If the POA Board really wants a funding method for a Capital Reserve Fund (CRF) that is fair to ALL of the property owners, they need to fund it by reviewing and changing the amenities usage fees. Instead of funding the CRF with a Capital Initiation Fee (CIF), they should use an Amenity Initiation Fee (AIF).

Let’s be realistic, nobody using the major amenities at Big Canoe is paying the true cost for his or her amenity usage. Amenity “initiation” fees for golf and tennis in other similar communities range into the tens of thousands of dollars. If the POA Board would charge an appropriate amenity “initiation” fee like those charged in other similar communities (Hilton Head, S.C.), they could easily fund a Capital Reserve Fund with the additional revenues from just the interest income.

The Amenity Initiation Fee would be an upfront, and an appropriately sized, refundable initiation fee ($12,500 - $25,000), like the refundable initiation fees used at those similar communities.

The POA Board could use the interest income from the AIF account to fund the CRF and the property owners would be refunded their original fee upon their moving from the community.

Let’s fund the Capital Reserve Fund by requiring that the users of the major amenities pay the full cost of the amenities that they use. If you use the Big Canoe amenities, you should pay all of the associated costs; it’s the only fair method for funding the Capital Reserve Fund.