Condo Association Management Blog

First off what state are you.  
 
Bullet holes in your garage door and car can make many a board back off. 
 
Did you call the police about these issues?  
 

Sorry I didn't see you had put Minnesota as the state you live in.  
 
Who wants to be shot at over a cat! If the caretaker has an idea who did it then you have to call the police. 
The board is obviously intimidated and the threat of their life or property is not going to make them vote in your favor.  
 
Technically you could say the board is not doing their job to quell this issue but give them a break! There obviously scared to do anything.  
 
Vic

I do hope you've reported all of these acts of vandalism to your local police department and have kept copies of the police reports. Make sure every little detail is documented with date and time. If you don't have security cameras on the premises, then get a digital camera and keep it handy to document pictures of the animals (the four legged ones AND the two legged ones!) 
 
Find out if your state has a Condo Ombudsman. If you dont know, call your state representative in the capital and find out where to take this.  
 
We have this same problem here in a condo in FL. Superglue in the locks of our cars, screws in the sidewalls of the tires, attempted break-ins at the front door. Bullets we havent had yet, but there is no telling what can happen. Keep speaking up, these board members think they can rule by intimidation.

I am curious. Why does it bother you so much that some people have cats? Are they bothering anyone or creating a negative for the building? 
 
Pets provide many benefits for people, especially the lonely. I have found that properties that allow for pets typically are friendlier places to live. It also limits the market when no pets are allowed. Yes, rules are important and pets cannot disrupt the place but I think your vocalization may be threatening to those who value their pets. Truthfully would never live in an association again. Petty tyrants and control freaks dominate and all sense of home and community is lost. 
 
Jim Court 
Elmhurst, Illinois

Definately report this to the police. They need to be informed tto try to protect you and other owners who may be the target of this type of criminal activity. People regard theeir pets like their children. Would you want someone to try to take your child away from you? By not allowing pets, you eliminate a large number of potential buyers and lower property values. 
 
 
 
Thisw is just another reason why the whole concept of condo takes away individuals' property rights.

Make your building pet friendly. Increase your property values. At the very least grandfather in the existing pets. We are a no-pet building but many owners have legitimate doctor's notes that require us to allow pets. If it were up to me I would have a pet friendly building. Definitely increases the speed with which properties are sold. Younger people with or without children like pet friendly buildings, and, in fact, the whole country is getting more pet friendly. As to cats--when do you see them? Do the owners let them out? I would overlook cats, birds and fish especially if the owners kept them in their own apartments.

Dear Jim Court 
 
 
 
I understand what you are saying, but lets just say you give an inch to allowing small dogs(no more than 24 lbs) Then along comes someone who has a cat, a cat that roams at night and rips thru the garbage. Now moving on, another unit gets sold and the buyer has an old dog (lab)which is bigger andthe weight and you keep quiet. 
 
months later another buyer comes along and now he has a huge horse type dog. Nobody says anything and the drama continues. Do you see where I am going with this. 
 
Our by-laws state dog or cat but not bigger than 24 pounds. Now it's out of control and where do you daw that line. 
 
People need to follow the rules, the laws and not think they are someone special or you will have what we have. 
 
 
 
FOLLOW THE RULES AND LAWS OF CONDO LIVING PEOPLE! It's really simple and then noone gets to be shot at. That is so grade school to damage someones car over a cat. 
 
 
 
These condo board members need to do their jobs correctly or get the hello off the board. I am so sick of hearing neg about board people who ruin your lives instead of following the rules. Wake up and smell that coffee. 
 
 
 
To the writer.........buy a camera and catch that SOB and then declare your rights back. I have a camera in my window and on my door. Nobody knows it is there and God help anyone who puts glue on my locks. The cameras are cheap enough to give you peace of mind not to mention you can catch others doing wrongful things as well. As an owner I follow the rules and I expect everyone else to do so. FYI the Horse dog is now gone and the lab is on its way. Now the rules will be changed accoringly and if you don't like it then MOVE!

I wish I could sell to get away from people who secretly film other people and harass someone over their cat or dog. I can not give mine away after a year on the market due to mismanagement causing a negative cash flow of the budget and miserable new rules causing ppotential buyers to run not walk away.  
 
 
 
People need to live and let live. Who needs to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to be miserable in their own home? For the cost of this condo plus condo fees, one could avoid this situation and control ones own destiny by buying a single family home.

People who live in condo and don't want to abide by the rules, should DEFINITELY not be living in a condo. If it says, NO PETS, then it's NO PETS!!!! If rules say pets needs to be on a leash at all times and NOT deficate on the property but out on the curb, then THOSE ARE THE RULES. We have the same problem in our condo in Florida. We have a 25lb. limit for dogs, and sure nuff, there are dogs upwards of 50lbs.!!! During a recent meeting, someone mentioned increasing the limit to 50lbs. Even if the rule was changed to 50lbs. then dogs would weigh 100-lbs. Why does the association have to cave into the violations and change the rules to appease the violators. I am an animal lover, but RULES ARE RULES. Abide by them or go buy your own house and DO WHAT YOU PLEASE!!!

In general, I believe in rules. It is the Condo Boards job to enforce them fairly and consistently. Not to ignore favored insiders or friends. This creates a double standard and destroys the credibility of the rules.This seems to happen frequently in Associations.  
 
As far as I can tell, this IS a home purchase, just not a single family detached home.  
 
People who insist that they are just "following the rules" typically like things this way as they do not have to think independently or take any risk. The Eastern European citizens should be fully aware of this type of authoritarian mindset. Hitlers willing accomplices thought in this way. 
 
Boards should enforce rules fairly and do it in a way that does not seem overly negative and aggressive. All attempts to maintain a sense of community should always be attempted first. 
 
Perhaps it should not be solely based on weight. I have seem some old fat dogs because of excessive feeding. Height might be a better choice. Just a thought. 
 
Sincerely, 
 
Jim Court

While it's not right that you have superglue in your door locks and bullet holes in your car, it sounds as if the situation has escalated way beyond reason. 
 
 
 
You have to think to yourself, are the rules so important to you that you are willing to be at war with your neighbors? These are the people you have to share your building with. 
 
 
 
I would never buy into a condo building that has a NO PET rule. I would never be able to sell the unit. I am a dog lover and have two small dogs, one I have had for 12 years.  
 
 
 
It's true that pet-friendly buildings have friendlier neighbors. It's a starting point very important in keeping the peace, getting people to talk to each other and goes a long way in working through stickier problems.

Donna, 
 
You said it perfectly ! Dog owners share a commonality in which to bond and communicate. As a person who has done service in all types of communities I can tell you that those who are pet friendly are also people friendly. Those that are not always seem more negative, pessimistic and depressive and have much more conflict. I say this as a guy who does not owned a pet in many years due to a hectic schedule. 
 
Sincerely, 
 
Jim Court 
Elmhurst, Illinois 
 
PS, I have been trying to sell a Condo for years and because it does not allow pets many potential sales have walked away.