Pioneer Crossing West HOA

Wow! I had no idea a sex offender had moved into the neighborhood. It appears from the Travis County Appraisal records he is a renter rather than home owner.

His sex offender information can be found here:

https://records.txdps.state.tx.us/DPS_WEB/SorNew/PublicSite/index.aspx?P...

Perhaps the HOA should approach the owner about tightening her rental standards/background check etc?

As for the Neighborhood event advertised in the newsletter, I check my mail daily. I received the newsletter on 7/20 and therefore had no opportunity to attend. I see no mention, as of this evening, on this website of the event. So I wonder, who did attend this event? Board members, their families and selected friends? How much money was spent on this event that wasn't advertised to those of us who fund the HOA and the event? This really is inexcusable and the board should answer for it.

The speed on Sprinkle Cutoff was brought up at last year's board meeting; however, nothing effective has been done. The city refuses to do more than it has, which is install additional reflectors. The HOA put a sign at the east end of the street regarding speed but it does no good. The HOA should step up and approach the city about additional measures to address the speed issue.

I'm sorry the Burroughs' received notices so quickly after moving in, but I do feel that it is important that the HOA continues to strictly enforce the deed restrictions. Its possible that some of the 2K the previous owner had outstanding was from unpaid dues and late fees rather than strictly deed restriction violations. I continue to be disappointed with the neighborhood and level at which it seems many keep their yards and respect deed restrictions each home owner agreed to when purchasing his/her home. Enforcement should be tempered with understanding when individual circumstances warrant and I have yet to hear of Goodwin being unreasonable in that regard.

I agree with the issue of "tone". One can get a lot more community spirit going without being draconian about it. We also received a citation within two days -- our mower hadn't even arrived yet. Maybe a grace period for folks when they are just moving in????

Can somebody please post the current newsletter? It would be nice to have these online documents up to date in case they are misplaced or for people that have not moved into the neighborhood yet and want to keep up with their future community.
Thanks

Hi Jason and Raquel,

I'm really sorry that you two got such an "unwelcome" introduction to our community! We're all in this together, but it doesn't feel like that when we keep filing complaints against each other. Too much stick and not enough carrot, if you ask me. It seems like the only acceptable solution to the HOA is to spend whatever it takes to buy enough water to keep nice suburban lawns alive during the worst drought in 60 years. You gotta wonder if there isn't a better way...

I know that the board has tried to address traffic issues before. The city refuses to install any more speed humps, and reducing the speed limit below the standard 35 mph seems almost impossible. They did add more speed limit signs, but we really need APD do be present more often to enforce those.

I am sorry that you do not feel welcome to the neighborhood but let me give you a little background. This is a HOA neighborhood with the lowest annual dues and very limited restrictions. We have over 700 homes and only a couple of dozen volunteers. I am really sick of hearing all the complaining but NO volunteering. Reminders are put in the newsletter because there are constant comments about not knowing what is required to live in this neighborhood. The look and feel is no where near Westlake and I can guarantee you they cooperate with their HOA so they can keep their property values.

The board and committees including the production of the newsletter and website are completely done by volunteers.

If you have problems with the board then contact them and get involved or keep you comments to yourself.

I would argue strongly that the negative "tone" of the previous message is precisely what the original new neighbor is talking about.

I would have to agree with #6. As someone who has got involved and got uninvolved with the HOA due to the group of elitist who believe they are helping the neighborhood by carrying around a big stick and telling you everything you cannot do verses trying to bring the community together through things it can do.

...and don't get me started about the pool. As a parent, I am scared to take my kids there for safety and hygiene reasons. I have reported this numerous times to the HOA to no avail and to the City of Austin Health Department as well.

...and promoting the lowest HOA fees as something to be proud of is like telling your child it is OK to lie sometimes. You do get what you pay for...and sometimes not even half of that.

As far as the original poster here. I apologize that your "Welcome" was that of a self titled picture of your new-to-you property. There are actually a lot of great people who live in Pioneer Crossing...just don't look to the HOA to help you find them.

When I first moved in I got a violation within a couple of weeks for weeds that had been growing while my house was being built. I contacted the HOA and told them that with everything else I had going on, pulling out some weeds was not priority one. They told me they had no idea I had just moved in, which to me shows a lack of organization. This was a new house being built, so it was not a shock nobody was living there, and surely they are notified who to bill when I move in, so they should know when I moved in and give me a bit of slack as I had just moved in.

