Hoa at Evergrene Palm Beach Gardens

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08-02-2009, 02:02 AM

FlufferCat 2 posts, read 27,931 times Reputation: 15

Quote: Originally Posted by Love Palm Beach Gardens I live in Evergrene, and I love Palm Beach Gardens, but I wish I lived elsewhere. The clubhouse is gigantic, but it is useless. It has a big lobby empty lobby, and there is always someone there to tell you that you can't go in. Also it has a lot of private offices, since the staff is very big. There is a worker here that is just for Member Relations. They must be very busy dealing with complaints. The main complaint is the HOA cost. The Board says that our HOA cost is less than some nearby communities that have golf courses. We don't have a golf course, only a pool and a tiny little gym. A lot of my neighbors are moving out of Evergrene because the fee is too big. I might also. Evergrene has the largest/nicest pool around, a decent gym for a community and a tiki bar by the pool. After working for a year in the Caribbean, the pool almost reminds me of one of the large resorts there. You have to remember the HOA fees are known going in, if they are unreasonable, you don't have to choose to live there. I would tell you to check out some of the golf course communities locally, they have 1500/month HOA. About someone at the front desk of the club saying you cannot use the facilities, that is only true for residents grossly behind in HOA dues, and I think that's reasonable because if you don't pay, you shouldn't have access.

08-05-2009, 06:12 AM

ognend 2,878 posts, read 4,340,045 times Reputation: 3093

Quote: Originally Posted by michb116 We bought a home in Evergrene about a year ago and love it. For a single family home we pay $470/month in HOA fees. While they seem high, it includes basic cable, a nice gym, lawn maintenance and a resort style pool and club house. We are in our early 30s and thinking about having kids soon. There are lots of kids in the neighborhood and activities to keep them busy. We have not had any maintenance issues, however we had friends who had to have all of the windows replaced becuase of leaks. We live on the east side about 6 or 7 houses away from the train and can only hear it if we are outside or if the house is completely silent (no tv, radio, talking, etc.) Still it is not very loud from the inside. Also have not had any issues with the HOA board, even with all of the foreclosures and people not paying dues, our dues are not going up this year, as they are in many other communities. I always wondered what kind of money people make (and what they do in PBC) to be able to pay $500/month just in HOA fees. Everyone has their own preferences but I never understood what is it that you really get for the $500/mth in HOA fees? The lawns are not that big - I have a guy that mows by 1.5 acre property for $55/cut. My basic cable is $10/month and if I wanted to splurge I could get a boatload of channels for $40-50/month. Yeah, there is a gate but so what? My yard has my own gate! I lived in "gated" communities before and the gate only gives a false sense of security to the inhabitants. $500/mth is a luxury car payment/month or two normal car payments...Blah.

10-13-2009, 03:13 PM

tms5018 1 posts, read 20,013 times Reputation: 14

I have lived there 5 1/2 years, and we are very happy. We never had any problems with the house. The house made it through 3 severe hurricanes without a single leak. There are rumours of Chinese drywall with some of the later phases, but I have not heard any confirmed cases. I know for sure that my house does not have any. The club has really come together beautifully over the last year or two. There are events every Friday night, and going to the pool on the weekend is like being on vacation. The kids love it. If we ever move out, we will miss it very much. We have no plans to move out any time soon. The "HOA" fees seem high, but the fee is really an HOA fee AND a membership fee to the club. Yes, you have to join the club, but it's not fair to compare the fees at Evergrene to the fees at other neighborhoods where there is no club. I have friends up north who pay thousands to be a member of a beach or pool club and they can use it for only 3-4 months a year. For people who want the club lifestyle, Evergrene is very affordable for what you get. If you don't want the club lifestyle, then the neighborhood is not for you, because you are going to pay for it...it's as simple as that.

