Wednesday, July 3, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
37
What if an HOA has questionable finances?
ADLER: Sisters
education had a
shaping impact
Continued from page 8
<I didn9t know what I
wanted to do with that; I real-
ize I probably should9ve gone
into business, but I knew I
wanted to be tech focused,=
he said.
His business began its
startup process in 2015, com-
ing out of his senior project
with a team who sought to
come up with a design for a
water consumption monitor/
sensor. They decided to do
something about this because
of the California drought at
the time.
<We would love to wake-
board at lakes and we couldn9t
because the lakes would be
dried up, so we had it impact-
ing us in every way,= he said.
The idea behind the sensor
project was to help people to
understand their water con-
sumption and <make water
conservation sexy.=
Adler and his team went
through the accelerated course
classes at Cal Poly and were
able to get investors. The
business officially launched a
year ago with its own website,
investors and selling of the
sensor and data system. Adler
is the CEO of Flume, and his
main job is to recruit investors
and work with cities to get the
sensor into metropolitan as
well as rural areas.
The sensor works as a
way to measure water con-
sumption, which is a diffi-
cult set of data to measure.
The small sensor attaches to
a water meter and sends the
information through a home
or city9s WiFi system to a
mobile device and it produces
realtime data as to how many
gallons are used in a home per
hour and per day.
There are two pieces to
the sensor; the <deck,= that
is similar to an Amazon
Echo, that goes inside the
home to pick up the sensor9s
Dear
Property Guy
PHOTO BY CEILI CORNELIUS
Eric Adler has developed a sensor
that measures water consumption.
data, then the sensor itself
which attaches to the water
meter.
<The protocol for it is sort
of like walkie-talkies, where
the data from the sensor is
communicated to the deck
and then onto a phone so the
user can easily read their own
water consumption,= Adler
explained.
Adler says it is a user-
friendly device, and takes less
than 15 minutes to install,
and if a user runs into issues,
the team is ready to commu-
nicate with the customer via
instant chat. The app is then
downloadable for iPhone and
Android that gives the user a
set of data they can check on
and read.
<We want it to be user-
friendly, and once people start
using the sensor, they see how
much they use,= he said.
Then through awareness
of the data, they are able to
see a huge reduction in con-
sumption home to home. The
sensor for homeowners helps
reduce a water bill, and for
a city, helps the city become
more sustainable in their
water consumption.
The sensor has been picked
up by many major metropoli-
tan areas in California; Texas;
Oregon and the Southwest;
as well as Chicago, which is
a different market entirely,
See ADLER on page 39
RESIDENTIAL FARM & RANCH VINEYARD
By Mike Zoormajian
Dear Property Guy-
I9m looking at investment
property in a subdivision
with a homeowners associa-
tion (HOA). A friend recently
bought a home in the same
subdivision and (the) lender
required a review of HOA
documents. These documents
turned out to be in a signifi-
cant state of disarray, which
delayed the closing process.
Should this concern me?
How big of a red flag is it
when the HOA won9t pro-
vide financials? Could poor
HOA management impact
the value of the property? If
I buy in this community am
I on the hook for their poor
management?
Confused in Sisters
Dear Confused:
HOAs can be a blessing
or a curse. At their best, they
maintain standards of living
and property values. At their
worst, they become fiefdoms
for power-hungry, petty resi-
dents with nothing better to
do than check paint colors,
measure grass, and ensure
fences are set back properly.
The problem with many asso-
ciations is they are run by
volunteers who have neither
the expertise nor experience
to manage what is essentially
a good-sized business.
A well-run HOA will
maximize property values
and minimize drama. That9s
the best you can hope for. A
poorly run HOA can destroy
property values by limiting
541.771.0931
patty.cordoni@cascadesir.com
Principal Broker/Sisters Branch Manager
Cascade Sotheby’s Farm, Ranch, Vineyard Division Manager
CascadeSothebysRealty.com | Each offi ce independently owned and operated.
It’s not just a Transaction…
It’s a Relationship.
Heather Jordan, Realtor
Broker, Licensed in the State of Oregon
541.640.0678 | heather.jordan@cascadesir.com
potential buyers. As a buyer,
HOA docs should be part of
your disclosure packet. Make
sure to review them.
Finally, realize that when
you are buying into an HOA
property, you are assum-
ing liability for the actions
of the HOA. Meaning if the
finances go bad, you may be
on the hook for a (potentially
large) special assessment.
For these reasons, I always
recommend every resident in
an HOA neighborhood take
an active part in the oversight
and management of what
is likely your largest single
asset, your residence.
Mike Zoormajian is
P r i n c i p a l a t We t D o g
Properties in Sisters, OR.
Providing investor, property
management, and relocation
services. Questions to:
letters@wetdogpnw.com.
Legal advice is worth
what you pay for it. Consult
a real attorney before doing
anything crazy.
Land & Homes
Real Estate
— Serving all of Central Oregon —
Sandy Goodsell
Principal Broker
Jonathan Hicks
Broker
ABR, CDPE, CIAS, GRI, SRES
541-480-0183
865-335-6104
LICENSED BROKERS IN THE STATE OF OREGON
www.goodsellandhicks.com
Wishing you
a sparkling
4th of July
Stop by and visit with Tiana Van Landuyt & Shelley Marsh.
220 S. Pine St., Ste. 102 | 541-548-9180
Farm, ranch & home properties
are my specialty!
Marcea DeGregorio , Broker
NuggetNews.com
is your online source for
PATTY CORDONI
potential buyers, sow enmity
among residents, and create
financial liability for resi-
dents by mismanagement.
Oregon has some laws on
the books regarding HOA
handling of financial docu-
ments. They need to be suf-
ficiently detailed for account-
ing purposes. They need to
consist of a balance sheet and
income statement. Finally,
these statements need to be
reviewed by a CPA, and dis-
tributed to each owner.
That9s it.
This is all a pretty low
legal bar. Notice the law
doesn9t require third-party
review of individual jour-
nal entries, or any specific
requirements as to review of
expenditures.
Financial data should be
available on the HOA web-
site. If the Board isn9t forth-
coming with financial data
or expenses seem out of
whack this should be a major
red flag to any resident or
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Licensed in the State of Oregon
541.408.5134
marcea.degregorio@cascadesir.com