Housecleaning Review - Sweeping Beauty Cleaning Services

One last service provider review...

If you have a need for cleaning services, I have a solid recommendation for you! Sweeping Beauties has been servicing my house for the last few months and we could not be happier. My house is fairly busy, 4 kids + their friends, 2 cats, dog, etc and as such we require help. "SBCS" comes in weekly and helps us regain order. I love Monday evenings - it's so nice to relax in a clean house (even it only stays that way for one night)... :)

Seriously, these ladies are the best, they are growing and competition is fierce, but they will prevail because of their work ethic, pride in ownership and level of customer service. Prices are great and service is excellent, if you have a need for house cleaning services (recurring, move-in/move-out or otherwise) you should contact them!

There are a lot of imitations out there, but these ladies are the best. They take pride in themselves, the people they hire, their work and their clients!
We love them!

Contact "Sweeping Beauty Cleaning Services"
http://www.sweepingbeautycleaningservices.com/
(813) 961-3627 Office
(813) 900-1983 24 Hour Line

Buccaneer Fencing - Atrocious Customer Service and Business Practices

Final post for the day....

In April of 2007 I contracted Buccaneer Fencing to help me with my fence project. Several thousand dollars and several weeks later it was completed. I was fairly happy with the process. A couple of misunderstandings along the way, but all seemed to be fine.

Fast Forward to July 2007. During the pool building process I had to remove a section of my fence so I began the attempts to contact Buccaneer Fencing for a quote to replace the sections and for some warranty work on my gate latches.... it took 6 weeks of emailing, faxing, web forms and phone calls/voicemails to get any response. When I did get a response I was told by Buccaneer Fence that they are refusing me service. Their refusal to provide me service effectively negates the warranty on the fence - where else can I go to get service on a fence they built??? I offered about a dozens time to settle the issue amicably but in the end they still refused me service (and an adequate explanation).

I recently escalated by complaining through the BBB - and soon I will take my issue to the county consumer affairs division and anyone else that will listen (State?, Lawyer?, Local Media?). Does anyone know a better course of action to take? In the end I just wanted my fence fixed with the same material/look as the rest of the fence and my warranty issue fixed. Instead if I got a response at all it was one laced with libel and negative attitude.

In my opinion this is not a way to treat a customer that spend over 7K and was willing to spend more money.... I'm looking for any ideas for recourse that you all may know about and to warn you to avoid the same situation with this company.

Any Ideas?

Action Lawn Care - Awesome Results

On the topics of service providers I also wanted to post my experience with another provider.

I can't even begin to describe how happy I have been with Action Lawn Care. Rob is a perfectionist and it shows in every detail. He came in and basically overhauled my entire yard in 1 day.

Next Steps: Continued yard service (of course) and we working together with his partner on an entirely new landscaping plan for my home using digital imaging, architecture software and common sense to devise the best possible plan for my home!

Pros:
1. Follow through - he makes a committment and sticks with it!
2. Results - absolutely amazing - I'm Thrilled!
3. I love the convenience of online payments (paypal or CC).

Cons:
1. none - I recommend him without hesitation. Let him know I sent you!

Action Lawn Care
Robert Pierson (727 815 3322) owner/operator.
www.actionlawnandlandscaping.com
action_lawncare@msn.com

Anthony and Sylvan Pools - GREAT EXPERIENCE!

I wanted to spend a moment and provide my feedback about my recent experience putting in my pool and screen room. This was a huge investment for our family so we really dug in and did our homework. I contracted Anthony and Sylvan based on the recommendation of a few neighbors and as a result of our analysis on other organizations. I was very hesistant about going with some of the smaller providers, they all seemed to be running low on supplies and extending projects into 3-6+ month endeavors. I wanted to swim this summer not in the winter :).

It turns out to be (at this point) a great decision to go with A&S. Anthony and Sylvan has been absolutely wonderful during the build and now with post-build process. Excavation to Pool having water in less than 6 weeks! NO HEADACHES!!!!

I wasn't thrilled with the sales process, but a phone call resolved that issue right away.
Based on my experiences I would highly recommend them (at least in this area).

I'll revise this post with more details later, but I wanted to put out a good word about A&S!

HoA Meeting - 16 May 2007

Jennifer recently received information about an upcoming Lake Talia HOA Meeting!!!!

