Homeowners in the Madison subdivision of St. Ives can probably breathe a little easier. The St. Ives Homeowners Association sent out the following email to its members last week:
By now you are probably aware of the allegations of financial misappropriation that have been and continue to be brought against Ridgway-Lane & Associates. Your HOA Board became aware of these issues on Friday and since then has been taking actions to assess our vulnerability and ensure protection of our accounts. At this point we believe that there has been no misappropriation of our funds.
We have two accounts – operating and reserve, each with just over $40k balance. We have withdrawn the funds from the reserve account and have a cashier’s check that we will be using to open a new account tomorrow. We were unable to withdraw our operating account funds before a Court order was put in place freezing all Ridgway-Lane related accounts. However, our account is clearly styled in our name and we feel confident that we will be able to have it released to us. In the meantime, if necessary we can utilize our reserve funds to continue operations.
There are several reasons that we have escaped unharmed including the fact that we run a very tight budget with minimal excess, we have refused to participate in Ridgway-Lane’s ‘common bank account’ and we do not have any easily manipulated financial instruments. That said, we realize that it may be possible that small amounts have been siphoned off and we will be investigating that further. We are fortunate to have a CPA and an attorney among our Board members.
We are terminating our relationship with Ridgway-Lane effective immediately although it should be noted that they are in the process of closing down anyway. We have contacted other HOA managers for proposals and hope to secure a replacement soon. There are not many options in the area and there will be many other neighborhoods looking as well so it may take some time to get that settled. In the meantime the Board will be self-managing as best we can. Please bear with us as like you, we have full-time jobs and families.
We have a new mailing address for all payments and correspondence:
PO Box 1601
Madison, MS 39130
DO NOT SEND ANY PAYMENTS TO: Po Box 22891, Jackson, MS 39225.
The timing of this is very unfortunate with respect to our pool situation. Based on the results of our informal survey there appears to be strong interest in building a new pool. To that end, we are arranging a meeting so that all the HOA members can vote on this. You should be receiving more information on this later this week.
Finally, we would like to remind you that all of our financial details are available for members to download from our website at http://st-ivesms.com. Click the ‘Members’ tab and login as directed, then select ‘Board Documents’ for a list of available reports. The website is independent and not affiliated with Ridgway-Lane.
Nice to see one HOA got it right.
Here is the list of affected HOA's that have sued Ridgeway Lane.
Bridgewater
Bridgewater at Old Agency
The Barrington
Lakebend
Dinsmor
Bruenburg
Discovered but not yet taken action.
Palisades
Stonebridge
JJ knows of at least three more Ridgway Lane-managed HOA's that have probably suffered losses.
15 comments:
I think it’s great they were smart enough to be actively involved in their finances! The other HOAs blindly trusting RL makes ZERO sense to me.
@1:57 PM - it amounts to laziness, incompetence, arrogance, ignorance, or all of the above.
Good for you St. Ives. I live in a small sub-division in Madison that self manages our HOA. I have, on several occasions, expressed my gratitude to our president and board for taking care of the HOA. As I said, we are a pretty small sub-division (less than 50 homes) without a pool, as such we probably do not need a third party management company. Out little neighborhood is always trimmed, neat, and clean, and for this I am, again, grateful, to our HOA board. I know the folks in St. Ives must be pleased with the way their HOA is managing the situation with Ridgeway-Lane.
Still wouldn't live in one. Our neighborhood is trim and neat because our home owners take care of their own property. Don't give a rats ass what color their front door is.
I remain baffled by posters who, like 3:25, attributes the fact that people cut their grass and maintain their property to the existence of an HOA. That is pure-damned ignorance on parade. Another example of the titty-baby syndrome.
@3:25, you must live in Wind Dance?
KF, I know of four others that have taken action already regarding DL; they haven't sued them yet, but have taken over their bank accounts (or what is left of them) removed their files, and engaged attorneys and CPAs on their behalf. And I haven't been trying to keep in touch with them.
