Staff

Office:

Cynthia A. Lirette,

General Manager

Paula Curtiss, Rental Manager

Julie Lawlor,

Front Desk

Maintenance:

Alan Pendleton, Maintenance

Manager

Eric Nelson, Maintenance Tech

Angie Aldridge, Custodian

From the President

March 2018 Volume 3, Issue 6

P O S T Board of Directors Emmett Kern, President

Bill Barry, Vice President

Harry Smith, Treasurer

Brad Prewitt, Secretary Dan Lankheit, Director

Office (850) 492-2200 Emergencies (888) 547-7930

Fellow Owners,

As most of you know, the Board worked hard on revising the Condominium Documents (Declaration of Condominium, By-laws, and Articles of Incorporation) over the last year. Numerous volunteer hours and legal expense brought us to the point of sharing the pro-posed re-stated and amended documents with you for your approval at the recent Annu-al Owners Meeting.

I am very pleased and proud to report that the documents have been approved by over a 2/3’s affirmative vote of the owners. A total of 126 proxies (83% of owners) were received. We had some bumps in the road during the process, due mostly to misunderstanding, but we came together and got the job done. Once the documents are filed in the county records, an official electronic copy or a hard copy can be obtained from the office. The electronic copy will also be available on SeaSpray’s website. (http://seasprayperdidokey.com)

Another outcome of the meeting includes the addition of a new board member for the 2018-2019 term, Mr. Dan Lankheit. Dan replaced Mr. Jim Howell, who served the owners for 12 of the last 18 years. Dan has served in the past and we’re happy to have his passion for SeaSpray on our team. Mr. Brad Prewitt has

accepted the position of Secretary that Mr. Howell vacated. His attention to detail and dedication to SeaSpray will be a good fit for the office. Mr. Bill Barry will continue as the Vice President, Mr. Harry Smith, the Treasur-er and I will continue as the President. When you get the opportunity, please take a few minutes to chat with our Board members and thank them for their time.

I will be sending out a communication soon detailing the available committees and oppor-tunities you may be interested in. If you have expertise in landscaping, maintenance, con-struction, law, accounting, property manage-ment, rental administration, computers/software/databases, please consider serving SeaSpray, even if it’s only for an hour a month.

Emmett Kern

The Association’s engineer inspected several unit balcony areas recently with a SeaSpray team of Board Members, your maintenance manager and me. Adjacent to the balconies, we found moisture damage to the dry wall, baseboards/trim and flooring in some units. Some of the causes of this damage cannot be controlled; however, all can be managed, according to Dan Smith (engineer).

It appears the largest issue is the tile installation on the balconies without a proper waterproof barrier. Most have a grout line where the horizontal and vertical surfaces meet. The grout/concrete is porous (imagine a hard sponge) and allows the migra-tion of water into the units which sometimes travels down the walls to the unit(s) below. We are working with the engineer and looking into options to mitigate this issue.

Some of the items that are easier for you to manage include periodic cleaning of your slider door/window tracks and weep holes. When debris clogs the weep holes (holes in the frame that allow water to drain out) the water does not drain properly and can enter your unit. Another issue is condensation on the windows. When the temperature outside is different than the temperature inside, condensation on the glass and frames is inevitable. Dan recommends keeping the curtains open and away from the windows/problem areas with the ceiling fan on to help circulate the air.

Lastly, one of the culprits that causes water to enter your unit is mother nature. If the storm pressure, wind and rain are just right and working against you, the window/slider frame fills with water and percolates (it actually sounds like an old-fashioned, “percolating” coffee pot) and the storm water may splash into the unit over the frame. This is the reason the wider frames are required by the building authorities. If you plan on being away from your unit, the installation of an absorbent sock at problem areas may help.

If I may assist further, please give me a call or send me an email at manager.seaspray@cox.net.

