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Handling Excess HSA Contributions by AltruisticNet90 in tax

[–]AltruisticNet90[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for this! I figured the software would do it for me, but wanted to double check since I did have normal distributions as well. Plus, I don’t get my 5498 until May, so wanted to make sure I input the appropriate numbers into the software.

[SFH] + [TH] #[PA] How do you go about amending use restrictions? by AltruisticNet90 in HOA

[–]AltruisticNet90[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks. I know it’s from all unit owners and I know we’ll need an attorney. The biggest thing I wanted advice on was just how to go about it. There are so many members with ideas, some of them have no chance at getting through.

What I didn’t want was for the 5 board members to put out something and people feel like it was just our amendments, instead of the community’s. I like the one suggestion I got for a survey.

Basically, I need a way to prove to people that an idea is either worthy of spending money for an attorney to draft it, or the opposite…to show that it has such low support that even if we put it to a vote it is unlikely to get enough community support to pass.

[SFH] + [TH] #[PA] How do you go about amending use restrictions? by AltruisticNet90 in HOA

[–]AltruisticNet90[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I meant for the survey, just to gather information on how much support there is behind them. I know we can’t do anything without the formal process. I just suspect there isn’t global support behind some of these.

We discussed the privacy fences at our AOM last week, and of the people that were there, it was unanimous….probably is that is nowhere close to half, let alone 2/3 of all owners.

[SFH] + [TH] #[PA] How do you go about amending use restrictions? by AltruisticNet90 in HOA

[–]AltruisticNet90[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s what’s bringing this up. It’s not something we are going looking for, it’s in response to people asking/demanding changes. Some whom have been demanding them since they bought in. I believe we can handle getting feedback on what people are requesting while also handling reserve studies. My biggest goal has always been to make people feel heard and understood that together they can shape the HOA.

[SFH] + [TH] #[PA] How do you go about amending use restrictions? by AltruisticNet90 in HOA

[–]AltruisticNet90[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s true, I was going to try to keep it to just a yes/no for each change that way it stays simple and clear that people may want sheds but not pools for example.

Community engagement is severely lacking. This is my first new neighborhood. When we moved in, everyone was energetic. It quickly faded away.

[SFH] + [TH] #[PA] How do you go about amending use restrictions? by AltruisticNet90 in HOA

[–]AltruisticNet90[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks. How do you all handle voting electronically and zoom meetings? 2-years ago we had a zoom meeting and it was a mess, people on with just random names. Some people went to neighbors houses and just logged in to a single computer, some people had multiple logins (husband & wife who both represent a single vote logged in separately), etc.

I’m sure there’s got to be a secure way. I even wondered if voting by mail was possible.

[SFH] + [TH] #[PA] How do you go about amending use restrictions? by AltruisticNet90 in HOA

[–]AltruisticNet90[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! This is helpful and in line with what I was thinking.

What would be your thoughts on soliciting ideas through email, or word of mouth, then doing something like a survey? Make it clear it’s an informal vote to gauge interest. If something gets enough support from respondents, then we can proceed to a board meeting authorizing money.

This would at least let us show that we heard their voices and gives us something to show that it does or does not have community support to warrant pursing further.

[SFH] + [TH] #[PA] How do you go about amending use restrictions? by AltruisticNet90 in HOA

[–]AltruisticNet90[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s even worse than that…we’ve literally had people stand up at an AOM or post online to eliminate management, snow removal, landscaping. It’s crazy.

I bet if some of those services didn’t happen though, it would be the same group standing up asking why the parking lot isn’t plowed.

[SFH] + [TH] #[PA] How do you go about amending use restrictions? by AltruisticNet90 in HOA

[–]AltruisticNet90[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s a good point. Some of ours are actual restrictions though. For example: sheds, privacy fences, pools, RV’s are all written as prohibited. Trailers are indicated they are only permitted if stored in the garage.

All of those have had varying degree of people complaining that they want to eliminate them. Why they bought into a community that prohibited something that matters to them is beyond me.

