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Playa Turchese Residence Newsletter #7 – Mañana, mañana @#$%^& Mañana!!!!!

 

Hello everyone.

Sorry I haven’t been communicating more lately, but for those of you lucky enough to be here, you can see I’ve been very busy (and ill).

Naturally, many of you have been asking me the same question: “When’s the next meeting?”
I’d love to be able to give you an exact answer, but I’m not yet in a position to do so, as I still haven’t received all the quotes for the work to come, especially concerning rainwater drainage, which is the priority, followed by the management of infiltrations in almost all the roofs.

I follow up with the people concerned almost every day and all too often I get the same answer: “Tomorrow!” … except that every day has its tomorrow and that could be why it never happens …. Believe me, it’s frustrating and therefore annoying!

I currently have 2 estimates:
– One from engineer Garbin available here which includes a major excavation behind buildings 5,6 and 7 … many of us think this is a bad idea because in the soil of this area there are already many things (Water, electricity, internet, cable tv, gas …) Taking the risk of breaking through this area without having full knowledge of the available path would be taking the risk of causing very significant collateral damage which, obviously, would cause many breakdowns and additional costs to us. I therefore asked for the quotation to be reconsidered in favor of surface evacuation.
– The other estimate (here) … which isn’t really an estimate at all, because the builder is asking for topographical surveys to be carried out before the assessment can be made … Except that us$2,500 for this seems excessive to me.

You’ll understand that in this situation, it’s difficult for me to schedule a meeting without something to decide on. I’m well aware that this is THE priority, because it’s urgent to start work before the next rainy season arrives (last year’s rains came early, in April).

Believe me, and you can count on me to keep up the pressure on these engineers to make things clearer as quickly as possible. If you know of any competent, responsive people who could do the job, please tell them to contact me or pass on their details.

As for the rest, and especially the most important point: Accounting

I’m almost ready to send you the balance sheet for 2024 and the projections for 2025, but believe me, it’s not easy at all:
– There was a lot more extraordinary work than planned and budgeted. (So we’re going to have to issue a reminder for these invoices. (It could be at least RD$600,000))
– Some owners have not paid all the ordinary and extraordinary expenses for 2024 (fines are added every month, but that doesn’t fill the coffers).
– Thanks to the fact that some owners paid certain quarters of 2025 (or even the whole of 2025) prematurely (before the end of 2024), I was able to end the year in the black. This means I have to do a lot of calculations to find out how much ordinary money has already been spent in 2024 when it was intended for 2025…
From there, it will be easier to calculate the increase needed for 2025 to make up the shortfall for this year.

So you understand that I have to rack my brains to work out the cost of the extraordinary expenses for 2025 (catching up expenses for 2024 + estimates of expenses for 2025 – But I’d need the quotes for that) as well as the ordinary monthly contributions.

I’ll do my best …

To be able to convene you on March 1, 2025, I’d have to send you the invitation before 19/02/2025 … which seems to be impossible. I hope to be able to organize it on March 8.

Apart from all that, here’s some information on what’s been done recently and what’s coming up.

– The cleaning of the walls surrounding our residence is 85% complete (only certain less visible areas remain to be cleaned). When Dr. Luna can lend us the machine again, we’ll do all the contours of the buildings and, if possible, a few spots on the facades. (Thanks again to Dr. Luna 4D for kindly lending us the machine).

– Improvements and repairs have been made to the residence’s lighting. There’s still work to be done.

– The shared Internet connection in the garden has been fixed (there’s still one connection point to be connected to the electrical generator).

– The water filters have been reset and are working. (They’ll need to be connected to the electric generator too). I’m in the process of organizing a complete cleaning of the cistern and requesting a water analysis from a laboratory.

– I’d like to be able to move the electric generator so that it’s in front of the office, but the only quote I have doesn’t satisfy me at the moment.

– The swimming pool:
It seems that everyone finds it nice and pretty. Propool has agreed to come and rectify the fountain soon.

– Garbage can area:
I’m thinking of putting a removable fence over the rubbish area so that the cats can’t create all this mess, which ultimately dirties the whole area. (I was going for a wooden solution, but was advised to use scrap metal, but in the end I think that using plastic pipes would be sufficient, more economical and, above all, lighter, as you’ll have to lift the mesh to be able to throw out your garbage cans).

I’d like to take this opportunity to remind you to put your rubbish in a bag and seal it. Please crush anything you can to reduce the volume of the garbage cans as much as possible. (I’ll update the rules page to mention this)
I’d like to be able to put special containers for paper, glass etc. . But for the moment I haven’t managed to get in touch with anyone interested in collecting them. At present, only the glass bottles of Presidente and Bohemian brand beers can be recycled. I’m also thinking of changing my collection service provider, as the one currently in charge is so stupid that it’s difficult to do a good job under these conditions.

– Surveillance cameras:
I’ve had to do a lot of work to get them working…. There’s still a lot to be done, as the connections are very fragile. Before I start spending money, I’m still waiting for a quote from HotSpot, which has an offer very similar to the one we already have for the Internet connection, i.e. a monthly package that involves fast, efficient maintenance at no extra cost. I hope to be able to present it to you with the invitation.

– The watchmen:
I had to wake them up too many times. So I insisted that he be equipped with a special telephone. This is now the case. I remind you of the number: +1 (829) 372-5794
I plan to use an additional application to check that they are active. More information in a future release.

– Gas consumption:
I recently filled the tank with 350 gallons. We should be quiet for a while. I remind you that the use of common gas is strictly limited to hotplates and ovens. All other uses, such as tumble dryers, water heaters, etc., are forbidden! Equip your apartments with individual gas bottles or switch to electric.

– Office entrance to the residence:
I’m thinking of modifying the door so that it can close by itself. Too many people have the annoying habit of leaving it open.
I’m going to move the gate switch so that it’s more easily accessible from vehicles.
The gate code will be changed, and I’ll be consulting you at the next meeting to decide how it should work (no code, code changes every XX days, etc.). We have enough tokens for everyone.

Insurance:
We are “up to date” (we still have to pay us$800 for the month of February). I’m going to send you several quotes from other companies for the meeting.
I’ve opened an indemnity file for the residence and some apartments for the damage caused by the floods. I can’t tell you when we’ll get an answer, but I hope we’ll get a good compensation that will allow us to catch up financially, as we’ve had to spend a lot of money that wasn’t foreseen in 2024.

Defaulters:
I’ll send you the details with the summons, but I can already tell you that the U2 unit (despite the agreement that so many of you approved (Votes here) and which is available here) has no intention of paying. I’m waiting for a press release from them to share it with you. We’re going to have to make a decision, because it’s just impossible to make forecasts for the year, knowing that all the money will never be available… So how can we compensate? Think about it and we’ll talk about it, because we’re really going to have to decide once and for all 🙂

That’s all for this time. I hope to be able to send you the invitation as soon as possible. Until then, please take care of yourselves and don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any ideas, suggestions or anything else.

In the meantime, I’m delighted to see that the residency is a success. I have to deal with your tenants on numerous occasions (not always when and why I should…) But on the whole they are generous with good comments and feel at home here! This proves that we’re moving in the right direction. (In 8 years in the residence, I don’t remember it being so full).

See you soon.

Yours administratively
Felipe