High Sierra Newsletter

Spring 2007

Please send payments or any correspondence directly to
High Sierra Condominiums at
the following address:

High Sierra Condominiums
P.O Box 7188
Ruidoso, NM 88355-7188
USA

Phone: (505) 257-6913
   Fax: (505) 257-7319

HIGH  SIERRA’S E-MAIL  ADDRESS:
info@highsierracondos.com

The President's Corner

Hi again to all the High Sierra owners.  There was a small group that attended the Annual Owners' Meeting on June 9^th, 2007.  The members in attendance were informed that all 28 units now have new carpet, wood laminate flooring in dining rooms, and ceramic tile on all bathroom floors and around the fireplaces.  The last building that was needing a new roof, Building #1, was done in May.  All High Sierra buildings, including the clubhouse, now have steel roofing.  There's still a lot of work remaining on both the inside and outside of the units.  There have been some questions from some of the owners as to how long the Reserve Fund fee will be in place.  The short answer is this; there will be continuing need for a Reserve Fund to update facilities and to keep them in the shape that all member-owners expect.  The members of the Board want to thank the owners for their patience as we work to do the above.

You will find a survey in this newsletter with a list of projects.  Your Board of Directors is asking all paid-up owners to complete and return this survey so we know the top five expenditures YOU think are most important.  The Board will use the collective results as a guide when we prepare the 2008 budget. 

I hope everyone has a great summer and enjoys the facilities.  The Board and our staff are looking forward to making your stays pleasant when you come to High Sierra.

Raymond L. Peabody, HSOA President

The Annual Budget Meeting will be held  in October at the High Sierra clubhouse.

This meeting is open to all owners of High Sierra units, and your attendance is highly encouraged since the next year’s budget is discussed and voted upon at this meeting.  The announcement of the final date and time will be forthcoming shortly, and we’ll publicize that in multiple ways.  The Board of Directors hopes to see you there!

Policy changes are made periodically by the High Sierra Board.  Such important policy changes are announced in this news-letter, and they’re also posted on High Sierra’s website.  Go to: www.highsierracondos.com

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR OWNERS
AND THEIR GUESTS

For your security, keys for “after-hours” arrivals are now left in a metal box with a changeable combination lock on it.  Any owner or guest arriving after the office is closed MUST know the current combination to obtain keys.  IF YOU ANTICIPATE ARRIVING AFTER 9 PM ON ANY NIGHT, PLEASE CALL THE HIGH SIERRA OFFICE BEFORE 9 PM TO OBTAIN THE COMBINATION FOR THE LOCK.  Again, this procedure is to protect YOUR High Sierra resources and provide better security for our owners and guests.  If all fees are not paid current, keys cannot be left out.   Thank you.

SECURITY DEPOSIT

To protect High Sierra resources, we require a $200 cash OR pre-charged deposit on a credit card from all guest-occupants who are NOT owners. The intent of this damage deposit is to protect YOUR property. This $200 deposit also applies to units rented directly by owners to any non-owners, so be sure to inform any renters you arrange with about this deposit requirement in advance to prevent any “misunderstanding” at check-in.

HIGH SIERRA’S CARVED BEARS
NOW HAVE NAMES!

The year-long voting is over for naming High Sierra’s new residents on the grounds in 2006…four carved wooden bears.  A committee of owners reviewed suggested names recommended, and the following names were selected:

• The smallest bear, standing in front of Building #10, is now officially “PeeWee Bear.”

• The medium-sized wooden bear behind Buildings 5 and 6 is now “Rood-i-Oso” (a cute play on “Ruidoso” using the Spanish word for bear).

• The large momma bear located by the front door of the clubhouse holding a baby bear is now “Bearietta” and her baby is “Osito.”

• The HUGE bear standing just behind Building #1 is now proudly named “Sierra Bear.”

Persons who submitted the names above that were selected will be contacted by the High Sierra staff to receive prizes.

Thanks to EVERYONE who participated by submitting suggested names.  There were simply too many cute suggestions to use them all (including “Hairy Potter” and many others).

SUMMER HOURS

As of May 25th (Memorial Day weekend), High Sierra moves to
summer hours. 

Summer office hours are from 8 AM to 9 PM Sunday thru Thursday,
and 8 AM to 10 PM on Fridays & Saturdays. 

Pool hours are 9 AM until one-half hour before the office closes,
7 days per week.

“E-STATEMENTS” ARE COMING !

With the May 2007 jump in mailing costs, High Sierra is increasingly using more “E-correspondence” with owners. We’re trying to use your money wisely, so please help us as we move toward increased use of electronic communications, including newsletters posted at our website instead of being mailed, and increased use of “e-statements” for billing of annual maintenance fees.

WE NEED AN E-MAIL ADDRESS FOR EVERY HIGH SIERRA OWNER !!!

Please send yours to: info@highsierracondos.com

(And please remember to notify High Sierra of any changes to your mailing address, phone numbers, or e-mail address.)

IN-HOUSE EXCHANGE (OR “SWAP”) POLICIES

Just a brief “refresher” for everyone on this topic…
If you know in advance that you won’t be able to use your regular unit-week(s) for any reason, we can do an “in-house” exchange with you for another unit-week at High Sierra. (We can NOT, however, exchange your week for one at another property...one must go through RCI or a similar timeshare exchange company for that.) There’s a $50 cost to do an in-house “swap,” but that’s less than one-third the cost of doing the same exchange through RCI. Here are the policies & procedures you need to know:

1. All annual maintenance & reserve fees must be paid current.

2. To the extent possible, we’ll try to “swap” your unit for an equal unit (same number of bedrooms & the same RCI “season”...red, white, or blue). However, that may not always be possible so please be flexible as we try to accommodate.

3. Any in-house exchange MUST be initiated a MINIMUM of 15 calendar days PRIOR TO the start of your week.

FROM YOUR MANAGERS    

We’ve now installed new carpet, ceramic tile, & wood-laminate flooring in all 28 units!  We’re working on other projects to enhance High Sierra; for example, re-painting of all the building exteriors is now underway.  We do many projects year round that aren’t visible to every owner, but they still add value to the property...just ask any of the owners of Unit 102 about the all-new bathroom renovation done there.  (One bath in Unit 602 is due for the same treatment next.)  We’ll soon begin a project to replace deteriorating linoleum tile in laundry room floors with ceramic tile.  In September 2006, 10 new sofa-sleepers and 35 new chairs were delivered and placed into units; with the completion of the re-flooring project, the remaining units will now get new sofa-sleepers & chairs in living rooms. 

We encourage you to visit High Sierra’s website (www.highsierracondos.com ) where we’ll increasingly be posting important information so you can get news quickly, and you’ll soon be able to initiate some actions on-line such as one-time unit exchange requests and more.

Margana & Rob Huff, General Managers and Member, Board of Directors

High Sierra can rent your unit for you if you can’t use it — just ask us how!

Spring-cleaning? 
We are adding DVD players to the units this year.  Do you have DVDs you’d like to donate to our library? Also, donations of tennis rackets & balls, board games, etc would be welcome.