11-23-2009, 08:09 PM

Location: Jupiter 12 posts, read 71,419 times Reputation: 11

Evergrene Homes for sale Dear Flguy, If I could build a subdivision I'd add rolling hills, pretty trees, golf courses, and skip the trains but that said I'm a real estate agent and live accross the street. On the few occasions that I hear the train it somehow takes me back to my childhood. Evergrene is a family friendly community with a very nice clubhouse, pool,fitness center and much more. All HOA's being run by a board of their owners there isn't much room for waste and the community if fully built out. When it was built out there were corners cut and it resulted in heads rolling and law suits. Certainly a home inspection is in order when you buy. I think many of the issues were with the townhouses and the windows in the single family homes. I do beleive most items were repaired as part of the lawsuit. As far as Chinese Drywall, a home inspection shuld do the trick. I hear the Chinese drywall will stink like sulphur (rotten eggs). ***MOD CUT*** Last edited by faithfulFrank; 11-24-2009 at 06:09 AM.. Reason: ads not allowed

11-24-2009, 04:33 AM

Reedsmit 475 posts, read 1,415,841 times Reputation: 191

Quote: Originally Posted by ognend I always wondered what kind of money people make (and what they do in PBC) to be able to pay $500/month just in HOA fees. Everyone has their own preferences but I never understood what is it that you really get for the $500/mth in HOA fees? The lawns are not that big - I have a guy that mows by 1.5 acre property for $55/cut. My basic cable is $10/month and if I wanted to splurge I could get a boatload of channels for $40-50/month. Yeah, there is a gate but so what? My yard has my own gate! I lived in "gated" communities before and the gate only gives a false sense of security to the inhabitants. $500/mth is a luxury car payment/month or two normal car payments...Blah. I have a very small yard, it costs me $30 per week to have it mowed, with no additional services such as sod replacement, sprinkler repair or fertization of lawn and shrubbery. Annual Cost $1260 - 42 week (winter months lawns are mowed bi-weekly) I pay $180 per month for my Cable Service with a boat load of extras including High Speed Internet. Your Cable is only $10 per month because your live in a Community and have a Bulk Cable Rate for your Basic Cable is $30.00 a month for the first six months, thereafter it would increase to $55.00 per month or an annual cost of $480 per year plus TAXES. I have no pool or any other amenties including security. Just those two items; cost $145.00 per month / which means for the additional $355.00 per month you get a "BOAT LOAD" of services. And the one item you can't put a price on, is if your neighbor decides to repair cars in his driveway, or use his front yard as a junk yard, the Association will stop him, this maintains the value of your property. That is very important if you are trying to sell your home. Let me say that I have no association with Evergreen; but I am a Licensed Community Association Manager; LCAM; and am attempting to explain your Association fees and what they are spent on. Your Association fees go for many things within your community other than mowing your yard. Any Amenties within your community must be maintained, in addition large items must have a Reserve Account; as things wear out the Reserve pays for replacement so a Special Assessment is not passed on to the Homeowners. Example your pool, it requires regular service to insure that the chemical level is correct. The pump occasionally needs to be repaired, sometimes the pools themself will leak, the tiles come off, the pool deck will need pressure cleaned, and occasionally repainted with a non-slippery paint material, the pool itself will need to be resurfaced, the pool furniture will need to be restrapped or replaced, the umbrella mechaism will break and need to be restrung or replaced. There is also electric to run the pool pump and lights, your pool has a fence, it needs be working properly, occasionally it will need painted, or if a picket is broken it will need to be repaired. None of these items are free; they are paid from you Pool Budget - the more expensive items such as the replacement of a pump or resurfacing of the pool deck or pool itself are paid for from you Pool Reserve Acct. Your Tennis Courts, Golf Courses, Playgrounds, Parking Lot and Club House have similiar needs. Your home fronts have several components as well, your grass is cut a specific number of times per year, the shrubbery is trimmed. Your Property Manager probably inspects your property a couple times a year, if there are areas of your front yard which has sod which has died or plants which have died, they are replaced. Some Communities mulch fronts of the homes twice a year. Than there is the irrigation system, you have Irrigation Clocks, Sprinkler Heads and piping. These all need to be repaired or replaced as needed. You also have Common Areas which have lawns, trees, shrubbery and irrigation systems. At least once a year normally before Hurricane Season the trees within the community are trimmed. Some Communities decorate for the Holidays, whether the Communities are putting up the decorations or hiring a company to do so, there is a cost involved for the decorations, the man power to put them in place and the electric to operate them. You have Security Gates, Walls and Fences, Lakes, Fountains, Entrance Signs, Street Signs, Sidewalks, Utilities and Insurance. You also have Salaries; Maintenance Workers, Management Company, Property Manager, Office Secretary, Accountant & Attorney. You Annual Meeting notices, Annual Budgets, Association Fees, Violation Notices - these all require printing and Mailing. So you see the list is long as to what you pay for. Your Annual Budget should have just been completed within the last two months. It should break down exactly what you are paying for. Most Boards work very hard to keep the Assessments down, but nothing is free. I recommend that you take some time to attend Board Meetings or even get involved in a committee or run for the Board. There are many misconceptions as to what the Board does. I have had bad Board Members who I wouldn't give you two cents for, and I have had some really Outstanding Board Members. Several years ago, we had a resident (elderly) on a fixed income, she was in her 70's, her husband was in a Nursing Home, she worked part time at a Department Store to try to make ends meet. She was not able to take care of the outside of her home to Community Standards, obviously she could not be an exception as that would not be fair to her neighbors. The Board and Committee Members, rolled up their sleeves one Saturday morning, pressure cleaned her driveway and sidewalk and put a fresh coat of paint on her garage and front doors. They did not do this as the Board, they did this as good neighbors. Last edited by Reedsmit; 11-24-2009 at 04:51 AM.. Reason: Correction

