Category: Ridgeview Community News

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PLEASE READ: Do not permit fiber installers to drill new holes in side of your house. It will void the siding warranty causing you to become personally liable for siding damage/replacement.

We have sent several notices over the years that when the Association removed all wood siding, trim and soffit and replaced it with masonry Hardie product, that no owner and no owner’s contractor performing work on their home may allow or permit any penetration of the surface of their home to be performed without the express permission of the Association – and that permission must be in writing.  Since 2011, the only approved siding penetrations have been performed by the Association itself and by the contractors hired by the Association operating under the direction of the Association following the specific manufacturer instructions published by James Hardie Corp to prevent voiding the siding warranty.

Since the Association owns the exteriors of all buildings, any work that an Owner contracts that may involve penetration of the building, whether Hardie siding, brick or rock, must be approved by the Association in advance in writing.  This is for the individual owner’s protection as well as the community at large, as Hardie siding repairs due to damage are costly.  The Hardie masonry siding material installed by the Association bears a 30 year warranty that remains in force for another decade and half, provided no one permits anyone to drill or nail into their siding.  James Hardie Corp states that any nailing, drilling or improper caulking performed by a contractor not certified to install their product will void their 30 year warranty.
PLEASE NOTE: Drilling new holes that were not part of the original installation makes the individual owner responsible for siding replacement on their home, not the Association, should the siding fail due to water intrusion, stress fracture, improper caulking or other cause related to unauthorized work on the surface.
It is therefore critical that you clearly communicate with anyone that you authorize to perform work that may involve the exterior of your home, including any contractor that may be installing or updating a utility in your home, they may only access the interior of your home and run lines to your home through the EXISTING portal that was attached to you home at the time the siding was installed.  If you discover that a subsequent unauthorized installation has occurred, then you should discuss how to repair and properly relocate those lines to help prevent your being liable for more costly repairs from future damage due to any existing, unauthorized siding penetration.
Kinetic, Spectrum and Google appear to be in overdrive contacting people to run fiber into their homes since they have replaced hubs and run new lines through the grounds in the community.  The community is required to grant easement access for their underground lines, but there is no such requirement that they must be able to drill new holes into the surface of any home into the community.  Please make them aware, they do not have such permission and must use only the original cable and phone portals that were attached when the original contractor built the structures.
If you see a contractor getting ready to drill into a neighbor’s home, please ask them to stop and assure that the neighbor has properly communicated this warranty issue as a courtesy to prevent them from future exposure to a costly repair.
Thanks to all for your help protecting our mutual investment in the exteriors of our buildings.
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FINAL UPDATE: Parking Project

As of 6:00 am Tuesday morning, March 31, all parking areas on all streets within the Ridgeview community will be available for parking as usual. The last street that remains totally blocked at the time of this notice is Hanford. There are two orange cones at the bottom of Hanford that will remain overnight. The first person to encounter the cones after 6:00 Tuesday morning is welcome to move them onto the adjacent lawn area and drive and park as usual.
By the end of the day on Tuesday, kindly move your car back to its normal parking space. Normal parking rules will be back in force as of 6:00 am on Wednesday, April 1.
It’s been a challenging few days, but thankfully, the project is complete and hopefully everyone will enjoy the fresh looking parking areas. Even though the project timeline exceeded our expectations, the project still proved to be a good value, considering seal coating, striping and numbering was all completed at a favorable cost to the Association.
That said, the project would be incomplete with work still remaining through tomorrow and maybe even the following day were it not for some volunteer effort that not only kept the workers on track, but even helped them to do their job. I am grateful, as I hope we all are, for Gary’s tireless efforts from the very start of the project to the very end late this evening. Thanks as well to Bruce for his help on Wexford.
And thanks to all community members that made a conscientious effort to follow the guidance from the updates throughout the project to assure that the crews had access to parking areas when needed and to protect the surfaces from damage during the project.

Post expires at 3:18am on Friday May 1st, 2026

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UPDATE 3: Parking Project

Further numbering of parking spaces will not take place today as planned. They are doing some spot sealing on Kenilworth now and once finished, will put up cones so that everyone will know not to park there.
As of now, everyone can return to parking on their streets through the remainder of the weekend and until 9.30am Monday morning.
All cars on Wexford and Hanford will need to be moved off of those streets to available parking in the community by 9:30 am Monday morning and until further notice thereafter.
Parking rules remain suspended until the project is completed, so you may park in any available spot on any street whether marked or not, but try to leave the spaces in front of homes for those owners as a courtesy until all other spaces have been filled.
Again, apologies for the inconvenience, but the original plan was for this project to be completed in its entirety today. We share your frustration, but we relied on the contractor’s word that he was prepared to complete the work according to a timeframe and sequence that hasn’t materialized.