Cynthia Lirette

Memo from the Manager

Page 2 P O S T Volume 3, Issue 6

Rental Relations

The Rental Program now includes three new units. Unit No. 712 (owned by the Adcocks), Unit No. 623 (owned by the Coopers) and Unit No. 206 (owned by the Wallings) have joined the rental inventory. Welcome!!

As reported at the Annual Owners Meeting in February, with all of the improvements the program has accomplished, the de-mands for more units has increased so unfortunately, we’ve been turning renters away. The additional units and trust in Sea-Spray from the owners are very appreciated! We now have 27 SeaSpray Condo Units on the Rental Program!

One of the requests from the owners at the owner meeting was a report on the average annual income of units that are on the Rental Program. A report of income is listed below; however, clarification of how income is reported by all rental managers is needed. Be sure to ask for the details when comparing property managers.

Gross Income: All monies received by renters and includes cleaning fees, damage waiver fees (can have different names but is considered damage insurance for both the renter and owner), processing fees, trip insurance, etc.

Net Income: This is the income provided to rental owners. This amount is further reduced by property managers for commis-sions, repairs to the units, inventory (dishes, mattresses, towels, etc.). An annual statement is provided to the rental owners indi-cating the income and expenses paid out of income.

Owner Expenses: Expenses for monthly Association dues, electricity, insurance, etc., that the rental owner pays directly are not considered in most income reports.

Owner/Guest Use: Most units in the SeaSpray Rental Program are occupied and used by the owners or their family and friends at only the cost of cleaning, so this must be factored when comparing rental management services’ income reporting.

Another request received at the Owner’s Meeting was for a report on the estimated income the Association would receive if all owners that rented used the Rental Program instead of self rental management or use of other property managers.

There are about 64 units at SeaSpray that are rentals. Averaging the 2 and three-bedroom averages listed above, an average net income per unit would be approximately $29,187 per year. The commission that SeaSpray charges is 20%, so the income provided to the rental program would be about $5,837 per year. Commission for this scenario would generate $373,568 in in-come. The expenses for the Rental Program would be about the same as they are now but to be conservative, I added an extra 20% on the expenses of the rental program from Fiscal Year Ending 2017 rental expense. Assuming expenses of $100,000, the estimated profit would be:

$373,568 $5,837 commission estimate per unit x 64 units

133,200 Estimated expenses

$240,368 Estimated profit

$ 1,581 Per unit (152) estimated profit to apply to operating budget

$ 132 Per month, per unit estimated profit to apply to operating budget

Please note there are many variables to consider and the estimates provided above were made using simple assumptions.

No. of BRs

Location

Average

Rented/Owner Use (Days)

Average Net Income

3 Gulf 205/21 $33,069

2 Gulf 185/73 $31,678

3 River 365/0 $33,499

2 River 172/50 $18,503

1 River 27/225 $4,744

Page 3 P O S T Volume 3, Issue 6

Rental Relations

The slide that was shared with the Owners at the meeting is depicted below. There are many benefits to the unit owner that other management companies may not offer.

Development Next Door

We have been able to secure the plan for development east of the River Building. The project engineer reports (3/6/18) that the plan has been delayed several months and he is not certain when construction may begin. Cottages and a souvenir shop are planned.

The number of board members will increase to a total of 7 next year, an increase of 2 from the current 5 that are serving. Please consider joining a few board meetings during the year to experience what your Board of Directors works on. Most meet-ings will be held on a Thursday evening in the middle of each

month at 6:00 p.m. in the Community Room located in the East Building (Unit 123). Maybe after you’ve attended a meeting you might want to join the Board in their crusade to elevate the Sea-Spray experience and value. Attendance and participation is best in person but attending via teleconference is an acceptable option.

Mr. Harry Smith, Treasurer, updated the owners at the recent Annual Owners Meeting that the monthly maintenance assess-ments will likely increase due mainly to an increase in the premi-um of the Association’s insurance (renewed in October 2017) and maintenance expenses for the aging property. The in-creased monthly assessments will begin on April 1, 2018 with the new fiscal year. The amounts to pay to the Association each month are $615 (3BR), $561 (2BR) and $516 (1BR/EFFY).

