The following is a letter which was sent to the Attorney for the Association asking for assistance in outlining the advantages in updating our governing documents:
"During our last meeting together at your office on August 3rd, we spent some time discussing how we could go forward with the “Revising of our Declarations Project” at Kenthill Townhomes. You explained in great detail where Kenthill Townhomes is at this point, because we are not a “New Act” Condominium. You went on to explain the many benefits that the new condominium law which was passed by the Washington State Legislature provides. In the end, we may be able to take advantage of them both, something that very few Associations have to ability to do. You advised that although the cost may seem initially high, the monetary benefits based on our financial history (especially in regards to collections, to name only one example), may quickly be overtaken by the savings obtained and by the income received (and again, based on our history, in a relatively short amount of time). You stated that our problems with collecting, that is to say, the fact that we are often, “last in line”, after the mortgage companies, etc., is in part due to our being a “pre-1990 law condominium”. In other words, our Declarations were written prior to the Washington State Condominium Act that the legislature passed in 1990. This problem of Homeowners Associations having difficulty collecting past dues was precisely one issue that the legislature tried to correct when they revised the law that year. You went on to explain that it seemed that over the years that Kenthill Townhomes typically had as many as two or three units in this predicament every year. By taking advantage of this aspect of the new law, Kenthill Townhomes could conceivably “pay off” the initial high price of going ahead and spending the $10,000 + for updating the entire Declarations to our liking. We would re-coup our initial investment, as it were, in a relatively short amount of time, by being able to be “first in line” when it came time to getting money.
"At this time, as President of the Kenthill Townhomes Homeowners Association, I am faced with a dilemma. It is clear to me and the Board how we should proceed. Within the next 60 days, the Kenthill Townhomes Board together with Suhrco residential Properties will prepare and finalize our 2006 Budget. We need to build in the $10.000 into our 2006 Budget in order to accomplish our goal, and to complete the promise we made to all 82 homeowners. If we do not have the ability to communicate this initial high cost of $10,000 and then its resulting benefits, we will be faced with many upset homeowners who may resist what is clearly to everyone’s benefit in the long run.
Can you compose several paragraphs that will capture what we discussed in order to communicate some of the benefits of this endeavor? I think I pretty much have it, but I am afraid that since I only heard it verbalized once, that I may not have remembered it all correctly, and that the Board and I may not be able to communicate it when the time comes. [If you skim what I have just written, together with what is attached below, you will see that I have a good idea about it all, but it is just very loose and disconnected]. Thank you. "