Post expires at 8:39pm on Tuesday April 28th, 2026

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UPDATE 2: PARKING PROJECT

Good Morning Everyone,
I’m sorry for not posting an update yesterday, but the day didn’t go at all as anticipated and we didn’t really know until after dark what to anticipate today. Originally we expected by the end of the day yesterday to have all areas sealed, all of Carlyle and Kenilworth to be numbered and for the remaining numbers on Wexford and Hanford to be painted today.
Instead, where we are: the only area that is completely finished as of this moment is lower Carlyle. Therefore, as of now, all empty spaces in that area are available for parking. There are quite a few spaces in this area as it include the overflow parking area, the spaces in front of the pool and the spaces on the opposite side of the pool in front of Q, R, S, and T buildings. Please note: even in a time when parking rules are suspended, it is NEVER acceptable to park with all 4 wheels off of the pavement – at least 2 wheels must ALWAYS be on the pavement to minimize lawn and drain line damage. The only exception is between T building and the tennis court, where there are no drain lines and we permitted an exception for this project. The car parked in front of the A building must be moved immediately as it has likely already damaged a line to the main drain in that area.
Kenilworth is partially finished. The area in front of the M building and N2 must be resealed and the area in front of L3 and L4 is not finished due to moss embedded in the existing asphalt. All NUMBERED spaces on Kenilworth are available for parking, those include N1, all of P and O buildings and L1 and L2.
As for Wexford, it is our expectation the crew will be returning today to number all spaces on the street. Once spaces are numbered and COMPLETELY dry to the touch, they will be available for parking.
As for Hanford, they ran out of sealant late yesterday, so we expect the areas that are completely sealed will be numbered today after Wexford is complete. If the contractor is unable to complete sealing on Hanford today, then I will provide a status update on Hanford later in the day. It is likely that Hanford will not be complete until Monday, but I will advise later today if and where parking is available on Hanford tonight and tomorrow, but most likely Hanford will need to be completely cleared out again on Monday morning, except for spaces that may be numbered in the interim. If your space is not numbered on Monday morning, then your vehicle will need to be parked elsewhere on Monday morning.
Thanks for everyone’s patience. We’re doing our best to manage an evolving situation.

Post expires at 2:41pm on Tuesday April 28th, 2026

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UPDATE 1: PARKING PROJECT

Please be on the lookout, probably around noon, for a follow up update to this post.

The parking lot crew ran into some obstacles yesterday that knocked their timing off course.  Here’s the latest.
Due to delays at the plant where they load their vehicles with the cleaning/sealing products for the days work ahead, they were late arriving yesterday.  A late start on site combined with the fact that cleaning in advance of sealing proved to be more daunting than expected, they didn’t accomplish all of the work yesterday that they planned and we expected.  There was heavy silt and embedded moss in parking areas that proved more difficult and time consuming to remove that prevented them from completing sealing all of the planned areas that we thought and communicated would be all sealed last night.
Therefore, we awaiting a progress report and will provide an update on what time cars will need to be moved and what specific areas will be open for parking.  Parking along the North side curbs (the opposite side from the sign) of Carlyle should be available for parking for the duration of the project AFTER the striping and numbers are dry on Carlyle, then those numbered/marked spaces along Carlyle will be available for parking. 
We are doing our best to respond to an evolving situation, but work is now underway, so we will all need to adapt and do our best to accommodate them so that the crews can finish the work to restore our parking areas.  There will likely be at least two more updates today as the day progresses, so please either keep an eye out for follow up posts in your email or check the NEWS tab on the website.

