Last week, your HOA received two financial reports, both of them showing serious fiscal “challenges.” Let’s look at the reports, causes, implications and alternatives for action going forward.
What the Reports Say:
(All numbers are USD unless otherwise indicated.)…
Your Board and the Community Manager are addressing maintenance issues aggressively — not deferring maintenance and investing in quality materials. This sort of preventative maintenance costs more now, but saves a lot of money over time. See picrtures.
Every day, as part of the Security Guard’s “rounds,” they check the levels of water in the cisterns AND the flow rate of water coming in from OOMSAPAS (at the Malecón). I’ve seen the flow rate when it is a trickle. I’ve seen it when it is OFF entirely. Very seldom is it flowing at…
Early 2023 witnessed OOMSAPAS, our water utility have a multi-day outage and another government agency fix a long-standing problem with our sewer system. Let’s look at both episodes: Fresh Water Owing to the rapid growth in Los Cabos, the water supplies are chronically stressed and frequently rationed. We use water to a) replace evaporation from…
This week revealed some disturbing signs of shortages. Happily, our HOA Community Manager is managing the interruptions so we don’t see anything! (Or pay for emergency supplies!)
from Gringo Gazette Mayor Oscar Leggs continues to find more water to alleviate the need in Cabo San Lucas, where thousands of people do not have enough water supply other than by buying it from more expensive water trucks. Many others only get city’s water supply once a month or every 5 weeks. This time,…
This is an interim report to Las Mañanitas Owners on using desal to increase water security What about our current water supply? All new hotels along the Carretera Transpeninsular between San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas are required to provide their own desalination (“desal”) plant. We are grandfathered, so we aren’t required to…
So, you would think that surrounded by all that water, potable water would not be a problem. Well, I am not telling any secrets when say that it is. In just about every survey of Baja Sur residents, water issues are almost always atop the list. Here are two Gringo Gazette stories with great information.
The new garages have been painted, and the LED lights in the arches are working. The arches have the same curves as appear on the Phase II and Phase III buildings. The 3-foot lip between the first and second floor will be covered in the same red Mexican tiles as appear on the one-story garage buildings throughout Las Mañanitas.
This post may be the most important thing I have ever written about Las Mañanitas. I’m writing this personally; reasonable minds can vary about my suggestions. I strongly recommend you read it closely. Here’s a summary of why you should: Our current legal foundation documents[1] are inefficient, sometimes ambiguous and even contradictory on occasion. Bottom…
The strong peso and OOMSAPAS water rate increases have blown a hole in our 2023 budget. See “Stronger Peso busts budgets expressed in USD.” It also has major implications for 2024. If we simply buy the same goods and services again next year (including contribution to Reserves) and assume a 17:1 exchange rate and 5%…
On May 5th, Las Mañanitas saw some unusual, short-term renters: drivers and crews who were finishing the Mexican 1000 race, a five-day, off-road effort across the desert from Ensenada all the way to San Jose del Cabo. Click to enlarge and read the flyer on the right. The race ended with a huge party next…
The Mexican government has approved a new scenic train to be built from Tijuana all the way to San Jose del Cabo!
Some Owners have asked for clarification about how the HOA spends money, specifically on the big items called “Reserves.” This post will attempt to do just that.
Operating Budgets and Reserves Spending Defined: Anyone who has run a household budget knows…
The Vigilance Committees and the HOA Board meet twice a year – once in DEC to refine the plan for the coming year. Once in JUN to make adjustments, if any. The DEC meeting was very successful, confirming an ambitious 2023 plan.
The bad news is that we’ve spent a few thousand dollars replacing appliances in the pool bars and some ground-floor Units have been flooded with sewage. The good news is that, with your help, this is completely avoidable. Here’s how you can help!!
All Units within Las Mañanitas need to have a “Property Manager” to perform the duties listed below. If Owners are full time residents, they can serve as their own Property Manager, but most Owners hire a professional Property Manager to provide the service(s) listed below. Property Managers should be “Approved” by the HOA to do…
The real work of any organization takes place not at the annual meeting of owners, but in the groups who create the alternatives, build the consensus and prepare the decisions for ratification at the annual meeting. Here are the members of the various boards and committees that actually do the work. Committees and Boards 2024 …
Under pressure from activists worldwide, the Mexican legislature passed an update to the General Wildlife Law. The Cancun Sun has an in-depth report (below), and it appears that dolphin shows might be on the way out.
When you have a site like this that caters primarily to members of a single community — in our case, Owners of Las Mañanitas condominium — you want to share some information that should be kept only WITHIN the group. If you put it on a public website, anyone with the link can access the…
This topic will get decided on November 5th. I’s a bit complicated and would benefit from advance consideration. See also this explainer video. Or attend one of the “Open House” zoom sessions on September 20th at 2p and 7p Las Mañanitas time. Just drop in; no RSVP required.
This is a background briefing for a topic that will come up in the November 5th HOA Assembly – your approval of the “New Garages Project.” I don’t anticipate any objections, but it’s sufficiently complicated that I thought it wise to brief you in advance.
Last year, our HOA spent almost $100,000 USD on water, mostly for pools and landscaping. Last week, our Community Manager met with OOMSAPAS and learned that our rates will go up 36% NEXT YEAR!
You may wonder why the “New Garages” project is taking so long. Turns out, this is a case study in what happens when we deal with the complexities of Las Mañanitas’ legal structure and the requirements of Mexican law protecting Owners.
