Dear Homeowners,

News!

There is lots of news here in PDB. The most important thing you should know about is that we have hired Pablo Perez as the manager of the community. After investigating professional management solutions, it was apparent that we couldn't afford the services used by large 300 home communities.

We asked Pablo to show us where the community dollars are being spent. Here is his budget, which can be used to forecast savings considering the number of homes and landowners who are paying into the present HOA.

(Note: Amounts in pesos)
Expenses by Category
Water (gate)	1,000.00
Electricity (gate)	1,500.00
Employer Expenses:
Wages	9,800.00
Social Security	2,600.00
Administration Fees	11,000.00
Legal Fees	8,000.00
Trash	600.00
Office Expenses	800.00
Maintenance	500.00
Telephone (gate)	185.30
Savings (22%)	10,491.25
Total Expenses	46,476.55
Income
Fee from Homeowners (25)	45,780.00
Fees from Landowners (11)	1,907.50
Total Income	47,687.50
Net Income	1,210.95

Please note that 21 out of 25 owners are currently paying the $200 monthly dues. Four of our eleven landowners are paying $35/month. These numbers show that if we continue to get these payments, we will be able to set aside 22% as savings. This is important because when we have emergency expenditures such as a lightning strikes resulting in blown transformers, bashed-in gates, or other items which need immediate attention, we will be able to take action immediately. We need your cooperation in staying current with your bills. I will be publishing the records as we do for the water company, which will begin next month. So I would encourage you to get current if you have not done so at this point.

We are a small community that has a very special meaning to each of us. Everybody I've met has been great - you're all willing to make this a better place. There are other developments around us, but none have the unique flavor of Punta del Burro.

We have effectively combined the utilities and HOA duties under the management of Pablo Perez and Arturo (owner and operator of Las Palmas Travel). Some of you may know Arturo, as he presently manages six homes in the PdB community. The fees for their services are provided for in this budget.

Well Progress

As you know, our beach well has not yet been completed. However, we're close. The pictures of the stuck pump are here and here. We hope that it will soon be back to its previous production rate of 2.7 liters/second, which was its output before it got stuck. In the meantime, many problems which arose from delayed completion of the well are behind us. The old inferior black squishy pipes which collapsed regularly have all been replaced by quality PVC pipe. The stretch begins at Dahl's development and has been providing water consistently to the community. It has eliminated the need for Pipa truck deliveries, thus drastically reducing our water bills. I would mention that the backup water source is only temporary and that we will either have a working beach well soon, or figure something else out. Stay tuned...

The following people deserve our thanks for their continued help in maintaining a constant supply of water:

• Juan Martinez, who has laid the pipes and kept Bob Dahl's well running.
• Fermin and his crews, who have laid pipe and built most of the roads.
• Leo, who has done all the general maintenance for the water company. Leo is also caretaker of Casa Pristina.
• Pablo Perez, who has managed the employees of the water company. As I mentioned, Pablo splits his time between the water company and managing the HOA.

Third Meeting at the Notario

Sergio Grano attended the meeting along with myself and Pablo Perez. Our first objective was to set up a new Homeowners Association using licenciado Marcos, attorney/notary. Our plan was to provide Marcos with the three names he'd previously requested, and reopen the Colonos de Punta del Burro. However, during the meeting the discussion turned into a revisit of the condominium regime as an alternative option. Marcos now feels that this structure would strengthen our position within Mexican law.

What would incorporating as a Mexican condominium regime do for us?

It would allow for privatization of the community where the roads are considered the common area. This process would require the homeowners to provide escrituras. Each homeowner would also get a survey done on each property, which then would be submitted to the Mexican authorities. While it could result in the Alta Vista road being excluded from the community (even though it has been used by the residents for many years), it will at least resolve the issue once and for all. Because of its location, and the fact the properties on the road only have access from above, we may have some legal rights to its usage. This is also aided by the fact that PdB plat has been registered. However it doesn't allow us to close a road which isn't ours. Hence a developer would legally have access, allowing those who buy into his project access to the beach through the arroyos, etc. It is to our advantage to work with those who have a vested interest so everyone benefits. One of our members with lots of real estate experience and a law degree has volunteered to contact the developer and revisit his plan to further assess the issue.

Please remember that what you are reading here are only my assessments and opinions. I am not an attorney.

Continuing with the meeting, Marcos suggested that we hire one attorney who specializes in this type of legal work. At this point señor Sergio requested that Marcos provide us with a letter outlining our options. But what we received was an email from an attorney (recommended by Marcos) with a quote that included:

• $10,000 to represent us in this matter
• 15% of the road value
• plus expenses!!!

Not what we'd call affordable to the Burro at this time.

Sr. Sergio Grano has taken a lead role in our pursuit to legalize the community. Sergio has provided his attorney the old HOA bylaws and documents, and will see what kind of a plan they can come up with. Sergio's addition to the PDB team is extremely valuable. Not only is he a Mexican citizen and thus familiar with "the ropes", he also has knowledge and experience in this type of work. It's become obvious that Gringo Joe (me) and the HOA are in a much better position to move forward with the help of Sergio Grano.

The decision on whether to privatize or reopen the present structure will depend on how things play out within the community and the surrounding area. I wish I had something more concrete to tell everyone but I think we'll have to wait and see where some of the chips fall...more to come.

PROFEPA

Bruce Downing recently sent everyone an invitation to have their escrituras checked by a couple of consultants. He also attached an article written by Von Borstel which outline what needs to be done in order to comply with the law. A copy is available for your review here. Borstel handled the properties for our family, and was able to get the concessions for the Federal Zones. He also got the fines assessed and paid in about a year. Perhaps you have heard about getting fined for something about your property which was there before you bought it. That's what happened for us, and it's a little confusing as to why this is your responsibility, but it is! I would suggest taking care of it if you haven't already. Apparently it can get somewhat nasty if you think that it's just going to go away.

Roads

As you know we have a big push to complete the cobblestoning of Bahia Street. Two of the three vertical roads are complete including Pelicanos Road (the center road). Thanks to Roy's savings of monies from dues, we had a enough money to do most of the job. Please see the pics of Pelicanos Road and the road in front of Roy Gibb's house.

The internet connection has been down for 5 days (Pablo in the tambien office is affected), so I don't have as many pictures as I'd like, but I will add them to the www.pdbhoa.org site ASAP. We have been working with individual homeowners to get permission and $$ to complete the task. One contractor who's worth mentioning is Fermin. He was instrumental in coordinating street access, scheduling exclavation work, construction of the upmost quality, and most importantly, he's been reliable. He is a pleasure to work with and if your wondering where he came from I'll give you one guess: he's Bob Dahl's guy.

The road project from Casa Olas down to the back gate should be the next HOA prioity. The upper road is also in the works. I hopes this gets folks as charged up as it does me. Your hard-earned funds are at work. Please make every effort to continue with the HOA dues as this is making all this possible. Slow pays and no pays should reconsider their commitment to the community and bring their account to a status of current. This will allow us to continue with projects like the roads, which really do improve the place, look great and add value to our investment in PDB Mexico.

muchas gracias
su amigo
Joe Refsnes