March 2005

News from February's Homeowners Meeting

New board member:

The Board would like to introduce its newest Director, Robert Dauffenbach. Living in Tierrasanta for the last 15 years, he has been a resident of Villa Monterey (Rimpark Lane) since 1995. Originally from Pleasant Hill in Northern California, Robert relocated to San Diego in 1990 to accept a position with the State of California Department of Transportation. He is now a Senior Right of Way Agent with Caltrans, appraising and acquiring real estate in San Diego and Imperial counties for transportation projects. Nearly 6 years ago he met the love of his life, Teri (also a long-time resident of our community), at a VMHOA meeting! He walked her home after the meeting, and the two have been inseparable ever since! Robert volunteered to serve as a Director at the December 2004 VMHOA meeting and has indicated he is happy to serve his Villa Monterey neighbors for as long as his services may be needed. Please join us in welcoming Robert to the Villa Monterey Board of Directors.

April Board elections:

Two of our current board members are up for re-election so those positions are available for nominations. If you are interested or know someone who is interested in running, please contact Kathy from Preferred Property for applications.  

Insurance presentation:

The VMHOA insurance agent was a guest speaker. He explained that the VMHOA master policy with Traveler's Insurance covers our structures for property damage, general liability, director's and officers, fidelity bond (protects homeowners from the board mishandling funds), and earthquake & flood. We have guaranteed replacement coverage which means that if your unit is destroyed, it will be rebuilt to the original standard. In other words, any upgrades that you (or a previous homeowner) have made will not be included. That is your responsibility. There is a $10,000 deductible which should be covered by your own homeowner's policy.

In case of an earthquake, you are liable for 5% of the replacement cost (not the current value of your unit). This is another reason to have your own current homeowner's policy and verify that you are covered if/when catastrophe strikes.

All homeowners are encouraged to check their personal homeowner's insurance policy to make sure you have an HO6 (condominium) policy. When calling your insurance company to find out if they cover the $10,000 deductible, you should ask them, "Do I have a loss assessment endorsement? If so, how much?" It should be at least $10,000 to cover the deductible.

Other items from the meeting

We all think that we are living in a "safe" neighborhood, and, for the most part, we are. However, please keep your eyes open for any abnormal behavior and don't be afraid to report anything you see that doesn't look right!! At least one residence has recently been "entered" illegally and there have been four vehicle break-ins recently on Antigua in broad daylight. Please be alert and careful, but, if you can, be helpful as well!

Sidewalk repairs continue. As you may have noticed, there are ground-down areas on the common use walkways where workers have worked to minimize the "trip potential". This work will be expanded in the future to include "personal" sidewalks.

In the next few weeks, you may notice a building or two being "tented" for termites. As most of you know, this is a normal occurrence that happens occasionally and is not the sign of a runaway bug threat! It is, however, a reminder for all of us to watch for signs of infestation around our units. As we stated a while back, the earlier this is detected, the easier it is to combat. AND less expensive to all concerned.

You may have also noticed that, as we warned a couple of newsletters back, many sprinkler heads have been changed to the newer low-flow heads. This is part of the continuing effort to conserve resources (and $) while maintaining our beautiful landscaping.

On a related topic, if you doubt the great job our landscapers are doing or sometimes wonder why we have "so many rules" concerning the appearance of our complex, take a walk/jog through some of our neighbors' condo complexes. Villa Monterey is absolutely the best looking PUD (planned unit development) in Tierrasanta. And your property values reflect it!!

Now that we are in March and most New Years' resolutions are merely history, this should give us all food for thought………or not:

• A hippo's stomach is 10 ft. long and can hold 400 lbs. of food. And oh, by the way, in spite of the 400 lbs. of food, hippos can run faster than humans.
• A sign of the times, I'm afraid: ONE of every ten people surveyed say they are satisfied with their jobs. Have any of you met that person?

The next homeowner's meeting will be on Wednesday, March 9th at 6:00 p.m. and all homeowners are encouraged to attend. Remember, it's always the second Wednesday of the month.

Property Manager

Preferred Property Managers

Kathy Michaels, Property Manager
8963 Complex Drive, Suite B,
San Diego, CA 92123-1416
vox 858-569-8773
fax 858-569-8782