Similarly, Covenants enforcement actions are a form of legal action against an owner. These matters are treated much like disclosure or posting of delinquent Assessment accounts. To do so exposes the Association and its Board to possible civil suit for libel and slander and various other privacy torts. As these matters are complex and fraught with opportunities to “get it wrong”, and in consideration that one important Board objective is to create harmony, not discord the Association and management will not disclose the specifics to persons not on the Board. An Association can publish broad information such as “this week we cited X violations for trash containers, Y vehicle violations and Z maintenance concerns” if it feels that it is in the best interest of the membership (read: property values) to do so. We presently have no community who chooses to do this, but we understand that it is legal to do so under most circumstances.

The web page at this link provides a fairly readable overview of privacy laws related to common law but what we are attempting to convey is best said here. In summary, public disclosure of private facts (often considered defamation) arises where one person reveals information which is not of public concern, and the release of which would offend a reasonable person. As Community Management Group managers and inspection staff are on the property to note violations at least weekly, we hope to give owners reasonable assurance that although violations appear and some persist, that they are each addressed and escalated in accordance with the Board’s reasonable interpretation of its authorities under the Covenants, and with reasonable opportunity to cure before they are escalated. As is human nature, some residents are quick and some slower to react, but all owners are held to the same standard.

Notably, there are certain circumstances where escalating enforcement action into the legal system or proactively entering a property to correct it at a cost is "good money after bad."  For example there are homes in foreclosure and until the ownership is lawfully conveyed by deed to the bank or a new owner (can take many months), the debts are essentially uncollectible and will be written-off to zero by law.

Community Management Group receives no portion of violation fines - our goal is as yours - to protect property values.  Fines go into the General Fund of the Association to offset budget shortfalls or provide for additional services at the discretion of your Board of Directors.

Most association have adopted a two warning system followed by application of fines for repeat or continuing violations.

Developer Transition

Developer transition can be a complex process, involving many checklists and mutual information exchanges between the developer, the manager and the resident Board. Transition happens when any of certain legal thresholds occur, such as sell-out percentage (often 100%), developer discretion or time elapses.  Most Covenants and Master Deeds lay out the specifics of when.  The laws in SC are not specific on what the Developer must provide in terms of funding, but a manager will work for the best advantage of the Association's members.  Generally speaking, the only visible changes at transition are that there will be more resident involvement in the governance and processes going forward.

We hear time and again from a minority of owners that they expect to change collection, Architectural Review and enforcement policies.  Those that are in the Covenants require a supermajority of the members to change and are by design difficult to change.  Your Covenants protect the interests of all members and are laid out as the foundation of the community.  Every owner signed a document at closing affirming their agreement with the Covenants.  The Rules in the Covenants will not change without considerable effort and likely, cost.  Your manager will assist the Board in surveying member interest in certain changes and your manager can prepare a ballot initiative upon such a Board instruction.

We have an informative article on our website that we ask owners to read, as well as this FAQ.

Alligators are only a hazard to people and pets when they lost their natural fear of humans after being fed by humans – often by workmen and kids. Alligators LOVE marshmallows, food wrappers and lunch scraps... 

As one recent example, we had a report from a concerned owner who reported an aggressive animal to us seen through binoculars sunning on the pond bank. Clearly this animal was not up in her yard at the time nor exhibiting aggressive behavior. some ponds in some communities are owned by the City or under management of an adjacent golf course. We have been told time and again that alligators are valued by the golf course as it scares geese off the course and the green.

The licensed “trapper” that the Association uses will approach the animal to determine from much experience whether it exhibits signs of having been fed or otherwise accustomed to humans and represents an unusual danger. There are perhaps thousands in the area and they do move around, primarily over ground, though there is a frequent (and incorrect) assumption that they move through storm culverts. On the contrary, they do not often enter them because they cannot turn around nor move well backwards.

We have seen that shortly after removal, another animal will move into a vacant pond. They were here for millions of years before people and most locals have a certain sentiment for them… When owners call with similar encounters or concerns we ask that they carefully consider whether this animal was really stalking a pet (or whatever the concern) and represents an unusual threat for being acclimated to humans as a source of food, or was just “walking around” or sunning before they call for its head. If you feel that a particular animal is a threat worthy of destruction, please let us know and we’ll elevate the request for removal to the golf course management/ownership or Association Board and we will move quickly.

Once your payment is received a new pool access device will be mailed to you. Please be sure to indicate the property address the replacement is for and a mailing address if different from the property address. Please keep in mind that in order to obtain your new pool access device, your account must be at a zero balance.