What do you mean by maintenance free?
At The Courtyards at Collegeville, a monthly community fee will take care of mowing the lawn, raking the leaves, maintaining the landscaping planted by the builder and plowing the snow. In addition, the association will take care of most of the exterior maintenance on your home, including cleaning your gutters and periodically painting your front and garage doors, and the wood trim on your home. This fee also takes care of the maintenance and upkeep on the community clubhouse. In addition, a portion of the monthly fee is put into a reserve fund for the eventual replacement of your roof, repaving the streets and other long-term planned maintenance items. Other maintenance services can be provided for a fee after the warranty period by the association, such as replacing a shutter or down spout. All homeowners will receive an annual bill from the Homeowners Association for the cost of building coverage insurance, which is not included in your monthly fee.

What maintenance am I responsible for?
A chart that shows the responsibilities of the association and those of the homeowner will be provided to you. For example, the association will remove the snow from the street, common sidewalks and your driveway and sidewalk, but you will be responsible to shovel the snow and remove the ice from your front porch and patio.

What kind of warranty comes with my home?
A detailed description of the warranty coverage which provides is in the Homeowner's Manual, which you will receive when you put a deposit on a new home at The Courtyards at Collegeville. This warranty is also available to view on our web site at: www.

What if a tree dies or some shingles blow off my roof?
If your home is still under the builder's warranty, you will send a letter, fax or e-mail to the Warranty Department. After the warranty period, you will contact the association management company. They will arrange to have the repair done. If the item is an association item on the responsibility chart, there will be no charge to you. If it is a shared responsibility on the chart, the association management firm will bill you for the service provided. Either way, they will take care of hiring the appropriate contractor and, because they work with these contractors on a regular basis, they will be able to get the work done quickly and at a good price.

How much is the community fee?
The initial fee is $188. per month. There is also a one-time $500 fee when you make settlement on your new home which goes into the Homeowners Association reserve account.

What kind of insurance do I need?
You will need to obtain an HO6 policy from your insurance agent, while the homeowners association will cover the basic building insurance for your home. Some insurance agents will call this condominium insurance. The Courtyards at Collegeville is not a condominium, but this policy will cover the contents of your home and other components that the Association's insurance cannot cover, such as the upgraded items in your home. Having the Association cover the insurance on the structure of your new home gives you the protection that every home in your community is covered by insurance, protecting your property values and allowing a quick response to rebuilding compared to each individual owner needing to resolve their own insurance settlement. You will receive a bill from the Homeowners Association annually for the cost of this insurance. The amount of this bill will vary from year to year, but we have estimated at this time that it will be approximately $246.00, or $ 20.50 per month. The Homeowners Association has the authority to change this billing to semi-annually, monthly or to decide not to offer this type of coverage, which would cause the individual homeowners to acquire their own building coverage insurance.

What about trash removal?
Curbside trash removal is included in your monthly community fee.

What will I actually own?
Each homeowner at The Courtyards at Collegeville will own their own home, which is described to the center of the common walls, and a legally described lot, which is slightly larger than the footprint of your home. The Association documents provide cross easements between lots so that every homeowner in the community is permitted to freely cross every other lot in the community should they need to, as well as describe the restrictions on the lots. Your sales counselor will provide you with a metes and bounds plan and the dimensions of the home site you select.

May I fence my lot or put up a shed?
The Association documents do not permit any fences or other structures be erected on the lots. This rule protects your property values by prohibiting your future neighbors from putting up sheds, or pools or fencing animals in the line of sight of your home. In addition, it allows the landscape contractor to mow the lawn area without obstruction.

What am I allowed to do in my yard?
You may have lawn furniture on any hard surface like a patio. In addition, you may plant flowers within six feet of your foundation wall. If you do plant additional flowers or landscaping around your home, you will be responsible to maintain the entire landscaped bed.

May I make changes to my home after settlement?
No one may make any changes to the exterior of their home without obtaining the permission of the board of directors of the homeowners association. Communities with associations that provide architectural control enjoy consistently higher property values and better relationships between neighbors than those without these protective covenants. The management company will make regular inspections of the community to make sure that the lawns, landscaping and exterior of the homes are properly maintained and are in compliance with the community's by-laws. In addition, they will respond to any complaints of homes that are violating the associations' protective covenants.

