Spring is Coming! What Shade of Green is Your Thumb?

Shrimp plants love the climate in South Florida. Guess what love shrimp plants.

Whether Your Home Comes with a Little DIY Garden Area or it's All Professionally Landscaped, it's Springtime in Florida!  

Right about now in Florida is the time lots of homeowners and landscape professionals start replanting flowerbeds, laying new sod, replacing foliage and trees damaged by weather and planting new plants of all kinds.  

  

If you have a flowerbed or other garden area that you typically replant each year, then you know the drill. You're likely considering: Egyptian star flowers, begonias, Florida sweethearts, wishbone flowers, periwinkles, or maybe even golden shrimp plants or rain lilies. If your community contracts with a professional landscaping company, you'll likely notice at least one of these plant types being installed somewhere on the property, from medians and other common areas to bordering sidewalks and parking areas. 

If you're new to your community, you'll want to check with your association before you begin digging in. Many HOAs have rules regarding the areas where residents are allowed to garden and what they're allowed to plant.  

Happy spring planting from the crew at CAMS!

Annual Community HOA Meetings are in Full Swing You Should Attend. Here's Why:   Annual HOA meetings get a bum rap for being long, boring and poorly attended. They serve at least four critical functions, however. The Election of Directors   HOA Boards have considerable authority and responsibility to govern the corporation, and residents who become officers and directors of associations are key to its success or failure. Attendance helps residents become acquainted with the people who will be effecting change in the community in which they live. Ratification of the Budget and Annual Assessments   Many homeowners have little idea of how their HOA dues are being spent and how much it actually costs for landscaping, for example, insurance, accounting and legal services, etc. Annual meeting attendance helps residents understand where their money is going. Critical Votes   Annual meetings are the one time each year that the entire membership has an opportunity to vote on critical issues such as amendments to bylaws and special assessments. Annual meetings offer great insight into large communal changes in store. Thanks and Support of Leadership   Board members work hard and endure as much as anyone in any voluntary position. Annual meeting attendance is a great way for residents to show their support and give thanks in an official capacity. At CAMS, we recommend that you make it a point to attend your community's annual meetings. If you don't go, you won't know!

Why Become a Board Member of Your Association? In Short, for More Say & Better Control Over Your Home. Here's the Long of It:     You have a big financial stake in your community and its common elements, from utilities, security, landscaping, parking and walkways to perhaps a pool, clubhouse, golf course and more. As a board member of your homeowner association, you can help ensure that these elements are properly maintained and that rules and bylaws are followed, and reap the benefits of experiencing what essentially is a better sense of belonging to the community in which you live.   As a board member, you will: Help Protect Your Property by being in a position to better implement rules that preserve and increase home values and foster resident pride throughout the community. Help Correct Problems by having first-hand access to the systems and protocols that only the board has. You won't be reporting that item in disrepair to the board and hoping someone hears you; instead you'll be facilitating the repair directly. Meet More of Your Own Expectations again by being in a position to directly facilitate what you perhaps wanted from your community when you first moved in, and that you found isn't the case after having lived there.   Gain Better Understanding of the Rules and Bylaws by working with them regularly.   Have Fun and Gain a Better Sense of Belonging by meeting residents and helping to resolve their issues, and initiating events and other items that help neighbors have fun and enjoy living there.    Gain Leadership Skills and Build Your Resume if you're relatively new to the working world. Now is the time to volunteer or run for a principal position. Give it a shot. You'll never look back!