Not saying this to pick with you, but I'll bet the number is climbing even faster than you have on your radar.
The biggest problems seem to be with the CondoAssociations who are required by loan agreements to maintain a fairly substantial reserve fund to cover condo maintenance (roofs, exteriors, etc.) that the average HOA doesn't have to deal with. Those are the ones that appear to me to be facing the most financial ruin if they were treated the same as all the ones you have reported thus far.
By my count, I see over $2million and growing that has been heisted.
Street rumors as to where it was going are getting interesting. Kinda like the Fraiser boys lifestyle, but with more limited excesses.
5:38 pm We are happy for you...truly.
However, it only takes one sale to a person who is a thoughtless neighbor who will never mow his lawn or clear it of debris , one neighbor who becomes the " cat lady" , one " hoarder" whose " stuff" had no more room inside , one neighbor who gets dementia and lets his home go to ruin while refusing neighborly help, one vehicle crashing into your neighborhood entrance or one neighborhood problem Clinton refuses to address after individual complaints ( like exceeding the pet limit to breed dogs that bark all night), to enlighten you about why HOAs get formed.
It's not just a neighbor that has no taste in paint colors though unless you went to LSU, I doubt you'd find purple and gold with tigers everywhere a way to increase neighborhood values or enjoy seeing it from across the street. Or, how would you feel about a Pepto Bismol pink house with loads of flamingos in the front ( actually happened in an expensive Atlanta neighborhood)?
Your arm chair judging doesn't leave a favorable impression with those who get out of their chairs more often .
What's wrong with flamingos, 9:42? I have bottle trees and flamingos. But I also have a no trespassing sign and will enforce it if you poke your prissy nose in my bidness. You have a chapped ass and you're going to drown with that damned upturned nose. Lighten up, breathe deeply and for God's sake, get the hell out of that stiff dream-world you believe is reality. It's not.
WOW, some of you folks are wound up entirely too tight!! Some folks live in neighborhoods with HOAs, and other folks don't. Does it really matter at the end of the day?! We all have to live somewhere, and not everyone can and wants to live out in the country where there are no HOAs. It's a shame what Ridgeway Lane has apparently done to a number of HOAs in the metro area, but I really don't think there's any reason to personally attack someone whether they live in a HOA neighborhood or not. Some of you folks need to chill out and get a life.
I never knew that HOAs can enforce their regulations by sending people to jail- see the situation in Madison with the family who got burned out of their home and are staying in a motor home in the driveway until things can be worked out by the insurance agency.
This blog is now boring. Ten or so threads on the idiotic embezzlement scheme with HOAs and related subjects. The threads are boring, the traffic lights are boring and the Fire Hydrants are boring. So are the cross walks. And the bridges. And the asshats who say 'get your own damned blog'. Yep. Boring. Combine all that bullshit and move on to some interesting stuff. This is lazy.
@7:13- Let me start by saying, “Hi, David!” I’m so glad you joined us!! As a collective, we apologize for how incredibly challenging and exhausting proving you’re a human seems to have been. (Damn those Russian bots!!)
Now, on to your sour mood. There’s always the option to NOT read this blog, or, if you must visit, NOT to click on postings. We apologize for BORING you by not uncovering ALL your crooked actions simultaneously. We will do better. In the meantime, please post the link to your blog, with its fast-breaking news, for our advanced readers.
Lastly, enjoy prison!!
Signed,
Everybody Else
@8:44...I posted at 7:13 and don't know who the hell 'David' is. I enjoy the blog and am a regular and appreciated contributor/poster/agitator. Otherwise, screw you.
@6:22- You’re not TOO regular or you’d know “David” is David Lane. Also, who is appreciating you? Obviously not KF, because you called his blog boring. So, who? And just so you know, sticks and stones may break my bones but your trashy words won’t hurt me! (LOL!)
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