From her email:

"The meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 16th at 6:00 pm. The meeting will be held at the Land O'Lakes Library on Collier Parkway.

This is just a heads up that you will be receiving a notice in the mail and wanted everyone to have plenty of time to mark their calendars if they are interested in attending. We do not know what the agenda is, have no input on what is on the agenda and will be listening/learning like everyone else. I would assume that there will be some sort of question/answer time period but do not know that for sure." End.

I can assure you that Q&A will be part of the conversation. I would suggest to Rampart/Lennar that they take the time to survey homeowners ahead of time for a list of topics/questions and at least come prepared to speak to those issues - additionally I would highly suggest they come prepared for the "live fire" exercise of answering questions from the audience based on the topics presented. As with any business meeting I would hope that they will publish the agenda and presentation notes well in advance so that we can come prepared for meaningful conversations during the board meeting.

Rampart Properties - Documents on this Blog.

Documents:
I've been asked by Rampart not to post documents or instructions to ARC (architecture) processes on this blog. They feel it would be entering into a legal issue. I won't even get into my rant about this - we'll leave it at this... HAHAHAHAHAHA.

Rampart suggested that this blog detracts from the "official" web page for Lake Talia. Never mind that the "official" website has exactly "0" information that is useful to residents or perhaps we should ignore the fact that it has the name of our community misspelled. Rampart feels (and I agree) that the HoA, once it is created 12-24 months from now can replace their "official" web page with anything the HoA chooses, but until then we should rely on the crap they feed us.... ...err I mean the resources provided by Rampart. I am in no way advocating a change in the official web page - in fact if you read the header of this blog it states that this is an unofficial resource and I intend on keeping it that way. The point is to provide information and context around decisions and actions of this community for new and future residents.

All that said - whatever... I'll do what is necessary to ease the sharing of information for our community. So if there is information you think would be helpful to see on this blog let me know and we'll post it up here for everyone to have easy access to.

Rampart Properties - Basketball Goals

Basketball Goals:
I've been told that NO Lennar run communities will ever allow basketball goals. Perhaps after the HoA takes over they make that change but under no circumstances will they allow them while Lenner runs the HoA.

In fact I asked bluntly about the rumor that several people were told by Kelly Moran that Rampart/Lennar would never fine them for their basketball goals... here is the answer:

While it is true that no fine will be directly assessed for non-compliance issues, the actual process is in fact worse. Rampart will issue a "friendly reminder", then a few weeks later a written notice and finally after 30 days a certified letter referring the issue to mediation. Mediation will occur without your presence (the lawyer is in the Rampart office once a month) and you will be responsible for the legal fees associated with reviewing the case.

This is simply how it was explained to me - I have my doubts and reservations, but I'll hold them for now.

Rampart Properties - Playground Sport Court

Playground/Sport Court:
STATUS: ON HOLD
The park has not been approved and given the uproar by many residents may never be approved. Rampart did not seek the inform the entire community how it intended on using our funds, it was left to interpretation how the park was being funded. The 25K gift from Lennar is unique and a wonderful gesture, however the remaining 60K was to be funded using our HoA fees - yearly maintenance would also be the responsibility of the HoA. While this is probably the best use of the funds the entire process should have been presented to the community at large. Now it is in limbo until resolution.

In mid-May there should be a Lennar/Rampart Lake Talia resident meeting to address this and many other issues.

Pool Vendors

Does anyone have a good reference for a Pool company?

We *REALLY* want to have a pool put in bu so far have been put off by the vendors.
Anthony & Sylvan being the most popular choice of Lennar communities seems to have have mixed (love it/hate it) feedback from the few folks I've talked with. Can anyone share any good stories of pool companies? I'd love to hear your stories about customer service, pool quality, sub-contractor quality and issues resolution.

Additionally - I'd appreciate any feedback on your choices between Concrete (Gunite) and fiberglass pools. The price points aren't all that different - at least for the quotes I have received. How did resale value, maintenance, installation, warranty play into your decision?

Any input???

May 20th - Lake Talia Summr Kick-Off

When: Sunday, May 20th 4pm - 7pm
Location: The Park (Artesian Road)
Who: All Lake Talia Residents

Food, Music and Games for the entire family - come out and meet your neighbors.