Please be sure to change your electronic bank payment amount as soon as possible. If you have signed up for BB&T (the Asso-ciation’s bank) to draft your account, the correct amount will be automatically drafted.

Maintenance & Safety Memo

Page 4 P O S T Volume 3, Issue 6

Notes from the Board and Community Coffers

Garbage continues to be placed in the trash chutes that is not put in bags such as eggs, ranch dressing, spaghetti sauce, cooking oil, beer and liquor bottles, etc. The solids and liquids line the chutes and cause odors, fire and safety hazards and extra maintenance.

Garbage bags that aren’t tied or secured are a huge issue. The garbage comes out of the bag and bottles/jars break and the debris coats the chutes (ewww!). Hopeful-

ly, no one will be in the trash room when glass is put down the chute not in a gar-bage bag. The glass breaks and pieces fly around the trash room.

Bulky garbage is still a huge issue and causes stoppages in the chutes. The most popular chute clogging item is the Lillian’s Pizza box. Shoe boxes, Styrofoam cool-ers, broom/mop handles and beer/booze boxes are other challenges. This week, the staff removed pillows, soiled baby diapers

and a floor lamp from the trash chute in the East Building!

Hazards, odors and a reduction in mainte-nance expense could easily be realized with your cooperation to secure your gar-bage bags before placing them in the chutes and bringing your bulky items to the garbage room on the ground floor the next time you go downstairs. Please share this

with your family, friends and guests!

$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $

????????? Did you Know ???????

• About $400 was spent on postage alone to mail the 2nd

notice for the recent Owners Meeting. Add paper, envelopes, toner and labor for an expensive mail out which can be minimized if the Association is provided permission to communicate elec-tronically for official notices. We’ve already received permission from 33 owners. So far 22% of the owners prefer to “save the trees!” Need a form to submit your permission? Just call the office and we’ll send it to you. Please note that whenever you’d like a copy mailed after signing up for electronic communication, just let us know and we’ll mail it to you.

• A new Owner Directory was published and is available electronically or by hard copy from the office. The Association can-not share your home address or email address without your permission. If you are interested in sharing, you ’ll need to pro-vide permission by completing/signing the Directory Update Form. If there are any needed revisions or if we can provide you the form for updating, please let us know.

• Eddie Zarahn provided a FLA state issued insurance information pamphlet to the owners present at the recent Annual Own-ers Meeting. The pamphlet details the legal insurance requirements of the Association and Condominium Owners. If you ’d like a copy, please stop by the office or call and we can provide you with a hard copy or electronic copy.

• A new Association website is on the way. The website will include Association financial reports, meeting minutes, a calen-dar, condominium documents, insurance documents, owner directory, vendor list, troubleshooting guides for your unit alarm system, etc. The expected completion date is the end of June 2018.

• The Association has begun using a Cloud-based, electronic work order management system. We expect the kinks to be worked out soon and will be sharing with the owners by the summer. A link to the system will be included on the new web-site. Once implemented, you’ll have the capability to create a work order for the maintenance services the Association can provide, track the progress and view unit maintenance history.

Marina The marina has been completed and is open for use!

There are many nice features to enjoy like bait cutting stations that are mounted on pilings, three benches, a fish clean-ing station, life rings and fire extinguishers (3) strategically placed and pedestals with lighting, water and electrical con-nections at each slip. The deck is a composite material so splinters are no longer an issue on bare feet on the pier. The pilings are wrapped for termite worm protection and wave breaks have been installed to minimize damage and extend the life of the structure. The slips have been numbered and labeled with new, blue signs.

There will soon be a BBQ/Social area completed at the foot of the marina, where the old gazebo used to be. Two gas BBQ pits, food prep areas and counter seating will soon be used and enjoyed.