NEWSLETTER
JUNE 2008

CVHOA-PSC

The construction effort repair previous construction defect items missing from the 2000 CVHOA earthquake repair project is now completed. 

The inception date of the CVHOA-PSC Project was March 2006 and completed in April 2008.The repair work consisted of the following:

Stucco Roof/Master Bedroom Closet
Cabrini Villas contracted with Professional Services to correct the moisture intrusion problems associated with certain master bedroom closets in and around certain windows which were suspected to have moisture intrusion. If the moisture intrusion problems had not been corrected, it was possible that the mold growth would have continued unabated. there were 267 Stucco roofs (above the Master bedroom closets) that were involved in the CVHOA-PSC Repair Project. Included in the scope of the work is the replacement of the framing structure due to dry rot which was water sealed by replacing existing headwall flashing and roofing underlayment as well as installing Bituthane on all horizontal stucco elevation. Additional work was necessary by way of resetting the adjacent coping metal on the tile roofs and installation of Z-bars when necessary. this aspect of the work amounted to approximately $2,489,700.

Windows
The window repair portion of the project involved removal and resetting of windows. The process also involved replacement of existing flashing around the affected areas for the purpose of water proofing. properly tie in the new latch paper to the old, commonly referred to as black paper. The closing stage is application of brown coat and stucco finish around the windows. The final stage of the process is painting with elastomeric paint. there were a total of 179 rear elevation windows involved in this process. The total cost was $358,000.

Scuppers
Water leaks appearing on the ceiling level of the dining room area have been discovered entering the unit via the scuppers. the scupper is a water drainage system attached to the roof area and its function is to collect water exiting via the downspouts. The scuppers are visible along the alleyway of buildings located from the Via Sorrento Street to Via Milano. There was a total of 20 scupper work done. The potential for the scupper being a source of water intrusion in the future is very likely but difficult to predict. All scuppers that have been worked on showed signs of metal rusting and around the scupper ring. There are a total of 258 scuppers. The replacement cost of one scupper is approximately $1200. The roofing portion of the undertaking is estimated to cost approximately $500-$600. Even after construction, the scupper area and roof could possibly remain a source of water intrusion in the future. Further deliberation by the Board and homeowners pertaining to this matter will continue mainly addressing scupper repair and funding. the cost of repairing 20 scuppers amounted to $24,000.

Mold Testing & Remediation
Based on the results of the extensive IAQ/mold testing work performed on behalf of the Cabrini Villas HOA by various experts and  consulting firms during the lawsuit. It was discovered that elevated concentrations of microbial growth were detected in numerous wall cavities tested. Wall cavities are located on the exterior drywall and framing. During testing, multiple moisture sources were identified leading to these mold conditions. The moisture sources included improperly constructed waterproofing and exterior wall finishes at various types of master bedroom closet locations and around replaced windows. During the course of repairing these moisture intrusion problems, mold remediation was also implemented in these areas of concern. It was the goal of the Board of Directors to avoid propagation of mold into a hazardous condition. After the source of moisture has been corrected and eliminated in a manner so as to prevent future moisture source, mold remediation was performed to exterminate any mold contamination of the interior drywall. This process involved a cost of $391,800.00.

End-Wall Repairs
A very significant development followed based on ensuring destructive testing of end walls of buildings. This led to an unexpected but necessary wall repairs. The discovery revealed that the bottom portion of the framing of the garage end-walls, lower than the exterior grade are below street level. Over time, water seeps into the wall and cause moisture damage to the wood sitting on below code stem walls. The repairs that have been done is shoring up the building and fully stabilizing the building thereafter the end-wall framing is remove. A new concrete stem at the wall base is inserted and extends above the exterior grade by a minimum of 8 inches. The end wall is then reframed. This is a delicate and expensive process. total cost amounted to $1,365,000.00.

Gutter Replacement
Gutters and downspouts on all Cabrini Villas buildings have been replaced because of the originally inferior gutter system installed by previous construction company. Gutters and down spouts were re-sized to 4 inches to increase water flow and re-establish pitch grade away from buildings. An efficient gutter system is critical in avoiding flooding on the flat roof caused by slow draining and improper pitch.

