What is a PUD

What is a PUD?
Planned Unit Developments (PUDs) have small but important differences from single-family dwellings. To most home shoppers, a PUD will appear like a single-family home. For example, it could be a detached house with a yard, a garage and everything else you’re looking for in a single-family home. But even though it lives like a single-family home, the legal structure for a PUD is more like that of a condominium.

PUDs are communities of homes, which can include single-family homes, condos, commercial property like retail stores or all these property types. The most common kind of PUDs, however, are comprised predominantly of single-family homes or town homes. Strawberry Square HOA (SSHOA) are townhouses attached to a common roof and fence. Like a condo project, a PUD will be operated by a homeowner’s association (HOA) to which every homeowner contributes monthly fees (assessments.)

Like condos, PUDs are also governed by a set of rules and restrictions specific to each community. Here in SSHOA we have specific set of rules that governs our PUD, so if you’re buying a home in a SSHOA PUD, you need to review all the HOA documents that are part of this PUD, including:
     Articles of Incorporation
     Bylaws
     Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CC&Rs) 

Here are some frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Question: What is an Assessment? 
Answer: Homeowner associations can compel homeowners to pay a share of common expenses, usually per-unit or based on square footage. These assessments generally arise from common property, which varies dramatically depending on the type of association. Some associations are, quite literally, towns, complete with private roads, services, utilities, amenities, community buildings, pools, and even schools. Many condominium associations consider the roofs and exteriors of the structures as the responsibility of the association. Other associations have no common property but may charge for services or other matters. Here at Strawberry Square we have common areas of trees, grass and walk-ways, private roads, utilities, amenities: community clubhouse, pool, wading pool, 2 tennis courts and 5 playgrounds. Our assessments are assessed per unit (townhouse) and for 2021 the monthly assessment is $380.

Question: Are 'Dues' different than 'Assessments?'
Answer: A predetermined set of fees usually referred to as 'Assessments' are collected by HOAs, Community Associations, or divisions of property management for the upkeep of said organizations or neighborhoods in general. These fees are billed at intervals, sometimes by month, quarter, or annually. Whereas 'Dues' are voluntary, 'Assessments' are mandatory.

Question: What is a Homeowners Association (HOA)? 
Answer: A Homeowners' Association (HOA) is a legal entity created by a real estate developer for the purpose of developing, managing and selling a community of homes. It is given the authority to enforce the covenants, conditions & restrictions (CC&Rs) and to manage the common amenities of the development. It allows a developer to end their responsibility over the community, typically by transferring ownership of the association to the homeowners after selling. Generally accepted as a voluntary association of homeowners gathered together to protect their property values and to improve the neighborhood, a large percentage of U.S neighborhoods where free standing homes exist have an HOA. Most homeowners' associations are nonprofit organizations and are subject to state statutes that govern non-profit corporations and homeowners' associations.

Question: What is Association Management? 
Answer: Association management is a distinct field of management because of the unique environment of associations. Associations are unique in that the 'owners' are dues-paying members. Members also govern their association through an elected board or other governing body, along with association committees, commissions, task forces, councils and other units. Typically, the board selects, retains and evaluates a chief executive officer or an executive director who is responsible for the day-to-day management of the association and paid staff. Managers within the association environment are responsible for many of the same tasks that are found in other organizational contexts. These include human resource management, financial management, meeting management, IT management, and project management. Other aspects of management are unique for association managers. These include: membership recruitment and retention; tax-exempt accounting and financial management; development of non-dues revenue and fundraising. Association managers must also be familiar with laws and regulations that pertain only to associations. To attain the knowledge needed to effectively operate in association management, its practitioners may choose to pursue the CCAM (Certified Community Association Manager) designation.
California Association of Community Managers (CACM)

Question: What is an Association Management Company and what do they do?
Answer: A property management entity contracted by a Board of Directors or community to provide a variety of services including but not limited to collecting assessments, sub-contractor endeavors, financial advisement and statement/reports preparation and analysis, general maintenance and problem resolution, and advisement on legal and other property related matters. Some of these companies manage hundreds of properties simultaneously, while others focus on individual properties.

Question: What is a Board of Directors? 
Answer: In relation to an HOA, Community or other formal organization, a director is an officer charged with the conduct and management of its affairs. The directors collectively are referred to as a board of directors and are generally elected or appointed. Sometimes the board will appoint one of its members to be the chair, making this person the President of the Board of Directors.
 
Question: Who are my Strawberry Square HOA Board of Directors?
Answer:
 President - Gary Cunningham            Director - Bill Bruns               Director - Sandra Torchia
 Vice President - Richard Chiang         Director - David Chen
 Secretary - Dee O’Hara                     Director - Rob Jacobson
 Treasurer - Betty Weiner                   Director - Vivek Mundhra

Question: And how do I contact them? 
Answer: There are four ways to contact the Strawberry Square Board of Directors:

1. Call the office at +1 408-315-0792 and leave a message with the voicemail
2. Email them at [email protected]
3. Write a letter to Strawberry Square BoD 530 Strawberry Lane San Jose, CA 95129
4. Speak directly to them at a monthly board meeting

Question: What are CC&Rs?
 
Answer: The term CC&R refers to 'Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions.' A real covenant is a legal obligation imposed in a deed by the seller of a home and or property upon the buyer of the real estate to do or not to do something. Such restrictions frequently 'run with the land' and are enforceable on future buyers of the property. Examples might be to maintain a property in a reasonable state of repair, to preserve a sight-line for a neighboring property, not to run a business from a residence, or not to build on certain parts of the property. Many covenants are very simple and are meant only to protect a neighborhood from homeowners destroying trees or historic things or otherwise directly harming property values. Some can be more specific and stricter, outlining everything a homeowner can do to the exterior of their home, including the number of non-familial tenants one may have, acceptable colors to re-paint the home, exactly when holiday decorations are allowed up, automobile placement or repair on property, satellite placement, etc.

Question: What Are 'Bylaws?'
Answer: A set of rules or guidelines regarding the operation of a non-profit corporation such as a Board. Bylaws generally set forth definitions of offices and committees involved with the Board of Directors. They can include voting rights, meetings, notices, and other areas involved with the successful operation of the Association.