Directors Report, February 2015

There is so much to report here that I have decided to do it with a blog.  It is so much easier to add pictures and text in a blog than in a word document that I have decided this is the route I am going to take to make my life much easier and to facilitate communication with all of you. If you click on any picture they will all come up large in a row at the bottom of the screen so that you can get a better look at things.

Tropical Properties Residences

As of to date we now have 3 families living in Tropical Place.  Two are seasonal and one is permanent.  From left to right we have: Harry and Rosalie Lillo, Ron and Donna James, John and Mara Gilmour with son Matteo.

The Houses

Ron and Donna Jame's House
The first thing I would like to show you is Donna and Ron James house.  I am happy to report that they moved into the house Dec 20th and have slowly been finishing it off with cabinets, doors, landscaping etc.  It is truly a lovely home and it a showpiece for people driving in.

Harry and Rosalie Lillo's House

 The famous bird bath in the back yard.

Carmelo Daprocida's House

John Gilmour's House
Next on the agenda is John Gilmour's house.  John is now married to Mara and his their son Matteo is 2 and a half years old and just as cute as can be.  John started the construction of his house about a month ago and is making incredible progress.

I am adding a video because video's give you a much better idea of what is actually going on.  This is what it is like on a construction site here.

What is Happening with the Realtor
Although I haven't heard from the realtor since I got here, she did come out and post new signs which have made an incredible difference.  Now the signs are very visible and we have been getting a lot of people driving through and taking a look. Plus Mara is now working for a realtor in David and he has been out to see the property as well so is familiar with what is here.

Notice how much more professional the entrance looks with the big new fence that Donna and Ron built.  Donna has worked very hard to get that front entrance cleaned up and maintained...a big thank you to Donna and Ron for that.

In this last picture you can see that she put 2 signs one on either side of the entrance and with Donna and Ron's new fence in the background it is much easier to see the signs.  There are also 2 signs just off of the main road up to Volcan.

Now the good news about the realtor is that the signs drew in one looker who is now seriously considering buying John's house in the pre-construction phase.  They are a professional Panamanian family  both English speakers who are looking to relocate to the area.  We are very excited about this.  Also I have another man who came to do the survey that knows an American looking to buy a large piece of land to build a large house on.  I am hoping to sell him 2 lots that are together as he is wanting 2000 meters and our lots are 1000 meters.  He is supposed to arrive here in a couple of weeks and my fingers are crossed that he will contact me.

The New Section of Fence at the Far End of the Development
Last year we had several lot owners who were several years in arrears on their dues finally catch up. That added a significant amount of money to the coffers and the executive decided to put the money to good use building a fence to block off the open area at the far end of the development. We are very excited about the fence as the neighbors on that end of the development have long been a problem taking liberties with our lands. It has been slow to start as Abigail has been very busy with Donna and John's houses but finally this week the construction is underway on the fence.

It turns out that the fence line is much further in from the roadway than it originally appeared to be which is actually good as it puts a bit more distance between us and our neighbors and will make the very narrow road at that end be as wide as it should be for a road allowance.  When they build fences here they tend to put them where ever it is convenient. There was a 'living' fence there before meaning that someone stuck some tree branches in the ground and they grew to be trees.  They then tack a wire to the trees and a fence is born.

After the fence is built the lot owners have agreed to pay to have us plant some trees that are designed to block a view.  This is the view we are attempting to block.  .

 Along this fence line elsewhere in the development you can see the little row of trees that have been planted.
Give it 3 years and the trees will look like....these..

I can tell you that slowly, but slowly the development is maturing and as it does our lots become more desirable.  That leads me to another point.

Delinquent Accounts
I am pleased to report that 80% of the lot owners have been very responsible in ensuring that their maintenance fees are paid up and paid up in time.  To those people I give a big THANKS.  If you have never been here you can't appreciate how hard we work here to try to maintain and improve the property.

 Unfortunately, as is always the case, there are a few (and you know who you are) who steadfastly remain in arrears which grows year after year and becomes increasingly difficult to make up.  It is much better to pay the fees on time than to have to come up with a good chunk of change in the future.  There are still several landowners who have been delinquent in this regard and I urge you to catch up on your dues as it benefits us all if we have a bit of money to make some capital improvements.

Linda has been contacting you to set up a payment plan if you are unable to pay all of the arrears up front.  We are willing to work with you but understand that it takes participation from everyone to make it work well, otherwise we just limp along, trying to maintain what is here.  It is only because 3 landowners paid their delinquent accounts last year (and a big THANKS to all of you) that we are able to build the fence that we so badly need.  If the others pay up their accounts we can make more capital improvements which benefit us all, like a new electric gate.

This is a serious matter so please make sure that you do your part and that you don't make all of the others responsible for your share of the burden.  Remember that land ownership always comes at a cost and we are fortunate enough not to have to pay taxes here so consider the HOA fee to be your annual 'taxes'

Meet the Gardener

The first thing I would like to do is to introduce you to our gardener, Hormelis.  Here he is with his family.  Wife Roselia, daughters Sol and Jasleen, sons Cholo and Porfirio and in the grey shirt cousin Jeffrey.  When the development was first started he was an unemployed alcoholic who had only sporadic work.  Now he has been sober for 5 years, has a car (of sorts), can put food on the table and clothe his family, Plus with his social security benefits that we provide he has medical coverage for himself and his family.

Hormelis has been the gardener for this development since I first arrived here.  At first he was on an 'as needed' basis, later he became full time as it became clear there was a lot of work to do here to maintain the place.  I photographed him at work so you can see why it is so essential to have a person like Hormelis to look after things for us.

Cleaning Ditches

Controlling Vegetation

Planting Plants in the Common Areas

Pulling Weeds

Cutting Grass

Macheting Overgrowth

BEFORE and AFTER

Just so you can appreciate what has happened in the last 6 years here are some comparison photos.

2008 - Vegetation has taken over the road, power pole laying on side of road

2011 - The vegetation on the roadway is gone, the ditch built up on the side to retain the soil with grass and a hedge planted. 

2014 -   Note how the hedge has grown up to hide the ugly fence 3 years later.

2008

2011 - The plants along the edge are pineapples and we maintain a constant supply.

2014

2009

2014

2008

2014 - Note the flat sided rock visible in both pictures

So I hope this gives you a better idea of what is going on here and why it is so important that we all do our share to maintain this property.  Until next time ...hasta luego from your directors.