Post expires at 2:59pm on Monday April 27th, 2026

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URGENT NEWS: Upcoming street closures for work on parking areas

Ridgeview has secured a contractor to reseal, restripe and renumber all parking spaces on Carlyle, Hanford, Wexford and Kenilworth. Oxford is excluded from this project as that work was performed on the street when Ridgeview contracted to have that street repaved.
Parking regulations will be suspended from Wednesday night at 7 pm until notification is sent that the project is complete, hopefully on Saturday, March 28, 2026. During this time, all parking spaces will be available on a first come/first served basis. More specific parking instructions have been placed on doors already on Carlyle and Kenilworth and will be placed on doors on Hanford and Wexford on Thursday.
Work to reseal the pavement is scheduled to begin at 8am on Thursday, March 26 on Carlyle and Kenilworth. All cars parked on Carlyle, including the overflow parking area, and on Kenilworth will need to be moved to spaces available alongside Carlyle (as marked on the map) or on Wexford and Hanford as early as 7pm Wednesday night (but no later than 8am Thursday morning) until Friday afternoon after striping and numbering has been completed and dried.
As soon as the markings are dry on Carlyle and Kenilworth, likely mid-day Friday (notice will be sent as soon as contractor makes us aware), all cars on Hanford and Wexford will need to be IMMEDIATELY moved so that the contractor can seal Hanford and Wexford on Friday afternoon. On Saturday morning, the contractor will return to mark Hanford and Wexford.
We understand there is an inconvenience posed to all during this time, but cost is a factor in the tight timeline and finding an affordable solution requires that we comply with the contractor’s need for access to the areas impacted over the shortest number of days.
The upside is that the project won’t drag on for an extended period of time. That said, if weather impacts the schedule, we will send updated posts. Please check your email or the NEWS tab on the Ridgeview website for posted updates. Thanks to everyone in advance for your cooperation.

Post expires at 5:31pm on Friday April 24th, 2026

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Preparations for freezing temps ahead

The coming arctic blast is predicted to bring us lows in the mid-20s tonight.  If you haven’t taken precautions, this is just a reminder of some important preparations for winter weather.
We urge you not to leave home for the holidays without having made preparations for the safety of your home during your absence.
Please don’t be offended if you consider some or all of this information common sense knowledge.  There are some first time homeowners among us that may not be aware of the safety risks to themselves and neighbors as well as the financial costs they may incur for failing to follow these requirements.
PREVENTING WATER DAMAGE:
The front and back spigots on all homes should have insulated covers on them when not in use during the months freezing temps are possible.  If you are a new homeowner and don’t have them yet, you should be able to pick up two of them for under $10 at Lowe’s.  This time of year, Lowe’s usually keeps them near the front entrance of the store, since so many people come in looking for them.
Following is a link from Consumer Reports with tips to prevent damage from frozen pipes:
PREVENTING FIRE DAMAGE:
If you intend to use your fireplace, please be certain the answer to all of the following questions is YES:
1. Has your fireplace been properly maintained and cleaned by a certified professional assuring that it is in safe condition to burn wood?
2. Are you certain that the wood you are burning is either Oak or Hickory?
3. Is your wood stored on a raised metal rack above ground and at least 5 feet from the building in a space in the common area that has been approved by the Association?
4. Are you certain that a responsible adult will be monitoring the wood and embers until they have completely burned and no longer represent a risk of creating a spark or otherwise igniting any flammable item in the proximity of the fireplace?
Firewood Requirements:
1. If you are unaware of the maintenance status of your fireplace, DO NOT USE it until it has been inspected/cleaned by a certified chimney sweep.
2. ONLY HICKORY AND OAK are approved for burning in fireplaces in Ridgeview.  USE OF PINE IS A VIOLATION OF RIDGEVIEW POLICY and is not permitted to be brought onto the property as firewood at Ridgeview as it creates dangerous, soot build up in flues that can result in fire damage to your home and adjacent homes.  In the past 10 years, two homes caught on fire and the Owners were unable to live in them for about six months.  The fire started in one home, but also displaced the Owner of the adjacent home and destroyed contents in the adjacent home as well.  Therefore, your neighbor must rely on you being a responsible homeowner for their safety, as well as your own.  It is your responsibility to KNOW what kind of wood you are burning and burning unapproved wood would also be considered negligent by our insurance carrier.  If soft wood is used in your fireplace by you or any guest in your home, you would be personally liable for any resulting damage to your home as well as your neighbors home and contents lost.
The following is an excerpt from the article link below:
“Trees like pines, firs, or cypress have “soft” wood, which burns fast, leaves few coals, and makes a lot of smoke that can coat your chimney with soot (not a safe thing in the long run). Seasoned softwood is okay for outdoor fires, but you want to avoid it if a fireplace is involved…”
3. Storing wood directly on the ground, on a deck, or within 5 feet of any home is a violation of our contract with Terminix.  Such violations void coverage for termite damage.  In such cases, the Association is not responsible for damage due to violation of these policies.  The homeowner becomes personally liable for all damage to their home and adjacent homes due to improperly stored wood.
4. Never leave a fire or hot coals unattended in your home.  Do not start a fire if you do not intend to monitor it until it is fully extinguished.
We hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season!
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Pool access devices being distributed Saturday, July 27 from 10 am to 12 noon at the pool

Great News!  All necessary repairs to the pool have been completed by the pool contractor and the county successfully inspected the pool today and certified it to open.  Much thanks to Gary for following up with the contractor to get the pool inspection ready.  We are ready to distribute new devices that will grant owners access to the pool area.

