Welcome to River Woods HOA
The River Woods Homeowners Association is one of the oldest and largest townhouse associations in Minnesota.
Founded in 1972, River Woods’ 324 townhomes are situated on 87 beautifully wooded acres. It has a swimming pool, sport court and volleyball court for residents.
River Woods townhouse owners pay a monthly fee that covers maintenance of all the common grounds, i.e., all the land outside the footprint of their houses. This includes, among other things, plowing and shoveling of snow off roads and sidewalks, sanding, planting of shrubs and flowers, trimming and – if necessary – removal and replanting of trees, cutting grass, application of herbicides, etc. We also maintain and replace the many retaining walls on association grounds.
Residents’ fees also pay for roof replacement on every townhouse every 20 years or so, or as needed.
Owners of River Woods townhouses have responsibility for everything, aside from roofs, on the inside AND outside of their homes, so long as any changes to the outside of the townhouses are approved by the Architectural Control Committee (ACC). As with most townhouse associations, we strive to keep the exterior appearance of our homes attractive and consistent, which is why we require ACC approval for any changes in outside appearance.
In addition to monthly maintenance fees, residents each year are required to pay for their share of a Master insurance policy that ensures the complete restoration of any home damaged by fire, weather events or other causes. This Master Policy, which also covers liability for the common grounds, including the pool, does NOT cover replacement of residents’ personal goods or any remodeling they may have done in the house. For this this reason, we strongly encourage residents buy a personal HO-6 policy through their own insurance agent, which covers personal goods, liability within their houses and any deductible amounts in the Master Policy.
No outside agency owns River Woods. It is totally owned by the 324 owners of the townhouses, whose decisions are restricted only by the original Articles of Incorporation, Declaration of Covenants and By-Laws. Both the Declaration of Covenants and the By-Laws can be amended by the owners of the association.
Maintenance and administration are handled by a 9-member board of directors, with three members elected for three-year terms at each annual meeting, which is usually held in June. The board each year elects a president, vice-president, secretary, and treasurer from within the board to handle day-to-day decisions, while major decisions and expenditures are handled by the whole board at its monthly meetings. The board members and officers are all unpaid volunteers, as are members of various committees that advise the board, including the Maintenance Committee, the Architectural Control Committee, and the Welcome Committee. Any owners interested are encouraged to join one of the committees.
The board employs two full-time and several part-time employees to handle maintenance and administration, which includes collecting fees, maintaining grounds and pool and other duties necessary to keeping the grounds and equipment in good shape. The association also owns trucks, plows, and other equipment needed to do the maintenance work.
Some smaller townhouse associations employ a management company to handle their maintenance and administration. We have never done this. Every board since the founding of the association has felt we can do a better and less expensive job of management than an outside company. Not only do our employees know our grounds and its unique challenges better than an outside company, which often maintains many associations, ever could, but we don’t have to add on a profit margin to the work we do.
Resale/Closing Document Requests:
Turnaround timelines for Resale Disclosure packets, Dues Current Letters and Certificates of Insurance are up to two weeks - No exceptions - See below.
**The order of the release of documents is as follows: Resale Disclosure Packet is picked up, association receives the required signed receipts from the buyer (included in the Resale Disclosure Packet), upon receipt of the buyers signed receipts and email requests from title companies, our Dues Current Letter & Master Certificate of Insurance are released.
RESALE DISCLOSURE PACKETS:
Agents – You must contact the River Woods office by email river_woods@comcast.net to request a Resale Disclosure Packet for your seller. Resale packets are not available in PDF form. We will email you when the packet is available for pick up, by either the listing/selling agent, buyer, or buyers’ agent. Sellers can not take possession of the packet.
Turnaround timeline will be up to 2 weeks from date of request. Packets are not mailed, no exceptions. Also, buyers have a 10 day Right of Rescission once they receive the packet. Please factor this into your timeline.
DUES CURRENT LETTER/ MASTER INSURANCE CERTIFICATE:
For the release of our Dues Current Letter & Master Certificate of Insurance - the two week turnaround timeline for the Dues Current Letter and Master Insurance Certificate begins when the signed buyer receipts have been returned to the association, not from the date of any email which requests the dues letter or master certificate.
** No exceptions**
The cost for the resale documents is $400.00 (per packet) paid by the seller - collected at closing. If a sale falls through and the packet needs to be returned for review and prepared for a new buyer, the fee will be $50.00 for each review, paid by seller - collected at closing.
A RESALE DISCLOSURE PACKET & CLOSING DOCUMENTS ARE REQUIRED FOR EACH AND EVERY SALE TRANSACTION.
There may be additional charges for PUD/Project Questionnaires for unit sales or refinancing.
© 2022 Townhouse Villages at River Woods HOA