V S G TIMES. Highlights of Maintenance Reminders INSIDE THIS ISSUE

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1 Winter 2006 V S G TIMES Villa South Gardens Condominiums, Inc., PO Box 49670, West Carrollton, OH vsgassociation@yahoo.com Highlights of 2005 Last year was the first full year of selfmanagement for Villa South Gardens since leaving the previous management companies. And what a full year it was! The first few months were spent reconstructing the financial information for the association. Tackling maintenance issues unattended by the previous management companies took a great deal of effort, too. Capital improvement projects completed included the sealcoating of Villa South Drive and the parking lot near Red Bluff Drive, putting down new blacktop on the three visitor parking lots, landscape revisions such as cutting down several trees and removing bushes, replacement of 47 two-meter electric boxes, and replacement of exterior garage and patio/porch lights. INSIDE THIS ISSUE Highlights of Maintenance Reminders 1 Money Matters 2 Records Management for Your Home 2 An Article for Everyone 3 VSG Needs YOU! 5 Many thanks to those who served on the board during 2005: Dara Bornstein, Mary Franer, Jill Jankovich, Joy Johnson, and Deb Marr. Ohio passed a law in July 2004 (HB135) requiring associations to make revisions to corporate documents. This was accomplished by amending the association s Declaration to incorporate these changes. VSG is now in compliance with Ohio statutes. In August, Dan Hoagland agreed to become VSG s president. Dan is the Beavercreek Branch Manager for National City Bank and owns a unit at Villa South Gardens. With his Please see Highlights on page 6 Maintenance Reminders By Tim Roth As board members have visited different buildings, for one reason or another, many of the common hallways do not have globes covering the light bulbs. It would be helpful if someone in each building would notify the board whether or not there are globes on the hallway light fixture. Replacements can then be purchased, if necessary. A reminder that the condo phone ( ) is not an emergency phone. For true emergencies call 911 first, then call the board on the condo phone. I hope everyone realizes that a board position is a volunteer job and that all board members (and officers) have other jobs or activities, therefore cannot always be available to take the calls. Messages are checked a couple of times a day and your phone call will be returned as soon as possible. When using the condo phone if your call is not returned within hours, it is safe to assume the message was not Please see Maintenance Reminders on page 4

2 Page 2 V S G Times Money Matters Beginning with December 2005 the financial accounting, reporting, and review will be handled by new contractors. Sylvia Stein, Sylvia s Bookkeeping Services and Ellen Fodge, CPA. Sylvia will be documenting the accounting entries and providing the board with monthly financial reports. Ellen Fodge, CPA has been contracted to monitor the financial reporting in 2006 on a quarterly basis and to conduct a financial review for Ellen will also be completing the Association s taxes for The board negotiated these services at the same rate as had previously been charged. I will continue to collect and record assessment payments, write checks for board approved expenses, and provide quarterly owner s statements. Records Management for Your Home So many critical things that affect our personal lives are pieces of paper; small, fragile, easy to destroy or lose bulky, messy, hard to store. What should you really keep? What s the best way to keep it? If you re trying to get organized as I am this year, here s a Retention Schedule for you to know what to keep and for how long. (This information was obtained from Julie Orenstein, Archives and Records Management, Sinclair Community College.) As of January 31, 2006 National City Bank $ 28, Edward Jones-Gen Reserve $ 10, $ 19, (CD) Edward Jones-Roof Reserve $ 41, $ 24, (CDs) Sylvia is currently working on December and 2005 Year-end financials. Due to the changeover fourth quarter owner s statements will not be mailed. If you would like a 2005 owner s statement, contact me ( ) and I will mail you a copy. Item Receipts for home improvements Help establish the worth of your home Document the dates you made improvements Retention Period Keep for as long as you own your home Photographs of all your valuable possessions Document what you lose if you have a disaster or breakin Keep the in a safety deposit box for as long as you own your home Tax Records Photocopies of your tax returns Photocopies of any attachments you send in with your tax returns Any other tax-related records Keep for seven years, then destroy. Investment Statements Pension Statements IRA Contributions Keep for as long as you maintain those investments. Keep forever. Keep in a safety deposit box. Keep forever. Please see Records Management on page 5

3 V S G Times Page 3 An Article for Everyone By Bill Williams Bill provided the following article information for the newsletter. Since VSG pays for water consumption and it is the highest expense for the association, he thought this article would be useful. Save Water Indoors The average family uses 21.7% of their water washing clothes, 1.4% washing dishes, 15.7% using faucets, 16.8% showering, 26.7% flushing toilets, 13.7% on leaks, 1.7% taking baths, and 2.2% on other uses. Save Water in the Bathroom Check all faucets, pipes, and toilets periodically for leaks. A faucet drip or invisible leak in the toilet will add up to 15 gallons of water a day, or 105 gallons a week, which adds up to 5,475 gallons of wasted water a year. Check your flapper periodically to make sure it s a tight fit. Install water saving shower heads. Low-flow showerheads deliver 2.5 gallons of water per minute or less and are relatively inexpensive. Older showerheads use 5 to 7 gallons per minute. Try a Navy shower. Due to a lack of fresh water aboard ship, sailors were taught to get wet, turn off the water, soap and scrub, then briefly turn the water on to rinse a good routine for all of us. Take shorter showers or take a bath. Simply taking shorter showers will save gallons of water. For long exposures to the water, a partially filled bath instead of a shower will use less water. Install a 1.6 gallon low-flow toilet. Ultra-low flow toilets use only 1.6 gallons of water per A leaky faucet wastes up to 15 gallons of water a day, or 105 gallons a week, which adds up to 5,475 gallons of wasted water a year. flush. Using these could cut indoor water use by as much as 20%. Older toilets use 3.5 to 7 gallons per flush. Check for toilet leaks. Once a year, check for toilet leaks. Remove the toilet tank cover and drip 10 drops of food coloring into the tank. After 15 minutes, check for color in the toilet bowl. If you see any color, your toilet has a leak and should be repaired immediately. Again, remember to check your flapper periodically to make sure it s a tight fit. Don t use the toilet as a wastebasket. Using a wastebasket instead of the toilet for tissues and other bits of trash will save gallons of water that are otherwise wasted. Install high efficiency, low-flow faucet aerators. Older faucets use between 3 and 7 gallons per minute. Low-flow faucet aerators use no more than 1.5 gallons of water per minute. The aerators can be attached to most existing faucets. Fix leaky faucets immediately. A leaky faucet may simply need a new washer. Small faucet leaks can waste 20 gallons of water a day. Large leaks can waste hundreds of gallons. Turn off the water while shaving, brushing teeth, etc. Don t let the water run when you brush your teeth, wash your face or hands, Please see Everyone on page 4

