Thank you for visiting the Blog. This area will be for interactive discussions from members in our Seven Courts Community to discuss ongoing issues, concerns, ideas and solutions. We will post articles that are pertinent to our community and allow community members to give us feed back on the solutions we are implementing. If you have any ideas for an article or would even like to write an article yourself, please click here and let us know what you are thinking.
As many of you will agree, in strengthening the ties we have in our own community we stand to improve our life, property values and generally create a better place to live. With over 300 homes in the Seven Courts Community, we are one of the largest town home communities in Baltimore County. We have the power as a group to make an impact in our area as well as our local and state government to create an area people are excited about moving to; The opportunities are endless.
Thank you for taking the time to read and we will look forward to getting to know everyone in our neighborhoods! As a side note, we are considering a couple of things that we would like some input on. Not everyone is available for the Association meetings. This is a great place to post ideas for the community and see if there is interest for making them happen. We are talking about having a community party in the large grassy area in the center of Plantagenet Cr. For those interested, please comment and let us know if your family would like to attend and what you would like to see. We are hoping to provide food as well as some moon bounce type of fun for the children. Since this has never been done we are open to any ideas that you may have. Do you think food should be provided or should there be a nominal charge per family? Would it be better on Saturday or Sunday. Would you like to volunteer your time to the efforts? Are there any special talents you have which may be particularly helpful in such an event? Comment and let us know what you think! Looking forward to hearing from all of you! Check back often for updates!
RaniMerryman said,
June 16, 2009 @ 5:41 am
We have also had a request for a movie night in the “big grass” where we do the yard sales. Is anyone else interested in bringing the family for a movie some night?
ginny felter said,
August 4, 2009 @ 6:42 pm
Hi,
We have lived in the community now for 18 years. We are of the older generation not quite senior citizens yet. I think the idea of having a movie night would be great. We don’t have the opportunity to go down to Little Italy for their movie night and this would be right in our own back yard so to speak. Friday or Saturday night would be our choice. Since we have all had to tighten our belts would the charge to do this be cheaper than going out to the movies?
Hope you have had others who are interested.
Rick said,
June 18, 2009 @ 4:45 pm
Why not just have the party with little ones in everyone elses front yards. Thats what a couple families do around here anyhow God Forbid they kill there own grass. Why not put a park up in the middle so parents can take there toddlers up there. Why not put a pool some where on property for the families to go to in summer. I would pay extra dues for that. As long as it was ran correctly.
Dawn said,
July 22, 2009 @ 2:57 pm
I definetly agree on the pool idea. That space would be perfect for a pool. Or they should just let us have permanent pools of our own!
RaniMerryman said,
July 23, 2009 @ 4:25 am
The pool would be great, again… it is fairly cost prohibitive. We would have to finance it through the community and it would probably be about $2K a year for several years for each resident to contribute and in return, they would own a piece of the pool. While it would increase property value as it would attach and the rights would be sold with your parcel, having all of the residents agree and pay the required amount would be very hard to accomplish.
As to the permanent pools, we have had some discussion on that and I believe that it did not pass the vote. I will certainly check on the circumstances and get back to you with an answer as to how that was handled.
Thanks for the input! Keep visiting the site!
revolution2010 said,
July 8, 2009 @ 3:55 am
Rick,
Sorry to hear about your lawn. Hopefully the grass will green up soon! As to the playground idea, we used to have one and it was misused and apparently there were some insurance ramifications. I can certainly check and see if that is a possibility.
As for the pool, that is a fine idea which others have suggested. I spoke to one resident who checked into it at some point and the costs were (don’t quote me, the conversation happened a while ago) about a half million to start up a community pool. For the down money, we would have to require the residents to “buy in” to the tune of $2K / year for a couple of years. I am certainly willing to put it out there and see if there is interest though!
Jim said,
August 18, 2009 @ 8:50 pm
First let me say that a Pool would be great; however; this implementation of a way to get one is ridiculous in terms of practicality. Here are some points that you may want to consider and my experience is that I used to live in a neighborhood with an HOA and a pool. I also have some experience in the pool business. I have two major points to make.