I also recently went through a similar dispute. I cut my grass and went on vacation for a month. When I came back I did the grass at the side, but due to the heat I gave up there for the day, well they came by and sent me a violation for the other part of the lawn I had not got to. I wrote and told them to look at the big picture, if I have done 50% of my lawn work assume it is a work in progress not something that is being ignored. Also, if they think I am going to stand out there hour after hour in 100+ degree heat they can think again.

I did not buy a house to be lectured by people who are justifying their own existence. I am fed up hearing about them protecting property values, are you going to be put off buying a house because the guy next door has a few weeds or his grass is in need of cutting, get real. If my grass is not up to your waist and I have car parts in my garden then get off my back, I paid for this house, you did not, if you want to control it then make make an offer, otherwise I will maintain things to what I class as an acceptable standard.

If you think I am going to pay over $1,000 a year for some guy to come round every week and cut my grass to keep the HOA off my back then you are sadly mistaken.

All I ask is that common sense is applied. Heaven forbid you should go on vacation and your grass and weeds should continue to grow in your absense.

I also had similar issues with violations. I received a lawn violation earlier this year, following several days of rain (literally, the DAY AFTER the rain stopped somebody was driving around taking pictures of all the overgrown lawns.) I disputed this and the violation was waived, however I'm still having to pay $11.00 for having the violation sent via certified mail??!! I really need to understand the thinking behind adding $11.00 certified fee on top of the violation fees. I will definitely be attending the next HOA meeting.

With the current watering restrictions, weeds are the only thing growing in my lawn right now. Again, we NEED the HOA working in favor of the residents.

Dear Jason and Raquel,

My apologies to your not so welcomed arrival. I wish you could have contacted me when all things seemed overwhelming for you. Your board is your advocate. The management company is our administrator. There is a lot of managing involved when it comes to taking care of 900 homes. Rules are set and unfortunately people need to be reminded every so often - ergo the "signs". As was stated in the replies, the committees and the board are made up of volunteers who during their "free" time, try and govern the best they can. We are a sizable community which can have its share of problems. We attempted at one point to put together a "Welcoming Committee" but no one would volunteer. We have just gotten to the point of consolidating our committees to better serve the neighborhood. We made some changes that were meant to cut costs as this was a big concern to many in the neighborhood. The newsletter was taken over by a boardmember and the new process took us by surprise as far as the timing of distribution and notice of events. This has been corrected for future mail outs. The pool issue is also a big concern and we are addressing this. We know that it is our one and only amenity and should be protected. We will be addressing this at the annual meeting on September 17 - please be there. You will have an opportunity to present any other issues you may have and we will be glad to address them. I have been involved with this neighborhood from day one and have put hundreds of hours into making it as livable and enjoyable as possible. Yes, I am trying to protect my investment as well as being a good neighbor. Please feel free to contact me at  971-1990 if you would like to discuss further. Thank you, and welcome to the community.

I can relate to a lot said here as I am new and bought a foreclosure with a bad lawn, so I thought i would share my perspective. I moved into the neighborhood on May 1st after I purchased a forclosure. The lawn was in horrible shape and the inside needed some work as well. When I bought the house, I immediate called Goodwin, we discussed the situation I inherited and what needed to be done. She asked what a reasonable time to get it done was and I asked for 60 days, she said that was fine. I did not receive one fine or violation and i re-sodded the lawn and re-did the landscape in 4-6 weeks.

I don't know why they would give you violations right when you moved unless you did not have a deal/agreement worked out with them. Violations should never be abused, but I am thankful for the rules and guidelines we have in place. Pioneer Crossing is a nice looking neighborhood and we need to keep it that way. That is why i moved here and I want my foreclosure investment that I have put blood and sweat into to increase in value over time. I do not want a neighbor who chose not to take care of their lawn to decrease the value of my property, which is a basic purpose of the HOA.

Rules and procedures of the HOA can be a headache, but that prevent anarchy and if you work with the system, it can work with you. The landscape committee has 21 days to review cases and I had to replace a dead tree. Goodwin worked with me and got it done in 2 days.

I didn't receive a warm welcome when I moved in from the HOA, but I also didn't expect it. If that is something we want to offer as a community, then we need people to step up and help offer it. My neighbors have been nothing but nice. Several have stopped by and complimented me on my new lawn.

