Condo Association Management Blog

Steve, 
 
You continue to have many constructive and brilliant insights. 
What should be a good thing, a sense of community and affordability, is often undermined by controlling bullies and sociopathic personalities who manipulate others for selfish gain and because of voting methods, are difficult to remove.

Jim Court: Your answer fits a personality in my condo, but doesn't fit the question. What were you answering?  
 

You are kidding right? The workers are responding to the requests of the homeowners.  
Many contractors have "moonlighting" clauses in their contracts to strictly discourage such activities off the clock. Such activities eventually lead to employee theft of materials, and false WC claims ie; "I fell at Mrs. Smith's house" when he really fell at "Joe's house" over the weekend working for him-for cash of course but he wants the contractor's insurance to cover it. 
Tell your homeowners that the Management company needs a copy of their vendor's insurance certificates when they hire them to do electrical inside their homes, plumbers too. Watch them whine because the price goes up. 
The problem is the homeowner not the vendor's employees.

Although not exactly related, it is the reason why problems such as this exist. Vendors are both good and bad. The trades are also filled with those inclined towards addiction problems and the inherent dishonesty associated with this. I am an investor,former head maintenance man of many large suburban apartment complexes, and have hired many individuals. Many of my past and present renters are trades people. 
Yes, there a good and honest individuals who prefer working with their hands. Donald Trump actually mentioned the problems associated with many of those with this temperment. I love repairing and building but this problem does exist.

Does a competent PM or committe of condo assn require their inspection of those items for which the association is responsible to maintain such as window sills.

It does sound like a conflict of interest potential problem; however, our association actually includes contact information in the newsletter for contracted vendors to encourage homeowners to use them. We don't have a management company, just a Board, and I think they believe that since they've screened these vendors and have a copy of their licenses, they would rather homeowners use them. All homeowners receive written estimates and printed invoices for the work done to prevent the Association from having responsibility for individual homeowner's work done by those vendors. They key is to ensure that the homeowner understands the importance of written estimates and invoices, and paying by check or credit card, not cash. Sometimes the vendors have done work for the homeowner first rather than the 'Association' so they've asked us to notify them when we need work done by an Association vendor. That way the Board can manage the priorities of the vendor.

Isn't possible to inform these workers that they are not take side jobs?