1) The large sum needed as a “buy in” will not be regained. You will NEVER see the value of your home increase by any amount close to that strictly because of the pool. Just as you cannot spend $10,000 remodeling a kitchen and expect to then sell for $10,000 more, so this will also be akin. Whatever estimate was given now, the actual project will without a doubt go over budget. They always do, so expect to pay more and/or longer than mentioned here.
2) Putting in a pool is one thing, the costs of operating a pool are quite another. You must factor in maintenance such as filtration and chemicals as well as closing and opening the pool. Most pools have at least a bathroom if not a full bath-house (otherwise the pool is used). You have life-guard costs and security costs. Then there is the insurance, this can be VERY high if there is a diving board. You also need a system to only allow Seven Courts residents to have access, either a pass or key card or secret lock combo. This is just the tip of the iceberg. All of these are annual costs that must be met. If a pool is put in, then your association fees WILL INCREASE. I guarantee it. The place I used to live is paying almost $100 a month now, yes per MONTH, mostly because of the pool.
Again, a pool would be great on those hot days, but this implementation is not worth it. In fact, for the average resident, it would probably be cheaper to buy a YMCA or Gym membership and even take a taxi or bus to the nearest pool location.
YouGotYourWorkCutOut said,
July 8, 2009 @ 5:41 pm
I moved in to the Seven Courts community in 2003. I immediately noticed that the residents were all about enforcing the “bylaws”. The first person who ever approached me didn’t introduce themselves and welcome me to the street, they indicated that I was parking in their parking spot, indicated where I was supposed to park, and snarled that I better not do it again. I apologized for the violation, then scanned my bylaws and learned that the community did not have assigned parking spaces. Great “welcome wagon”.
Since that time I have been approached by a variety of cranky folk on issues that they think are their business. First, for allowing my children to ride bikes. Huh? The original complaint was that they were on the sidewalk. I don’t know if there was a problem or an interaction, I just know that I was shouted at that kids aren’t allowed to ride bikes on the sidewalk. Then I got another complaint – from a different resident – indicating that kids weren’t allowed to ride in the street (“these aren’t public streets, they are our community, and we don’t let kids ride bikes in the street”) WHAT?? Then verbal warfare with a third resident regarding their belief that I should be watching my kids “more carefully” and I was a bad parent. I have good kids – articulate, intelligent, polite, and playful. The were 7 and 8 at the time – old enough out to be in their cul de sac without my presence; my kitchen window provides an excellent view.
Next my kids were harassed by someone we call the “trash Nazi” who insisted that we were not allowed to put our garbage in a certain spot. Every week a nasty session with my young kids when they put out the trash – right next to trash put out by other residents. Who cares if it was the street in front or the street in back of us? It’s TRASH!
We also had a resident call the county to report violations regarding a water leak in our neighborhood. This happened despite the fact that 4 or 5 households already got together to try to determine the source of the leak. The individual who called specified that the problem was the responsibility of particular neighbor. WRONG! That neighbor had to deal with county authorities, and since the source of the problem was undetermined the accused resident faced an onslaught of different county officials. Not nice. Not fair. Not accurate. Not neighborly.
I know of a family that rented a home for a brief time. They had a 5 year old boy. He was smart and well spoken – I thought he was in 3rd grade. They were here for 2 weeks and decided to start looking for another place to life. Why? Because in that time they received 10 complaints from different people on a plethora of “concerns” – their son playing ball, riding a bike, walking through a footpath behind another cul de sac, where to put their trash, where to park, the fact that the weren’t entitled to 2 parking spots (even though the mom was expecting) because they rented, etc. etc. etc. Someone complained that their son was playing with friends IN AN OPEN FIELD! They were told children were not allowed to play there. WHAT??? They left in another 3 months, but hated it the entire time.
