Westfield of Vero
Editorial
Board of Directors
Westfield
When it all Began
It was January of 2008 when Lorraine and I first arrived at the site of a new development in Vero Beach called Westfield. As we came to the entrance in the big white fence, we could see only one home in the development, the sales office. Nick, the friendly Real Estate agent for Moranda Homes, gave us a brochure of the homes that would be built in this new development and a price sheet with each model.
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Three things caught our attention immediately, the cost of the models, the low annual fee and the small size of the development. Four months later we moved into our new home on the lakeside east.
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During the next year and a half, nineteen homes were built and the development was starting to take shape. Unfortunately, the housing bubble was also taking shape. New housing starts came to a halt, Mortgage lending had ceased and some of the banks were in collapse.
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During the following year, with no homes being sold and no capitol coming in, the developer was forced into foreclosure as the bank took possession of the subdivision. State laws provides that once the developer loses possession of the subdivision, they are required to turn over the Association to the existing Homeowners.
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Three of these existing homeowners agreed to become officers of the Non Profit Corporation known as Westfield of Vero HOA, Inc. and another agreed to become Chairman of the Architectural Review Committee as provided in the By-Laws. Our only question at this time was “Now that we have it, what do we do with it?
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Our first encounter with the process came when the Developers Property Management Company informed us that since we only had nineteen homes in the development, the monthly management fee would have to double if they were to continue to provide services to Westfield. Our search for a new local property management company started the following week.
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After investigating several companies in the area, Schlitt Property Management stood out above the rest and an interview was set up with the new Board of Directors. Knowing that it could be years before the Real Estate market would return, Schlitt agreed to provide their people, services and expertise at an extremely low rate with expectation of growing as the economy and housing market returned to normal. Thus began the education of the Association Directors.
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Terry Calhoun, one of their most experienced people, was appointed by Schlitt as the Property Manager for the Westfield Development and that was a lucky day for the new Board as Terry took us by hand and introduced us to the wonderful world of Association Management.
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Reading the documents was the first assignment from Terry, who introduced us to the Articles of Incorporation, The By-Laws and the Declaration of Covenants, which are the basis for managing all aspects of the business. After reading them three times in three days my head hurt, and I was glad that I never went to law school.
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Since the bank owned all of the lots now, Terry spent most of her day trying to get them to pay the fees that were due to the Association, so that we could pay our bills every month. Just as someone at the bank would agree to pay their fees, the bank was sold to another bank and the process would start all over again. During this time, Terry would convince the vendors to continue to service us even though they had not been paid for months...
...Finally, the bank paid the money that was due, but not before we were served with a law suit from the landscaper, who was owed over ten thousand dollars. He was eventually paid but not before he resigned and left to find a customer who could pay for his work on a monthly basis.
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Maronda Homes, the original builder, also abandoned the development and no homes were built for over a year. We made every effort to keep the development looking as good as possible so that it would look attractive to a new builder. This strategy worked and D.R. Horton bought all of the remaining lots from the bank.
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How Lucky we were to have one of the largest home builders in the country come to Westfield and build out the remaining 118 lots. While most other builders at the time would only start to build with a signed contract, D.R. Horton would build ten homes at a time, on speculation, and then sell them.
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Over the next four years, we lived with a steady stream of construction noise, cement trucks, bull dozers and heavy equipment but the houses kept selling and the community kept growing. Of course there were a few stumbling blocks along the way, as with any construction site, such as roofers firing nails at 7:00 in the morning or studs being installed at 9:00 in the evening.
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The most troubling problem was getting the builder to stop putting white mail boxes on black poles and black on white poles. Eventually, they did the right thing and changed all the mail boxes to black on black poles.
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Another problem would occur whenever we had a heavy rain and the filters placed over the sewers would clog with mud and the water would flood up to the houses.
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We also had a quite a surprise on Sunday morning when thieves stole three of our sewer gratings, at a cost of $125.00 each to replace.
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Along the way, the Association also did much to add to the quality of the life of the community. Installing street lights at the entrance, adding flowering shrubs, new grass and shrubs along the sides and rebuilding the island inside the front entrance went a long way in upgrading our appearance. Addition of a fountain in the lake was also quite effective in oxygenating the water to eliminate algae, and the smell that it created. The lights in the fountain have also added a dramatic effect at night.
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As D.R. Horton sold the last house and moved out, the Association was successful in getting them to build our Recreation Area and split the cost. What a wonderful first impression as you enter the development, and see the beautiful cobblestone walkways winding their way down to the shore and the fountain rising from the lake. There is also so much more that we can do in the future, to add to the enrichment of the park for the enjoyment of all.
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As I browse around the development, I am filled with pride at how much has been accomplished in the fifteen years, during such difficult times. I look forward with hope as I meet so many wonderful people taking an interest in their properties, in the Association, and in the future welfare of Westfield.
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Effective on January 1, 2021, Paradise Association Management, 4007 N A1A, Hutchinson Island, FL 34949, Attn: Kelly Grebe, CAM Administrative Assistant, will continue managing with a new professional team to continue meeting the current and future goals of the Westfield of Vero Association.
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Bill Rooney
On behalf of the Board of Directors