Category: Business

In September, I was invited to attend a meeting at the home of one of the residents of Anand Vihar, the age 55-plus townhome community (we told you more about it in our last issue) that caters to retired people of Indian descent at the southern tip of Meadow Pointe (just north of the gate dividing Mansfield Blvd. in Meadow Pointe from Kinnan St. in New Tampa). The resident, who asked not to be identified in this story, told me that he and some of his neighbors weren’t happy with Anand Vihar developer Santosh Govindaraju of Convergent Capital Partners and that he hoped I would be willing to help them try to resolve their differences with Govindaraju. 

I was expecting a few of the resident’s fellow homeowners to attend this meeting, but instead, there were at least 30-40 people packed into the home’s living room. I was permitted to record the attendees, most of whom said that although they loved living in the community Govindaraju had developed, they weren’t happy with the way the developer was running the community’s clubhouse, which Govindaraju privately owns, and the rules regarding the clubhouse’s unique Indian cuisine meal plan, which was designed to meet the dietary needs of the residents of Anand Vihar’s 167 attached townhome units. 

I told the residents that unless and until I was able to speak with Govindaraju to get his side of the story, I wasn’t going to be able to write anything about their situation. 

It wasn’t until a few weeks later that I was invited to attend a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Anand Vihar Homeowners Association on Oct 11, where a large number of the community’s residents were in attendance, including Govindaraju (who owns a unit in the community himself) and several other residents who also attended the meeting via Zoom. 

After that meeting, I was able to speak with both Govindaraju and Board member Kusum Patel (one of four members of the homeowners association Board’s legal committee looking into the issue), both of whom responded to a series of questions that I believe will do a better job of outlining the homeowners’ concerns and Govindaraju’s position on those concerns. 

The “Special Invoice” 

The residents at the initial meeting I attended told me that they came together because they had each received a “Special Invoice” from Govindaraju’s Anand Vihar, LLC, for more than $3,600 each to pay for the Community Club’s 2022 Operating Costs. Although the homeowners were not required to participate in the clubhouse’s meal plan, according to Govindaraju, they were required to share in any operating losses the club may suffer on a year-to-year basis. Govindaraju said that the club suffered a loss of more than $500,000 in 2022, in part because of the ongoing effects of the Covid pandemic and because of a lack of participation in the meal plan by some of the residents, despite the fact that he says the residents helped design the club’s menu. 

“The homeowners provide us details on what they want in services, and it is our job to staff it accordingly,” Govindaraju said. “For example, a super majority of the residents are from a particular state in India known as Gujarat. They wanted a specific chef who knows how to cook in the particular style of that state. We had initially hired a chef who knows general Indian cooking. We added additional staff of specialized first-class Gujarati chefs to complement the general chef.” 

The residents I met with countered that if the community’s club had indeed lost money, it was because Govindaraju was paying too many chefs and too many employees and that the clubhouse and meal plans were not up to the standards they were promised when they bought their units in Anand Vihar. 

The residents also said that they have no way of knowing if Govindaraju’s claims of the club having lost that amount of money are even true because they never get to see the club’s books and records, and they believe that isn’t fair. 

But, Govindaraju sent me what he believes is the proof that the residents knew, or at least should have known, exactly what they were buying into — the Declarations pages from the deeds to each owner’s homes, which read: 

“Section 5: Club Charges — In consideration of the construction and providing the use of the Anand Vihar Club to each Owner, each Owner by its acceptance of its deed to its Unit shall be deemed to have specifically covenanted and agreed to pay all Club Charges which are set forth herein. The Anand Vihar Club Owner presently intends to collect the Club Charges on a monthly basis but reserves the right to change the payment period from time to time (e.g., to require payment on a quarterly basis). 

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Anand Vihar Club Owner may require an Owner or all Owners to pay Club Charges on an annual or other basis, in advance, based on prior payment history or other financial concerns, in the Anand Vihar Club Owner’s sole discretion. 

(a) Club Operating Costs. Each Owner agrees to pay and discharge, in a timely fashion when due, its pro rata portion (as hereinafter set forth) of the Club Operating Costs. The Owners shall collectively bear all expenses associated with the Anand Vihar Club.” 

