Real estate
BY EMILY LINCKE
BY DIEGO COLLAZO
Spring region seeing higher-than-average electricity bills
What is a homeowners association?
Zooming out
Crihfield said the duties of HOAs can include: • Enforcing community rules
Electricity prices have risen sharply across Texas, and local residents are feeling the effects. The details While statewide issues are the biggest contrib- utor to rising electricity prices, Spring-area homes could see higher electric prices due to home size and usage rates, according to northwest Hous- ton-based Electricity Plans, a digital resource that helps homeowners and business owners find the best electricity plans for them. Spring homes are larger than the average home in the Houston area, and homeowners typically have a higher-than-average monthly electricity bill compared to the rest of the state, according to Electricity Plans. Why it matters Nearly 60% of Texans said cost was the primary reason for choosing their electricity provider, according to a survey conducted by Electricity
Plans. Officials provided the following tips to help homeowners lower their electricity bills: • Set your thermostat conservatively • Maintain your HVAC system with regular tune- ups and air filter changes • Close blinds in rooms with southern sun exposure Zooming in Average electricity prices in Texas have increased by over 60% since 2021, according to Electricity Plans. “Electricity prices used to be very closely tied to the price of natural gas, and we no longer see that,” said Rebecca Bridges, chief marketing officer for Electricity Plans. Bridges said the 2021 winter freeze was a major turning point, triggering widespread power out- ages and shaking public trust in the state’s power grid. The resulting infrastructure and regulation
Homeowners associations, which collect resident fees to manage communities, are especially common in the Houston region, 2023 data shows. About 51% of occupied homes in the Houston region, compared to 30% statewide, were part of a property owners association, according to 2023 U.S. Census Bureau American Housing Survey data. Texas HOAs are usually operated as nonprofit corporations and are governed by a volunteer board of directors, according to the Texas State Law Library’s website. HOAs are sometimes assisted by an HOA management company, and an HOA’s primary job is to preserve property values, said Savannah Crihfield, the owner of Houston HOA management firm CH&P Management, via a June 19 email. “If you receive a violation notice from your
Spring, Klein HOAs by ZIP code
Average home size (in square footage)
• Managing shared amenities such as pools • Maintaining infrastructure such as lights A common myth about HOAs is that they have unlimited power, but the organizations have governing documents and are tasked with enforcing the rules in property deeds, Crihfield said. While they are not governed by a state agency, HOAs must operate within laws guiding other nonprofits, according to the Texas State Law Library. Under the Texas Residential Property Owners Protection Act, HOA boards: • Must keep meetings open to members, except for certain topics such as personnel discussions • Give notice before enforcing rules
77389: 31
2,300
Spring
1,952
Houston
99 TOLL
77388: 38
2,031
Texas
77379: 83
249
Average monthly electricity usage (in kilowatt-hour)
1960
77068: 11
77070: 37
1,531
Spring
77069: 26
45
1,300
Houston
N
1,176
Texas
SOURCE: WWW.HOA.TEXAS.GOV/COMMUNITY IMPACT
HOA, please don’t be offended. It is actually the duty of the board of directors to enforce restrictions to prevent property values from deteriorating over time,” she said.
SOURCE: ELECTRICITYPLANS.COM/COMMUNITY IMPACT
changes have contributed to price hikes, she said. Those outages have led to 54% of Texans saying they don’t trust the Texas power grid to handle extreme weather, according to the survey.
SPRING STUEBNER 6603 Spring Stuebner Rd (281) 288-0239
NORTH LOUETTA 1614 Louetta (281) 350-1198 KUYKENDAHL 13313 Kuykendahl (281) 873-5220
LOUETTA 7314 Louetta (281) 370-1986
WILLOWBROOK 6927 FM 1960 W (281) 580-1734
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