Condo Association Management Blog

Get in touch with Consumer Affairs for your town. I never heard of someone not knowing who the president was as these people have to be elected. Call officials where you live and ask them for information on how a condo is supposed to be run. The manager of the agency should not be the president as this is a conflick of interest. I would also check with Consumer Affairs about the shoes in the hallway. Call the fire dept. yourself and tell them about the shoes, the odors and how the shoes are making walking in the hallway a hazard. If you don't know who is the President, how can you possibly have a good feeling that your condo is being run correctly and ethically. You have a right to know so try Consumer Affairs first.

 
 
ost Staes have a Condominium Act in foerce. This law dictates how a condominium is established and managed. Chech with your States office of the Secretary of State and get copy of this document.

Didn't you vote for your officers? Don't you go to meeting to actually meet these people? Or do you not care about your community at all unless it negatively impacts you directly?

WELL SAID "mARK"  
 
This seems to be a major problem in many condo associations today. 
 
A few months ago I hekped a lady out and gave her some very good advice on how to solve a problem with her roof above her condo unit. 
 
She was pleased to accept my advice and moved forward with it to the association. Problem was solved and now to this day this lady just dosen't want to stay envolved with other matters. "HOW RUDE" 
 
So yeah you must vote in a president even if you have a management service. Know who they are by attending the meeting. 
 
Next my advice to the hoes is to pick them all up and put them in a bay and sit them in front of the owners door with a note attached. 
 
Eaach time they sit them around do it again and then they will get the hint. If after the 3rd try it dosen't work, Sit them outside the complex. This will draw their attention! That is my advice and go to the meetings and fight for other stuff that needs done!

Dear Mark and S, I cannot believe you can write such an awful things to a woman who might be sick and not able to go to meetings. There are so many corrupt management companies and HOA's and you have the nerve to say such awful things to someone...where the heck are your ethics??? Possibly you are one of those power hungry people on the board that makes horrible decisions. I happen to have Narcolepsy and I cannot attend meetings any longer since the HOA & the management person caused me so much stress I feel like I am not alive at times as my medication doesn't work when the stress is so bad and I am not able to do anything or stay awake and would never be able to attend meeting. Do you believe my daughter has gone to meeting to represent me and the board wouldn't even let her speak. You both are too fast to judge. I am a nurse and what if I said every person who had a brain operation is brain damaged...would that be fair, of course it wouldn't be and I would never say that so you lay people should be aware of what horrible things you are saying. You don't know who is writing the question. I think possibly our HOA and management company are doing things that criminals do like commiting extortion by replacing items still under guarantee that do not need to be replaced. Anyone who is truly honest would pick up what these people are doing and I did because they did it to my property. The first president we had that was not elected was broke without a job started this thing with the manager we have and board presidents after he left are still doing the same thing. I only wish someone would write a story about this and put it on the first page because the two presidentse over the years are both people with good jobs who do not need to extort money from anyone. I hope 7 on Your Side investigates what is taking place in our condo and put the names of these corrupt presidents all over the news and newspapers. How embarrassing for their wife and child because I think they might be innocent parties. If anyone brings up anything about money, they say they don't want to discuss it at the meetings. I wish the innocent ones would leave the board because if they are not going against the corrupt ones then they are going to be thought of in the same light as thinking being corrupt is okay. I think those that sit at the meetings and do not go against the ones that are doing wrong things are just as bad for allowing things to take place that could actually send some people to jail. The manager gives people fake fines so they cannot run for office or even vote because of the fake fines. They punish anyone who knows what they are trying to pull to make money for themselves. My Narcolepsy which was pretty nicely controlled with medication is not being controlled at all & now I am unable to do anything & cannot attend meetings and that doesn't make me not care so watch what you say and notice if the president of your board is corrupt and replacing items that do not need to be replaced.  
 
Mark & S, please do not have such tunnel vision and just think everyone is feeling great and able to attend meeting. It is a known fact that many management people and companies are corrupt and even lawyers could be and please don't think you are the only good guys because you are not.

Thank you Charles Adler, Chilly, Mark and S for supporting me, that's right, I'll contact with Consumer Affairs to find who is the President of our Condo. When we asked manager about meetings and election, he told meeting only when it's necessary, and we had it ONCE at 5 years! during our living in condo.No ANNUAL elections, no meetings, nobody knows Board of Directors!

Chilly, 
If you send your daughter, or another person you trust, to meetings with a proxy letter giving permission to speak on your behalf, they have to let them speak.  
 
