Villages of Westcreek (San Antonio, Austin, Orange: skateboarding, rentals, HOA)

[noplacelikeWA]

We moved into the Villages of Westcreek in May 2006. Our first 6 months living in the villages was split with time spent in Austin. Needless to say it has taken some time to get to know the neighbors and get familiar with HOA.

I have mixed feelings about the area and thought it might be helpful to share some thoughts and experiences about living in the villages and see what other residents in the area really think about living here.

Let me start with sharing our most recent experience...

In the past 5 days the neighbor across the street from me has been a victom of 2 crimes.

On Friday the rear windsheild of his truck was bust out by vandals, the vehicle was parked in the street in front of the house. The county sheriff alerted him to it at 12:30am after doing patrols in the neighborhood. I was awake watching tv in the front room of my house from 9pm to 3am across the street from this and heard nothing.

This afternoon after returning from some errands my neighbor's wife left the garage door open for the repair person to access the vehicle sometime in the next hour. I also openned my garage door to organize some recycling and retrieve our garbage cans from the curb. I noticed their garage door open only because they rarely leave it open. I left my garage door open as usual intending to send the kids out to play within the hour. Unfortunately sometime in the 1hour the garage was left open and unsecured someone came into his garage and stole his lawnmower!

My other neighbor next door to me just informed me that her parents who also live just around the corner from us recently shared with her that their neighbors car was stolen right from the driveway.


Initially we chose this area of town because of the supposed low crime rate. What is going on, are the villages heading down hill faster than we realize?

[Paka]

Was it the same neighbor? It almost sounds to me like there is a "behind the seens" type of story...do they have teenage kids???

I am sorry to hear of your neighbors issues, and don't mean to insinuate that your neighbor deserves this, but if it is the same neighbor, it appears that maybe more than coincidence is a possibility.

We owned here for 13 yrs without incident (ok...the kiddos DID TP our huge oak tree, but hey, that is NOTHING)

[noplacelikeWA]

It was the same neighbor and we both joked if he had made any enemies lately. They have 1 son who is 10 and really they should not be any more a target then we are. I feel terrible for him.

[firstclassflyer]

Kid probably pissed someone off.

[Paka]

Sorry to hear that...just for info sake, what portion of Westcreek do you live in???

It won't hurt for all of us to keep our eyes open, but especially in areas that are having issues.

[noplacelikeWA]

We are on the edge of The Oaks not too far from where Westcreek Oaks and Military intersect.

Aside from the recent events, I am struggling with the HOA more than anything. Any other unhappy residents out there?

[Steel Man]

I have lived in Westcreek since 2001. When our daughter and son-in-law lived with us several years ago, someone broke into his old Honda Civic parked across the street. They used a large rock (left next to the drivers door). My guess is they are using a thick towel or something to keep the noise down when breaking the glass. Theft in San Antonio is nothing new and happens in most neighborhoods (except in gated ones?). Best thing is to keep cars locked, close to the house (driveway), keep your house lighted outside, and garage doors closed when not used.

[Paka]

Originally Posted by noplacelikeWA

We are on the edge of The Oaks not too far from where Westcreek Oaks and Military intersect.

Aside from the recent events, I am struggling with the HOA more than anything. Any other unhappy residents out there?

What type of HOA issues??? I have to say except for the addition to a house near us discussed in an earlier thread, I have no issues with the neighborhood at all...really like it here...

We have a friend that had their car broken into in a gated community as well...every pizza/fast food delivery person in town can get into any gated neighborhood they service (ok, maybe not the Dominion, but that is a GUARDED vs GATED place)...and even BAD kids folks can choose to live in a gated/guarded community, so it is everywehere.

Again, strange that these particular folks got picked on twice so soon after each other...just seems that there is more to the story than maybe even they know. We will keep an eye out tho! Thanks for the heads up

[missmypfc]

On the car issues... we live in Highpoint and it has always amazed me that we are the only people on our street that put our cars in the garage at night. Of course, if we have overnight company, they have to leave theirs in the driveway-- although I keep the floodlight on in that case, as well as the security system engaged. I have to say that having to take all of these precautions makes me nervous-- coming from base housing where I wouldn't think twice about feeling safe in my own home.
One of the things I dislike the most about Westcreek is the lack of street lights-- again, something I'm not used to. There is no way I will take an evening walk, which I miss being able to do.
I, also, am not impressed with the HOA. They don't seem to care about rental properties that are not being mowed often enough. I thought when we moved here that they were really on top of yard maintenence. One of our neighbors leaves his hoses out all over the place and garbage can out for days.
They don't care about kids skateboarding on the sidewalks and our driveways.
Then, there is the dumping of animals... I have had three dogs and two cats dumped near my home in the past four months.
We plan to sell in two years and will be paying the realtor out of pocket. Currently, only new houses are selling.
Ok, I'm done venting... wish I was happier in Westcreek

[jules07]

K guys, I'm not pickin' on anybody here, just pointing something out. What does HOA stand for? Home Owners Association It is an Association of the Home Owners and you belong to it. I understand that Westcreek has a management company (onsight, right??), but you do have a voice in how it is run. I used to work for a property management company that only did HOA's (no rentals) and was always surprised at how everyone would complain about "the Board this, and the Board that" but they would never volunteer to help with anything. I see it in our neighborhood, too. It's like they think that the Board positions are paid or something!

The HOA is you! If you don't like something about it, let your voice be heard at the meetings, and get involved. I'm sure that the current Board/members would welcome more involvement! I know that alot of HOA Boards are comprised of primadonnas who are all about control (believe me - the PM company I worked for was in Orange County, CA! I saw them! ) But you do have some power in this! Westcreek is a great community (I've said on here several times that I wish we had bought in there instead of Oak Creek). You guys can keep it that way!

Now about the dumping of animals you mentioned missmypfc, it really does happen everywhere, and I don't really think it's anything that the HOA has jurisdiction or control over. It really does suck tho!! Several of our current and past critters were dumped by our home and took up residence with us. You want to see really bad, move out to the country! Ugh! People dump animals out there constantly!

Good luck Westcreekers! I, for one, am rootin' for you!