The HOA Letter Came. Here's the Calm Version of What Happens Next.

Why Summerville HOAs write so many of these

The newer communities around here — Nexton, Cane Bay, Carnes Crossroads, White Gables and their neighbors — were built with covenants that treat exterior upkeep as a property-value contract, and management companies do drive-by inspections on a schedule. In this climate that's a collision course: Lowcountry humidity regrows the algae on every roof, siding run, and driveway whether you've done anything wrong or not. Roof streaking and "mildew on dwelling exterior" are perennially the most-cited items. Getting the letter doesn't mean you're the neighborhood problem; it means you own a north-facing surface in South Carolina.

Read the letter for these three things

1. What specifically got cited — roof, siding, driveway, fence, or the vague-but-common "clean exterior surfaces." Letters often bundle several. It matters because each surface gets a different method (and it's cheaper to fix them all in one visit than one letter at a time).
2. The cure window — the "please remedy within X days" line, commonly 10 to 30 days around here. That's the deadline we schedule against; mention it when you call and we'll work inside it. Most jobs fit within a week of the call anyway.
3. How to close it out — some associations re-inspect automatically; others want you to reply with proof. Either way, you'll have it (next section).

How we handle a violation job

Send the letter itself with your estimate request — a photo of it is fine, along with shots of the cited surfaces. You'll get a same-day quote covering exactly what was flagged (and only what was flagged, unless you ask). On the day: roofs and siding get soft washed — the method that kills the growth instead of blasting shingles and vinyl, which matters because a panicked rental-machine weekend is how a $150 violation becomes a siding repair. Concrete gets surface-cleaned back to something close to its pour color. Before-and-after photos of every cited surface come with the job — attach them to your reply to the management company and the file closes.

What violation cleanings cost

Same transparent rates as everything else — a violation doesn't add a markup: single-story house washes typically $200–$350 (two-story $275–$450), roofs $350–$700, driveways $100–$250. Letters citing multiple surfaces are where the house + driveway and house + roof bundles earn their keep; cleaning everything cited in one visit is reliably cheaper than answering letters one at a time. Full ranges live on each service page.

The repeat-letter prevention plan

Algae comes back — houses here typically re-green in 1–2 years, roofs hold 2–4 after a proper soft wash, driveways 1–2. If your community inspects annually, the boring-but-effective move is cleaning on your schedule instead of theirs: a house wash every other spring keeps you permanently ahead of the drive-by, at planned prices rather than deadline prices. Ask when we're there and we'll tell you honestly which surfaces at your place will need attention when — no contract, just a heads-up of what to expect.