It is common knowledge that generally when owners do not attend meetings, it is not because they are sick - they just don't have enough interest in their investment to participate and care about what is being done until something happens that affects them personally. Then they raise hell with any board member they can find. The more owners that attend meetings, the less likely illegal things will be done. The more informed owners are (from attending meetings) the more they will be in a position to oversee what the board members are doing. Remember that board members are just other owners who have volunteered - for NO PAY - to oversee the responsibilities of running the building(s). They are responsible to look out for the interest of ALL owners (though I admit that is not always the case - which is even more reason other owners should attend). 
 
On average, less than 10% of owners attend any board meetings over a full year - you'll never convince me that 90% have some illness that keeps them from going ALL the time. We have at least 25% who have NEVER come to a meeting in all the time they've lived in their condo, and another 25% who come about once every 2 or 3 years - usually when there is an issue that will affect them personally. 
 
Kudos to you for actually caring about SOME part of what's happening in your building. I certainly hope it goes beyond smelly shoes in the hallway. Consider that once this issue is resolved, the stress may be reduced enough for you to attend a meeting. Once you see how things work, perhaps you can get involved at which time the stress should be less since you would have an intimate understanding of how things work. You could be a part of making it better for everyone.

Dear CSI, Thank you for informing me about my daughter taking a letter. I am not the one with the shoes in the hallway but a person who does live in a condo where there are really bad things going on. I am going to give you a little idea and if you are a well informed person please advise me of any steps I should take. Before I go any further, our HOA doesn't want to answer any questions at the meeting and just say we are not discussing this today. 
 
We elected a new person to the HOA and got rid of the president who hung up on me when I tried to speak to him about why he should not replace a roof that is still under guarantee for 19 more years and skylights that are almost impossible to replace today because of the cost. They have to be custom made today.  
 
The new person we elected to the HOA visited her relative in another country and she stayed over 2 months, but this occurred before with another board member. When the newly elected person returned, the board threw her off and put the horrible man back on the board who hung up on me.  
 
People on the board are only here a few years because everyone started to sell because of somethings being done that do not appear legal.  
 
Another example of our HOA & Mgmt.  
Person 
The management person attended a closing when a condo sold. The person passed away and it might have taken a little while to sell the condo...I'm not sure. The mgmt. person attended the closing and bragged to another condo owner here that she attended and got the $3,750 for burned out light bulbs on this person's condo; you heard right from the estate of the person who passed away. Only the lawyer and the buyer plus this mgm. person were there so the amount was paid out of the estate. The mgm. person was only asked if the condo sold but found it necessary to brag about what she did. 
 
I asked the mgm. person for the intake journal and she didn't know what it was and possibly the large fines are for other reasons than what normal fines are for. Who in this world would fine people daily $500 for not having plans in about a patio they put in. Does this sound okay to you. I believe this is done because the fines are being used by some of the board and the mgm. person whose relative owns the company she is employed by. 
 
When replacing the skylights one leaked on my furniture in the living room and I have spotted cherry wood furniture and I called the mgmt. person to tell her and a few days later I get a letter from a lawyer for the condo saying that I would be committing fraud if I put in a claim. No one came to see my furniture and tables but another skylight leaked onto my custom made bedspread. 
 
Please if you have any advise I would be so grateful to you. Fines where I live are $500, $1500, etc. It is unbelievable. The mgm. person gave us a fine that was not true so my daughter called her and she promised to remove it but instead doubled it and now she doesn't remember. I think we need God here to make sure things are done the right way. She allows some people to do anything they want and some even get warnings about burned out light bulbs, yet; I have fake fines which doesn't allow me to even vote.  
 
I haven't had grass in the back of my condo for years and the present President of the HOA told me to lie to prospectus buyers. I did have a buyer lined up but that fell through because I am honest. The mgm. person told the landscapers to skip doing anything to my property and there hasn't been grass seed down in 5 years.  
After getting the new roof a lot of damage was done to the siding and a contractor told the mgm. person about it and she said that he should stay away from us because we just might file a sexual harrassment lawsuit against him. Of course he told us because he didn't believe her because most places want things repaired but with this mgm. person it seems like she doesn't want things repaired. Please advise me if I should do anything about this as you seem very knowledgeable to me.  
 
I have a disease that has been made so much worse because of the stress that I have gotten from people who donate their time to the board but I do not believe this particular board is not paid as no one here knows where the money goes because of the relationaship between the company owner and the management person who take care of our property as they are married. 
Any advise? Thank you.