4 Page 4 V S G Times Maintenance Reminders from page 1 received for some reason. So far this season we have not experienced a great deal of really bad weather. As a reminder to VSG residents and a notification to new residents, snow removal occurs when there is an accumulation of 2 or more inches of snow and the time when it is performed is a judgment call on the part of board members. To accomplish this task in the most efficient and economical manner as snow removal is very costly, in the event of an ice storm driveways may be salted, however, not all walkways will be salted. This is an additional expense. Caution should be used traveling the walkways and use of garage entrance and exit as much as possible. Everyone has the option of using calcium chloride and a supply is kept at the garage/storage building. If you would like to have some to use, contact the board. Everyone from page 3 or shave. This can save 3 to 7 gallons per minute. Save Water in the Kitchen and Laundry Fill your dishwasher. Your dishwasher uses the same amount of water whether it is full or just partially full of dishes, so be sure to fill it. Many dishwashers have a water saver cycle to save even more water. Keep drinking water in your refrigerator. Don t let the faucet run until the water cools down. Instead, keep a container of drinking water in the refrigerator. Running faucets waste 3 to 7 gallons per minute. Before rinsing, put the sink stopper in place instead of running the water. If you need to use the garbage disposal, release the used sink water as the disposal is turned on. Defrost food in the refrigerator. When defrosting food, plan ahead to thaw it in the refrigerator or microwave oven instead of under running water. Select proper water level for laundry. Unlike your dishwasher, you can control the amount of water used by your clothes washers. Select the proper water level for each load of laundry. A front load washing machine uses 1/3 less water than a top loading machine. Reuse fish tank water. Use fish tank water on your household plants. Besides saving water, it s a good fertilizer as well. Check the hoses on the washing machine for possible bulges or cracks in the rubber before it bursts and causes a flood.

5 V S G Times Page 5 Records Management from page 2 Credit Union Statements Receipts for Large Purchases (eg) cars, electronics, large appliances Receipts for Products with Warranties or Guarantees Records of the sale of real estate All paperwork (Records of legal fees and the real estate agent s commission can lower your capital gains tax.) Paycheck Stubs Credit Card/Bill Statements and Stubs Bank Statements and Cancelled Checks Keep forever. Keep for as long as you own the item. Keep for as long as you own the item. Attach the receipt to the warranty or guarantee. Keep for seven years after you sell. Keep each year until you receive your W2 form and confirm that it is correct, then destroy the paycheck stubs. Keep for one year, then destroy. Keep 7 years. (Although it s not necessary, consider keeping indefinitely as a record of your spending.) Automotive Records Document routine maintenance and care of the car Document any improvements or repairs Automobile Sales Records Rental Agreements Insurance Policies Keep maintenance records at least as long as the car is in warranty. If you plan to sell the car yourself, keep all records until the car is sold. When you sell a car, keep any records relating to the sale for 6 years after the sale or trade. Keep until you move and any claims are settled. Keep for as long as you maintain the policy and until any claims have been settled. When destroying documents remember to shred anything that has your name together with your phone number and/or address, social security number or account numbers on it. VSG Needs YOU! In January long time board member, Ann Bates, resigned. Board members would like to thank her for her time on the board. This creates a vacancy on the Board of Directors. There is one year remaining on Ann s 3-year term. Board members would like to encourage YOU to step forward and volunteer to complete the term vacated by Ann. If you are interested contact the board by calling the condo phone at or ing vsgassociation@yahoo.com. The officer position of Secretary for the Board of Directors remains vacant as well. Invest some time in your community. Volunteer today! Board Members: Bob Davy Mary Kelley Tim Roth Bill Williams Officers: Dan Hoagland Sharma Fox

6 Highlights from page 1 Villa South Gardens Condominiums, Inc. PO Box West Carrollton, OH Phone: Web site: vsgassociation@yahoo.com We re on the Web! Visit us at: knowledge of banking costs and procedures he was able to save the association money. In September by transferring the checking account to a National City Sweep account the association is now receiving interest on the amount held in the account. The board also looked at how the accounting and financial reporting was being recorded and found there was a duplication of duties of the treasurer and accountant. As noted in the article Money Matters the board voted to revise the duties of the accountant and contract with a different accounting service. This transition was made at the end of December A decision was made to increase the assessment to $ for The additional monies generated from this increase will go to offset increases in water and electric expenses as well as increasing the amount saved for capital improvements. With dedication and persistent oversight to cutting expenses the board was able to end 2005 under budget. Quite an accomplishment! Villa South Gardens Condominiums, Inc. PO Box West Carrollton, OH 45449