Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I rent my condominium to generate some extra income? Short-term rentals are prohibited by the Mountain River East Condominium Association Declaration and By-laws. Leasing for 30 days or more is allowed with an approved Lease Application (see Documents page). Note: the lease application must be submitted to the management company at least one month prior to occupancy to allow for processing and approval.
- When is the pool going to be open? The pool opens on the Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend and closes at the end of the day on Labor Day. A motion to extend the pool season for 1 or 2 weeks is typically voted on by the Association members present at the informal Labor Day meeting.
- Why don’t the building numbers correspond to the unit numbers? The original building numbers started at 1 and proceeded clockwise from there (left at the fork). So building 1 had units 1-10, building 2 had units 11-20, and so on. Thornton implemented Enhanced 911 service a few years ago and they required our building numbers to change in order to work with their GPS-based locations. People who have been around longer than a couple of years tend to use the old numbering system in conversation. To convert the old building number to the new building number use: 1:27, 2:112, 3:106, 4:94, 5:79, 6:65, 7:51, 8:41. Site Map is here.
- What about garages, are they association property? Garages are Limited Common Area assigned to specific units. Owners of units with garages assigned have exclusive use of the garage and they pay additional “Garage Fees” to the association.
- How can I get a garage? Garages are either sold with the unit that owns it or they are transferred from one unit to another via private sale. These transfers happen from time to time and require amendments to the Declaration. Look there for examples.
- Do I need insurance on my condo or does the Association’s policy cover me? All owners are strongly encouraged to insure their property. The Association’s policy generally does not fully cover individual units. Condominium insurance policies are different from ordinary homeowner’s policies – consult your insurance agent for more information.
- Is Mountain River East associated with Mountain River across the street? No. The complexes were built by the same developer and have structural similarities but they are two completely independent entities. Mountain River East residents have no implicit pool or river access privileges at Mountain River. Likewise Mountain River residents have no implicit pool privileges at Mountain River East.
- Can we heat the pool? This topic is raised at nearly every Association meeting. It has been discussed and investigated several times. The conclusion is always against heating the pool for a variety of reasons. The primary reason not to do this is the additional cost: the cost to install and maintain a heating system, the cost to heat the pool, the cost to maintain a heated pool, and the cost of an extended pool season.
- What is ‘bulk cable’? Bulk cable is the agreement we have with Charter/Spectrum, our cable provider. The association pays one fee for basic cable and internet service to the entire complex. Because there are no individual bills involved, the service is cheaper than if every unit ordered cable and internet separately.
- How do I get additional premium channels, faster internet, and/or VOIP telephone? You can upgrade your cable service on an individual basis by calling the cable company. They will bill you separately for the upgraded service(s).
- Why don’t we have assigned parking spaces? The association encourages neighbors to be neighborly about all aspects of our condominium community including parking.
- I can’t find the financial statements on the web site. Where are they? We do not make our financial information available on the internet. Owners can always obtain any of the association’s financial documents by contacting the Management Company directly.
- Why do I have to replace my hot water heater every 10 years? A tank failure can cause catastrophic damage to your unit and to your adjacent neighbors’ units as well. Insurance companies take particular interest in hot water heaters in buildings like ours because they pay claims for damages of tens of thousands of dollars or more every time a tank fails.
Tanks usually fail with no warning – there isn’t a decrease in water temperature or pressure to indicate that it’s time to replace the water heater. One day it’s fine and the next you have 3 or more flooded condominiums.
Insurance companies require that Associations mitigate this risk by performing regular hot water heater replacements. The most controversial aspect of any replacement program is the interval. Reasonable people consistently agree that hot water heaters need to be replaced at some point to prevent tank failures; what they often disagree on is how often the replacements should occur. Ask 80 MRE owners and you’ll get 80 different answers. What our Association needs is a single, non-arbitrary interval that is based on an established metric of product lifetime.
The interval used by our Association is the manufacturer’s warranty period. The reasoning is simple: the manufacturer knows the product best and at the end of the warranty period, the manufacturer is no longer confident enough in the product to warranty it against failure.
You may disagree with the interval. In fact, our informal research indicates that the intensity of an individual owner’s disagreement is directly related to how close that owner’s hot water heater is to its replacement age. Regardless, the manufacturer’s warranty period remains the only value that meets the requirement of a single, non-arbitrary interval that is based on an established metric of product lifetime.
The current warranty period for hot water heaters installed at Mountain River East is 10 years. That is why you have to replace your hot water heater every 10 years.