January 2026 President's Newsletter

Happy New Year to Venetian Isles:
The VIHA Board hopes that everyone enjoyed the holidays. While many of our holiday routines may have been altered again this year, for example luminaries only on Grand Canal and Overlook Blvd., Venetian Isles continues to recover after the hurricanes of 2024.

While VI continues to recover, there are plenty of changes that are underway. Repairs, renovation and new construction continue throughout our community. Our streets continue to see commercial vehicles of nearly every type as the post-hurricane construction boom has reshaped the quality and type of housing stock in VI. Not only has the type of new home being constructed in VI but the type of ownership has changed as well. The table below provides an estimate of the types of purchasers for VI properties for the 5 years ended December 31, 2025.
While the number of sales has remained relatively constant, in 2025 Corporation and LLC purchase of existing homes and lots in VI certainly has increased. This is a trend that we will continue to monitor and, if it continues, we will have to determine whether it has a positive impact on life in VI. As a reminder, Deed Restrictions 1 and 6, states properties within VI “are restricted to the use of a single family…. exclusively for residential purposes.” Short-term rentals are regulated by City Code.

The VIHA Annual Meeting is scheduled for January 22 at Lutheran Church of the Cross. Since members of the VIHA, defined as those property owners who have paid their annual membership dues (the “Members”), the portion of the annual meeting where (i) the VIHA Board members are elected for 2026 and (ii) the review of the 2026 VIHA Budget will be open only to Members. All property owners are welcome to attend the annual meeting at approximately 7:30pm.

At the Annual Meeting, Haider Saba will be making an introductory presentation on HOA Life, a web-based application which should simplify interactions between the VIHA and individual property owners. It will allow for more effective sharing of information online, better document management and, hopefully, foster greater community involvement. This is also how we would utilize electronic balloting for future Deed Restriction Revisions, as was approved in the fall of 2025. Visit “hoalife.com” if you’d like to learn more prior to the Annual Meeting. ​To log into your own portal go to: https://portal.hoalife.com/auth/new

The VIHA Board voted to “temporarily suspend” certain DRs for a period of one year after the hurricanes. Subsequent to that one-year suspension, the DR Committee sent nearly 300 DR violation letters in October 2025. VI is blessed to have a number of volunteers who “walk” the community for exercise and to take note of property conditions. One of these volunteers reported that after a couple days of walking the streets of VI, it was noted that:

• there were no boats, trailers or campers parked in driveways or streets;
• there was only 1 golf cart parked in a driveway; and,
• there were only 5 storage containers, PODS, etc… parked within VI.

While this volunteer did not know all the DR violations that were cited in October, it is clear that property owners are working to do their part in returning VI to the high-quality neighborhood that it was prior to the hurricanes and will become in the very near future. Thank you to all for your efforts.

One final item to provide property owners with notice. Prior to the closing of a sale of a home in a community that has a homeowners association, that homeowners association is required to provide an Estoppel Letter, which, in this case, would require the VIHA to attest to certain items. Likely the two most significant of which are (i) whether membership in the association is mandatory or voluntary, and (ii) whether there are any outstanding DR violations. VIHA had previously been providing these Estoppel Letters at no cost; however, VIHA will now be charging a fee of $299.00 for each Estoppel Letter, consistent with the fee that other homeowners’ associations are charging. This fee would be paid by the seller of the property and including on the closing statement prepared by the title company.

Let’s all look forward to a great 2026 and I hope to see you at the annual meeting on January 22. A copy of the proposed agenda is attached to this letter.

Sincerely,
Rich Scanlon
VIHA President
[email protected]

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