Please be aware that the key system has been replaced and you will no longer be able to access the pool with your existing pool key.  You will receive a new electronic fob style device that will give you access to the pool via an electronic gate lock.
Board members will be on site at the pool tomorrow morning from 10am to 12noon to distribute the devices.  If you are unable to pick up your device tomorrow during the distribution time, then please contact Gary to make arrangements to pick up your device.  You can contact Gary via email at gary@ridgeview.fyi to make arrangements if you are unavailable tomorrow (Saturday, July 27) morning from 10 am to noon.
Prior to using the pool each year, Owners must sign and accept the terms of the Pool Use Agreement every year.  Insurance has become increasingly difficult to secure and each Owner must agree to hold the HOA harmless from any injury or circumstance that may arise from any action by yourself or anyone that you permit access to the pool with your key fob.
In order to have your key fob activated to access the pool, you must accept self-policing responsibility while on the premises.  If at any time a fob holder becomes unwilling to accept this self policing responsibility, then the fob must be returned to the HOA.  This condition is vital as Ridgeview does not provide any staff or other direct supervision of the pool.
Sometime between this evening and 10 am tomorrow, you will receive a link to access your copy of the Pool Use Agreement that contains the terms of use that you must accept with your electronic signature.  If you agree to the terms in their entirety, then please apply your signature electronically and press SUBMIT.  Your device should indicate that your document was completed and submitted.  Upon receipt of your signed agreement, your device fob will be activated remotely as soon as possible thereafter. If the device is in your possession, it will require no further intervention once remotely activated.
Your access device will be assigned a number based on your building letter/number and your address. You will be asked for your building letter/number and your street number when you sign the Pool Use Agreement.  As an example, if you are the second home from the left in building X, then you are X2.  If your street address is 5000, then your device number will be X2-5000.  If you are uncertain about your building letter number, please contact email@ridgeview.fyi – and we will reply with it.  Your building letter and number should also appear on your payments to Ridgeview as that is your account number with the Association.
Thanks to everyone for keeping the pool a safe, clean place to have fun and relax.

Post expires at 9:30pm on Saturday August 26th, 2034

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URGENT NOTICE re: your HO-6 insurance policy. Kindly reply RECEIVED to this email

PLEASE REPLY TO THIS EMAIL TO CONFIRM RECEIPT.  Kindly reply: “Received.”
Please read the following update regarding the renewal of Ridgeview’s master policy and how it may impact your personal homeowner’s insurance policy.

URGENTLY IMPORTANT: Please contact the insurance Agent that provides coverage for your required home insurance (HO-6) policy to assure that your coverage values are sufficient to protect you from potential risks based on increasing replacement costs.  https://ridgeview.fyi/resources/insurance-information/  This website link contains the information* that you should discuss with your Agent to assess your current coverage.
Last November we discussed at the annual meeting that we expected a significant increase in our insurance premium for the Master Condo Policy – as increasingly large claims in the dwelling market nationwide are impacting rates in every state.  Carriers are exiting the habitational market coast to coast leaving fewer carriers with much less competition and little incentive to quote due to rising replacement costs, increasing wind/hail claims and more destructive named storms.
We sought competitive quotes persistently for months and the good news is, we’ve been able to acquire coverage at a rate much lower than expected, and at least for the next year, have been spared the massive increases that many condo associations have experienced.  As an example, our Agency just renewed a policy for a different Condo Association for an annual premium of $270,000, their expiring premium had been $115,000! The path to this year’s coverage was rather complex and materialized only after we were rejected by nine underwriters.**  We received a quote from only one underwriter that was two and a half times our current premium with less coverage and higher deductibles.  Briefly, we thought we may have to seek coverage of last resort directly from the State of NC, but thankfully, with some persistence from the Agency we’ve worked with for over two decades, they managed to secure a favorable quote in tandem with another Agency in eastern NC and we are pleased to announce that this new coverage is officially bound for the next year.  Both Agents involved in writing this coverage assured us that our opportunity to obtain such favorable coverage is due to the fact that we have not had a single claim in 10 years.
Kudos are in order to all Owners that have been vigilant in following safe practices within their homes and have been careful and observant in common areas to prevent risks.  If you have a pet in resident, please assure that your pet is properly registered with the Association and that your personal policy specifically holds the Condo Association harmless for any/all pet related claims.  Pet registration is important to assure that only breeds permitted by our insurance carrier are in residence to prevent cancellation of our policy due to non-compliance.
Thanks to all for your past and continued vigilance to assure we are able to secure the best rates possible.
Message Footnotes
*For your convenience, following is the insurance information available at the link above and on the Ridgeview website under the RESOURCES tab:

It’s important to note, our policy is not intended to cover most common losses (like losses due to water damage from plumbing fixture failures).  The Ridgeview Master Policy carries a high deductible and is only in place to provide walls out coverage for catastrophic losses. Owners should provide their own policy to cover deductibles, loss of use, replacement of all interior components in the event of casualty loss (including flooring, cabinets, electrical fixtures, appliances, etc.), coverage for water damage, and all insurable contents. Details of the coverage you should have in place with your insurer is recapped below:

Our policy is a “walls out” coverage policy. Please take this opportunity to review your coverage with your agent and assure that your HO policy includes “walls in” replacement as well as contents coverage. Your insurance would be responsible for finishing walls, floors, all lighting and plumbing fixtures as well as replacing all appliances and cabinets. You should also plan for coverage for the cost of being displaced from your home should a catastrophic event occur.

Additionally, we further recommend that you speak with your agent about LOSS ASSESSMENT RISK. This coverage should be adequate for the $25,000.00 deductible that exists on the HOA policy, as the first $25,000 of any claim would not be covered by either Ridgeview or Ridgeview’s insurance.

You may want to increase your LOSS ASSESSMENT COVERAGE for liability purposes as well. In the event that Ridgeview was named in a lawsuit and was liable for an award that exceeds the $1 million coverage provided by our policy, you can add loss assessment coverage to your policy to cover any assessment by the HOA that would be necessary to pay the costs to you that the Association would be obligated to assess.  Adding $50,000 to cover such assessments should be available for minimal additional cost. We recommend that you discuss adding this to your policy as it is a small price to pay to potentially save your home or savings against a major liability judgment.

**insurance underwriters that refused to provide a quote:
Hartford – declined due to age

Amtrust – frame construction

Philadelphia – property value too high

West Bend – declined due to age

Travelers – declined due to age/frame

Cincinnati – declined due to age

Westfield – property value

Auto Owners – declined due to age

Main Street – won’t do habitational condos

 

RPS –Quoted over $60k in premium with higher deductibles (and required an additional policy to match existing coverage)

Post expires at 12:14am on Monday August 7th, 2034

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Update on pool repairs

Some of you may have noticed that our pool contractor has been performing warranty repairs to the pool during the past couple of weeks.  In the last update to everyone, we expressed hope to have the pool open by late June/early July.  That timeframe was based on our own estimation of what we thought possible, as the pool contractor would not commit to any specific timeline then.  Even now, despite our requests, we have no definitive timeline for completion.  To the extent that they don’t control the mandatory government inspection, it is understandable that they would resist guaranteeing an exact date because the inspection is among several contingencies that impact opening the pool.

We have pursued every potential option to get the pool open as quickly as possible, including seeking counsel from legal professionals, pool consultants, pool construction companies and different pool management companies.  Despite those efforts, it became clear that no option pursued would result in the pool opening any sooner than the existing contractor performing the warranty work as they were the only ones that had resources available to schedule within a reasonable time frame and they committed to mobilize them.

An even greater consideration, was that while all other options would have likely resulted in even further delays in the pool opening, they also involved solutions that would have placed significant financial costs on our Owners that we deemed unacceptable.

Several sources have confirmed that the rates we pay for pool management are also the lowest available in the area.  As frustrating as dealing with this matter may be, we have employed every reasonable option to compel the pool contractor to meet their warranty obligations to our community while at the same time maintaining a professional working relationship with them to protect the financial interests of all homeowners.

The contractor has assured us that they will continue their work every day next week, weather permitting.  Once we have reliable information regarding the actual opening date of the pool, we will update everyone.

Happy Independence Day to all.

Post expires at 6:41pm on Saturday July 29th, 2034

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