Prices:
$12 Ages 7 and up
$6 Ages 2-6
$0 Ages 0-2

Menu: Chicken and BBQ Pork or Beef Sandwich, Baked Beans, Potato Salad and Cole Slaw.

Volunteers needed for Water,Soda, Juice - Brownies/Cookies and to help with games!

Contact Jennifer Smith for more information. Look for the signs as you enter/leave the community!

Lake Talia HoA Community Newsletter April 2007

The Newsletter is out (click on the picture for larger versions) - There are many interesting subjects that indicate a real need for more open communication with Rampart on a recurring basis.
My initial thoughts based on this information:

1. HoA decisions should be put out to the community at large. I personally agree that a community park is a great idea, but how much did Lennar pay for and how much came from our HoA fees? What else did we sacrifice. There is no visibility into this.

2. The vandalism that is occurring is NOT the kids in this neighborhood it is in the surrounding neighborhoods - this was really upsetting to see Rampart take the stance they did, no the last sentence doesn't soften their real message.

3. ARC - great idea - really bad implementation based on feedback I've received. This should be turned around in days, not months. Why are the forms not available online? If someone has a blank form I'll post it online for all other to use (along with the instructions for processing).

4. Parking. By far the worst offender here are the Model Home representatives and contractors . How hard is it to park 10 ft away in the parking lot?!?! I constantly see trucks/cars parked in front of the model home for hours at a time. It reduces visibility when entering the neighborhood which could very easily result in an accident and it's just plan lazy.

5.We need an open forum with Rampart Monthly/Quarterly and we need quarterly visibility into the HoA budget and expenses.

Overall I'm thrilled to see some sort of communication from Rampart, but I think we need to work together to remind them that they actually work for us - we're paying the fees and it is us that live here. They should be as accommodating as humanly possible to our needs.

Those are my thoughts - what are yours?

Lake Talia - Playground

All,

The following is an update from a recent email thread based on a community project to develop a playground and public area for Lake Talia Residents.

The project will include 1/2 sportcourt, large play set, swings, large pavilion, grilles, benches, signs, landscaping, etc.

Next Steps and Timeline:

1) Lennar will cut the check for the initial $25,000 which will be deposited in our HOA money market account.

2) Michael Cachon (Lennar) will start the bid solicitation process within two weeks. We provided names & contact numbers along with our pricing however contractors will be selected from a Lennar "pre-approved bidders" list.

3) Expect vendor pricing by mid-April and contracts in place around May 1.

4) Though Michael will be cutting the checks, he is not on site so has asked that I fill the role of PM on behalf of the HOA and will have this written into the sub-contracts with each vendor.

5) Vendors will handle permitting - so we shouldn't expect any action back there until the county does their thing. I would like to think we can have this completed by the end of the summer.

Flamingo Party - Spring 2007

The April Flamingo Party is set!

When: Friday, April 20th at 7 pm

Where: John and Yngrid Vasquez

5128 Hartwell Loop

What: Fajitas - yummy!

We are also set for May!

When: Friday, May 11th

Where: Kim and Jeff Graves

21025 Lake Talia Blvd

Jan 2007 Flamingo Party

Does anyone have the specifics for the Jan Flamingo Party?

For new residents - Welcome! The Flamingo Party is a chance to meet your new neighbors in a relaxed setting and put names with email address/blog posts. If anyone knows the details - I'd be happy to post them here and on our community calendar.

Waste Management incorrectly billing residents

All,

Please be aware that Waste Management erroneously sent out over 9000 invoices for Jan - March 2007 even though they are discontinuing service on Jan 1. I received this invoice yesterday and sat on the phone with WM for 45 minutes while they confirmed the mistake. This is also being reporting in the Tampa Tribune. (http://pasco.tbo.com/pasco/MGBD35DI8WE.html). In the end it is a yet another mistake by WM.

Decrease in vandalism?

Since the gates have been fully operational and the back portion of the neighborhood has been fenced has there been a noticeable decrease in vandalism?

Earlier in the summer we had several acts of vandalism including mailbox smashing, dough-nuts in my lawn, etc. We've heard of much worse like screen room slashing, but recently it seem things have gotten better? What is the general consensus of the current state of things in Lake Talia?