Download the Spring 2007 Dominion Station Express issue (694KB PDF)
From the Newsletter Staff
It is an honor to prepare and present the community newsletter. We live in a great community and have wonderful neighbors. Since this is a community newsletter, contributions from residents are encouraged. The staff is also open to suggestions and ideas that will improve this publication.
It is hoped that this newsletter will inform our community of events and issues that are important to us as homeowners. Having just started to attend the monthly Board of Directors meetings, I was struck by how seemingly mundane topics impact the community and how important it is that we have people to serve the various committees that make the place we live even better. If you are interested in serving on one of the various committees or the BoD, please plan to attend the next Board meeting, which is the last Tuesday of every month at 6:30 p.m. in the clubhouse.
Sincerely,
The Dominion Station Express Staff
Your 2007 Board of Directors
President – David Robinette
Vice President – Sarah Turner
Secretary – Vacant
Treasurer – David Durham
Director – Vacant
SFMC On-site Property Manager: Lisa Williams, Phone 703-392-6006
Phone 703-406-3587 or email SFMCOnsiteOffice@aol.com
ARC Submission Guidelines
The Architectural Review Committee (ARC) meets on the third Monday of each month. Applications must be submitted before 5p.m. on the Thursday prior to the ARC meeting.
The application for exterior modifications or additions (available on the DSHOA Website) must be delivered to the on-site property manager, not the ARC chairperson or its other members. The application must be properly completed and accompanied by other documents, some of which depend upon the nature of the request (see application form for instructions on this). The application will not be forwarded to the ARC for review unless it is deemed informative and complete.
Remember:
- You must have the signatures of 2 neighbors on your application
- Include pictures, brochures, drawings, and plans.
Pool News
Warm weather is here!
The pool registration dates and times are as follows:
- May 5 from 1-3 p.m.
- May 8 and May 10 from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
- May 16 from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
- May 19 from 10:00 a.m. to 12 noon
After the official registration dates, there will be one day per month on which late and new forms are processed. The dates are as follows:
- June 9
- July 14
- August 11
Pool Operation Hours are as follows:
- Tuesday through Thursday: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- While school is in session: 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.
- Friday, Saturday, Sunday: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- July 4th: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- September 4th (Labor Day): 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Look in the mail for more information.
Meet and Greet
There is a “Meet and Greet” meeting on April 19th at 7 p.m. in the Clubhouse with the DS Condo BoD and the Cascades Park BoD.
Neighborhood Watch Update
On February 26th, 17 residents of Dominion Station met to form a Neighborhood Watch Program with the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Department. Deputy Specialist Jason Leydig described what a NWP is, its importance, how to get it started, and how to maintain it. According to Deputy Leydig, in recent years, neighborhoods have experienced rapid change. The old, well-established neighborhood has been replaced by a highly transient, growing community where people seek more and more privacy. This life style tends to promote unfamiliarity with neighbors, which enhances the opportunities for the criminal element and increases the community’s vulnerability to crime. These conditions dictate the need for a crime prevention program to intensify neighborhood security.
The main objective of the NWP is to reduce the incidence of crime by increasing citizens’ awareness of burglary and other neighborhood crime through a continuing information program; making recommendations to assist citizens in making their property more secure; developing a neighborhood action program where neighbors help watch each others property and report suspicious persons and activities to the Sheriff’s Office; and encouraging all citizens to cooperate with law enforcement agencies in reporting crimes.
If you would like to join the NWP and/or receive a copy of the handouts distributed at the initial meeting, please contact the NWP Co-Chairs Lisa Eyler at 703-501-2043 or Melissa Fishman at 703-298-4482. Be on the lookout at the three entrances to Dominion Station for the posting of NWP signs, in hopes to deter crime within our community. If you ever see suspicious criminal activity, please call the Sheriff’s Department – call 911 if it is an emergency, and call 703-777-1021 if it is not an emergency.
The next quarterly Dominion Station Neighborhood Watch Program meeting will be held on Thursday, May 24th at 7p.m. at the Dominion Station Club House. All Dominion Station residents are encouraged to attend!
Real Estate News
The Real Estate Market has Really Picked Up!
By: Heather Snyder
The real estate market in Loudoun County has increased steadily this spring. Homes are selling well and in less time than previous quarters. The phrase “It’s a great time to sell” is certainly true now!
In Loudoun County, between February 1st and March 15th there were approximately 1,330 new listings of homes for sale (all data compiled from the Multiple Listing Service, MLS). Of these homes, 30 sold and 185 went under contract. For these 215 homes, the average Days on the Market was 12. This is wonderful news!
Dominion Station is also experiencing the activity increase of our local real estate market. Currently there are 14 townhouses for sale in Dominion Station and 10 townhouses under contract. Furthermore, within the past 60 days 7 townhouses have sold.
Homes coming on the market new this spring are selling in less time compared to homes that have been on the market for months. However, homes still require correct pricing and staging. These are two essential aspects for successfully selling a home.
If you are curious about your home’s current market value or if you would like more information about home sales in Dominion Station, then please call Heather Snyder at 703-501-8782 or email her at hsnyder@kw.com.
