelines.

One of our HOA board members, Beth Burns, is collecting the names and addresses of affected homeowners here in St. Charles Place. She will forward your information to the county, which will send you information about the new assessment guidelines once they have been established.

Contact Beth at atlarge@stcharlesplace.us. She will also entertain any questions you have about the the county's action. That reminds me. Below is a list of your St. Charles Place HOA Board of Directors. Click on their names to send an e-mail to them.

• David Hey, President


• John McQuiston, Vice-President


• Ed Palmer, Secretary


• Melissa Larson Cosby, Treasurer


• Beth Burns, Director at Large

If you have a question for the entire board, or want to be sure your message reaches all of us, you can use the contact page on the community's website, http://stcharlesplace.us.

Answer the Door

As we look for ways to thwart crime, there is a simple thing we can do that we may overlook. How many of us do not answer the door when someone knocks?

Yes, I know. It's probably someone trying to sell something and you're in the middle of dinner and you don't want to deal with it. But you should. The sooner someone informs a solicitor that going door-to-door is not permitted here and that he needs to leave, the quicker he gets the idea that it's not worth the bother.

Most know that they have to leave once asked. Otherwise they're tresspassing. A few will wait for you to go back inside and then continue on. I've made it a habit to go outside and watch the person to make sure he or she leaves.

And now you wonder, "how does this prevent crime?" Most people knocking on doors are trying to sell something or advertise something but at least they may be willing to come by your money honestly.

Others may be criminals casing the neighborhood — testing us to see how we respond. If no one answers their knocks, it tells criminals that the residents don't get involved. They don't come to the door, they don't watch what's going on in the neighborhood, and, finally, they don't know who belongs here or not.

If people can't bother to come to the door when someone knocks, criminals know that they can move freely around our neighbohood without fear that someone will confront them.

That's why the no solicitation rule — which includes anyone not from the HOA passing out any kind of literature — protects the safety of the community. It's not only designed to protect us from scammers, who often reach victims with flyers, roadside signs or going door-to-door, it's a security issue.

So don't hesitate to stop someone giving you some sales spiel in his tracks. Don't be dissuaded when he tells you he's not soliciting, he's merely advertising (like two people I confronted tonight) or he wants you to visit his church or whatever else he is distributing.

Merriam Webster defines solicit to mean "to approach with a request or plea." It doesn't say anything about selling. All of the above things are soliciting. But before we can chase off solicitors, we might have to do something else first.

Answer the door.

No Street Parking. No Kidding.

Apparently not everyone is aware that parking on the streets here in St. Charles Place is not allowed.

Some residents have reported problems passing parked cars on streets. More than an inconvenience, it's also a safety hazard. We have to keep the roads clear for emergency vehicles. There is not enough room for a fire truck to pass a car parked on one of our streets.

If your cars don't fit in your driveway, you need to park in a designated space. I know for some people that's not convenient but it has to be done. You can get ticketed or towed.

When you bought your home, you got a big sheaf of documents that detailed all the DOs and DON'Ts of things like this. Buying the home meant agreeing to these rules. If you haven't read through them, you should. It's important because the community has to enforce them. If you have questions about them, contact Mary Fritzler at Leland Management. Her number is 727-451-7908. Or you can reach her by e-mail at mfritzler@lelandmanagement.com.

If you're a landlord renting out your property, make sure your renters know the rules so that they don't get nailed with a parking ticket or towing fee they didn't expect.

Another Chinese Drywall Resource

The federal government's Consumer Product Safety Commission has a website (http://www.cpsc.gov/info/drywall/index.html) with information about Chinese drywall.

For an issue that hits as literally close to home as this, people are naturally going to look far and wide for sources of information about it. You're skeptical about what KB Home tells you because the builder obviously wants to fix the problem as cheaply as possible, preferably with a signed documents in hand that relieve KB of any further obligation to you — even if the fix doesn't work.

But you should also beware those who will try to exploit your fears for their own gain. There probably is not a trial lawyer in Florida whose website does not have a page devoted to Chinese drywall. Your tragedy is their payday. They don't have much more concern for you than KB Home does except that KB has your money (or your bank's money) already and the lawyer hopes to get it.

One person in the community has passed along information from something called the Chinese Drywall Complaint Center. It's a website put up by a self-described consumer advocacy group called America's Watchdog.

M. Thomas Martin, America's Watchdog's President, is an ex-con who spent two years in prison for fraud. The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported in March that Martin may be table pounding the Chinese drywall issue to raise his tiny organization's profile.

