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Frequently Asked Questions
The management company can be contacted at info@alkmanagement.com or 586.850.4860. The board can be contacted at bod@cornerstonevillage.org. Emails sent to the board email address are received by all active directors on the board. The management company does not provide personal contact information for individual board members.
All modifications to the exterior of a home or to a lot (except for minor landscaping improvements/replacements) must be submitted to the management company for board review and approval before the project begins. Homeowners should submit the Modification Request Form and any sketches or specifications of the improvement to ALK via email for distribution to the board. Such improvements that require prior approval are exterior painting, roof or window replacements, major landscaping changes, concrete/paver replacements, addition of patios, decks, gazebos, sidewalks, inground pools, play structures, inground basketball poles, etc. Fences of 4' height, black painted aluminum or a common style require prior approval from the association and the township. NOTE: Fences are not permitted on lots that border common areas (i.e. walking paths or pool) UNLESS the homeowner has an inground pool. Temporary basketball poles are not permitted in the subdivision.
Regular mailbox maintenance is necessary to keep mailboxes looking good and to prevent wood rot. Homeowners are responsible for the routine and ongoing maintenance of their mailbox as an extension of their lot maintenance. The association does not coordinate such repairs. Please reference the mailbox specifications (undefined)and paint color (undefined)documents for additional information.
The association purchased and issued one new metal mailbox flag to each homeowner in 2020. Mailbox flags that are missing or broken should be replaced with the new metal flag. The cost of a replacement mailbox flag is $9 and can be paid in the same manner as the regular assessment payments. Homeowners should advise the management company if a new flag is needed. ALK will arrange for delivery of a new flag upon receipt of payment.
The management company occasionally sends out alerts via a third-party alert system for time sensitive information such as payment reminders, annual meeting reminders, community events, safety alerts, snow removal information, etc. Homeowner may receive alerts via email, text, or phone message. Email alerts are not character limited and provide the most comprehensive information. Homeowners who do not currently receive alerts, and who would like to be added to the system, may send the request to the management company at info@alkmanagement.com. Please include your name, address, and the preferred method of receiving the alert notification in your request. Only valid Cornerstone Village owners and residents may receive alerts. The alert company charges a different rate per type of alert each time an alert is sent, so it is requested that only one owner in each household is designated to receive the alerts (text or phone message). Two email alerts may be sent per household, however. ALK does not send alerts for homeowner personal requests such as a lost pet. Facebook or NextDoor.com should be used for these purposes.
Some owners confuse the association fiscal year with the calendar year. Cornerstone Village's fiscal year begins on September 1st each year and ends on August 31st the following year. September 1st marks the beginning of the new budget year and the start of the assessment payments for the new fiscal year.
September 1st marks the first quarterly payment due date for the new fiscal year. Owners wishing to pay their association assessments for the entire fiscal year may pay their assessments at the annual discounted rate IF PAYMENT IS RECEIVED BY SEPTEMBER 30th. The annual assessment discount is a savings of $100 over the quarterly assessment rate.
After September 30th, all homeowner accounts are set to invoice on the quarterly payment schedule and the quarterly rate. If the annual assessment payment is received late from homeowners (received after September 30), the payment will be applied to the homeowner account, but the homeowner will still be invoiced at the quarterly assessment rate. Annual payments received after September 30 will be credited to homeowner account and the quarterly assessments will be deducted from that credit balance each quarter until the credit balance is depleted (i.e. homeowner will still need to make a partial payment for the 4th quarter assessments in June).
The quarterly assessment due dates are the same each year: September 1, December 1, March 1, June 1. The due date is the 1st day of the month, NOT the last day of the month. The entire month is a "grace period" for payments to be received. Payments MUST BE RECIEVED by the last day of each quarterly assessment month to avoid assessment of late fees. The late fee is 15% of the assessment amount.
No, the association does not waive late fees. The management company invoices the association a fee for each late notice that is prepared and sent out (email or US mail). If the association waives the late fee, the management company still gets paid their fee for the service and the association absorbs the homeowner late fee on behalf of the association. The payment due dates have always been the same. The management company sends out payment coupons to all homeowners prior to the start of each fiscal year. Owners should use the payment coupons as reminders when to mail in their payments. Also, owners who are registered with the management company to receive alerts, receive a reminder that assessments are due each quarter.
Late notices are sent to homeowners if assessment payments are not received on time. DO NOT IGNORE THESE NOTICES. The late notice clearly states that if the balance owing on the account is not received by the due date noted on the late notice, a lien will be recorded against the property (if one does not already exist) OR if a lien has already been recorded due to non-payment of one quarterly assessment period, the account will be forwarded to the association attorney for further collection action without further notice. If a homeowner has a special circumstance where they are unable to pay the balance in full, the homeowner should contact the management company immediately to request special payment arrangements from the association. Once the lien has been prepared and/or recorded and/or the account has been forwarded to the attorney's office for further action, the association has incurred these fees on behalf of the homeowner. The homeowner is responsible for paying these fees to reimburse the association; the fees will not be waived (i.e. the association will not waive these fees for homeowners).