Can I finish by basement?
In January, 2000, the new version of the International Residential Code was published. This new code states that "basements with habitable space shall have at least one operable emergency escape and rescue window". In the design of these homes that window has not been provided, therefore, you may not convert your basement into furnished living space.

Who runs the Association?
Initially the board of directors who decide all Association matters is made up of people appointed by the builder, but residents of the community gradually replace these members as the homes are sold. The board will be made up entirely of residents elected by the homeowners prior to the completion of the community. The current board of directors has contracted with Mid-Atlantic Management Corporation of Plymouth Meeting to collect the monthly community fees, to contract for services and work with homeowners' questions. Mid-Atlantic Management handles more than 19,000 homes in 120 communities in the Philadelphia region. The Association gets its authority from a declaration that is recorded with the plans for the community and by-laws developed to support that declaration. You will receive a complete set of these documents prior to signing an Agreement of Sale for a home at The Courtyards at Collegeville.

Can I have pets?
You may have up to two normal household pets. All pets allowed to go outside must be kept on a leash, and while you may walk your dog anywhere on the property, you must remove and dispose of any waste.

Who will own the streets?
When all the construction in the community is completed, the builder will top coat the street and deed it to the association. Lower Providence Township has permission to patrol and inspect the street. The association will pay the cost of maintaining and plowing the street as well as mowing the lawn and maintaining the landscaping along the entrance to the community.

Can I park on the street?
There is no parking permitted on the streets. Every home at The Courtyards at Collegeville will have a two car garage and a driveway large enough to park two additional cars. In addition there will be 30 guest-parking spaces spread throughout the community, with an additional 12 at the community clubhouse.

Will there be streetlights?
Yes, there will be streetlights installed in the community. The charge from the electric company for the operation of these lights is included in the monthly community fee. There will also be fire hydrants installed within The Courtyards at Collegeville.

What kind of heat will my home have?
The homes at The Courtyards at Collegeville will have propane gas forced hot air heat. There will be propane tanks buried throughout the community to service the homes. Every home in the community has its own gas meter. The builder, acting for the homeowners association, has contracted with the gas company to provide the tanks, lines and meters for this service, as well as supplying the gas to fill the tanks. All home buyers will sign a document acknowledging that they agree to purchase gas from this company. Once the community is established, the homeowners association will take responsibility for the contracts for gas service to the community. The initial contract for gas service is structured in such a way that service to the homeowner is similar to that of a natural gas provider. The buried tanks, supply lines and meters are installed, owned, and warranted, maintained and serviced by the provider at no cost to the homeowner or the homeowners association. The contracts provide for the ownership of these tanks and supply lines to be transferred to the association if they so desire. A detailed buy out schedule has been included with the contracts for this option.

What should I budget for utility costs on my home? We have estimated what your monthly utilities will be for your new home in The Courtyards at Collegeville. The sewer authority charges $45.00 per quarter, which comes to $15.00 a month. Your PECO bill for electric, may be $150.00 per month, and the bill for propane gas will be approximately $80.00 per month, with water at approximately $40.00 per month, for a total of $285.00 per month. Please understand that this is just an estimate. Your individual usage varies depending on many factors, like how long you like to shower and how high you run your air conditioning in the summer.

Do I get a patio with my home?
Every home gets an approximately 100 square foot covered rear patio and we are offering options to have your patio turned into a screened porch or enclosed sunroom. Ask your sales counselor to review those options with you.

Where is the closest shopping?
The closest shopping center which has a supermarket is about two miles away, on Main Street in Collegeville. It hosts a supermarket, as well as restaurants and services such as banks, dry cleaning and restaurants. If you travel east or west on Main Street, you will find a large variety of stores. Ask your community manager for a copy of our Community Guide, which gives you phone numbers of many community services.