So when he says on his site, "we believe up to 500,000 US homes built, or remodeled since 2001, could have this lethal Chinese drywall in them," while the Consumer Product Safety Commission reports fewer than 900 cases in 23 states and Washington, D.C. to date, take it with a grain of salt.

The term "lethal" is also misleading. There are no reported deaths from Chinese drywall.

There are real problems associated with Chinese drywall, no doubt. Just beware the people who will play on your fears for profit if you give them a chance. Your humble blog correspondent will report any reliable information that he receives about this or any issue affecting your home here in St. Charles Place.

Recycling

Even if you don't care about the benefits to the environment, there is a more practical reason to recycle your paper, plastic, glass and metal recyclables. It saves space in the trash dumpsters!

This helps keep the dumpster areas cleaner, which not only makes them more attractive but more sanitary and less likely to attract animals looking to scavenge a meal, which just spreads the mess around even more.

If you don't have recycling bins, you can request them from Hillsborough County by calling (813) 272-5680 or by e-mailing SolidWaste@HillsboroughCounty.org. There is no charge for this.

If you already have the bins, here's an update for you: The county now accepts paperboard products. These include:

• Cereal Boxes
  
• Cracker Boxes
  
• Soda & Beer Carriers
  
• Shoe Boxes
  
• Gift Boxes

About the only kind of paper product you can't recycle now is waxed or so-called "wet-strength" paperboard. These are boxes that hold food or liquid. If the box was for something that you put in your refrigerator or freezer, you can't recycle that.

Apologies for the time between posts. Your humble blog author was out of town for most of the past week and did not want to advertise the fact.

HOA Board Meeting

The first HOA Board of Directors meeting featuring the community elected board has been scheduled for August 18. You will get a notice by mail.

Note that the location is different than that of the previous HOA meetings. The other church charges $250 for meetings. This one has given us a much better rate. Its address and a Google map are below.

River of Life Christian Center
6605 Krycul Avenue
Riverview, FL 33569
(813) 677-4453


View Larger Map

More Chinese Drywall News

One of our fellow owners had a preliminary inspection by Tom Schramsky from KB Home that showed signs of Chinese drywall. Schramsky ordered more tests to be conducted by a third-party company. The results from those tests are due in 2-3 weeks.

The owner in question asked Schramsky some questions about how KB Home intends to remedy the problem homes. His summary follows below.

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1. If we receive a call saying that we have Chinese drywall in our home, what is the process from there?

ANSWER: Tom will be back by with a customer agreement that we will need to review and sign. We will not be meeting with someone from KB's office, but with Tom. From there, we will have to get an estimate from a mover, since KB cannot pay them directly because of insurance reasons. They will cut us a check and we will then pay the mover. As for housing, he wasn't too clear, but my understanding is that there is a flat rate allowance for housing and the size of your family will determine if additional monies will be allowed for housing. My thoughts are that I would be be very hesitant to sign anything. This contract will be set up to favor KB. The research I've done suggests that KB will essentially have you sign your rights away to any future litigation or claims.

2. What is the condition our home will be returned to and what items will be reused?

ANSWER: The home will be returned to the condition it was at our closing. Any physical changes to the home (paint, chair rails, moldings, etc.) will not be returned to the condition they were in prior to the remediation process. They would get estimates for any upgrades we have made to our homes and provide us with some type of cash settlement. This process may require you to have your receipts for improvements you made to your home. They will move any "affected" product and replace it. That would be the drywall and then possibly wiring, plumbing, AC components depending on whether it is found to be "affected". Anything removed from the home that is not damaged will be returned (cabinets, fixtures, countertops, etc.). Carpet would be replaced but any hardsurfaces would most likely be reused. For example, we installed hardwood laminate in our downstairs and they would "cover" the flooring to protect it during the process.

3. How long is the process?

ANSWER: They are estimating that we will be out of our homes for 8 - 12 weeks.

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By the way, this is a good reminder to keep receipts for any upgrades you have done or plan to do to your home. Not only can you use it to prove to a potential buyer someday what you did to improve your home, it can also help protect you in cases of disaster -- whether it be Chinese drywall or a hurricane after which your insurance company may want documentation that you have done work to your home.

Drywall Check

Your humble correspondent had his visit with Tom Schramsky today. He is the person from KB Home doing the preliminary inspection looking for obvious signs of problems caused by the now infamous Chinese drywall.

He went into each room and checked behind some of the outlet and switch plate covers. He looked behind the refrigerator and at the air conditioning coils. He arrived promptly at noon and left by 12:35.

