Contrary to what you may feel, living in a Homeowner Association that is governed by Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (usually known as CC&R's) is a great advantage which ensures the quality of life of the entire association by encouraging compliance to these rules.
In a Homeowners Association (HOA), board members are elected residents who govern the community and make decisions on behalf of the homeowners. They function like a small local government for the neighborhood or development.
PATROL MASTERS enforces the rules and regulations of your homeowners association, building management or property administration on their behalf. We do not replace or take jurisdiction away from the local police department. We never claim to do so. We rather enforce the rules and regulations that the homeowners association, building management or property owners and administrators ask us to enforce; rules and regulations over which the police department or city governments have no jurisdiction.
Yes, in most cases, an HOA board does have the legal authority to:
1. Hire private companies (e.g., landscaping, security, property management)
2. Impose rules on homeowners within the community
This authority must be based on the HOA's governing documents and state laws.
When living within an HOA, it is important to know and understand the CC&R's and Rules and Regulations. Failure to follow these rules can result in citation and towing. If you have any questions regarding the rules, please contact your property management company, or request a copy from your landlord.
It is your responsibility as a homeowner to inform your guests of the parking rules and regulations. You must make sure they know when, where and how to park when they visit. For this reason, they cannot get a refund.
Though parking in front of your home may not be marked with red curbs or signage, the HOA may likely have a violation stating that this type of parking is not allowed, and that a violator may be towed immediately without warning. It is a good practice to check your CC&R's or Rules & Regs whenever you receive a citation or are towed.
Please contact your Homeowners Association management company, and they will provide one for you.
We take pictures of the vehicles we tow to avoid this issue. You can expect us to submit the report, the history of the infraction and all pertinent evidence of the tow to the authority that manages your property the same day it occurs. This report includes a picture of the car that was towed and documents the infraction. To obtain a copy, please contact your property management company.
The ticket or inventory window is the look-back period of time for determining repeat citation or towing status and is based on previous citations. Most ticket windows are on a "continuing" mode, not calendar windows. Let's say your vehicle was first cited in March and your CC&R specifies a ticket window of 180 days, In this case, the citation is valid and will count toward future actions against this vehicle until September.
We do not discriminate against anyone or play favorites. Our patrol officers do not know who is who or which car belongs to which person and strive to enforce all rules evenly, across the board, as specified by your ruling CC&R. If your vehicle was towed and your neighbor's vehicle was not, it is probable that there are other circumstances to which you are not privy to.
All checks should be made payable to the HOA, not PatrolMasters.
Yes, you can email your application to us and mail your check separately. Please send the check to 2421 N. Grand Ave, Santa Ana, CA 92705. Remember to make the check payable to your HOA.
Please email Guardadmin@patrolmasters.com.
There is always a team member available to assist you during business hours.
Our office is located at 2421 N Grand Ave, Santa Ana, CA 92705.
If you are going on vacation, we suggest that you contact the management company to gain options as we cannot make exceptions to any rules that we are hired to enforce.
Refer to your CC&R's and HOA Rules and Regs. If you do not have a copy, you can contact your Homeowner Association management company to get one.
Yes, please call 877-648-0602 anytime to report any issues.
You can visit the office at 2421 N. Grand Ave. Ste. 102 Santa Ana, Ca, 92705 Monday through Friday, 11 AM to 3 PM to fill out an application and speak to a hiring manager. We are also hiring and accept walk-ins Monday-Thursday from 11:30 am to 3:00 pm.
Patrol Masters is staffed 24/7, including holidays. However, the doors are open to the public Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM.
A Safe List is a temporary parking pass for guests.
Call 877-648-0602 or visit www.patrolmasters.com. You will need the license plate, make, model, and color of the vehicle, as well as your caller information and address. If your HOA requires a safe list code, you will need that as well.
You can call 877-648-0602 anytime. You can also email proof of residency to watchcommanger@patrolmasters.com.
No, your safe list code will only change at the request of the HOA.
Patrol Masters cannot extend safe lists past the days allotted by your HOA. For extensions, you must submit a written request at least one week in advance to watchcommander@patrolmasters.com.
You must create an account online at www.patrolmasters.com to safe list their vehicle. As a homeowner, it is your responsibility to inform your guests of the parking rules and regulations.
A safe list pass code is a unique password assigned to each address and is required to approve or "safelist" a vehicle for that address.
Safe lists are valid for 24 hours from the time you safe list. For example, if you safe list on 1/1/25 at 10 PM, it will expire on 1/2/25 at 10 PM.
No, we are unable to safelist your vehicle without the correct code. Please have the property manager (PM) or HOA send a "Permission to Park" to our watch commander.
Please ask the property manager to contact us directly to approve and extend your safelist request.
This may have been a mistake. Please contact us so we can correct it for you.
Please call our office and someone will assist you .
The statute of what constitutes parking and what constitutes storage depends on the Homeowners Association's CC&R and may vary from case to case but having a vehicle parked in a common area for extended periods of time is not desired by any Homeowners Association. It is for this reason that most associations require that we monitor and track common parking areas for vehicles that appear to be immobile for a period of time. The citation you received is nothing but a courtesy notice alerting you to the fact that your vehicle is now being monitored. After a specified amount of time (which may be anything between 24 to 96 hours, according to your neighborhood's CC&Rs) the patrol officer will check back on the vehicle. If still unmoved, the vehicle will be considered to be in storage and subject to be towed at the owner's expense. If according to our monitoring system the vehicle has been moved during the monitoring period, the citation is no longer valid and by your ruling CC&Rs, your vehicle will not be towed.