I have seen a common thread the past few weeks at the annual meeting and on these threads. A lot of issues are blamed at the HOA for something that is not a HOA issue. I also see a lot of people who complain about that the HOA is doing but are not stepping up to better the HOA. HOA is a volunteer organization, you can be a volunteer, you can even be elected to be on the board. IF we want more out of our HOA, we need to volunteer and give them the bandwidth to do so. A lot of them have full time jobs like we do, but we should be thanking them for the work they are doing. We won't always agree with what they do, but they have carved several expenses out of the budget this year to try to give us a surplus.

HOA needs more people to volunteer. They also need solutions not complaints. I have proposed a solution to help reduce yard violations and i have offered to volunteer and head it up. I have been asked to meet with the landscape committee to discuss it further. My little piece I can offer to Pioneer Crossing. Who's next?

It's not surprising that you aren't getting many volunteers. When the community leadership is perceived in such a negative manner as described in the previous posts, and doing things like driving around after 5 days of continuous rain giving out lawn tickets, don't expect people leap up in response to their calls for support. I've been in quite a few HOA's, and nothing.. NOTHING.. demoralizes property owners faster than dictatorial HOA officers.

Dear Anonymous,
You are so brave to not identify yourself.
Obviously you are making rash generalizations. You take one incident and assume this is the status quo. Let me inform you that your observations and perceptions are inaccurate and most assurredly wrong. My guess is that you are not the type to participate and therefore must be the problem as opposed to the solution. My suggestion to you would be to either help us with the management and betterment of this neighborhood or, you can move on or keep your comments to yourself until you get to know us.
Is that dictatorial enough for you?
Sincerely,
Your HOA President

that's quite a welcome!

I hope that was a knee jerk response on the part of Mike not realizing that the several "anonymous" posts aren't necessarily the same person but many people expressing dismay over the HOA's "tone."

Otherwise, I'd say that posting of his is case in point.

How embarrassing.

"Embarrassing", I will comment on "embarrassing". To me, that would be those who do nothing but complain and critize instead of trying to offer workable solutions to problems around them. Those who will not join any committee because they are "too busy", like those who are on them don't work either? Embarrassing are those who can't come to HOA meeting(that are held once a year) to try to volunteer for anything big or small. i.e. cleaning up one of our parks, or even picking up trash on the street. I see trash laying on the street every time I drive into the neighborhood. And yes, I pull to the curb, get out and pick it up. So, please forgive the "kneejerk reaction". I'm sure the feeling of frustration overwhelmed him.

WOW! to all that posted. I moved into this neighborhood 3 years ago and I moved here with my family because of the security of the neighborhood, the strict HOA, and the proximity to downtown Austin. I am amazed that so many have critized the strict rules. I remember signing that I had read the deed restrictions and I also spent a good amount of time reading them prior to purchasing my home. If you don't like the rules then why did you purchase in this neighborhood. My former neighborhood had no HOA and what a crappy neighborhood it turned into. Section 8 moved in, people doing mechanical jobs in their front lawns, people had junk cars in the driveway, loitering by teenagers, and various other issues. Our HOA is fabulous because they are ensuring that these things don't infest our neighborhood. I say complain about how things are being done if you are toeing the front line and volunteering; however if you are sitting back and watching as others do the work then shame on you for complaining. Unfortunately, this neighborhood has had its share of foreclosures and people that don't follow the rules which makes it unpleasant for those that are following the rules and care to keep their neighborhood clean. I live on Dry Season Trail and everyone on the block helps each other to keep the block safe and looking good.

Agreed, great points! We should, however, be at least "neighborly" to those that don't volunteer. I mean if you are taking the time to post on the PCW HOA forum, chances are you want the best for the neighborhood.

I bought a home here back in May, and my first impression of the HOA is equally frustrating. The HOA here is so California it makes me sick. It does more harm than good. I don't even know where to start.

The look and feel is no where near Westlake and I can guarantee you they cooperate with their HOA so they can keep their property values.
Obviously you've never actually been to Westlake before. Green manicured lawns are NOT the norm AT ALL. Most of Westlake is like a greenbelt. You'll find more dandelions than saint augustine. Moreover, many HOA's in Westlake are completely voluntary - yet the value of the houses is still high. Amazing, right? I mean, how could houses and land have value without a manditory, authoritative HOA!?

Newsletter from July was not posted on here and we missed the July 18th event.
I agree -- the website is also a big problem. For one, we're spending far too much money on it. Web hosting shouldn't be more than $10 a month. I know it's relatively a very small line item, but considering we're paying well over twice that much, and isn't even updated, it paints a picture for me about how spending is handled around here.

