A couple of weeks ago, we went out to the new house site to check out the progress. While we were there, we met one of the neighbors. We talked about the neighborhood, etc., and he mentioned how the trucks for our build were starting to tear up the road. This was a problem because the road is owned and maintained by the residents. So, we were costing everyone money. Now, the damage in question was some crumbling of the asphalt on the edge of the road where our driveway will attach. So, it looked like something that could probably be fixed when we pour the concrete for the driveway.

Then, we get an email from the HOA telling us our road maintenance fees are due soon: $200 per lot (some people there own multiple lots, for privacy). There are about ten houses on this half-mile road. I don't know how many lots, but a couple thousand dollars doesn't buy a lot of road work.

Then we get an email from the HOA's "Architectural Review Board" telling us that they've approved our house plan and its location on the lot. Yay. In that email, they complained about the road and how the builder should work to minimize damage, yada yada yada. It's a fair request, obviously. But here's the thing: the road is already in pretty lousy shape; in some places it's all torn up and buckling with gravel heaving out through big holes in the black top, and in those spots the shoulder is rutted and worn out by people trying to avoid the holes. And it's been like that since before we bought the property. So, that's not our problem. But we're getting the feeling that they would like it to be.

Our builder, who was one of the recipients, replied to that email very diplomatically, saying he would tell all his sub-contractors to avoid parking on the edges of the road and to try to clean up any mud, etc., etc., but the road is in bad shape as it is (and went into some details about road construction and repairs). And then, the bit that made my morning bright: he closed saying he'll take some pictures of the road in its current condition, "just so everyone is on the same page" (and then sent us an email telling us to take pics too). Yesssss! It's so nice to have someone take our side in this crap.

On the other hand, in the past month they've only been able to do one or two days work on the site because the weather has been either too wet or too cold or both.