There are so many people here who are downright nasty that it’s disconcerting. In fact, it is becoming a “given” to folks outside the community. Recently I mentioned where I live to some folks shopping for a home and they indicated their real estate agent advised not to consider Seven Courts because so many of his clients had bad experiences with neighbors. Specifically, neighbors enforcing their own ideas about “bylaws”. Also, the home owner’s association fees were so LOW that work doesn’t get done! I have a friend that pays $250/month in fees, and the neighborhood is GEORGEOUS! You get what you pay for.
So, why all the negative examples? In order to overcome this and other issues we need to become a neighborhood, not just a community. Folks tend not to act like “neighbors” when there is a home owner’s association involved. Quite often they resort to “reporting” rather than “approaching”. It’s sad. I certainly understand the need for guidelines for community living. However, I shouldn’t have to defend my parenting and household decisions to people who just want things to work according to their personal “rules”. If someone thinks I have violated a common courtesy (say, kids on the sidewalk with bikes) the issue is considered RUDENESS but not ILLEGALITY. It should be addressed as such: “Hi, I’m your neighbor! May I tell you something? Your kids were riding on the sidewalk and almost hit me. Would you mind mentioning that they should be more careful? THANKS so MUCH.”
Do we need social education on this??
Here are some ideas to consider if you want to change things:
Introduce people to one another. Create a welcome wagon to help new residents get ACCURATE information about bylaws – not just homeowners, but renters also. A board member or representative should visit the homes of newcomers and show them the guidelines and where to get information.
The idea for a community picnic is a good one. Consider making the first a HUGE potluck dinner. Have the association provide dogs, burgers and fixin’s, sodas, and tableware. Ask different residents to sign up for a “BBQ Time” – 30 minutes or so – to distribute the responsibility for cooking. Maybe it can be teams from the different cul de sacs? If folks want to attend the “price of admission” is a pot luck dish and feedback about the community in general: 1 “what I like best”, 1 “what I’d like to change” and 1 “how I can contribute” idea. The papers go in a fishbowl for evaluation later. To vary the food options, assign categories to the streets – desserts from Medici, salads from Bourbon, etc. etc.
After that, COMMIT to having monthly social events to keep the ball rolling.
RaniMerryman said,
July 21, 2009 @ 3:50 am
Well, this may take some time to answer, but let me first start by saying that even if currently, we are going through some rough patches, at least people are talking; that just happens to be the first step in activism! Congratulations, you are officially involved in helping to create a better neighborhood. You have a very funny title to the comment in as much as I am starting to see that I indeed do have my work cut out for me!
I am almost glad that I do not know which court you are from, and I can tell you that it is completely the opposite of mine. We also have about 25 children in our court and perhaps we are all a bit more understanding.
I love your idea of a welcome wagon and I have spoken with a couple of neighbors on the subject. Since you have a heartfelt issue about the welcome, perhaps you would like to take the job as the Welcome Wagon Woman! I would love to include area info as well as business cards and coupons from business owners in the courts. I think it would give a much more personal feel. We can certainly include a real copy of the by-laws as well as the last couple of newsletters.
As to the pic-nic, I am not getting as much feed back as I had hoped. We may do exactly as you suggest and for all of us who believe that community is indeed important, we may just drag a couple of our grills up there on an announced afternoon and grill out with whatever neighbors want to come join us. Look for the date in the next news letter. It should arrive at the beginning of August.
I hope it helped to vent and cannot wait to meet you as you seem very enthusiastic in choosing to change our neighborhoods! Please e-mail me and I will be happy to talk to you about the steps we can take and connect you to some other residents who are talking about the same ideas!