Alarming Trend of Unpaid Assessment

The consequence of not paying assessment is precarious to the association's operation. the assessment paid by each member is specifically earmarked for required services and maintenance provided for the convenience, safety and pleasurable living of all homeowners in Cabrini Villas Home Owners Association. 

One of the stipulations of living in a community association such as CVHOA is sharing he financial burden of the common area obligations. There are tremendous financial advantages to equal sharing of such expenses.

For this reason, there must be an honorable commitment towards monthly assessment. This is why it is illegal to not make assessment payments. If any one member fails to pay their share of the assessment, it adversely affects the ability to satisfy all financial obligations of the entire association. Furthermore, this shortfall in the association's revenue and the cost of operating the association must be divided among the other owners who are paying their assessments, probably a special assessment or even an increase in the monthly assessment.

The Board is very concerned with the growing unpaid assessment. Despite friendly reminders and forceful collection strategies, delinquent assessments have reached a record high number never seen in decades in CVHOA. The board is taking prompt collection action against delinquent owners, such as filing liens against their property, foreclosure or filing suit against them personally.

As of this writing, there are approximately 65 members who have not paid their assessments with individual amounts varying. There are a staggering $270,000 assessment payments and fees payable to the HOA that remain uncollected. Of this figure $60,000 is probably collectible within the next 90 days.

There is $23,000 monthly assessments earmarked for services and contractual obligations that are not being satisfied by the assessment contribution of members. this monthly trend is reflected in the he accounting records suggesting that if these payments are not made immediately, the association's ability to provide services may be interrupted until such time that an assessment recovery is attained..

Delinquency Report As Of May 13,2008

Currently delinquencies are $90,437.07. It is expected that 68% of this amount will be paid by the 15th of this month enforcing relentless collection efforts ($62,000.00).

Delinquencies "Over 30 Days" are $28,988.58. It is expected that 26% of this amount will settle the obligation before the 90th day. 

Delinquencies "Over 60 Days" are $21,644.82. It is highly unlikely that more than 7% of these accounts will settle within 6 months. this number will be affected by bankruptcy or foreclosures. 

Delinquencies "Over 90 Days" are $129,232.03. This is sum of monthly assessments since Jan '08. It is expected that this amount will increase in proportion of arrears after 90 days. Approximately $16,000.00 to $25,000.00. 

Balance of all delinquencies are $213,597.18. Accumulated amount of unpaid dues and other fees including NCFs.

Non Payment of Assessment

Many homeowners have asked these questions.....

What happens if I do not pay the monthly assessment?
Unfortunately there are members who do not make it a priority to pay the Association's monthly assessments. The advice to those owners is to reconsider their position because of the stiff penalties and legal entanglement that may arise due to defaulting on the assessment. Here is the scenario....

30 Days Default: The Homeowner receives a reminder letter from the HOA

60 Days Default: The Homeowner receives a FINAL NOTICE letter to correct deficiency and a lien letter to be filed after 90 days.

90 Days Default: The Homeowner is sent to collection and a lien request for Board approval. At this stage there is a minimum of $500.00 collection charge include dint eh homeowner's assessment account and this amount could increase depending on the recovery period. these charges are not refundable.

120 Days Default: The HOA will file a small claims court suit against the property owner in order to attain a judgment against homeowner and will pursue collection by garnishing wages from member's employer or business.

Further serious assessment default will lead to
non-judicial foreclosure initiated by CVHOA.

What happens if I do not pay the special and emergency assessment?
The short answer is same as above.

A Note From The President
It has certainly been a long time since I've written to all of you. Cabrini has always had its challenges throughout the years and we're going thru some big ones now. As I'm sure all of you have read by now, during the May 20th meeting The Board unanimously voted on a special/emergency assessement(s) to be collected by July 1. The Board did not take this lightly. In the nine years that I've lived here, we only had a special assessment twice - and both times before were because of insurance costs that were largely out of the Board's control. This assessment is entirely different, although the argument could certainly be made that the reasons are also not only out of our control but also unforeseen when we originally created our budget in 2007.