Lots of caps, underlines, and exclamation marks. Lots of negativity like MUST, EVERYONE, and WORTHLESS.
Apparently all those underlines and exclamation marks are expensive, too. We're spending $3720 a year on this newsletter. I got one - it was a double-sided 8.5"x11". Is the newsletter guy your nephew, Mike?

I also had similar issues with violations. I received a lawn violation earlier this year, following several days of rain (literally, the DAY AFTER the rain stopped somebody was driving around taking pictures of all the overgrown lawns.) I disputed this and the violation was waived, however I'm still having to pay $11.00 for having the violation sent via certified mail??!! I really need to understand the thinking behind adding $11.00 certified fee on top of the violation fees. I will definitely be attending the next HOA meeting.
You too, eh? I had just mowed my lawn the weekend before that also. Ridiculous.
My first "violation" within a week of home ownership here was sent with a picture of my driveway, and no explaination of why it was sent to me. I promise you if you were to go door to door and ask my neighbors if my lawn was a problem, none would complain. So why is my HOA telling me that my home's condition is lowering the land value around me?

While I've got WAY over-zealous lawn police on my back (do these guys own a landscaping company or something?) I've also got trash mysteriously appearing in my lawn. Wow, what great neighbors!

I can tell from all the forclosures and deadbolts (read: rental properties) that most of this neighborhood is (or at least was) owned by out-of-town investors. As such, I believe that a lot of the policies were instated from an out-of-town investor's perspective. This needs to change. Unfortunately change will only happen when the REAL homeowners/residents start taking action.

One change I'd like to propose is to move to a complaint-based system of violation reporting rather than having somebody drive around the neighborhood every time it rains. If somebody's house is a problem, everybody knows it. We don't need to be paying somebody to take pictures of everybody's dandelions. Not saying the new system should be as simple as complaints, but it definitely needs to be refined.

I'd also like to see more line items explained on the budget. $816 a year for automatic gates? What automatic gates?

Finally, if that above posting was truly from the president of the HOA, that obviously needs to change. Leaders need a little more tact IMHO.

Just in a week. there are two times someone come by at night or daytime cutting electric wire in my front yard which was decorated for celeration the holiday season. They use a knife to cut the wire, I took some pictures for the roof of my report. I think the neighborhood is not nice each other.
Watch for crime in our neighborhood!!!

I just wanted to correct the figure concerning our website costs. We are currently only paying $8.95 per month for webhosting. But we also have to pay for the domain name itself, which was $106.90 for 10 years. So, that's essentially another 89 cents per month, for a total of $9.84 per month.

I think the work done by the webmaster is exemplary and should not be subject to criticism. He obviously spent hours of his own time creating it and and continues to do so supporting it. As someone who has designed web sites before I understand all it took to get this going and to show lack of appreciation for his work is just mean.

Webmasters don't generate the content, users do, so if you think the web site lacks content the talk to the HOA, that is not the job of a webmaster, their jobs is the site layout and functionality and ensuring it continues to work as desired, and on that front I think he is doing a wonderful job.

Hi Bowerton Homeowner,
Happy New Year. I will try and take a more tactful approach while addressing your concerns. I am not sure you understand what it takes to run an association consisting of close to 900 homes occupied by residents of many backgrounds from all over the country and some from other parts of the world. Sometimes there is a communication breakdown and sometimes there is a lack of knowledge pertaining to the subject at hand. I will assure you that we make every effort to inform the membership of matters of great concern and those of less significance. I will tell you that I do not have any finacial gain or motive in any of the operations of this association ie, "a nephew who prints the newsletter". It is done as service by Goodwin Mgt. The publication and editing is done by a board member at no cost to us. The cost to them is their time. We know not everyone has a computer and so we mail out the newsletter to ensure everyone is informed about current events in the neighborhood. I have been involved with this neighborhood since day one and I am going on 7 years. I have invested time and money and talent to help make this an enjoyable community to live in. I appologize if my frustrations have surfaced, but my compassion and commitment is evident and I consider it an honor to serve my community in whatever capacity I can. We should all consider, if I may paraphrase, "ask not what your community can do for you, ask what you can do for your community". We have many individuals who have taken that to heart and for that I am grateful. I hope this clarifies any misunderstanding and I look forward to seeing you ( hopefully sooner ) at the next annual meeting.
Sincerely,
Your President of Pioneer Crossing West HOA
Mike Lemerise

That sounds much better, but that's not what the budget says...

I'm not knocking the website itself, it looks great. Thanks!

Again, not knocking the website itself. Drupal is a great system.

Sincerely, thanks for your time and efforts.

