Camino del Prado

Please see linked document: Pre-Ballot Notice for Camino Del Prado Homeowners Association

 

Dear community,

I just wanted to take a moment to talk about our landscaping. We know that many of you feel the same way that we on the board do; there has been an explosion of weeds, ivy overgrowth, and other issues. Part of this is a result of entering Spring after a particularly wet Winter, and we are working with our landscaper to address the situation (but it may take a bit of time to catch up). We’re also looking at what we can do next year, so we can preemptively tackle the issue of weeds.

For the ivy, we are collecting and assessing bids to either do a deep trimming, or a complete removal. Removing the ivy entirely is very expensive, but even just trimming the ivy is fairly expensive (significantly more expensive than it used to be), so we’ll be assessing the break-even point on removal vs trimming. For those interested, please join the next board meeting.

We’re also looking at other measures to keep down landscaping costs. This past month, the board voted to authorize a major replacement of grass areas around the complex to easier-to-maintain, drought-tolerant plants (similar to the replacement that happened along the North side of Bryant Way several years ago). This can reduce ongoing maintenance costs, and make it easier to keep a high quality bar. Drought-tolerant plants also reduce water costs. We’re utilizing Santa Clara County rebate programs for this work, which will cover an estimated 75% of the costs. We estimate the break-even on savings will be around 5 years, likely less (and we have landscaping funds saved in our reserves that can be used for this project). This project will take a month or so to kick off in earnest, as we await approvals. Note that grass at the playground will remain.

~Chris

 

In an effort to communicate early and often, I wanted to share that the board has voted to raise the dues to $520 per month (effective starting July, 2025). While everyone wishes dues would stay lower, this increase is roughly in line with last year’s rate of inflation – which is a good “sanity check” for whether we are maintaining our budget well.

Of particular note, our reserve study has been updated and preliminary reports show that we are very well funded compared to past years: currently 88%. This means it’s currently very unlikely that we’ll need a special assessment for future projects like fencing or painting. Given this, we are taking a softer approach to funding our reserves than in previous years (only increasing our reserve contributions by a small amount, to maintain this status).

However, a few of our operating expenses have increased as we’ve looked to bring on better service providers (most notably, our property management costs), and we are hearing that we should anticipate a sizable increase in insurance costs. We’re also kicking off some bigger projects that aim to bring down other operating costs, but we’ll be able to most accurately reflect that in the budget next year (more to come on that shortly).

For those curious, here’s a quick video explaining of how reserve funds and operating funds differ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRmXVUF1jfE (Our dues partially go to the operating fund, and partially go to the reserve fund.)

Stay tuned for a much more detailed breakdown in our annual disclosure packet, which will come out in the next month or so (which will be physically mailed to every homeowner).

Please remember, the HOA will pay for most termite control! We only ask that you first get a professional inspection, which most pest control companies will do for free. Three options are:
Bay Area Termite: bayareatermite.com / (408) 337-1694
Planet Orange: planetorange.com / (888) 979-6897
Terminix: terminix.com / (877) 837-6464
Once you have a report please send it to help@caminodelprado.org for review. (Please do not schedule any treatment before your report has been reviewed.)

If you do find termites or other pests, the Board encourages you to let your neighbors know as well. It is best for them to get inspected too.

In accordance with the CC&Rs, owners of rental units must provide the HOA with a copy of the lease/rental agreement they have
made with their tenants within 14 days of entering into a lease.

While requirement this has been on the books since at least 2002, the HOA has not been very diligent in enforcing this requirement. However, we have finally set up a simple online form for registering leases: https://caminodelprado.org/unit-leases. Responses to this form are available only to the Board and our management company. As a one-time grace period, no fines will be issued to homeowners who complete this form by March 15th, 2025 for any existing lease.

Here are additional rules regarding rental and leased units:

1. Owners of rental units shall provide the HOA with a copy of the lease/rental agreement they have made with their tenants by filling out a registration form within 14 days of entering into a lease: https://caminodelprado.org/unit-leases. All Tenants must also register their vehicle(s) with the HOA: https://caminodelprado.org/vehicles;
2. Owners of rental units shall provide all tenants with a copy of the Rules and Regulations, CC&Rs, and Bylaws for the HOA prior to tenants moving into the owner’s unit;
3. Screening of potential tenants shall be the sole responsibility of the Owner of the unit. Owners are responsible for tenants who do not comply with the Rules and Regulations, CC&Rs, and Bylaws;
4. Owners of rental units shall inform tenants that a) the City of Sunnyvale has made it illegal to smoke within the public and private areas of an HOA and b) that tenants are living within 1000 feet of a school;
5. All tenants shall be subject to the Fair Housing Laws and occupancy laws of the state of California 
6. The HOA shall not allow tenant subleasing provisions in any lease or rental agreements.  The Owners of rental units agree to not allow tenants to sublet their units;
7. No lease shall be for an initial term of less than 180 days. [Please note that this requirement has been in the CC&Rs since at least 2002.]

These rules apply when a person is permitted to occupy the unit for compensation of any kind while the owner is not in residence. 

See the community rules, and Sections 4.02 and 10.01(b) of the CC&Rs for additional information.

 

The board has voted to require that residents’ vehicles be registered with the HOA. (Homeowners, please make sure your tenants also register their vehicles.)

All residents must have their vehicles registered with the HOA by filling out the form at https://caminodelprado.org/vehicles. This allows the HOA to reduce the need to tow resident’s vehicles, work to prevent non-residents from using up the HOA parking spaces, and other official business.

For example, if we have to address an urgent tree maintenance issue, we want to be able to contact the owners of any cars parked nearby if they need to be moved.

See also Section 10.5 of the CC&Rs for Parking and Vehicle Restrictions.

Ever want to know who’s responsible for patio fence repairs or garage door replacement?

Since 2017 the Board has maintained a “cheat sheet” for repair and maintenance responsibilities throughout the community, based on the Camino del Prado CC&Rs and legal advice. Check it out on the Repairs & Maintenance page.

And please remember:

• Repairs and maintenance must be pre-approved by the Board case-by-case to have their costs covered by the HOA.
• Each homeowner is responsible for any repair, replacement, or maintenance resulting from modifications not included in the original unit.

I’m pleased to share that our painting project has finally completed. Throughout the project I’ve been really happy with how well the community has engaged with the process, from everyone who trimmed back their trees and bushes, to the 33 homeowners participating in our color vote, to the 67 members who pre-selected their door color, and to the 16 people who reported painting issues that needed correction. It’s always my goal as a board member to solicit and share information with the community as much as I can, and I’m so proud of what we accomplished together. 

And here’s some of the best news – and news we so rarely get to share – the painting project has come in significantly under budget! The painting project consisted of 3 major components, each of which was estimated by an independent third party as a part of our reserve study: wood trim repair, wood trim painting, and stucco painting, for a total of $517,325 estimated. Our actual cost was only $290,540, or 44% under budget! (To be completely transparent, this isn’t some master stroke by board – the third party projection was simply overly pessimistic.)

I’m sure you’re wondering – what does this mean for the dues? It’s hard to say exactly, though we can certainly say that dues will be better than if we hadn’t been able to come in so well under budget. With the management and vendor changes that have happened this year there are several factors we need to assess the impact of. We’ve also just commissioned an entirely new reserve study, with the aim of producing a more accurate estimate of upcoming large expenses. Rest assured we’ll be evaluating these very carefully going into our 2025-2026 budgeting session, and all homeowners will have access to all the information in our annual report this summer (or even earlier if you tune in to board meetings).

Looking forward to a great 2025!