Schramsky says he found nothing alarming and that KB Home will send a written statement to that effect in about two weeks. Another couple in this building got a similar clearance. He says that if one unit in a building is free of the Chinese drywall it is likely that the whole building is OK but he recommends that every homeowner have him come check their units anyway.

(Contact Schramsky at (772) 360-6896 to arrange an inspection.)

People in other buildings have not been as lucky. Their cursory checks showed symptoms typical of problems associated with Chinese drywall such as corrosion of copper wiring and air conditioning coils.

In these cases, Schramsky calls a third party to do a more thorough inspection to determine for certain whether Chinese drywall is the culprit. At least one homeowner here in St. Charles Place has reported getting a phone call saying that the tests had come back positive for Chinese drywall.

Schramsky said that the only remedy he knew of was moving the people and their belongings out of the home, tearing it down to the studs and starting over. He promised that KB Home intends "to do the right thing" for affected owners.

As far as what the HOA's role in this could be, we've asked Mary Fritzler from our property management company to check with our community lawyer. (We have one. He's the one who drafted the letter explaining the possible consequences if we had not reached a quorum at our last attempted turnover meeting.)

Mary's understanding was that it was an individual warranty issue. If that turns out to be the case, the spirit of the HOA board is that we'll do whatever we can to facilitate communication among affected owners so that they can take the best action possible.

If you have news to share about this, or any community issue, you're welcome to contact any of your board members or stcharlesblog (at) gmail (dot) com.

Chinese Drywall

Some owners have complained of problems linked to use of Chinese drywall in their homes' construction. They include a sulfur smell, air conditioning problems and damage to copper tubing and wires. If you're not familiar with Chinese drywall, the Wall Street Journal details the problems in this report from April.

KB Home is offering preliminary inspections to look for obvious signs of Chinese drywall. Contact Tom Schramsky at (772) 360-6896 to arrange one. Inspections take about 45 minutes.

Florida's Department of Health has a page on its website with some things to look for. These are the things Schramsky will be checking for when he inspects your home.

If his review shows signs typical of problems attributed to Chinese drywall, he'll schedule a third-party inspection with an environmental company that will confirm whether or not KB Home used Chinese drywall to build your home.

Garage Sales and Home-Based Businesses

It appears that a home on Kensington Park Ave. is hosting the world's longest moving sale. Each of the last several weekends you might have noticed signs at our community's entrances advertising the event.

One minor problem: It violates county codes. According to the Hillsborough County Code Enforcement Department:

Garage sales are allowed in residential districts. However, there should be only one sale in a six-month period and each garage sale should be no more than three days long.

You can read this information from its source on the county website. Click here to download the PDF document, which answers other common questions, including several about home-based businesses, which this marathon moving sale appears to be. Again from the county code enforcers:

Only small home businesses are allowed in residential areas. They must be unobtrusive with very little impact on surrounding properties and must be permitted by Hillsborough County. A few examples of this use would be sewing, ironing, private tutoring, domestic crafts and professional services. Examples of what would not be allowed as a home occupation would be auto repair, kennels, catering or a physician’s office. Additional conditions placed on a home-based business include:

Noise levels, traffic and property appearance must remain normal

Employees, other than occupants, are not allowed

Warehousing of goods is not allowed

Pool Locks

Recently someone's key broke off in one of the community pool's gate locks. It has been replaced and your old pool key still works. Only one thing. This lock works differently than the old one. It doesn't lock automatically behind you. So when you leave the pool, please make sure you lock the gate behind you. That will help keep the pool secure.

Speaking of locks...



If you go to the pool, you'll notice that more often than not, somone has used the deadbolts of the cabana bathroom doors to prop the doors open. I know it's inconvenient to have to use your pool key to go into the bathroom. And goodness knows we don't want people using the pool as a toilet. However...



Doing this damages the deadbolt. It is not designed to support the weight of the door like this. Eventually the deadbolt won't work for its originally intended purpose. So please give the bolts a break.

One more gentle reminder about the pool. NEITHER FOOD NOR DRINK IS ALLOWED ANYWHERE INSIDE THE POOL AREA. I know it doesn't say that on the gate signs but there is a sign along the fence inside that clearly states this.



Some people have been treating the community pool like it's their own backyard pool -- minus the cleanup afterward, which the folks have generously left to others.

So, please, be true to your school and be cool to your pool.

From Humble Beginnings

This was the site of where homes now sit along Johanna Avenue in the fall of 2005. We have come a long way since then. A few buildings sprang up and the first residents were far outnumbered by construction workers piecing together the concrete blocks and upper floor wood frames of their future neighbors' homes.

