Small condo association, majority owner and corrupt management
Posted on Tue, Dec 29, 2009 @ 06:42 AM
Small condo, huge problem: how to deal with the queen? Has anybody been in the situation when one
of the owner who has 3 condos out of 9-unit condo and assigned herself a
Queen: both president and “condo association manager”, paying herself association management salary ($2,700 per
year) out of condo association money (about $20,000 per year)?
She runs the condo building
herself without any kind of meetings and information provided in exchange on
money she collected. She raises condo fees, as she wants, and doing everything she
wants in the building. Literally, no condo meetings held and no any paper provided
during 5 years!!!!
All answers we’ve got: “I know the judge”; “I own 3 condo units and
have 3 votes”, “Who care about association bylaws?”, “We are small condo, everything is
corrupted here" (which implies she have rights to steal money
too).
She requested a condo fee increase from $200 to $225. After this we’ve got a copy a condo bylaw and read it,
then requested her to provide us with minutes of the meeting, financial report
and budget for 2009, which make this increase legitimate. Of course we’ve got
nothing. Meanwhile, in absence of these papers we are paying old price ($200),
but she is NOT accepting our money, and instead, threatening us with lien and
foreclosure through her judge-attorney (btw, how come it could happened that
layer serves as a judge as well?).
The list of her violation of condo by law is
very long, but all our efforts go us to nowhere. We called a meeting (she did
not come), elected a new board, but she refused to recognize a new board and
give us a seal. She ignores all our requests to see financial documents as well,
which make it very likely that she has problems with financial side of her
“management”.
It could be funny, but lawyers recommended us to pay what she is
asking, despite it is not. Then, in we want, we may go to court, which may cost
us $10,000 to $12,000 just to bring situation to Bylaw.
Everything
seems illegal:
1) one-person holding position a president and hiring herself as
Manager and paying herself money
2) didn’t provide any explanation on fee
increase
3) do not provide access to review her receipts, etc
4) no condo
association, actually but lawyers convinced us that we could loose in the court,
if we do not pay her extra money she wants.
Why? How come? Should judge ask her
to provide condo assocation meeting minutes of where decision on price increase made, like bylaw
requires? I moved to US 6 years ago, and I am very surprised to hear about
corruption here. What should we do? Give up pay? Sorry for the long question,
I have no idea how to explain situation in a fewer words.