When times are good – phasing your marketing program can be a headache. When times are slow, however, Phasing can be a lifesaver! I’ve always thought of marketing Phasing like an insurance policy: it’s a necessity that’s good to have in place just in case you need it later on.
We’ve been receiving phone calls and emails from concerned clients over the past two weeks, inquiring about what needs to be done to ‘re-phase’ their marketing program, or how to make existing marketing phases smaller – the goal, of course, is to limit exposure to HOA dues.
It doesn’t have to be a guessing game! We have the crystal ball – it’s called Phase Predictor and it’s free to all of our clients. Simply visit our website, at www.cabuilderservices.com and its available to you. Here is how it works:
For Example: Let’s say you have a 100-lot development with average HOA dues of $130/lot/month. Last month you were expecting to sell 4 homes a month. Assuming that was correct, I would’ve recommended 8 marketing phases, and you could expect to pay about $21,000 in HOA dues on unsold lots during your sales cycle.
The DRE filing fee for an Amended Public Report is $600 – that insurance policy is relatively inexpensive, in my opinion.
Depending upon where your project is at in the overall scheme of approvals, the time involved in putting a new phasing program into effect could take from 15 to 60 to 120 days. Last week we received a new approval on a current project that had been approved in February – the DRE turned our request around with a new approval in just 15 days! If you have a Public Report, it will require an Amendment, which would take longer.
If you have a Public Report and sales have been made in the phases you are wanting to adjust, it may not be possible to adjust your phasing, but CBS can work with you and your HOA Manager to make sure that all allowable deferments of assessments are being accounted for. These deferments are often overlooked and can add up to sizeable discounts to the assessment program. You may be able to restructure and shrink your future phases as well.
Call us today for more insights into this issue, and by all means, try the Phase Predictor Tool on our website. If you would like a personal tour of our Phasing Predictor, please contact us and we will happily schedule a zoom meeting with you to go over it one-on-one.
