• What is the Coral Trace Homeowners' Association?
• What is the HOA Board of Directors, and what do they do?
• How, when, and to whom do I pay my HOA dues?
• Can I use an automated Bill Payer from my bank?
• What types of home maintenance are covered by my HOA dues payments?
• What kind of insurance do I need for my home?
• What are my home repair responsibilities?
• What happens after an emergency, such as a hurricane?
• Where do I find the Coral Trace TV channel?
• Can I speak at a monthly Board Meeting?  How about the Annual Meeting?

• The Coral Trace community is incorporated as a Homeowners Association (HOA), which differs significantly from condominium or cooperative arrangements.  The HOA is charged with overall management of our community and assets.  It is run by an elected Board of Directors, composed of homeowners, and volunteer Committees.  These Committees provide guidance to the Board related to common interests and areas: landscaping & architecture standards, pool, security, welcoming residents, social events, etc. 
• At Coral Trace, even our homes are shared structures; each building houses two or four villas with a common roof, connected at the garages.  Guidelines from the HOA facilitate cooperation among neighbors sharing resources and common maintenance expenses.

• The Board is made up of seven (7) elected Owners who volunteer their time and expertise to represent the community for a term of one (1) year unless reelected.  These members vote on items before the Board and those items are acted upon.  If there is not a majority to pass an item then it does not pass.  According to our Documents, the Board runs the community, creates the budget, spends the money, collects delinquent accounts, and levies any needed assessments.  This all can be done without any owners' input, so when you vote for Directors, be sure that you are comfortable that the candidate will represent the best interest of the entire community.
• There are also several Committees that implement various approved plans or programs on behalf of the community.  Volunteers are always needed for these Committees.  The Board listens to the Committees for input as to how to improve this community and what improvements need to be completed.  Please contact the Chairperson of any Committee on which you are interested in serving.
• Current Board Members and Committee Chairs are listed on the Contact page of our website.
• The Board meets the 3rd Monday of each month at 7 pm in the Clubhouse.  These meetings are open to interested residents, and residents are given a question and answer period with the Board prior to the general business meeting.
• The current Board approves almost every expense that is incurred by this Association.  Not everything is voted on by even the Board; some responsibilities and duties are entrusted to individual Committees and Directors.  The Board meets once a month, and sometimes maintenance items need to be taken care of before the Board meeting so as not to interrupt important community services.  It takes about 60 days for a legal vote by the community Owners.  Absentee ballots must be mailed out, and the cost is around $500 every time there is a vote.  The HOA documents outline the procedures for the Board to follow in conducting votes, elections, and changing the HOA documents themselves.
• Coral Trace Directors have performed due diligence to keep HOA dues as low as possible.  Our Board watches the pennies, and we rely on volunteers to do a lot of the work.  This benefits the entire community.

• Coral Trace HOA hires a management company who run both the business and maintenance aspects of our community; the more resident involvement the lower our management fee will be.  Our management company is currently GRS.  GRS assigns one of their employees to be responsible for each community; our community manager is Dave Dietz. 
• When a new homeowner arrives at Coral Trace, the Welcoming Committee meets with them to verify they have received their copy of HOA Documents, the Rules & Regulation Book, and to provide the appropriate guidance and information needed as a new resident of Coral Trace and Delray Beach.
• To be added to the official owner registry of the HOA, the management company must receive either a copy of the warranty deed or the HUD statement.  This is normally provided by the closing company to GRS, but it has become a common problem that GRS never receives the warranty deed or HUD closing statement, and the new homeowner account becomes delinquent.  Since the HOA does not know there is a new owner, all the correspondence goes to the old owners on file.  Each new homeowner should contact GRS in writing to register as a Coral Trace resident and include one of the above documents.  GRS will send out a coupon payment book for the quarterly maintenance dues payments, along with envelopes, for an annual period.
• Quarterly maintenance payments are due on the 1st of the first month of each quarter:  January, April, July, and October.
• GRS mailing address and contact information are provided on the Contacts page of this website. 

If you are using an online billpay service to pay your maintenance fees, please keep in mind that your  bank is actually mailing a check for you. The PO box where your regular payments are made cannot process online billpay checks and forwards them directly to G.R.S., which delays the processing of your payment. Please follow these instructions if you wish to pay online:

PAYEE:                CORAL TRACE HOA 

ACCT #

Your account number used by GRS is not the same as what is printed on your coupons. If you do not know your acct number please call GRS at (561) 641-8554, Ext. 137 or Ext. 125.      

Mailing Address:   

G.R.S.MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATES, INC.

3900 WOODLAKE BLVD. - SUITE 309

LAKE WORTH, FL. 33463 

Please allow enough time when scheduling your online bill pay. Fees are due on the 1st of each quarter (Jan 1st, April 1st, July 1st and Oct. 1st). A $25 late fee is added if not received by the 10th of each month.       

The HOA hires the management company to maintain all premises regularly.  Work covered by the Coral Trace maintenance fees includes:

• Original Builder-installed landscaping (trees and plants) for all areas of the community
• Lawn mowing, tree trimming, outside pest control, fertilization, mulching and watering by common irrigation system for both common areas and individually-owned lots
• Replacement of trees and plants if destroyed by natural causes
• Maintenance of common areas, such as the Clubhouse, its contents, the Pool and Spa, and surroundings and electric for street lights
• Provision and maintenance of a unmanned security gate and related equipment (e.g., gate remotes and cards)
• Basic cable TV and alarm monitoring (You must register with Adelphia to receive these services. The HOA pays for your home security whether you are registered or not.)
• Cleaning of waterways and removal of visiting alligators 

You need to insure the roof and four walls in addition to contents and any liability protection you desire.  (The HOA is NOT a condominium, where the master insurance policy protects the individual structures and the common areas.) 

If you want flood insurance, that is separate from home insurance, and can be purchased from FEMA.

You as the homeowner are responsible for all repairs of your home.  You own the entire building, sidewalks, driveways, grass, plants and trees. 

• If you paint your home (one of the colors approved by the HOA), the whole building must be painted, not just your villa.
• If the roof needs cleaning, you must work with your neighbor so you both split the cost of the entire roof being cleaned, not just half.  If the roof needs repair, it is a shared expense for owners of the whole building. 
• If the mailbox of an Angel Wing Unit is damaged (just the box), it would be the individual owner's expense as just one box can be replaced; but if the pole is bad, then it is a shared expense, as it affects an item shared by both owners. The mailbox is a original design by a local company and is the only approved box for use. Their address and phone number is: The Mail Box Company, phone [954] 792-6245 or Fax [954]792-6830.
• If an owner is notified by the HOA to clean or repair an item, and it is not done within a reasonable amount of time as covered in the HOA Documents, then the HOA can correct the item and bill the owner for the service + 10%.

• As you know, 2004 has been an unprecedented year for hurricanes in Florida.  At a recent Board meeting, we decided to wait for the City to remove the tree debris.  The City picked-up one round of bagged debris from Hurricane Frances and then were told FEMA would not reimburse for hurricane pick-ups. The president of our HOA called our landscaping company to continue with the debris pick-up, straightening of trees from both hurricanes, and the removal of dead trees.  The straightening and/or replacing of trees and plants will be an additional cost to the HOA, and the owners all share in these expenses via their HOA dues.
• With this experience under our belts, the Board has asked the Budget Committee to add a line item for Disaster Relief under Reserves for the 2005 budget. This will start a contingency fund and allow us to better respond to an emergency like this.
• Click on this link to see an article from the Sun-Sentinel about the impact of hurricanes on HOA finances.

• It's Channel 63 on your Adelphia Cable.