Rani
Ranimerryman@gmail.com
Rick said,
August 3, 2009 @ 1:51 am
Who votes on perm pools the assoc. or the home owners? Just curious.
wishesitweredifferent said,
February 11, 2010 @ 6:12 pm
I could not agree more with you youvegotyourworkcutout! I feel like I could have written your post. We must live in the same court, but sadly, we probably don’t. I hate the way the “neighbors” treat each other. I have experienced the same nasty treatment. I do not understand why people can’t just treat each other with respect and kindness. I feel like I get dirty looks and disrespect and I sincerly have no idea why. We are good people. We take care of our home, follow the bylaws, pay our dues, and try to help out our neighbors by cutting their lawn or shoveling their walks, but nothing we do seems to be enough. I am tired of biting my tongue. Instead of watching what time we take out our garbage on trash day (maybe we weren’t going to be home in the evening) or calling the police to issue me a parking ticket (there were no spots because someone in the court was having a party and “my” spot was taken) you worry about what YOU can do to be a better neighbor.
Cristin said,
July 20, 2009 @ 9:37 pm
I’d like to respond to the newsletter that was recently handed out on July 10th. As an owner who doesn’t have a dog I would resent having to have my home owners’ dues go up b/c dog owners don’t have the civility to pick up their dog’s mess, so I hope people are reading this. Please be CIVIL and pick up your dogs’ doo doo! I mean really. Since I’ve moved in here 4yrs. ago I have also picked up everyone’s 2-3 week newspapers and flyers on practically my whole block. Why are homeowners’ so lazy?!! Nobody seems to care much about trash on their street either. It’s really quite sad.
Another thing I need to mention is your policy about compliance with the by-laws. Why must Seven Courts be so passive about it? You really need to start fining homeowners after they ignore your first letter to them and then they’ll get the message very quickly to stop doing it or start doing whatever it is you need them to do. I know when you call the county they come directly out in a span of 2 days and they fine you accordingly. When that kind of message is sent right away people respond. Why can’t we have that here in this community? People don’t respond if you give them 3 chances and then you don’t follow through. They don’t take you seriously. We need to fine people and stop giving them so many chances to keep our community looking run down and our property values low.
RaniMerryman said,
July 21, 2009 @ 5:57 am
Thank you so much for your input. I cannot agree that the pet litter is an ongoing problem and have often thought about standing around with my camera to catch the lazy pet owners who allow their pets to go and don’t clean it up! There are many of us that feel that way. I am a pet owner and I always carry bags with me, it is part of owning a dog. It is unfortunate that a couple must ruin for a few. We have considered placing the dog mit bags in the courts to encourage owners to pick up after their pets, however this would also create unnecessary expense for those of us who follow the rules. It is an ongoing problem that we are continuing to try and find a solution to.
As to the soft approach on the by-laws, we are working on tightening up what we can do and we are reviewing the by laws to see what must be changed. We have really just started the process of the review and should have some answers in the next couple of months. I would encourage you to join us at the next couple of meetings so you can give us your input directly. The only thing I will comment on this subject is that it will take some time for us to organize the amendments and we must also be mindful of our current economic situation. I have become aware that many of our neighbors have become unemployed and we certainly will try and work with them in an effort not to be more of a burden in an already challenging time, I am sure you would expect the same. Please note that the board agrees with your stance and we are taking strides to review and rewrite policy in an effort to protect our investments, just like you.
Thanks again. Although many of the comments on the Blog so far seem to have what some might refer to as a negative tone, I for one am glad to hear so many neighbors who are, like you, concerned abut their investment and want to have higher standards by which we hold our residents to; know that you are not alone and we will look forward to seeing you at the next meeting!
Ranimerryman@gmail.com
Shirley Cooney said,
August 22, 2009 @ 3:21 pm
First, I think our community is a lovely place to live, and we have been here for 23 years. We plan to stay here, have always paid our dues, and keep our property in good shape. It has been interesting to watch the young people go from toddler to teen, and then adult. However, as we know ownership of properties change over the years, and new problems arise.
As a long time homeowner, I take offense when someone new moves in, and makes your day to day existence difficult. For many years, my neighbor on one side was a lovely gentleman who passed away 3 years ago. His grandchild moved into his home, and everything changed. I have had a few problems, with the home since then, and have spoken to her. The ultimate problem is the large dog they now have. They do not clean up after him. I smell feces, and urine when I go outside. This makes using my lovely back yard unbearable. We usually have family and friends over for cook outs in the Summer. Labor Day might not be doable. I spoke to her the other day. The “walk around” must have missed this house, but I wish they would make a trip back. We have put a new roof on our home, painted the siding when we were asked, and recently tore down a shed to make our yard look better.