Foreclosure
By: Nancy Jackson
If you are a homeowner about to face foreclosure, perhaps you could consider an alternative, a short sale. What is a short sale? A short sale is when a lender accepts a discount on a mortgage to avoid a possible foreclosure, auction, or bankruptcy. Sometimes it happens that owners need to sell, but the value of their property is less than the mortgage owed. The owners may not have enough cash to repay the loan. They can try to work out a deal with the lender to pay less than the owed amount--a short sale.
Why would a lender be willing to take a short sale? Lenders will sometimes allow a short sale if it is a better alternative than a foreclosure sale in a down market. Banks do not like excess inventory and bad loans on their books; therefore, if they see an opportunity where they can sell the property without a huge loss, they’ll do it. However, before making such a decision, a lender will want to see how such a deal is structured. Perhaps the borrower has other assets, or perhaps the short fall can be made up with a note to the lender. If the lender takes a loss, that loss may be reported to the IRS as income to the borrower – money not actually received by the borrower, but money that is taxable.
In the event that a borrower faces a short sale situation, the best approach is to have an attorney contact the lender on your behalf. It may be possible to work out a different monthly payment, an interest rate lowered, a long extension, etc. Or, alternately, rent the property. See a tax professional and realty attorney for details before making any decisions.
The author, Nancy Jackson, is a Realtor with Long and Foster and resident of Dominion Station. For more information on short sales contact her at:
- Nancy Jackson, Long & Foster
- Sterling/Potomac Falls
- 46191 Westlake Drive
- Sterling, VA 20165
- Office: (703) 433-7483
Sign Reminder!
Real estate directional signs, rental signs, or just any signs for that matter, are not allowed on common areas in the community (per Policy Resolution 1.1, Design Guidelines, ARC, Section II, Item K) without prior written approval of the ARC.
“Open House” signs are OK, as long as they are removed after the open house ends.
Letters to the Editor…
To the Editor: There have been NO Letters To The Editor since June 2006.
Letter to the Editor Policy
Dominion Station Newsletter reserves the right to publish or not publish any correspondence received. If a letter is published, it may be edited for content or for space reasons.
Write us at newsletter@dshoa.com and let us know how the newsletter is going. We welcome advice, corrections, and input from our friends and neighbors.
REMINDER
Think Green
Please recycle your plastics, glass, and aluminum cans every Tuesday.
BoD Announcement
If you are interested in serving on the BoD (there are two available positions), please plan to attend the next BoD meeting on April 24th at 6:30 p.m. One week prior to the meeting, please submit a brief biography of yourself to the BoD.
Staff Update
For the third issue in a row, the Dominion Station Express has had information and updates coming in from our intrepid reporters throughout the community. This adds real diversity to our newsletter and keeps everyone informed on a broad range of issues and activities.
We can still use input from the community to make this a better paper. Therefore, we are continuing our call for reporters to sign on: most everyone so far has signed up on an issue by issue basis. That is sufficient. If someone ends up writing for four issues, then they actually made a commitment for a year….but issue by issues is the best way to start.
We welcome any and all input. However we would particularly like to find people to fill the following beats:
Senior Beat: What activities are coming up, where the good discounts are, anything and everything that might interest our older residents;
News Beat: If one thing is true, one editor cannot know it all. We need input on what is happening in the community, in Sterling, and nearby haunts, which can enrich our lives. It might be volunteer opportunities, concerts, or community get togethers, but the more news the better.
Loudoun Beat: Gather news about the county, what is going on, what services are available, where to go for help, complaints, input, etc.
Guest or permanent columnist: Want to write but don’t have a forum? Submit a guest column or suggestion for an ongoing effort. As in the past, the Dominion Station Express welcomes guest editorials.
We will consider and work with you to make it happen. Food, pets, handy-man tips…whatever your expertise, we can put it in the newsletter.
As the editor of the Newsletter, I can assure you that we do not censor articles or letters. We do, however, reserve the right to edit for accuracy and grammar and spelling. We strive to make content non-partisan, and every issue is reviewed by Dominion Station legal counsel before going to press.
Contact the editor, newsletter@dshoa.com, with your letters, articles, and opinion pieces. Join our growing staff and take part in the information exchanges this newsletter provides.
Your 2007 Newsletter Staff
- Committee Chairman – Eric Blackmer
- Editor – Holden Blackmer
Staff Writers
- Eric Blackmer
- Heather Snyder
- Marina Murray
- Nancy Jackson
- Katherine Ramos
REMINDER
Come see democracy in action by attending the next Board of Directors meeting which takes place at the clubhouse the last Tuesday of the month at 6:30 p.m.. Check the community board outside the clubhouse for further details.
Deadline for Newsletter submissions:
29 June 2007: letters, editorials, articles, and advertising. Remember all submissions for the newsletter should be made to: newsletter@dshoa.com.
Disclaimer
Dominion Station Express is a volunteer generated publication, produced for the residents of Dominion Station by volunteer residents and as such it does not reflect any official policy or process of the Dominion Station Community, its Board of Directors or Management Company. All rights are reserved.
Download the Spring 2007 Dominion Station Express issue (694KB PDF)