How much are the taxes?
The actual taxes assessed after settlement and is usually based on the purchase price of the home. We anticipate the taxes on the homes will be approximately $3,500. per year. Lower Providence township also charges a 1% earned income tax.

How much cash will I need to purchase a home?
At the time you sign an agreement of sale for your new home you will need to pay a deposit equal to 10% of the cost of the home and the options you have decided to include. When you go to settlement on your new home, you will need to pay closing costs, which include transfer taxes, title insurance, real estate taxes, mortgage company charges and the capital contribution to the Homeowners Association. A detailed listing of these charges will be included in your Agreement of Sale.

Is there any special financing available?
If you have concerns or questions about financing, please talk to our community manager.

What does the $188 community fee cover?
Everyone who purchases a home at The Courtyards at Collegeville automatically becomes a member of the The Courtyards at Collegeville Homeowners Association. When you place a deposit on a home at The Courtyards at Collegeville you will receive a copy of the Public Offering Statement, which includes the Declaration of Covenants, the By Laws and a proposed budget for the The Courtyards at Collegeville Homeowners Association.

The protective covenants included in these documents were created to insure that your community continues to be maintained in a consistent manner at a minimum of expense and bother for you. While the Association is controlled by a Board of Directors that will eventually be made up of residents of the community, a professional management company hired by the builder performs most of the services. This company keeps a list of appropriate contractors and inspects their work. The management company is experienced in bidding and buying these services for the best price and quality. And, they have full time trained staff available to handle your questions.

Knowing that the association will step in and make sure that appropriate repairs are done to every home in the neighborhood gives you the assurance that no home will be allowed to deteriorate, become an eyesore and devalue your own home.

These documents also contain rules and regulations that have been effective in protecting property values and promoting the quiet enjoyment of the residents in many other fine communities. For example, you cannot make any changes to the exterior of your home without first obtaining the permission of the Association. This protects you from the possibility that one of your neighbors might decide their home might look better with pink siding or that they would like to put a swing set in their backyard where you would see it from your patio.

Some of the association provided services are immediate, like mowing your lawn or saving you money on your homeowner's insurance. Some are required by the municipality, like maintaining the private streets. Others are more long-term. For example, a part of your $188 is put into a reserve fund, which, as it matures, will provide the funds for major expenses like replacing the roof on your entire building, or re-paving the streets and driveways in your community.

The list below is provided to further illustrate the services the Association will provide. It is not meant as a substitute to Declaration of Protective Covenants, Easements and Restrictions for The Courtyards at Collegeville and the By Laws of the The Courtyards at Collegeville Homeowners Association, but rather to help explain the content of those documents.

Your $188 monthly community fee includes:

• Mowing and maintaining the lawn on your lot and on the common open space.
• Maintaining the public streets, curbs, guest parking areas, and sidewalks, including snow removal.
• Maintaining the storm sewer system and retention basin.
• Maintaining any fencing installed by the builder.
• Maintaining the landscaping installed by the builder and throughout the open space, including weeding, mulching, spraying, etc. (If you install landscaping in any bed near your home, you will be responsible to maintain that entire bed).
• Providing electric service and maintenance of the streetlights.
• Maintaining the community entrance and street signs.
• Fall leaf removal.
• Cleaning your gutters.
• Repairing, and eventually replacing your roofing, flashing, gutters, and downspouts.
• Periodically painting the exteriors or your outside doors and garage doors.
• Maintenance and repair of the community clubhouse

• Repairing, replacing and power washing the exterior walls of your home, including the siding, soffits, exterior trim, railings, patio, porch, exterior steps.

• All items inside your home.
• Snow removal from your patio and porch.
• Cleaning of your patio, porch, exterior steps and walkways to your home.
• Repairing or replacing any exterior doors and garage door with the exception of painting.
• The exterior lights on your own home and the plumbing, electrical, heating and air conditioning services that serve only your home.
• Watering of the landscaping within 15 feet of your home when initially planted or in drought conditions.
• Cleaning, repairing or replacing windows or skylights. However, if a window or skylight is damaged, contact the Association to determine if it is covered by your homeowners insurance.