We have just moved into our condo and bought from an owner who flipped it after the original owner passed away. It has a hookup for a washer and dryer but no machine when we bought, although the original owner had one and it is stated in the real estate listing as 'washer/dryer capabilities'.

We were just thinking he did not want to spend the extra money on it - fine we would get it on our own. Well come to know that when I call the property management company they say you cannot get one since you are on the 2nd floor. I said no where does it say that in our bylaws and she said well its a new rule. In the bylaws it says 'subject to board approval' but doesn't this mean we can submit it for review through the board? I want an explanation because it seems to me that it is completely misleading. We would not have bought here if this were the case but instead we are now 'stuck'. Any advice? Thanks!

My HOA is from the 70's and our bylaws are 18 pages long and not that hard to understand.  In 1996 these documents were interpreted by the same attorney we have today. The documents and the interpretation both say that the association is responsible for painting our units.

Because we have not painted in 13 years, some damage has occurred. Some owners do not want to pay for repairing their property and the board tried to pass new bylaws which would make the association responsible. I stopped them with a legal required vote and the board passed the proposal anyway. I forced them to restore the old bylaws out of court. They state that they had the required votes to this day, but I have copies that prove otherwise. I have obtained and read many records and board minutes and have been able to figure out what is going on.

There is a contractor/owner and his wife who is a board member who want new siding and likely the project manager fees. They obtained a contract for a clubhouse renovation project without a valid quorum or majority vote. The president will not let me make a motion even in an annual meeting. They will not allow me to bring up business and told me there is no new business in an annual meeting. When I tried to make a motion during the question and answer period, I obtained a second for my motion only to be cut off.

Our bylaws state that we are to use robert's rules to govern the meetings. They also said that they are responsible for painting but not required to paint. They say that there is too much rotten wood to paint. Our bylaws state that the HOA can force the owner to make repairs but they wont do it. The board wants new siding and will continue to try and pass new bylaws until they get them. There is no reasoning with them. There is no way for me to address the illegal quorum. No way to be allowed to prove what they did with the erroneous bylaw certification even though I have the very documents to prove what happened. what can i do to get them to paint? They have the money.

What can I do to get them to follow Roberts rules?  I cannot afford $300.00 an hour for an attorney. I have paralegal skills and I am familiar with the court system. I have the documents I need but do not know exactly what to do. any help is appreciated. I've come a long way with little bits help from many sources but this is still hard when I am virtually alone. mike - Atlanta, Ga

I live in a 50+ year old high-rise condo with concrete construction and parquet wood flooring. This type of construction lends itself to easily transfer noise from an above unit. The owner of the unit directly above mine chooses not to use any carpet. She also has a 20 month old toddler. The issue I have is the constant noise of the baby playing with toys (I am assuming) because I hear continual noise of things hitting the floor or being pushed across the floor. Can anyone please provide me with a sample rule that would either require wall to wall carpeting or a sample rule where a certain percentage of carpeting would be required. Lastly, would/is this a fairly common rule to rule to have in a high-rise building especially with the construction material I previously described? Thanks.

What do you do if your property manager does not enforce the condo association by-laws or CC&R's of your Community. We have a condo board that was put in this year and there was only the 5 that wanted to run, they got rid of me on a private issues that I felt was none of there business. If only 5 run, those 5 are on the board no matter how many votes they get? Is this something that can be stop in any way?

The other question is can a condo board come in and change a agenda of board meeting just because that what the board wants to do. They have decided to start our monthly meetings with executive session first then general meeting and then open form last. This is not to be done according to our bylaws but when we ask about it our property manager told us our lawyer told them they could do it that way and we were never given on what reason he was given or if I ask about the open forum being so late they holding it at 7:45 in the evening when the meeting starts at 6PM with executive session first. as a community this is way to late for parent on school night to attend our meeting and people have stopped coming to our meeting because of them doing it this way. I was on the understanding that if our by-laws stated it can't be done then it up to the board to stand by the bylaws? Is there any way that executive session can be first i was on the understanding that we are first to be told what there are going over at executive session and if this is being done first then we can not be be told what they are talking about it like a big secret.Can they do this if they are violating our by-laws?

I signed a year lease to rent a condo that stated I have 2 dogs and paid a $200 pet deposit, now the Property Manager for the condo association is saying we are in violation of rules and regulations. We were never provided a copy of these rules and can not find on internet. Other tenants have big dogs as well and the limit is supposedly 25 lbs.  If our lease states we can have dogs and were never provided rules and regulations, can the condo association force us out of a year lease?