To be perfectly clear, there are actually two assessments: one is a special assessment and one is an emergency assessment. The emergency assessment total of $521,028.30 will cover the end wall repairs that we discovered during our recently completed construction project. The end wall defects were unknown to us principally because they were NOT part of the original RESG construction lawsuit settled a few years ago. The end wall repairs were vital to the actual structural integrity of the Cabrini buildings themselves - without those repairs, a good size earthquake could have been enough to cause the structures to partially or fully collapse. Obviously, we had to fix them. The RESG construction settlement netted the association $5 million, while the total new construction totaled $5,521,028 - with the excess $521K coming out of our reserve. Please keep in mind that Cabrini residents have had more than $1.5 million of renovations and repairs due to lawsuit settlements in the past eight years that up until now have cost you absolutely nothing. That's right: zero. Had the Board had to specially assess on that $15.5 million, we'd be talking about nearly $18,000 per resident in special assessments. Thankfully, that scenario was averted. 

The second assessment is actually a special assessment (vs the emergency assessment), needed because we have several homeowners that are behind in their monthly $316 assessment. the $163,624.80 that will be collected in this special assessment will cover the outstanding money that those homeowners owe to the association. I'm sure that many of you are thinking that this isn't fair to those of you that are making your monthly payment that you committed to do when you bought your unit in the first place. But many homeowners have not paid - and those funds are needed to provide all the things we enjoy here at Cabrini. remember, this is your association...we are all in this situation together and we will fix it together. Please don't think the Board is "forgiving" these outstanding debts owed from the homeowners that are behind in their monthly payments. Those monies will be collected in time either by the homeowners catching up on what they owe or it will be collected thru the Court system. But at this point, we need to make sure that HOA has enough money to meet our daily/monthly obligations, i.e. payroll, water, electricity, insurance, landscaping, security, etc.

The special and emergency assessments total $684,653.10 and that comes out to $793.35 to each and every homeowner - the Board has agreed to allow installment payments on this amount if needed, the first payment due by July 1. Again this is an unfortunate situation, but one that exists nonetheless and one we will make through together.

Thank you again for your time and continuing support.

Michael Eastman
President
Cabrini Villas HOA

Security Patrol

There have been numerous suggestions for the Board to increase patrol exposure in the community. This matter was discussed in several board meetings and the consensus of those present was to increase patrol, even if it means increasing the monthly assessment by a few dollars. The patrol schedule has been increased to 24 hours. A contract has been signed between Post Security and CHVOA with a month-to-month term to re-evaluate if there is any actual benefit to having a 24 hour security. The opinion however of most residents is very favorable and seem to agree with the decision.

Also, a word of caution to Cabrini motorists...the traffic officers of LAPD Foothill Division are monitoring and enforcing STOP signs more frequently in our area. It would be unfortunate to pay a fine of $350.00 for failure to stop for a few seconds.

Did You Get Your Insurance Yet?

Protect yourself with a Unit Owners Homeowners Insurance Policy, plus earthquake and loss assessment.

Good News! The Board was able to renew Cabrini's property, earthquake and general liability policy with significant savings over 2007. This is an ideal time for you to review your personal insurance to make sure you are protected as an individual.

One of the Board's major concerns is that individual condominium homeowners have not purchased an adequate unit-owner's Homeowner Insurance policy covering them for building items, personal belongings and liability. Homeowners sometimes assume, usually mistakenly, that the commercial association's policy covers their losses. In general the association policy covers what the association owns, plus liability. (the individual homeowners has an undivided interest in the association).

Homeowners should try this simple exercise. Walk through the inside of your unit and ask who owns what you see. Most likely, almost everything you can see is yours and should be insured by your individual unit-owners policy. some unit owners may believe that they are responsible for insuring personal belongings, only and that the associations master policy pays for everything structural (building items)  after a policy deductible. Here are some typical examples of the building items that the unit owners may be responsible for replacing:

Drapes, carpet, wall coverings, built in appliances, cabinets, lighting fixture's hardwood floor, tiles and etc.

It is important to be familiar with the association's documents that define rights, obligations and operating policies.