Snowbirds/Locals Survival Kit Can't-Lose Tips for Living in Harmony It's season! Yay! Grumble, grumble. Yay! Grumble. Whether you're a part-time resident or live here year-round, you probably have opinions about life "on the other side."   Full-time residents love the extra revenue that snowbirds inject into their local community, for example, but aren't fond of the additional traffic and crowds during this time of year. Part-time residents love the weather here in South Florida, but are perplexed by the fast-paced, all-business attitude of locals.    To help maintain the peace, whether you're a year-round or part-time resident, remind yourself often of the following: Locals: South Florida climate and sunshine belong to everyone, whether full-time, part-time or short-time visiting tourist. No one owns the weather here, and there's plenty to go around. Share it! Snowbirds: Year-round residents work here, and many don't have the luxury to often enjoy the climate, beaches and other attractions. Locals are limited in time and focused on obligations. Try to be understanding that full-time residents are not on vacation, and so approach day to day with a different mindset than you do.   Locals: Yes, you may have to wait to get a table at your favorite diner this time of year. But the extra income during season is what allows that restaurant to stay in business long term. You may think you want empty spots at the counter all year, but you don't. Be thankful for the subsidy that helps enable the quality of life you enjoy.      Snowbirds: There's likely a marked difference in the culture, norms and habits of people in South Florida vs. the region you're from. Try to recognize those differences and adapt. It's not unlike trying out your French while on vacation in Paris. Compromise is your friend.   Locals: That goes for you too. Be as understanding and welcoming as possible. Many situations are not as they seem on the surface, but are simply a matter of cultural differences. Ever visited a friend's home and noted the contrasts in that family's behavior, differences in cooking or home making, etc.? Same thing.    Snowbirds: Keep in mind that despite the tiniest footprint that you yourself might strive to make during season, because you're part of a very large temporary population influx, the combined impact is substantial, and requires year-round residents to adapt to the change.      Bottom line? Be nice no matter where you live and for how long, and be patient. We're all on the same team.

It's Annual and  

Budget Meeting Time    

Watch for Notices & Coupon Books 

 

It's just about that time again! Usually, as we head into the holidays, community associations have meetings about budgets and their annual meetings.  

The budget meeting is the forum where the Board will review and adopt the operating budget projecting the funds needed by the association to cover its operating expenses and provide reserves for repair and replacement of the common elements of the property the community maintains.

The annual meeting is the forum where voting for leadership for the next year takes place, and where general decisions concerning the community's actions for the coming year ensue. 

It's a great time to become involved in your community in an official capacity, or just to watch how the process for governing your community takes place. It's also the time for residents to keep a lookout for meeting notices and association payment coupon books.

Let's Talk Deep Fried Turkey Be Smart, Stay Safe this Thanksgiving Deep frying a turkey is one of the most amazing ways you can prepare a holiday bird. Unfortunately, the flames that can potentially engulf your home if you don't follow some simple precautions will amaze your family, your guests and your neighbors too as the fire trucks roll in to extinguish your celebration. Follow this advice, however, and you can have your safely fried turkey and eat it too! First and foremost, fully defrost your bird, which can take as long as 6 days in the fridge for a 20-pound or larger turkey. Immersing even just a partially frozen turkey into boiling oil is a recipe for disaster. This can't be stressed enough. It's not a case that it "might" cause fireworks you'll never forget. It's the No. 1 holiday fire-starter that repeats every year to careless newbies. Always locate your fryer outdoors, on a stable surface and away from wooden decks, overhanging trees, eves, patio covers, trellises and awnings, and preferably a safe distance away from your home should a spill or grease fire occur.  Do not overfill your fryer. Upon immersion, your turkey will displace the hot oil, and an overfilled fryer will overflow. And spill damage to your lawn or driveway is the least of your concerns. Spilling oil onto the fryer's heating element or open flame is a great way to start a fire.  Monitor the oil temperature from start to finish to avoid combustion as the temperature of most cooking oils will continue to rise under continued high heat.  If you're new to deep frying, it's not our intent to scare you away from this delicious alternative cooking method. Millions of Americans deep fry their holiday turkey every year with yummy success. But like driving or using power tools, etc., there are a few basic safety precautions to heed.

Low Speed Limits in a Community Can be Deceiving They Provide a False Sense of Security  Very low posted speed limits are typical in residential communities, but law-breaking speeders are only half the equation. A bigger problem, say authorities, is the false sense of security a driver can feel behind the wheel of a vehicle traveling at low speeds.   Because of the luxury of additional reaction time that traveling at 20 mph, for example, allows, drivers can be lulled and distracted by their cell phone, items in their vehicle and searching for an address, etc. Compounding the problem are pedestrians, often elderly or very young, who tend not to pay as much attention to their surroundings when in their own neighborhood. You'll often see jaywalking, residents not paying attention to moving vehicles and kids playing in the street.  Bottom line? Stay vigilant while driving through a community, even at very low speeds. And pedestrians, this goes for you too. Stay alert. A 2-ton car traveling at 10mph still weighs 2 tons.