Q: What do our dues pay for?
A: Assessments (also referred to as “dues”) are each home’s share of the annual operating costs of the HOA. For example, assessments cover:
- Maintenance and repair of common areas
- Landscaping of common areas
- Landscaping maintenance of owner lots
- Monitoring (and some maintenance) of the fire sprinkler alarm system
- Homeowner Association Management fees
- Insurance on the common areas
- Water and electricity for the common areas
- Contributions to long-term maintenance reserves
- Legal and accounting fees
In addition to assessments, all new home buyers pay an initial capital contribution (currently $400).
Q: Is Ridgestone a condominium?
A. No. Although the units are attached in each building, you own your entire unit, inside and out (like a single-family home), and are responsible for all maintenance of it, including painting and maintaining the roof (together with the other owners in your building). You also own your lot, and pay dues to the HOA for maintenance of the landscaping on it. And you own a “share” of the common areas, and maintenance of these areas is also included in your HOA dues.
Q: What do I need to know about the fire sprinklers?
A: Every unit has a fire sprinkler system. The operation of the system is monitored 24/7 by a monitoring company. The cost of this monitoring is part of your HOA dues. Each building has a fire “closet” or panel on one end containing equipment related to this monitoring. The system requires two types of annual maintenance – one is the HOA’s responsibility, and one is the homeowner’s responsibility.
Q: What fire system maintenance is the HOA required to do?
A: Once a year the fire panel (on the end of each building) must be inspected and tested. This testing is required by the CC&Rs. It requires access to each unit, at least in the garage, and in some buildings requires access to the attic or the interior of the unit. The cost of this maintenance is included in the HOA dues.
Q: What if I am not available on the day(s) of the scheduled fire panel testing?
A: The testers still need access to your unit. You can leave a key with a neighbor or friend that will be available. Due to the importance of this testing, the HOA is considering a substantial penalty for those units that cannot be completed on the scheduled days due to lack of access. This penalty may include a fine, and you may have to pay the extra cost of having the testing company return on another date.
Q: What fire system maintenance is the homeowner required to do?
A: Each unit has a backflow valve as part of the fire sprinkler system. The valve is located in the garage. This valve prevents water from flowing backward from your house plumbing into the water supply, so it is important that it be working properly. The City requires that this valve be inspected and tested each year. You will receive a notice from the City telling you this, and telling you what the due date is for completing the testing. This testing can only be completed by a certified inspector, and the cost is paid directly by the homeowner (it’s not part of the HOA dues).
At the request of homeowners, the HOA has made an effort to find a backflow testing vendor who will perform the testing for the whole neighbohood, at a reduced cost. For your convenience, it is scheduled for the same day(s) that the fire panel testing is scheduled (since both require access to your unit), although it uses a different testing company. Use of this company is optional – you can always choose to hire another company on your own schedule, but you will still have to do the testing once a year.
Q: I thought there was some other sprinkler system testing that homeowners had to do. What happened to that?
A: In previous years the Fire Dept has required additional testing (sometimes called confidence testing). This type of testing is no longer required by the Fire Dept. However, it is still a good idea to have this testing done occasionally (just like you would do furnace maintenance, or car maintenance) to make sure everything is working properly.