Thanks to the housing bust, it took longer than projected for KB Home to complete the build-out but here we are. Almost four years in the making, the St. Charles Place townhome community passed a milestone last night when we elected a board of directors comprised of our fellow owners. We now stand on our own.

We have a lot going for us. We have well-designed, visually appealing homes. We are less than two miles from I-75 and the ramp to the Crosstown Expressway. We can walk to the grocery store and several restaurants. Brandon mall shopping is less than a five mile ride away.

Yet we also face challenges that confront every community. We have to protect ourselves, our neighbors and our homes from criminals. We have to make sure all residents know the community rules to ensure the rights and comfort of their neighbors. Future development along US-301 could bring more traffic and people onto our streets.

Now that we have our own board of directors, we can better address issues that we must deal with as a community. But there is no magic potion, no silver bullet, no panacea that, with one swipe of a hand, we can make any problems we have disappear.

It will take everyone's continued involvement and effort to make the community that rose from the dirt in the last few years one in which we're all safe, secure and proud to call our homes.

St. Charles Place Townhomes

View Larger Map

St. Charles Place is a townhome community in Riverview, Florida. Conveniently located a half-mile north of the Alafia River along US-301, St. Charles Place residents have easy access to I-75, the Selmon Crosstown Expressway and are a mere five miles from the Brandon Mall.

An array of restaurants and a grocery store sit within walking distance with public parks and the Riverview branch of the Hillsborough County Library less than two miles away.

Homebuilder KB Home began construction in 2005 and completed the last of the 268 homes in 2008.

HOA Board of Directors

You can send a message that reaches all HOA Board of Directors by e-mailing board (at) stcharlesplace (dot) us. Click here to read all HOA-related news on this site.

Property Manager

Leland Management is our property manager. If you have questions about maintenance of the common areas of the community, contact Gary Vosselman at Leland by phone at 727-451-7906 or e-mail at gvosselmann@lelandmanagement.com.

Recycling

You can request recycling bins from Hillsborough County at no charge. Call (813) 272-5680 or e-mail SolidWaste@HillsboroughCounty.org.

Chinese Drywall

Some homes in the community were constructed using drywall made in China that contains toxic substances. The community's original home builder, KB Home, is remedying affected homes. Have your home inspected for Chinese drywall. Contact Tom Schramsky from KB Home at (772) 360-6896 to arrange a time. Click here to read all items on this site related to Chinese Drywall in our community.

Warranty Questions

If you are having a problem with your home that may be covered by its warranty from KB Home, you may call 800-305-2246.

This Blog

St. Charles Blog is written by a resident/owner in the community. This blog contains opinions and commentary that may not represent the views of the the St. Charles Place Homeowners Association, Inc. Send feedback to StCharlesBlogger (at) gmail (dot) com.

Utilities

Electricity

Tampa Electric (TECO)

Customer Service: 813-223-0800
Power Outages: 877-588-1010

Telephone/Cable TV

BrightHouse Networks

Cable: 813-684-6400
Internet: 813-316-2626
Phone: 352-848-2580 (611 for BrightHouse customers calling from home)

Verizon

FIOS Sales: 888-881-8161
Billing/Repair: 800-837-4966
Orders: 800-483-4000
FIOS Customer Service: 888-553-1555

Water

Water for St. Charles Place is a common utility paid through HOA fees and is supplied by Hillsborough County Water Resource Services. Non-emergency issues should be referred to the Property Manager

The emergency number for Hillsborough County Water Resource Services is 813-744-5600.

Pest Control

The HOA contracts for pest control outside the buildings.

Hughes Exterminators is the current contractor supplying pest control services to St. Charles Place. They will treat the inside of a townhouse upon request from the owner during one of their regular visits to the community. This is being provided as a courtesy to the community and is not part of their contract, so the offer may be withdrawn at any time.

To schedule service, contact Allen at 813-334-5846 or 813-884-1555.

Area Public Schools

Symmes Elementary School
6280 Watson Rd.
Riverview, FL 33569
(Directions)
813-740-4182

Giunta Middle School
4202 S. Falkenburg Rd.
Riverview, FL 33578
(Directions)
813-740-4888

Spoto High School
8538 Eagle Palm Dr.
Riverview, FL 33578
(Directions)
813-672-5405

Hillsborough County Public Schools
901 E. Kennedy Blvd.
Tampa, FL 33602
813-272-4000

School Calendars

Property Manager

Excelsior Community Management is our property manager. If you have questions about maintenance of the common areas of the community, contact Jennifer Robertson at Excelsior. Phone: 813-349-6552

StCharlesPlaceHOAManagement@TampaBay.rr.com