Complaint Review: Steve Rugan

 I lived in Cardinal Forest , which is managed by Cardinal Management Group, for almost 10 years, so they had plenty of opportunity to demonstrate responsive, capable service to me as a homeowner.  On the periodic occasion I needed assistance, 9 times out of 10, it was like pulling teeth to get help or the staff was completely incompetent or unresponsive.  Since these people are not Cardinal Forest residents, there is little to no incentive to keep the outrageous monthly HOA fees within reason.  Within the 10 years I lived there, my monthly HOA fee grew to $465/month.  One month, something got screwed up in billing and they withdrew the monthly HOA fee two days early, which caused my account to overdraft and they tried to blame me.  Another example: in closing, THEY made a mistake in the paperwork... and then proceeded to charge me a fee to correct it in the settlement documents!  Thankfully, there are a few people who live in the community who VOLUNTEER their time (unfortunately time that I never had to donate) in order to help keep the HOA management in check.  One of these people also volunteered their time to renegotiate the gas contract which is a sizable portion of the monthly HOA fee.  God only knows what the monthly HOA fee would be if this person hadn't gotten involved -- their efforts significantly reduced the amount homeowners had to pay for gas.  Bottom line: think twice before moving to Cardinal Forest (and based on other reviews, moving to any community managed by these people)-- they are rude, entitled and completely out of control.