Perhaps that someone will read this blog and correct this, because we love our neighbors on the other side.
c brigerman said,
September 17, 2009 @ 12:15 am
Hi, I think you should list the paint colors for the tudor style homes, on the web site. I had a hard time finding out what colors i could use on my home. I think more people might paint their homes, if they knew what colors to use. I called every memberr of the board, (some never got back to me) the ones who did had no idea what colors to use. I think this could be very helpful. Thank
you
Corinne Brigerman said,
April 2, 2010 @ 10:22 pm
Hi, I just read all of the posts above and I would like to say that I have lived on Bernadotte Court for 24 years ,my Daughter grew up in this house,and fortunately, I have never had neighors like the ones written about above.Our court has always been full of kids playing, riding bikes, and being children, and still is, thank goodness. I am also a pet owner, who picks up after her dogs, and I get upset when I walk across my front yard and I step in dog do,I think it would be a great idea to put in a post, holding the dog mit’s,they have them in my friends community,and she told me that since they have put them in the problem is alot better. I hope everyone has a great spring.
Tired said,
April 5, 2010 @ 1:08 am
Just walked around the courts on Plantagenet Circle. Have to say Bernadotte court has to win the award for most trash allowed to accumulate in the streets and on the common areas. People are still putting recyclables out in plastic bags and of course the bags are still lying out on the grass and the cans are blowing all over the place. Recyclables that are being put out in the correct containers are without lids and by the time the pick up comes the contents are blown everywhere. As far as the dogs are concerned, I have seen a big improvement in the amount of dog doo being left behind. I myself, walk my dogs in the street instead of the sidewalk out of respect for other people’s property. My main concern is the children leaving their trash all over the place. I have over the past 12 years picked up enough trash to start a dump site of my own. I even tied a garbage can to one of the signs for them to put their trash in but they ripped it off. Lately, I have seen that someone else has been cleaning up also, but everyone needs to get involved in order to keep our court looking nice even those without kids. Parents please tell your children to pick up after themselves so we don’t have to win anymore awards.
Hermi Nudo said,
August 18, 2010 @ 12:58 am
Ideas about community activities are very promising.
I like the community get together with food,children games,etc.
Getting to know each other facillitate exchange of ideas and sharing of resources. When I bought my house in 1981, it was important for me to get to know my neighbors. Everyone out seemed to be in a hurry then and opportunity to talk and relate was rare. We had a “block party” a cook out and residents bringing a covered dish. I met the neighbors, we got to know each other better and most of us became close friends and it was what made Romanoff court a close and friendly group looking up for each other abd maybe a factor in less vandalism reported.
I’ll help as much as I can.
Concerned said,
October 1, 2011 @ 2:34 am
I find it interesting that this website and the newsletter and, basically, any general communication, aside from water disruptions, has ceased from the community association. Is this typical? I understand that the person originally responsible for this site and the newsletter has been not-so-kindly removed from the association board. So, who is on the board and how are board members chosen? This site was started over two years ago, but it seems to have died. This is disheartening and frustrating.
I am not sure what can be done at this time or if it would make a difference. I did a google search on the association and found this page. I want to know when and if the association will be providing the fall clean-up dumpsters. I have lived here nearly three years and haven’t felt this isolated from current association events than over the last 6 months.
Resident said,
October 12, 2011 @ 11:22 am
Ive lived in Seven Courts about 4 years now. My neighbors and I get along really well. Someone left a note on my vehicle. It states that I should stop parking in front of their house. The house I park in front of appears to be vacant (the previous neighbor moved out months ago). The parking spots in my court are offset due to a a grassy area that is in front of approx 4 homes (my home is one). Obviously the four of us have no choice but to park in front of someone else’s door.
Can someone shed some light on the parking by laws/dos and donts?