Well, we’ve moved… in case you missed that bit of news.
We’ve moved to Travis Ranch in Forney, Texas (aka Kaufman County Municipal Utility District No. 6).
It’s a beautiful, growing neighborhood, that’s part of a 1,600-2000 (depending on which news article or website you’re looking at) acre master planned community.
The neighborhood offers several great amenities, including an inline skating hockey rink, a pool, splash park and several playgrounds.
There are also plans for retail development and a marina to be added at some point in the future — just haven’t found a good site for detailed information on those additions.
We’ve already enjoyed the pool a few times, as well as walking the “trail” along the main roadway. I’m sure all the amenities, including the neighborhood elementary school (which is less than .5 a mile from our home) will be even more beneficial once the twins arrive.
But me being nosy like I am, I’ve been trying to find out as much as I can about the HOA, the full plans for the development and the Municipal Utility District we’re a part of.
I can tell you — there’s not a lot out there.
But I did track down a copy of this year’s HOA budget and thought I’d see how it stacks up to our former HOA. Both are managed by Premiere Communities in Dallas.
As a reference, I only have the 2007/2008 figures I posted previously from the Coyote Ridge HOA.
As of 2008, 42.27% (or nearly $14,000) of the Coyote Ridge HOA fees went to General and Admin. $9,600 of that goes to the Professional Management Firm (aka Premiere).
As of the 2010 budget for Travis Ranch, General and Admin. makes up 23% (or $92,320) of the HOA’s budgeted expenses, with $36,319 going to the “Professional Management Fee” and $12,500 going to Administrative Supplies/Expenses (that’s a lot of staples and copies if you ask me).
As you can also see from the chart above, the largest chunk of change for the HOA goes to goes to landscaping and keeping the common areas nice and maintained.
The HOA has budgeted 36% (or $145,208) for landscaping and common area maintenance — and that doesn’t include the pool/amenity center. If you add that into the equation, you’re looking at 47% (or $185,910) of the 2010 expense budget.
While the administrative fees and supplies seem a bit out of whack (even though they’re a much lower percentage than the Coyote Ridge HOA), the budget seems decent for the services they provide. I’d be curious to see how it stacks up against other companies and other neighborhoods around the area and around the country.
Do you live in an HOA neighborhood? Any idea as to what their annual budget looks like?
UPDATE: Interested in finding out more about Travis Ranch – visit my new pet project: Travis Ranch, Forney Online
Hi, We are looking at moving from St Louis to the Dallas area for a job relocation. Prior to St Louis we lived in Houston, Texas in Sienna Plantation – the HOA was terrible. The rates were always going up and the services were continually being cut – a delightful combination for the management company but not for the residents. We paid over 1000 dollars a year to our Sienna Plantation HOA – and in return they… mowed the common areas and chlorinated the pool.
I’m a little gun shy when it comes to getting involved with another HOA, I don’t want to be taken advantage of again, but my wife likes a house (on the internet) that is in Travis Ranch.
How are the fees? How about the management?
Hey Forrest – sorry to hear about your HOA experiences.
We had similar issues with our previous HOA (same management company) as well but the dues weren’t near as expensive.
We’ve only been here since May of this year so we probably don’t have too much experience with the management in Travis Ranch, but so far they’ve seemed pretty responsive and seem to be doing a pretty good job. There aren’t as many parties/get togethers hosted by the HOA as in some areas — but part of that is likely due to lack of participation from the home owners.
As of this year the rates are only $360 a year. Not sure historically how that stacks up.
If you’re interested, you may want to check out another site I do, specifically geared towards Travis Ranch – travisranchforney.com. There’s an FAQ page that may help answer some of your other questions as well.
http://www.travisranchforney.com/faqs/
Thanks for reading and your feedback!
HELP!!! Just moved in Travis ranch my trash has been sitting out in my yard for a week, there’s a lot!! Trash man came today and mine was not picked up, Christmas is in 2 days and people have family coming into town, please let me know ASAP how to get this taken care of. Vicki P.