The last homeowner's association I was involved with had a president who was embezzling thousands of dollars. She eventually got caught, but it left a bad taste in my mouth. Please forgive my prejudice and skepticism.

Thanks for your comments. I understand completely. Some people do take advantage of a situation while people ignore what's really going on. I would like to say that the members who are on the board have excellent integrity. I do not believe they are willing to give that up for a few hundred or a thousand dollars, careers and reputations are on the line and they would like to guard them with all honesty and integrity. But, please keep asking the questions and do point out any discrepencies you may notice and we will work to make things right.
Sincerely,
Mike

Draconian we are not! It is just the Board of our HOA that is mean and self righteous; so take care. Pioneer Crossing is full of well adjusted nice persons who do not feel the need to post undercover.... I looked on TCAD and you are indeed a Homeowner!!!!! Yeah! Can you imagine a board member lying? NO! Writing an egregious post on the neighborhood forum under 'anonymous' to hide their true identity? NO! Our fearless leaders would NEVER!

Pioneer Crossing Board Member Beware.....the tide is changing and your hard working, blue collar, immigrant, family minded homeowners are watching and waiting! There is many a brave heart in our midst....whom will welcome new homeowners and not accuse them of non-participation to scare them into submission......your reign of terror will soon be at an end and you all will lament the day you accused us all of non-participation! Just wait until the board is TRULY reflective of the community of Pioneer Crossing and not just a group of a few hostile,e self serving, ego maniacal twits!

That seems a bit harsh, Maria. I don't agree with everything that the Board does, but I also know that they aren't the horrible people that you make them out to be. The board members are all well-meaning folks trying to do what they think is best for our neighborhood. They are trying to do what they feel the majority of the neighborhood wants them to do. They also have their actions dictated to a certain extent by the policies that were established when this neighborhood was created. The rules that I am referring to are listed in the "Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions" document, as well as other documents, on the Documents page. The Board did not create these rules. The Board of Directors was created in order to enforce these rules. And while they may want to change some of them, the rules were designed in such a way that it's very difficult to change them.

Also, keep in mind that many of the things that folks have complained about here are not due to the HOA directly. I'm referring specifically to the fines that occur. There are specific rules in place for how our management company is supposed to send out notifications and such. I have heard several reports of the management company not following those rules correctly though. So, really, the blame should be falling on our management company... not on the HOA Board members. If you feel that you have been incorrectly fined, then you should contact the Board so that they can straighten out any mistakes that may have been made.

I have to disagree with your comment about non-participation. Mentioning the fact that we get very few neighbors willing to donate their time and participate in the HOA committees is not meant to scare anybody into submission. It's meant to encourage people to get more involved with their neighborhood, so that they can help steer the direction of things. The reality is, we get a lot of volunteers, but very few participants. A lot of people say they want to help out, but then never show up at the committee meetings or do any of the actual work that needs to be done. So, non-participation is not an accusation... it's an unfortunate fact.

Rather than fighting your HOA Board members over these issues, you should be trying to help them out. Help them understand the problems that you see, by reporting issues and discussing things with them. Help them change the rules to what you feel is more acceptable. Keep in mind, that these Board members are volunteers. They don't get paid for their efforts. And their job isn't an easy one. Most of the time, they don't get many thanks... just complaints and angry criticism. These people are our neighbors too. Can you really expect them to treat you any better than you treat them? Can you expect them to work extra hard for you when you're badmouthing them?

Please don't take my words as an indication that you should simply roll over and do nothing. Far from it. I encourage everyone to get more involved with our HOA. Help steer this ship in the direction that you would like it to go. I just think you will have more success if you do it in a respectful and helpful manner rather than doing it insultingly.

HMMMM......In my opinion, "a bit harsh" is quite an understatement. Maria appears to have missed the point several times during her rant.
1) I don't see where a HOA board member (or any other poster for that matter) accused the Burroghs or anyone else of not being a homeowner. Where did that come from?
2) I can imagine a board member lying as easily as I can imagine anyone else. Case in point...."It is just the Board of our HOA that is mean and self righteous". Maria's post proved that to be a false statement for me.
3) "Writing an egregious post on the neighborhood forum under 'anonymous' to hide their true identity?" I count 14 anonymous E-mails and only 2 or 3 appear to be in support of the board. Only 4 of the 29 posts are from verified sources. And as for "egregious", none seem to be as reprehensible as Maria herself with her warnings to "Beware" and accusations of being "hostile, self serving, ego maniacal twits!".