The management company does not accept assessment payments over the phone. The management company does not manage homeowner bank or credit card account information. All payments are made directly between the homeowner and the bank for security purposes. There are three payment options: Owners may: 1) mail their payment directly to the association bank with payment coupons provided in August prior to the start of each fiscal year, 2) pay their assessments online via the homeowner's own banking institution if the homeowner pays bills via online banking, or 3) process their assessment payment online through the association bank (CIT Bank - C-Property Pay) via the following secured bank link: www.propertypay.cit.com. You must have the management ID, Association ID, and your account number ("Lot" plus your lot number - no spaces) to process your payment online through CIT Bank. Payments made through CIT Bank are a "pull" (i.e. CIT Bank pulls the funds from the homeowner's bank account) whereas online bill pay processed through the homeowner's bank are a "push" (i.e. homeowner's bank cuts a check from the homeowner's account and mails it to the association) so there is a significant lag time between when owners schedule their payment through their bank and when the payment is actually received.
Please allow ample time to mail in or process your payment online so that payments are received by the due date to avoid assessment of late fees. Online payments made through CIT bank are not "instantaneous". That is, ALK cannot see the payment immediately when it is paid but receives daily bank reports of deposits made into the association account. The date on the bank report is the date that ALK uses to determine when payments were received.
The mailing address to send payments is as follows. PLEASE NOTE: All payments MUST be made payable to Cornerstone Village. If you do not have a payment coupon, please make sure that your Cornerstone Village address and also your lot number (if you know it) are on the face of your check to ensure that the payment is applied to the correct account.
Cornerstone Village Subdivision Association c/o ALK Association Management Services, Inc.
Box 52926
Phoenix, AZ 85072-2926
Typically, the title company contacts the association management company to request a property status letter in preparation of the closing paperwork for a closing. Status letter requests can be made by sending an email it ALK at info@alkmanagement.com. ALK requires the following information to prepare the request: buyer and seller name/names, closing date and occupancy terms (i.e. immediate occupancy, 30 days, 60 days, etc.). The occupancy terms are helpful so that ALK knows when to send the Welcome Package to the new homeowner at the Cornerstone Village address.
There is a $50.00 fee charged for the status letter. Payment for the status letter fee is issued to "Cornerstone Village Subdivision Association" at closing and mailed to the Cornerstone Village address:
CORNERSTONE VILLAGE SUBDIVISION ASSOCIATION P.O. Box 183723 Shelby Township, MI 48318-3723
If the current owner intends to pass on their pool card/FOB to the new owner at closing, ALK must be notified via email or phone BEFORE the closing occurs. If ALK is not notified in advance of the closing, a new pool FOB charge of $25.00 is included in the property status letter and the old card/FOB is revoked and a new pool FOB is assigned to the new owner upon closing and is included with the Welcome Package. NOTE: No refunds will be issued to the seller after the fact if ALK is not notified in advance and the $25.00 pool FOB is collected at closing and a new FOB is issued to the buyer.
If your pool card/FOB does not work, there is a good chance that you have a balance owing on your association account. Contact the management company, do not ask another homeowner to let you into the pool. The management company can suspend homeowner pool privileges if there is a balance owing the on the association account. There have been very few faulting card instances since the inception of the card reader system.
No. Homeowners have ample notice regarding payment due dates and outstanding balances owing prior to the pool opening each season. The management company does not accept payments at their office. All payments must be processed through the normal payment channels: mailed to the association bank or made online through the process stated above. ALK reactivates pool cards/FOBs ONCE WEEKLY during the pool season.
There is a $25 fee for replacement pool cards/FOBs. If a homeowner misplaced their pool card/FOB and needs a new one, he/she should notify ALK and pay the $25 fee through the standard payment procedures for paying regular assessments (mail payment or pay online). Once payment is received, ALK will revoke the old card/FOB number, assign a new FOB, and mail it to the homeowner. Homeowners can NOT drop off a payment for a new pool FOB and pick up a new card at the management company office.
No. The association does not have the means to coordinate rental agreements for residents to use the clubhouse for private functions. The clubhouse primarily houses the bathrooms for the pool and the "common area" of the clubhouse is only used for board meetings and occasionally for community social functions. Residents may not host a party at the pool. Guests are limited to (4) per household, assuming that the pool is not at capacity with resident use and no food is allowed on the pool deck. No alcoholic beverages, glass containers/bottles, or smoking/vaping are permitted at any time.
The streetlights are maintained by DTE. If a homeowner notices that a streetlight is out, they may report the outage directly to DTE Energy at 1-800-477-4747 or online at https://outage.dteenergy.com/. Homeowners may also report the outage to the management company, however, ALK will need the location of the light pole and serial number posted on the bottom of the light pole to report the outage to DTE, so please have this information when you report the outage.
Annual assessments are due for receipt by September 30th. Late fee is 15% of the assessment amount. Online payments can be made at C-Property Pay https://propertypay.cit.com/ or mailed at
Cornerstone Village Subdivision Association
c/o ALK Association Management Services, Inc.
P.O. Box 52926
Phoenix, AZ 85072-2926
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