Your personal liability for injuries or property damage is also included in a typical unit-owners policy. Remember, the association's liability policy covers the association not you. It is important to carry your own liability coverage.

An average premium for a Unit-owners policy you can add the important earthquake coverage. Including earthquake loss assessment. Premiums for this important coverage average $400-$500 per year. Your individual premium will depend on your policy limits.

Don't put this off. Call your agent today. If you do not have an agent feel free to call your Cabrini broker at:
Richard Leyden
Lic# 0297144
818-775-1185
FAX: 818-775-1723
laquoteins@aol.com
All lines including life and health insurance

CVHOA: Outline Of Insurance Coverage

Policy Period: 03/31/2008 to 03/31/2009.

Commercial Property

Total Insurable Values:
Real Property: $100,197,545
Contents: $100,000
Business insurance: $2,000,000

Perils: Special form of direct physical loss or damage including Earthquake and Flood.

Interest: Real property, personal property, extended definition to include walls, walkways, paved surfaces, pools, Jacuzzis, tennis courts, assessments.

Limit of Liability: $102, 297,545 per occurrence. All Perils except $50,000,000 per occurrence and in the aggregate. Annual applied separately to earthquake and flood - $10,000,000 Sub limit Building Ordinance on Primary All Risk. $10,000,000 Sub limit building Ordinance on Primary DIC with permission on all other layers to allow Building Ordinance to Erode.

Deductible: 45,000 per Occurrence/Special Form Perils. $10,000 Per occurrence/Special Form Water Damage. $50,000 Per Occurrence/All other perils - Difference in Conditions.

Total Insurance Cost: $625,006.00.

Other Deferred Major Repair Items

Due to unavailable funds there are several major repair items that have yet to be addressed by the Board:

    1. End Walls that are below grade
    2. Scuppers on roof level and brake out stucco
    3. Road Repair
    4. 28 Bonus rooms experiencing water intrusion

There will be more discussions on the matter involving priority and funding of these deferred major repairs. At some point in the immediate future, the Board will have to make recommendations to the individual homeowners on how this massive maintenance effort will be funded and accomplished. This is not a simple task to undertake considering that the needed repairs will involve community effort to fund.

Special Request

Lately observations and complaints have reached the CVHOA that pet owners have not been picking up the waste of their pets. Some pet owners have been leaving them in front of homeowner's patios, walkways and grass area creating an unpleasant sight and odor for anyone enjoying a day out in the patio.

The Association has built rules to serve the good of the community. Pet owners who make life unpleasant for their neighbor's should be aware that this practice will not be tolerated. This is also a violation of Municipal codes and subject to citation and fines.

Please notify the Association if you observe individuals who violate this pet rule.

The Cabrini Area 4.0 Adult (19 years and older) tennis team won the 2007 San Fernando Valley Adult Doubles Tennis League Championship with an undefeated record on 7 winds and 0 defeats. The Cabrini Aces went on to win the Southern California Doubles Championships at the Tennis Garden in Palm Springs, CA. Our small community featured the #1 4.0 team out of over 100 teams from San Diego to Santa Barbara.

This year Cabrini Villas has expanded the tennis team to include a 3.5 Women's team, Captain Patricia Zimmitti and a 4.5 Men's team, Captain Sal Zimmitti. If you have an interest in joining one of these teams or starting a 3.5 men's team contact the office in care of Sal Zimmitti.

Architectural Committee

We want to welcome the new members of the architectural Committee, Bob Yamin Linda De Lizza and Deb Cohen.

They have volunteered their time to keep the neighborhood desirable and consistent with the Rules and Regulations set for by the Architectural Committee. Their effort is much appreciated by the Association and we wish them success.

Cabrini Villas was designed with the purpose of giving families who live here the best of life and the enjoyment to live well. Clean walkways, alleyways and nice gardens not only beautify the surroundings but increase the value of the community as a whole.

As some Architectural rules that are violated are not intentional, the Association urges that homeowners please contact the CVHOA office at 818-504-9600 for clarifications.

As always, we need more volunteers to join on the Architectural Committee. If you find you have the calling to serve, please come to the CVHOA office to fill out a volunteer form.

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