“The members of a club are not involved in the financial decisions,” Govindaraju said. “When you join a private club, do you tell them how to run their business? Here, by virtue of buying a home in this community, the residents purchased knowing full well that (a) membership was mandatory, and (b) they would be responsible for all (of the club’s) costs. No business person would operate a business whereby every member can tell them how to run their business.” 

He added that, “There are conflicting interests amongst the members. For example, some members say they never use the pool, others say they never use the gym. If it were up to each one of them, we would reduce the costs of such amenities. When we published all the marketing materials to the community (see graphic on page 10), we made it abundantly clear what amenities would be included, including the food operations and, as mentioned earlier, that they would be responsible for the costs. When you make a decision to join a club, you look at the offering and decide if it fits the lifestyle you want regardless of whether you actually use all of the offerings or not, you look at the value in the totality.” 

Retaliation Concerns 

Many of the homeowners I met with mentioned that they felt that the reason Govindaraju came up with the “Special Invoice” for his 2022 losses was because he has been retaliating against them since they voted in September — by an 80%-20% margin — to not allow the developer to annex the nearly 62-acre property he owns just south of the Pasco-Hillsborough county line (which we reported about last issue) into Anand Vihar. 

The developer said his idea was that if the original Anand Vihar residents would allow him to annex that Hillsborough-based property into his Pasco community, he would be able to build an internal road (as opposed to using the closed Mansfield Blvd.-Kinnan St. connection, which may never open to vehicular traffic) to connect the two communities. 

In addition, he said the proposed annexation would have allowed him to reduce each Anand Vihar homeowner’s annual club membership dues by roughly $600 per unit. 

Govindaraju added, “We never retaliate. If you research me, you will find that ethics and spirituality are paramount in my decisions. Practicing kindness and operating at the highest level of ethics are the essential fabric of all of my activities…We have to deal with the facts that we have. The vote led to the conclusion that the amenities and clubhouse must be operated (and paid for by) the homes within the (Anand Vihar) community. The supermajority of the residents never asked clarifying questions prior to voting and did not understand the consequences.” 

He also said that he held several educational town hall meetings to educate the community about the costs to operate the clubhouse as they wanted it and shared that the costs per home would be substantially reduced by the annexation. However, (the homeowners) “seemed to be led by disinformation by certain individuals with an uninformed agenda.” 

As for the Special Invoice charge to each homeowner, “This is a very simple mathematical formula,” Govindaraju said. “The Clubhouse provides first-class services as marketed, at a cost, and that number is divided by the number of homes. They may errantly characterize that as retaliation, but the typical common person sees it as basic common sense. Oftentimes, we speak to the children of the residents, and many of whom who purchased the homes for their parents. The children have more modern sophistication and have, for the majority of these instances, supported us wholeheartedly. They take the time to understand this basic common sense and are not blinded by the disinformation the residents share amongst themselves on their internal social media.” 

The $10,000 Question 

Although Govindaraju claims that the Declarations have not changed since 2016, the residents in attendance at that first meeting said that they believed Govindaraju had, in fact, changed the Declarations since the time some of them bought their homes (as some had bought in Anand Vihar as early as 2017), when Govindaraju began selling homes in Anand Vihar. They said that when they bought their units, there was no requirement that if they sold, the new buyer would have to pay the developer an additional $10,000 “Initiation Fee” to join the club. But, they claimed they didn’t receive notice of this Initiation Fee until after the vote to not allow the proposed annexation of the Hillsborough-based property. 

However, Govindaraju countered that, “The Declarations (have) not changed. The rights and duties of the Club Owner are black and white there. This is a private club in a luxury resort-style community. This (type of requirement) is customary in such lifestyle communities and not out of the ordinary. I can’t say much more on this topic due to the threatened litigation.” 

Meanwhile, Patel, on behalf of the legal committee for the homeowners association’s Board of Directors, replied, “The matter is under litigation for a reason. The club owner’s attempts to change (the) Declarations, as part of annexing his Hillsborough property, was overwhelmingly rejected. The change would have inserted a new clause — Article IX.5(i) — requiring new owners to pay an initiation fee. At present, there is no language in the Master Declaration that supports the club owner’s ability to collect an initiation fee. Collection now is merely a bullying tactic.” 

To that end, I asked Govindaraju if the homeowners had voted to allow him to annex that other property, how that would work, both tax-wise and with regards to the club and meal plan. 