11-25-2009, 06:11 PM

ajn999 2 posts, read 25,051 times Reputation: 14

I am a happy homeowner and I think the homes in Evergrene are a screaming "Buy Now!" First of all, the location of the development is a perfect combination of "location, location ,location" Some of the most expensive housing developments are all within a stone's throw from Evergrene. The shopping is fantastic and the proximity to I95 makes travel very convenient. The community is layed out very well and has a large variety of homes in variuos shapes and styles. The lake is beautiful and invites people to come and enjoy its beauty as well as meet other people. The community's landscaping is kept in up wonderfully and the roads are a true joy to travel as one enjoys the beautiful surroundings. With the recent price discounts, it possible to move into the development into a well built home in the $200-$300,000 range. Folks, with mortgage rates so low I have to think prices will only start to rise

11-29-2009, 11:32 AM

SKB Location: WPB 900 posts, read 3,351,146 times Reputation: 330

Quote: Originally Posted by ajn999 Folks, with mortgage rates so low I have to think prices will only start to rise LOL, yah in about Thirty years or so.

01-12-2010, 12:01 PM

Slr6800 2 posts, read 24,380 times Reputation: 12

I worked for WCI and they did cut corners. I also was in purchasing and we didn't buy any Chinese drywall for Palm Beach county. Note all the Chinese drywall was bought after evergrene was completed. There was only three homes that had mold issues. This was due to the Hurricane that went though the area.These home were completely re-built. No other home ever had mold issues from building practices. I am also a owner of a home in Evergene and a original buyer. My son am I loved it there.I Loved the pool, tiki bar and the events there. I don't live in the community anymore because of my situation. I am now renting out my home. The HOA is a bit of a pain but there are going to be some changes soon and items should be resolved.

01-17-2010, 02:13 PM

cjb99 1 posts, read 19,517 times Reputation: 10

Sir6800, Can you elaborate as to how corners were cut? I can't imagine that that the quality of the construction was seriously compromised, since you still chose to buy and live there with your son despite knowing about some shortcomings.

03-22-2010, 05:48 PM

I'm going to give you a short version of my experience with Evergreen and WCI SCUM!. I purchased a 700,000.00 dollar home in 2004 in the so called lottery. I purchased the home knowing I was going to gut and redo the interior of the house. Soon after the demolition started we found mold. WCI moved us out and said they fix the problem, we moved back in to find more mold, this happend three more times and everytime WCI would tell us the problem was fixed and move us back into the home. After being moved around ten times and remediated 5 times I finally had to move because of health reasons caused be the mold in the house. WCI new about the mold problems and avoided the real issues at hand' they also new about many many homes in Evergreen with the same problem not three homes like I read here on this blog but 50 to 60 homes or more that all came out in depositions in my lawsuit filed against WCI. I lost my business of 20 years and my health for life and as far as the chinese drywall goes you can still drive by the home I purchased and smell the sulfare from as far away as my mail box. so I don't no who or what person that worked for WCI has to say but I now must everything about what they did in Evergreen from my 4 to 5 year lawsuit with the *******s that is until they filed and hid behind chapter 11.

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