Shirley Clark, Dan Buescher, Nancy Eckstein, Bob Moren, Linda DiPalma, Gordon Lee, and Tammy Bachofner
SunBird is a great place to be! February was full of recreational and social activities. March is scheduled to be even busier. The weather has been TERRIFIC, and we hope you are enjoying the many facilities and amenities of SunBird. This is a great time of year with everything in full swing!
The SunBird Marketing Committee was created several years ago after the Arizona state real estate market collapsed. The primary purpose of the committee was to promote and market the SunBird community to people looking to buy homes in the area. Fast forward years later, as the real estate market began to recover and the efforts of marketing began to flourish, home sales dramatically increased in SunBird. Three years ago, the Marketing Committee charter was revised to include in the title “Welcoming.” SunBird had so many new people moving into the community, we wanted to make sure they were welcomed and able to feel comfortable joining and participating in the many activities offered. Now, SunBird homes are selling so quickly that some realtors are reporting they have waiting lists of people wanting to buy homes in SunBird. Further, several homes have been selling before the “For Sale” signs are even posted in the front yard. In the last four years, nearly 500 SunBird homes have been sold. With both of these important tasks of the “Welcoming and Marketing Committee” and its success, it was decided that this committee needed to be re-chartered into two separate committees, “Welcoming” and “Marketing.” Now, each committee can focus more on these individual responsibilities.
This past year, a new owner survey was created jointly by these committees and submitted to each new owner as they checked in at the office. The purpose of the survey is to better understand how 1) they learned about SunBird, 2) what attracted them to SunBird, 3) what interests they have, 4) what they would like to see in the future. The results of these ongoing surveys indicate that 50% of the new buyers learned of SunBird from family or a friend. The top three comments for what attracted them to SunBird (all very close) are the facilities and amenities, affordability and friendliness. Sixty-two percent of the new owners said that they planned to be fulltime residents at SunBird. The top three interests of SunBird are the social events/activities, golf, with pickleball and water aerobics tied for third. The survey and results will be an excellent tool for marketing and for future planning for SunBird.
SunBird’s annual independent financial audit is nearing completion for the year 2018. The auditor collects and reviews financial data from the computer system, annual bank statements, insurance statements, tax reports, finance records and meeting minutes and conducts random testing on several specific financial transactions for compliance. Having an annual financial audit is a necessary and proactive practice to ensure that accounting procedures are implemented and the accounting records and reports of SunBird are accurate. The auditor will be making the final report at the Annual Meeting membership meeting which we are confident will be a “Clean Opinion.”
SunBird has 1,631 homes which are obligated to pay the annual assessments of the Homeowners Association. These funds collected account for nearly two-thirds of SunBird’s annual revenue to maintain the common areas, clubhouse and many amenities. Sometimes we have those who come across difficult times and fall behind in their financial obligations. The Collection Policy of SunBird outlines the reminders, notices and enforcement of collecting these outstanding balances. After sending a first courtesy reminder notice of those who have missed payment, most immediately resolve this oversight. After the first reminder notice, the work begins for the few who have these unforeseen circumstances, and we begin the efforts of locating them and arranging payment. Our delinquency rate over the past three years has been excellent. Although we would prefer to not have any delinquencies, however, this is not the case. The delinquency rate for the years 2016, 2017 and 2018 has been two-tenths of one percent; that equals less than the annual assessments of four homes. The low delinquency rate is due to following the established Collection Policy, staff making personal telephone calls of caring inquiries and the unfortunate part of the tougher enforcement of suspension of facility use, fine penalties, collection agencies and other legal action. These past three years, we are happy to report we have not had to use the collection agency or the legal system for collections. It is exciting to be part of a vibrant organization that wants to meet the changing needs, keep updated facilities and amenities and continue to be progressive. SunBird is a great place to live!