September 2009

Home Re-Inspections In Progress!
When was the last time you drove through a trailer park? Some would argue that Johanna Woods is a trailer park, but if that is your view, we would suggest that you have not been in very many real trailer parks. There are many factors that contribute to the making of what is disparagingly called a trailer park. The way the lawns are maintained-or not- the condition of the homes, the things that are stored in yards, and the list could go on and on. One of the most critical factors on the list we just started is the condition of the homes. Once the upkeep of a home begins to be neglected, the problems worsen quickly if maintenance items are not addressed. This is true of anything, not just mobile homes. Without proper, routine maintenance the most expensive site-built home in town will begin to look shabby over time. That’s one of the reasons we do annual inspections in Johanna Woods. We don’t want to look like a trailer park! We just want to be a nice sub-division for mobile homes. Putting off routine maintenance only makes repairs more costly in the long run. If painting your home was on your inspection report, there’s a good chance you could have siding to replace if you put painting off for too long. Once the paint gets thin and the caulk wears away, water can get behind wood siding and cause it to deteriorate. Makes sense to invest in caulk and paint before that happens doesn’t it? Everyone has routine home maintenance tasks to complete. If you haven’t started on your inspection list yet, you are behind! Summer is winding down, re-inspections will soon be complete and if you are not done you will have far less time to finish your projects. Don’t let today’s minor repairs become major problems!

Have You Thought About Refinancing?
In spite of the downturn in the economy, there are still lenders available who are offering attractive rates for mobile home loans and refinancing. If your current mortgage interest rate is over 9%, you could save some serious money by refinancing. If you qualify, you could skip a monthly payment altogether, lower your payments, reduce your term, interest rate OR all of the above! And you can do all of this with no money out of pocket! What are you waiting for? If you’re stretching dollars every month, give it some thought. It’s your money! Wouldn’t it be nice to keep some of it?

Back to School Cook’s Corner
With the kidsback in school, it’s probably safe to say that life has become hectic and wild once again. Here’s a quick meal suggestion that will get you in and out of the kitchen more quickly today and puts a meal in the freezer for another crazy day! Hope you enjoy it.

Ham & Cheese Casserole
Ingredients:
1-1/2 pounds uncooked egg noodles
3 pounds cubed, fully cooked ham
4 cans (10-3/4 ounces each) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
4 cups frozen cut corn, thawed
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Colby-Monterey Jack Cheese
Cooking Directions:
Cook the egg noodles according to package directions. While they are cooking, combine the ham, soup, corn and milk in a large bowl. Drain the cooked pasta and combine with the ham mixture. Divide this mixture into two greased 13 x 9 inch baking dishes. Drizzle each with half the melted butter and sprinkle with cheese. Cover and freeze one casserole for up to 3 months. Bake the remaining dish, uncovered, at 350∞ for 25-30 minutes, or until heated through. To bake frozen casserole: Thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake, uncovered, at 350∞ for 40-45 minutes or until heated through. Each casserole yields 8 servings.

Your Privacy
Each newsletter for this month contains a copy of the Johanna Woods Privacy Policy. We provide everyone a copy of this policy every year, because we want to make sure you understand how we handle your personal information If you failed to receive one, please notify the office at 355-1681 and we will see to it that you get one.

Have You Got Mail?
You will have if you sign up for it! With the changes we are making to our website, we hope to send more of our newsletters via e-mail than through door to door delivery. In fact, this will be the last month that the newsletter will be delivered to every door in the community. Many have already submitted an e-mail address and beginning in October, we hope to send the newsletter to your inbox. We want everyone who wants a copy of the newsletter to have one, so if you don’t have a computer, we will deliver a printed copy to you-but we need to know that you want one. We have delivered 230+ copies for many years now, but we realize that not everyone reads their copy. So, if you do read yours and want to continue to receive a paper copy, just call us and we will make sure you get a copy every month. If you prefer e-mail and haven’t signed up yet, please send me an e-mail so we can get you on the mailing list!

Frugal Fabric Softener
One of the biggest household expenses can be for laundry soap and fabric softener. In a previous newsletter we provided a recipe for homemade laundry soap. This time, we thought we would offer some money saving tips on fabric softener. A good way to stretch liquid fabric softener is to dilute 3 caps full with 2 cups of water in a covered plastic container. Cut a couple of regular kitchen sponges in half and put in the container. When you are ready to put clothes in the dryer, squeeze the sponge almost dry and toss into the dryer as you would a fabric softener sheet. It does the same as a dryer sheet and makes the liquid softener go further. Put the sponge back in the container for the next use when the clothes are dry. If you are too big of a fan of the dryer sheets to ever change, you can still save by using half of a sheet for each load!

Returning Those Pool Passes Could Put
A Little Money in Your Pocket!
Not returning them will take a little money OUT of your pocket. As usual, when the pool closes, we ask all our residents to return their pool passes. And, as usual, about 50% of our residents actually do return them. We have always entered everyone who does return them into a drawing and this year will be no different. One prompt resident of Johanna Woods will receive a quick $25.00 just for turning their passes back in. This year, though, we have added a penalty if you don’t return your pool passes within 60 days. You will be charged $1.00 for each pass not returned. So, find those passes and get them in. We will hold a drawing on the 15th of September. If you did not check out pool passes, you can still enter. Just turn your name in on a piece of paper by the 15th, and note it for the Pool Pass drawing.

Resident Referrals Pay You!
Have you ever eaten at a new restaurant because a friend recommended it? Well, that same process can influence where people live-and put some money in your pocket at the same time. If you know someone who is tired of living in an apartment or renting a home, tell them about Johanna Woods. If they buy a home here or bring a home into our community, Johanna Woods gains new residents, your friend gets a new home and you get a months rent for free with our thanks just for telling them about us! This is a win, win, win deal! Will you be the next one to get a free months rent?

NEIGHBOR NEWS!
Keep an eye on your community for upcoming improvements! We have built two new retaining walls in the last couple of months and have several more projects in the works. We are currently working on the appearance of the 29th Place traffic island and in November we plan to install new windows and siding at the office!

September 1st-Rent is Due.

September 5th- The office will be closed for the Holiday weekend.

September 6th- Unpaid rent is late and subject to a $25.00 late fee

September 7th-Labor Day! The office will be closed- THE POOL WILL BE OPEN! But it’s the last day of the season

September 7th-No Trash Pick up because of the Holiday. Trash will be picked up on Tuesday & Thursday this week.