He responded, “There are no tax issues. If you live in Anand Vihar, you would pay Pasco taxes. If you live in the new community, you would pay Hillsborough taxes.” 

He added, however, “This is a simple mathematical formula. The total costs would then be divided by a larger denominator, reducing the per-household cost, which we had estimated at $600 per year in savings per home. 

But, Patel again countered, “Sharing our club house would increase the load on our facilities when they are (already) inadequate for our size. Sharing the clubhouse (with the Hillsborough community) would have allowed Mr. Govindaraju to build a much smaller facility in his new community, saving him millions in both land and building cost.” 

Powerful Marketing 

Many of the people I spoke with said that the reason they bought into Anand Vihar was because they went around to homes in the community beforehand and spoke with the homeowners, all of whom were people of Indian descent who said they loved living there. 

I asked Govindaraju whether or not that was the huge help I assumed it must have been to be able to market the community to Indian people. I also asked him if he was concerned about his ability to sell homes in the new community, now that it seems so many people in the original community are less happy than they were before? 

“I have never been afraid of any threats of any kind based on the spiritual principles that (a) fear is death, and (b) no decisions in life should ever be based on any sort of fear whatsoever,” he replied. “All people should be mindful when spreading information that they are not spreading disinformation and be subject to personal liability. I simply work with the highest ethics, honor the truth, and always have absolute faith in the universe.” 

He added, however, that it was important that both I and the Anand Vihar residents understand that, “We already have 20 of the homes in the next phase pre-sold and all but two of the homes are sold to either existing residents of Anand Vihar or their immediate family members. We expect a significant amount of sales to existing residents of Anand Vihar who want to get away from the ignorant mentality currently prevailing at Anand Vihar. If I already have about 20% of the homes sold to existing residents, what does that tell you? I expect another 20% of the homes (will be) sold to existing residents, and we have designed the next community to cater to the more sophisticated buyers who appreciate and understand the nature of a private club and want it.” 

Patel replied that, “Many of those people bought those homes before the current issues emerged The final chapter is yet to be written.” 

Possible Litigation? 

I heard at least one homeowner at the Oct. 11 Board meeting say that he was hiring a lawyer and was hoping others in attendance would join him in a planned lawsuit against the developer. Patel also said after that meeting that the Board’s legal committee was at least in discussions with an attorney. 

Govindaraju said that he “welcomes legal counsel that represents the residents, because informed individuals with the ability to read legal documents are much easier to deal with than persons who do not have that sophistication. As one of the vocal Board members mentioned at the meeting, he is a doctor and does not understand the documents. Would you rather negotiate with a party who has the requisite ability to understand what you are negotiating or with someone with a perverted understanding of the subject matter? Everything I do is with lawyers. You do not invest $60 million in development without legal counsel.” 

How Can It Be Resolved? 

As someone who has no dog in this fight, I have promised both Govindaraju and the residents that my sole reason for writing this story is to help the two sides find a way to resolve their differences and to be fair to both sides. 

Govindaraju said, “We have tried to educate the residents and shared options and solutions but, unfortunately, they have not yet formalized any counterproposals or new proposals of their own. I have asked them to present plans, proposals, counteroffers, etc., but they have not provided any. It will get resolved however the universe intends for it to be resolved, and in that I have resolute faith. 

Patel replied, “We will take the “however the universe intends for it to be resolved (and see what happens). 

Govindaraju said, “Anand Vihar is one of the most upscale retirement communities measured by any standard. The residents are happy with the community so that should say volumes about what we have created. They fail to recognize that it is that way because of the meticulous attention to detail we put into every aspect of the community.” 

Patel again disagreed. “Anand Vihar is an excellent community for its social and cultural richness, not because it was built as an upscale community. We paid above-market prices, at the time, for our properties because we were supposedly getting upscale homes, upscale clubhouse, upscale amenities, beautiful landscape — not an always-failing call box at the gate, developer-owned clubhouse, filthy and smelly pond, second-or worse-rate irrigation system, substandard drainage, poor grading, inadequate gutters and a host of other issues.” 

I agree that Anand Vihar is a pretty community with very concerned residents. How this situation gets resolved remains to be seen, but I will keep you posted.