The Architectural Review Committee Attempts to Get Some Answers

Following the builder’s confusing email to the neighbors in which he claimed he would be building essentially the same houses that had already been built in the Overlook development, he nonetheless continued to market the “3300+ square feet” homes on four levels (which would be nearly twice as large as what was indicated on the original site plan for those lots).

The new Architectural Review Committee (ARC) for the neighborhood decided they had better obtain something clearer than the hand-drawn “plans” that had been nominally approved for Phase II by the outgoing ARC in the fall, on the day the builder purchased the lots.  The section on architectural review in the HOA documents required substantially more than those hand-drawn plans in order to review and approve new construction in the neighborhood.  Among other things, it required a “schematic and detailed drawing…showing the nature, kind, shape, dimensions, material, floor plans, color scheme, and location of the proposed Structure,”  an estimated cost to complete the work, a proposed construction schedule, and a designation of parties to perform the work.

They Say There Are Two Sides to Every Story

But it seems a singular occurrence when the two sides are being told by the same person, which was apparently the case with the builder’s plans for Phase II.  Subsequent to his purchase of the lots, he would describe his plans differently depending on who was asking the question.  For advertising and marketing purposes, he was selling significantly larger houses, built on four levels.  When anyone in the neighborhood would ask, he was building the exact same houses as the existing 2-car garage houses.

Don’t You Let that Deal Go Down

If you live in a community with a homeowners or property owners association (HOA/POA), you may have had an opportunity to read (poor you!) your “Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions”.  This document runs with the deed to your home and is a legally binding contract between you and your neighbors which mandates a sort of self-government, which places some restrictions on your real property rights.

Huh?

Right, what it means is there are things you can and can’t do that your normal local government usually doesn’t have much to say about. 

Things like:

• how big and what color your mailbox is  
• whether you can have a birdbath in your yard  
• how long your holiday decorations can be displayed after the holiday (quick hint:  if it’s opening day of baseball season, the wreaths and blow-up Santa need to be taken down)

 You get the picture. 

In exchange for you suppressing your need to display your hand-made, 9-foot, carved black bear totem from Pennsylvania Amish country in your yard (though it IS quite charming), you have the  comfort of knowing that your neighbor must suppress her equally sincere desire to festoon her yard with her eclectic collection of Lord of the Ring garden figures™.

Suggested Questions for the Builder

Here are some suggested questions for you to ask the builder before you sign a contract for a new home to be built on Eric Shaefer Way....

• Q: Tell me the number of outstanding punch list items for Phase I purchasers at the time that the builder turned over responsibility for remediation to BB&T (the seller of those lots). 
• Follow-up Q:  How long did the builder know about those items before the turn-over to BB&T?  How many have been outstanding for more than one year since the owner's closing?
• Q: Please tell me the number of Phase I homes that have experienced in-home water incursions, whether from upper floor bathrooms to living areas below, from a burst pipe through drywall, from decks into sunrooms and/or exterior walls; whether due to sump pump malfunction, faulty gutters, faulty plumbing fixtures, improperly installed windows and/or doors, ground water inundation, or Acts of God?
• Follow-Up Q:  How many of these water incursion issues remain unresolved?
• Follow-Up Q2: How many of these issues required the replacement of substantially all of an owner's wood flooring on the floor where there was water incursion?
• Follow-Up Q3: Did any homes require this replacement more than once?
• Q: How many Phase I owners currently have damaged wood flooring in their homes, whether from improper installation or poor product quality?
•  Q: How many Phase I owners have currently or have had in the past issues with standing water in their yards?  
• F-U Q: How many have had or are in the process of seeking private contractors to install landscaping and functioning drainage due to the length of time that their yards are/were unusable due to unresolved standing water issues?
• Q: Can the builder show me current architectural drawings, to scale, for the new homes?  
• F-U Q: Can he provide me with a timeline for the process by which plans were submitted to and approved by the city?  
• F-U Q2: Were those permits sought/obtained before or after the current construction began in January 2013?
• F-U Q3: Can the builder provide me with some level of comfort regarding the engineering soundness of the excavation and foundations on Eric Shaefer Way, which are adjacent to a small tributary of the Jones Falls and include an additional walk-out basement level that has not previously been built in any Overlook home?
• F-U Q4: Has the architect completed plans for the new 4-level model, which were not complete at the time that the Baltimore City Planning Commission approved the 4-level model in a "minor PUD amendment" on March, 21, 2013?
• Q: Has the builder ever answered a question about the 1-foot difference between the planned length and width of a foundation, and the actual size of a built room, with an explanation that the plans reflected the exterior dimensions of the room?
• F-U Q: Do any of the Overlook homes actually have 1-foot thick walls?
• F-U Q2: If so, is this for defensive purposes?  Can I get a moat? [refer to earlier question regarding standing water]
• Q: What number of trees/plantings that are part of the currently approved PUD landscaping plans did Phase I purchasers actually have planted in their yards?
• F-U Q: If not all as planned, why not? 
• F-U Q2:  How many of the plantings/trees included in the current landscaping plan can  I expect to have planted in my yard? 
• Q: Did the builder attend a neighborhood meeting in order to address the substantial objections of his neighbors regarding the height and scale of the new homes planned for Eric Shaefer Way?
• F-U Q: Was a compromise reached on those issues?
• F-U Q2:  Did the builder bring his lawyer to that meeting?
• F-U Q3:  Did any of the other neighbors bring their lawyer(s) to that meeting?
• F-U Q4:  Will I need a lawyer to come to neighborhood meetings with me if I buy a house in this neighborhood?
• F-U Q5:  How about social events?  Is my lawyer expected/welcome at those as well?