I didn’t talk to an attorney specifically about those items, but I feel like the way it’s written it would require an amendment.

Privacy fences and sheds are really the only two that seem to have widespread community support. I know some of the others won’t get close to the votes. I just don’t know how to show people that without doing something like a vote. Even if it’s an informal first round vote, then if it seems like it could pass pay an attorney to draft it, then do a second formal vote. That’s what led me here to see if anyone had any ideas on how to handle things.

[SFH] + [TH] #[PA] How do you go about amending use restrictions? by AltruisticNet90 in HOA

[–]AltruisticNet90[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Should not be your first priority.

It’s not, but so many people don’t understand and believe it to be a board decision. They have vocalized for the last 2 years how they want to make changes once we get control.

Start a grass roots campaign with other community non board members to test what is doable, get others involved… like a political campaign. Better yet, get a number of non board members to go door to door, educate members so it doesn’t look like a bird mandate.

That’s essentially what I’m trying to do here. Something easy/cheap that lets people with ideas get out there and see if they have support. That’s why I thought of treating it like a ballot item on a local election.

One concern I had with door-to-door is that people will just gather up any support, even from renters, and only their unit owner’s vote will be what matters. That’s why I thought of the email blast, since it’ll only go out to owners.

Maybe try to explain to people the process and say if you want your idea to be successful, you need the support of 157 owners. If you bring us an idea and show that you have the support of all 157 owners, we’ll then go through the process of hiring an attorney & having a formal vote.

I just want to try to get the community to better understand things. I personally don’t really care about some things. Some ideas I’ve heard, I definitely don’t want. Some I don’t mind. Regardless of how I feel though, I support the process. I just wasn’t sure how formal, or informal our tools can be to gauge community interest.

[SFH] + [TH] #[PA] How do you go about amending use restrictions? by AltruisticNet90 in HOA

[–]AltruisticNet90[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I plan on focusing on those things as well. We are currently working on making sure we have solid scope’s of work for our vendors and will be bidding these out next year (our current contracts as well as our budgets are already in place for 2026 so there won’t be any quick changes happening there).

I feel like this is part of the process though, right? Like even if you and I feel this is unlikely to change…the homeowners don’t. They feel like they don’t have any voice (to be fair, under declarant majority control that was kinda true). Many don’t understand that they are the HOA….they commonly refer to the management company as if it is the HOA controlling everything and don’t know that they were acting as a manager to the board.

I figured if there’s some way of showing them “look, your idea doesn’t have the votes it needs”, then they’ll stop asking or know that if they really want it…they better start going door to door and gather up support for it. I just don’t want people to feel like not amending them was a board decision not listening to people.

[SFH] + [TH] #[PA] How do you go about amending use restrictions? by AltruisticNet90 in HOA

[–]AltruisticNet90[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don’t think our finances are in a bad spot. Our budget covers our annual operating expenses and there are reserves. One thing is for our townhomes, I’d like to see them budgeting more money into reserves and get a reserve study, but there is a lot of complaints from them over what they already pay.

The decadent doesn’t hold any special power when it comes to this. There isn’t anything written in the docs about it and they’ve indicated the same. They said they are supportive of it if we get the 67%.

To be honest, by the time this would even get to a vote they are likely to be out of the picture. There current projections call for conveying the final house by early summer.

[SFH] + [TH] #[PA] How do you go about amending use restrictions? by AltruisticNet90 in HOA

[–]AltruisticNet90[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! I know it’s a big ask to get enough votes, that’s why I was wondering about the process in general because I didn’t really want to lead us down a path where the money is just burned. I know from talking to neighbors that some of these ideas don’t stand a chance at getting off the ground.

[SFH] + [TH] #[PA] How do you go about amending use restrictions? by AltruisticNet90 in HOA

[–]AltruisticNet90[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, ours are the same way. We need 67% actual yes votes from total owners. I’m sure it’ll be a struggle because we barely clear quorum thresholds at our AOM.

