EXTERIOR HOUSE MAINTENANCE
Each unit owner is responsible for maintaining the exterior of their unit:
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All exterior surfaces are to be kept in good repair, free from visible holes, rot, mildew, mold, lichen, and dirt. This includes siding, trim, gutters, roof, foundation, doors, windows, lights and any other exterior surface.
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Exterior lights are to be kept in good working order, including lights affixed to the house, mounted in trees or shrubs, or placed around walkways or in the yard, as well as those at the top of the lamppost associated with most units.
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Exterior paint or stain on siding, trim, doors, fences, decks, rails, pergolas, arbors, lampposts, or any other exterior structure must be maintained and re-coated as necessary to maintain a neat appearance and prevent exposure of bare wood to the elements. House siding and trim typically needs repainting or re-staining every 3-5 years. Decks often require more frequent re-staining due to their exposure to weather and foot traffic.
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House numbers must be affixed to the exterior of the unit and easily visible to delivery and/or emergency vehicles.
LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE
Each unit owner is responsible for the maintenance of the landscape in their exclusive use area (yard).:
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To discourage weeds and maintain a neat appearance, all landscape surfaces in each unit's exclusive use area (yard) must be covered with grass, shrubs, trees, mulch, flowers, vegetable gardens, patios, decks, finished walkways, crushed rock, or other landscape elements presenting a neat appearance.
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All landscape surfaces are to be maintained and kept reasonably free of weeds, especially poison ivy and poison oak. Please remember that weeds in your yard can spread into your neighbor's.
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To prevent the spread of invasive species to neighboring EUAs and common areas, any invasive species growing on EUAs must be eliminated. See this page for more information on invasive species and how to remove them. Any questions regarding invasives on individual EUAs should be directed to the Board.
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Grass must be cut regularly during the warm months with a mower to maintain a neat appearance and discourage weeds. Between late May and August, this usually requires weekly mowing and trimming.
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Shrubs and trees must be pruned and cut back to avoid overgrowth and maintain a neat appearance, to keep them away from siding, gutters, and roofs, and to keep walkways passable. Pruning and shaping one or two times per season is usually adequate.
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Any professional feeding, disease-treatment, pruning, removal or replacement of trees in the exclusive use area (yard) of each unit is the responsibility of the individual unit owner.
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Unit owners are expected to maintain the walkways in the Exclusive Use Area (yard) to provide a neat and tidy appearance and also to provide a clear and obvious path to the front entrance for the Post Office as well as for service and delivery people. If you have a walkway (other than the one to your front entrance) which you do not use, you may plant grass in place of the walkway, but please do not neglect the walkway and allow it to become partially overgrown as this is very unattractive and affects the appearance and property values of the entire neighborhood.
COMMON AREAS
The Condo Association as a whole is responsible for maintenance of most common areas of the neighborhood, including the entrance to Nylander Way, the bus turnaround, the meadow, the path to the sewer pump, and other parcels around the neighborhood. Courtyards between clusters of houses, such as the one between 29 and 35 Nylander Way, are the shared responsibility of the unit owners in the adjoining houses.
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The front entrance, bus turnaround area, and meadow are regularly mowed and shrubs are trimmed by a landscaping company employed by the Board on behalf of the Condo Association.
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Maintenance of courtyards between houses should be discussed and agreed upon by the surrounding unit owners. They might, for example, take turns mowing the grass or share the cost of hiring a service to do it. Each owner might also agree to adopt a tree in the common area and keep it mulched, pruned, and otherwise in a healthy state.
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Walkways in shared courtyards areas are the responsibility of the owners of the surrounding houses. As with private walkways, they should be maintained to provide a neat and tidy appearance as well as a clear and obvious path for the Post Office and for service and delivery people.
IF PROPER MAINTENANCE IS NOT PERFORMED
Proper maintenance of the exterior of our homes and of the landscape around them is critical to maintaining property values and the neat, well-kept appearance we all enjoy. It is important that we respect the neighborhood, our own homes and each other and maintain our homes properly.
If the Board receives complaints that a unit is not being maintained properly, the Board has a responsibility to act made clear in the Master Deed. When this situation arises, the Board will contact the unit owners and ask them to perform the proper maintenance, including weeding.
The Master Deed also makes clear that if a unit owner refuses or is unable to perform proper maintenance, the Board may perform the maintenance or hire someone to do so and may require reimbursement from the unit owner.
CHANGES TO UNIT OR LANDSCAPING
The Master Deed requires that any changes to your unit or to your exclusive use area (yard) be approved by the Board in writing. Please see Unit Improvement for details.
Routine maintenance as described above does not require a unit improvement request. Even repainting your home does not require approval unless you are changing the color or design at the same time.