Imagine, if you would, a community association where all residents were considerate, caring, responsible and respectful to one another. Wouldn't that be wonderful? And, in an ideal world, that is what all community associations would experience. The reality, however, is that while many association residents do try to be thoughtful neighbors, many others (at least on occasion) forget that they are living in a unique community environment. These residents may be less than considerate and respectful of their neighbors. It is precisely for this reason that community associations need to create and enforce house rules. These rules help to ensure a positive and reasonably safe living environment for all residents.

House Rules must be carefully and thoughtfully planned. They should be reasonable and address the needs of the community residents. They may cover such areas as quiet hours, pets, hazards, common areas, interior/exterior modifications, parking, etc... When board members are developing house rules, they should encourage open dialogue between themselves and the other residents. If everyone feels they have been part of the process, there will be fewer complaints about violation notices. Boards need to remember to keep rules reasonable and make sure rules do not ignore or discriminate against any one group. Equally, the rules must not favor any one group. If rules are carefully drafted, the result should be a safe and harmonious living environment for the entire community.

In the best case, with rules in place, everything should now run smoothly. Reality, again, is quite different. For various reasons, House Rules will always be violated. Some residents may feel the rules are just "on paper" and are not actually going to be enforced. They may feel there is no real need to be concerned about following the rules. Others, perhaps coming from a single family home, may not see the necessity for any rules and will choose to ignore them. Many others, who may not have been involved in the drafting of the rules, probably do not even read them and, thus, are unaware of any House Rules. All of this changes when someone gets their first violation letter. This is when the property manager may receive angry phone calls and hear things like the following: "I've never heard of that before!", or "There are too many rules!", or, "What about my neighbors? They break lots of rules!" and, finally, "Stop harassing me!" These are a few of the more common responses to violation letters.

How can a property manager, working with the board of directors, help to minimize such confrontational encounters? Human nature is such that anger and frustration can never be totally eliminated, but there are at least three keys to successful management of House Rules and violations that will help to reduce the degree of anger directed at the board and/or property manager.

The first key is education. Homeowners must be given many opportunities to learn exactly what the rules are. The first time would be at the time of purchase. House Rules should be included in their initial packet of documents. Often, however, these rules are lost in the piles of papers owners must deal with during this stressful time. Another opportunity would be right after new residents move in. A Welcoming Committee or designated board member could drop by with a Welcome Packet containing a welcome message and a copy of the House Rules. They might also include a small house-warming gift, such as a plant. Another opportunity to educate residents would be in a regular newsletter. Education is never a one time thing; it is always on-going.

A second key to successful enforcement is communication. Open communication between owners, board members and the property manager is essential to resolving problems before they become serious issues. All owners also should be aware that House Rules are not set in stone. Without compromising safety or discrimination concerns, rules should be reviewed periodically and revised to reflect changes within the community. Homeowners should be encouraged to add their suggestions to this process. All association members need to know they have a voice in rule-making and they also have the right to appeal violation notices. A property manager should always remember that an important part of communication is listening. Sometimes an irate homeowner/resident can be calmed down simply because someone was willing to listen to his/her story.

The third key to creating a better mind-set on House Rules is in consistent enforcement. Associations need to have a clearly defined procedure to be followed. It should include courtesy letters, warning letters, followed by an escalating fine system. Without such a system, rules are unenforceable and will be ignored by many. When a violation is reported, with the Board's verification and direction, the property manager should follow-up with the proper notification of violation in a consistent manner. This will ensure that residents do not feel they are being singled out. It avoids potential issues of discrimination. At the same time, owners need to recognize that if a violation is not reported, no action will result. It may appear to some owners that a violation is being ignored, when, actually, it was never reported. Again, communication and education are essential to creating a positive attitude toward House Rules and an understanding of their necessity. Everyone should know that rules will be enforced consistently to protect the rights of all residents. If most owners understand the need for rules, feel they have a voice in the process, and see that rules are enforced consistently, there should be less frustration and upset.

Having said that, disputes about House Rules will remain a part of the many challenges community associations continually face. The goal of the property manager should be to guide board members in the establishment of reasonable rules and the development of a policy regarding enforcement. The property manager should also be available to facilitate association members toward a peaceful resolution of House Rule disputes. Education, open communication and consistent enforcement are the keys to the most successful management of this often contentious area. The goal is always to work towards creating a safe and harmonious community where quality of life issues are addressed and all residents are treated fairly.

Our HOA board and general manager have continually blocked all attempts at seeing the Administrator's books and records or even getting the names of other owners. In response, I created a blog at DeerRidgeOwners.com so that all owners could easily participate in discussions about what was really happening at their property.

Now, I am being sued for over $1 million by my own HOA because of my blog and its contents. Full details and a copy of the press release and actual lawsuit are available at my blog. Does anyone else operate a blog that is in opposition to the way your HOA is run? Does anyone know of sites that have a national presence that are focused on HOA abuses at the 305,000 HOA communities that house over 60 million Americans nationwide?