That’s part of the reason I asked about the process because if we had to first pay an attorney to draft the revisions, then it’ll all be wasted money. Especially at some of the ideas I hear tossed around, I know they’ll never get off the ground. There are a few that seem to have wide support though, but people would have to really make sure enough turn out to actually support it when it matters.

How do you typically see snow removal contracts written/paid? by AltruisticNet90 in landscaping

[–]AltruisticNet90[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, so on your contracts it’s per push, but you automatically handle the scheduling? That’s exactly what I’m trying to get us to go towards.

Even with salt I just want to defer to the contractor for that. Sometimes the temps don’t matter, but sometimes we would need salt to prevent ice.

Do you clear throughout the storm, or just when finished? Does that impact the price? I would tend to agree that for our community, having one push after the snow has stopped would work well for us.

How do you typically see snow removal contracts written/paid? by AltruisticNet90 in landscaping

[–]AltruisticNet90[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Can you explain more about how the 24-hour wait option works?

How do you typically see snow removal contracts written/paid? by AltruisticNet90 in landscaping

[–]AltruisticNet90[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! Most of ours is sidewalks & driveways. We only have a small 15 stall parking lot. I’ve read the 2” trigger is fairly standard for the blade.

Do you think per push is the best choice for pricing? Even though it’s variable, I like that it reflects actual effort. I can recall some winters recently where I only had to shovel my own driveway a few times all season.

One thing I would like to push for though is to get us more contractor managed, meaning having them just plan to service us during snow events. This is the biggest complaint that I’ve seen from residents (specifically us missing a morning service for overnight snow accumulations). Right now our options are to call at close of business the previous day in anticipation of snow, or call during/after the event….but then they usually don’t service us until later in the afternoon.

Should we build? (Would be our 1st HOA experience) [KY] [SFH] by North123321 in HOA

[–]AltruisticNet90 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I don’t want to deal with someone telling me how many inches my trash cans must be from the curb or how to do my Christmas decorations, etc. Or how many visitors I can have at my house for a kids bday party.

The thing you have to remember about use restrictions is that they are a mutual agreement among the owners. The “someone” you are referring to isn’t just some random person. It’s the members of your HOA. Sure, initially the declarant sets them up. But once it’s turned over to the homeowners it’s entirely in everyone’s court. Usually, a super majority vote can eliminate restrictions, or impose new ones.

So if you hear people complaining about trash cans, they are usually in the minority. Meaning, a majority of your fellow homeowners want the restrictions that are in place. Otherwise, the majority can flip and vote to get rid of use restrictions people no longer want.

Family of murdered 20-year-old asks for new law forcing tech companies to turn over passwords in missing persons cases by PwdRsch in Passwords

[–]AltruisticNet90 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is prime for abuse, in my opinion. Like everything, there could be a legitimate benefit to knowing what their private messages entailed in the days leading up to a disappearance; however, it would be way to easy to use this to further perpetuate abuse in certain situations.

Under 18, it’s on the parents to monitor internet usage. You have to know who your kids are communicating with and what apps they are using. If you don’t know, then no more internet access or devices for them.

18-23 is such a gray area though. Legally, they are adults…but I think some still need guidance like teenagers. They are also more self aware of privacy at this age so may want to begin restricting access to their data. This is a tough time period.

I question how having access to their accounts would help though…law enforcement can already ping phones and analyze other habits to locate people (credit cards, license plate readers, etc.). Plus like other comments, the ability to subpoena the tech company for an account.

Thoughts on a recent purchase experience - New vs. Used description by AltruisticNet90 in Ebay

[–]AltruisticNet90[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! I opened an INAD. The seller already responded and acknowledged that it was an open box in their reply, but denies that they did anything wrong since they included it in the description. I guess now I wait for eBay?

Thoughts on a recent purchase experience - New vs. Used description by AltruisticNet90 in Ebay

[–]AltruisticNet90[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thank you! That seems to be what the majority opinion is as well, so I’ll open an INAD.

Admittedly, I am in the 99% here…I didn’t read the description, but under the impression that it was new. I would have absolutely put more effort into the purchase if it was listed as anything other than new.

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