The address on the citation is generated by the phone's GPS, which pins the nearest location to where the vehicle was parked at the time of the violation.
Per your HOA, all vehicles in the community must follow all parking policies, regardless of whether you are a guest or a resident.
This may have been a mistake. Please call 877-648-0602 and speak with a live operator as soon as possible.
The private property owner is required to notify the local law enforcement agency within 1 hour of authorizing a tow. Also, the towing company must notify the local law enforcement agency of the tow no later than 30 minutes after removing the vehicle, or 15 minutes after arriving at the storage facility, whichever is earlier.
Before a car can be towed from a private property, the property owner must post a visible sign (at least 17"x22" with 1" letters) saying that parking is prohibited and that vehicles will be towed at the owner's expense. No sign is required to tow from private property in these situations:
You may be towed from private property if you're parked in a private parking lot that is open to the public without a fee (like a supermarket or mall) if you're parked in violation of parking restrictions that are posted on the property. However, you can't be towed from a private lot that is free to the public until you've been illegally parked for at least one hour unless you are parked in a disabled space, within 15 feet of a fire hydrant, or in a fire lane or blocking the entrance to or exit from the property. You can be towed immediately if you're parked in the parking lot of a residential apartment complex or in a hotel parking lot if the space you are parked in is marked for a specific hotel room.
If you return to your car after it's hooked up to a tow truck and before it leaves the property, you do have the right to have the vehicle released from the tow truck. The only caveat is that you must pay half the normal towing fee.
You may only be towed from private property If:
In order for your car to be towed, there must be a written authorization for your vehicle that includes:
A vehicle may be towed from private property even if no person is present to authorize the tow if the property owner has signed a general authorization with the towing company. However, even with a general authorization, a vehicle may only be removed if it is:
The vehicle must be stored within a 10 mile radius of the property from which it was removed. A towing company can only take a car farther than 10 miles if they have written permission from a local law enforcement agency.
You have the right to be able to contact the towing company and arrange for release of your vehicle 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. In addition, you have to receive a copy of the written authorization for the tow signed by a representative of the property owner (with personal information blocked out), or the General Authorization if no person was present to sign when the car was towed and a copy of a photo clearly showing the violation at the time the vehicle is released.
Lastly, you have the right to receive a separate notice from the towing company with the telephone number of the local law enforcement that you can call if you believe that you have been wrongfully towed.
The maximum legal rates are $250 for the tow and $80 for each day of storage. A "gate fee" of no more than half the initial tow charge may be applied if you reclaim your car between 5 PM and 8 AM.
Yes, Patrol Masters records and takes pictures of all reported violations. Additionally, vehicles that appear immobile are subject to a courtesy notice. After a specified period (24-96 hours), if the vehicle is unmoved, it may be considered in storage and subject to towing.
Patrol Masters will not knock on your door for safety reasons. Issuing notices and tickets and towing is the standard procedure to avoid confrontations and enforce established parking rules.
A fire lane violation is not based on the amount of time you are parked there. At any time, a vehicle found in a fire lane is subject to tow without warning.
There are signs at the front entrance of the community that indicate where to find towed vehicles. The property owner or towing company must notify local law enforcement within a specified time frame after the tow.
Email watachcommander@patrolmasters.com with all the evidence you have, and they will review it.
You have the right to contact the towing company 24/7 to arrange for your vehicle's release. The company must provide you with a copy of the written authorization for the tow and a photo showing the violation at the time of release.
The towing company is required to deliver a written notice of the tow to the registered owner, including grounds for removal, the mileage before the vehicle was towed, the time it was towed and the location of the vehicle. However, if they cannot find the name and address of the registered owner in Department of Motor Vehicle records, the towing company must report the vehicle to the Department of Justice as a potentially stolen vehicle.
A towing company who fails to notify local law enforcement within 30 minutes of removing the vehicle may be liable for three times the towing and storage charges. Also, a property owner who fails to notify the local law enforcement within one hour of the tow is guilty of an infraction.
You need to call PMSS or PM to confirm if they issue permits.
Contact the permit department at 877-648-0602 Monday through Friday from 10 AM to 4 PM to get an update and extend your safe list if needed.
A parking permit is a tool to enforce parking discipline, often issued in places where spaces are at a premium. They can be hang tags or stickers for your windshield.
You can email your completed application to permits@patrolmasters.com. You can also mail a check for the permit fee separately to 2421 N. Grand Ave, Santa Ana, CA 92705, making it payable to your HOA.
Please allow up to 96 business hours for document review.
No, we do not accept cash. Payment can be made by check or money order.
The permit department is open Monday through Friday, from 10 AM to 4 PM.
All checks should be made payable to the HOA, not PatrolMasters.
Yes, you can email your application to us and mail your check separately. Please send the check to 2421 N. Grand Ave, Santa Ana, CA 92705. Remember to make the check payable to your HOA.
The permit should be placed on the lower left-hand corner of the driver's side windshield.
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