Desert Falls

Quorum Article - February 2005

Desert Falls Country Club and its Master Association is located on approximately one square mile of fee land in Palm Desert on Cook Street between Frank Sinatra Drive and Country Club Drive. The location affords homeowners easy access to the freeway, and proximity to all types of shopping, theaters, public and private golf courses, and the new university campus.

Development first began at Desert Falls in the early 1980s but ran into financial difficulty.  The developer, Temple, purchased Desert Falls and resumed construction in the late 1980s.

There are approximately 1,100 residential units at Desert Falls. The majority of them are condominiums with some individual homes as well as estates. The condos range in size from approximately 1,400 sq. ft. – to 2,300 sq. ft. The market is currently hot and prices range from approximately  $250,000 – to $400,000.

The original marketing was aimed mainly at the middle-class population interested in condo living as a primary or secondary home. It is an interesting phenomenon at Desert Falls that full-time residency appears to be on the decrease as more people discover the desert is a wonderful place to vacation.

The layout of Desert Falls is one of its finest features. The effect of curved streets combined with the situation of the condos amidst open green areas and hills is to evoke a secluded, home-town atmosphere.

The Desert Falls Master Association owns and operates the Tennis and Fitness Club.  This is a private club for homeowners and their guests.  There are nine tennis courts, a weight room, a free-weights room, and a cardio-vascular area with treadmills, stair steppers, bicycles and elliptical machines.  The common areas boast twenty-six pools and spas for the enjoyment of homeowners.  The golf course and clubhouse are separately owned and operated by Club Corp of America and is considered one of the finest golf courses in the desert.

A special feature of the Master Association is that all services are in-house, including Property Management, Landscape, Maintenance, Pools Services, Tennis and Fitness, and Association Services (formerly known as Security). Says one Board member: “Thanks to our in-house services, we are able to offer better and quicker service while having more control over our budgets.”

The homeowners like it too. They find the in-house services provided to be friendly, efficient, and responsive to their needs and concerns. In fact the entire HOA operation has become known as “In-house Services.” This is a much more congenial appellation than “Management” and conveys the whole purpose of the organization.

Jean Dores has been the General Manager of the In-house Services since 1992, when the Board of Directors brought Property Management in-house. Jean is enthusiastic about the arrangement and firmly believes that an “in-house” organization is able to deliver exceptional service to the homeowners because there is no “middle-man” to deal with.

Says Jean: “Each day brings a new challenge, a new project, a new lesson.” As the community matures, the association is addressing such concerns as present water usage and how to obtain the same lush landscaping results with less water.

Jean’s organization rises to the challenge facing all community associations, which is informing new homeowners and reminding long-time residents that community associations are like mini cities, that they offer a wonderful life style and have rules in place to maintain that life style.

As utility costs continue to increase, the association becomes more creative by finding ways to be more energy efficient such as replacing old lights with the new fluorescent and halogen lights.

Several new projects are currently underway.  Transponders will soon replace the old-fashioned “clickers” to improve security at Desert Falls.  The Frank Sinatra entrance and the corner of Cook Street and Country Club are being remodeled. A networking system among all the in-house services will be implemented upon the completion of the On-site Property Management Office.

The In-house Property Management Office is presently off-site, but an on-site building is currently under construction and will be ready for occupancy in February 2005.  The building will also include a state-of-the-art meeting room for monthly board meetings, study sessions, employee interviews and orientations, new homeowner orientations, vendor and staff meetings, managers meetings, safety meetings, committee meetings and a work center for special projects and mailings.

The Management Office implements policy and supports the efforts of the Board of Directors and Committees. The Architectural Committee is the most active committee, because it strives to research and be flexible with the ever-increasing number of products that are available on the market today.

There are five board members on the Board of Directors of the Desert Falls Master Association.  They are all actively involved with the common goal of preserving and enhancing property values at Desert Falls.