Condo Association Management Blog

What does a burned-out light bulb have to do with a sidewalk dispute? Seems like two different issues. Seems to me like the PM is running the Board rather than the Board running the PM.

You need to direct your questions to the Pres. First question to ask is why didn't the PM do as instructed and remove your fines. This PM needs to realize that she takes instructions from the board, not the other way around. This is an issue that the board needs to resolve otherwise the PM will continue to run roughshod over the members. 
 
To answer your question, in most docs it's stated that a member who is delinquent or in violation of the CCRs may lose their right to use the amenities. Check your CCRs to see if this is stated there. 
 
 
 
I, too, am wondering what the light bulb has to do with this????

Outrageous!  
 
I'd like to hear the Property Manager's side of the story. I'd also like to know why she had the entire sidewalk replaced. What might have induced her to replace the entire sidewalk?  
 
It's important to learn her side of the story.

Is Peter implying that there was some nefarious reason for ginning up a small job into a big job? Who owns the sidewalk repair company?  
 
Spencer is right. OUTRAGEOUS!

I too would like to hear the property managers response because you have multiple issues here. I would suggest that you request a copy of your full payment ledger from the management company and the cc the board on your written request. You need to know exactly what fees have been charged to your unit and when.  
 
 
 
If there are errors request, and give a time frame to have them corrected and once removed request another copy of the corrected ledger. 
 
 
 
Also keep in mind, you do not want to put yourself in a situation where they decide to file a lien for unpaid fees. 
 
 
 
You need to find out who the attorney is for your association in case you have to seek legal advice on your own, they will need to know who to contact.  
 
 
 
The management company works for the board and your HOA and need to be held accountable for their actions.

I have been down the road with fake fines, lost privileges, and a similar but even much worse situation such as yours. The person stated earlier that the Documents state about payment.... fake or not usually the board only has the right to fine not the PM. Your documents will tell. Still I went to court. I believe good legal advice is in order in your case but even that is frustrating. There are so many grey areas. I had some proof and evidence pertaining to the truthfulness of the fines. For that reason their attorney persuaded them to settle. To this day they have not honored their settlement and it is still ongoing with motions in court. Good luck. I will never purchase another Condo in my life. People are nuts and go crazy with some simple power they may have never had in their life. It is sad and I am sorry to say the courts will not help you. They are inundated with these types of cases.

I would suggest that you send everything certified mail as well as regular mail.  
 
Good luck.

Is there more to this than you are telling, because it is just unbelieveable?? The light bulb is, as others have said, a mystery!  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
What is the procedure for justifying a fine? In my complex two board members, or two residents need to observe the infraction. In other words at least two people need to have seen or heard it happen. If not, letters, photos and as much proof as possible for your side must be presented.  
 
 
 
If your board is unwilling to even consider your grieveance then another thought is sending all owners a letter explaining your experiences (you could leave it at their doors instead of mailing) and ask them to contact you if they too have received unfair fines. You may be surprised that you are not the only one under attack. This is affective and I've seen it happen. Get as many residents together to attend the next board meeting and have this manager explain and prove her charges. Remind other residents that they could be next to her unfair fines if not already. Prior to the meeting, request the management company see that she is attendance at that meeting. Confirm ahead of time that she will be there, if she cannot attend then ask for a date she will be in attendance, so other residents can be there. If she is unwilling at all it will only look bad for her. You will also have proof that you have requested her to be there and that she refused. It will show that you are serious and further more want to deal with this face to face with her. You want her to answer at that meeting why she refused to honor the board presidents request to drop the fines. Be sure to keep other residents informed as there truly is safety in numbers and strength in being organized. 
 
 
 
 
 
As has been said, you hire the management company, they work for you. The power trip this person seems to be on is unacceptable, and must stop. Who in the world does she think she is going against the board presidents request to cancel the fines. She is employed by the board. If enough of you protest, something will change, including changing management companies. Next of course is going to a lawyer and showing the board and management company you mean business. I'm sure all the lawyer needs to see is that the president asked her to remove the fines and she refused. You seem to be on good ground here. 
 
If this has gone on for any length of time have your attorney figure out how many and much in $$ of amenities you have been denied, and deduct the amount from your already paid fees. You paid for services you have not recieved. 
 
 
 

In answer to the question about what the light bulb has to do with the sidewalk. I was upset that the PM changed a 10 year old sidewalk for one stone that needed to be lifted up a little, therefore, I questioned her about why she would do such a thing and waste our money. After I questioned her that way, she started to give me fake fines and gave me 2 fines for a burned out lightbulb when my light bulb wasn't burned out in 2006 or 2007 when she gave me the fines and it is still working today 5 years later as it was a 10 year lightbulb I purchased to make sure this horrible PM wouldn't fine us but it didn't matter to the PM whether the fine was deserved or not. My daughter called the PM who said she was going to remove the first lightbulb fine but somehow it got doubled. The president at that time told her to remove all of my fines as he knew she was upset with me for questioning her. She never removed any of my fines and I still have all of them 4 and 5 years after I received them. I have written many letters to the management company telling them this and just recently the old president who told the PM to remove all of my fines called the management company and asked them why the fines were not removed and the person he spoke to said that I was causing a rumpus at the company and he should stay out of it. The only rumpus I possibly could be causing is that I am making complaints to anyone I can because I believe this horrible president we now have who is the one who allowed the roof and skylights to be replaced did it only because of a conflict of interest. Fortunately, karma does work because this horrible president lost his job after the roof & skylight replacement...thank you karma for giving this man what he deserves. Believe it or not, the HOA allowed the color of the roof to be gray instead of the original brown,which makes me believe a gray roof fell off a truck somewhere or was purchased cheaply by the roofer from someone who went out of business. Four roofs were replaced and 3 had multiple leaks from the new gray roof when the original brown roof had no leaks at all and still had 9 years under warranty with GAF. The skylights they removed were put in by a builder in N.J. who wanted these condos to be the best ones in the state. He put in skylights that never had to be washed from the outside, were soundproof, tinted and were made with a special type of glass that wouldn't hurt anyone if it broke...I purchased my condo because of these special skylights which have to be custom made today at a price of about $2,000 plus installation. I now have the defective $200 skylights that lets bugs, mosquitos, etc. to enter my condo. The only reason our skylights were changed was because of a lie that the condo lawyer told to the Dept. of Community Affairs about the credentials of the expert as he referred to her as an engineer and expert when her degree was in Zoology and she never spent a day in engineering school. I have my financial statement from this management company and they actually got a double payment for an item and instead of leaving me with a credit, they made up some fake reason and kept the money. They also included that same amount in a lien on my condo because I refused to pay for skylights. This management company doesn't itemize what our money was spent on and they say maintenance - $110,00 and this is what a corrupt board of directors allows to be done so I am sure a lot of work here has been done with a conflict of interest and not only the ones I experienced. These people are stealing money from our condo and that isn't enough for them, they still want to deprive me of what I truly deserve to be using and since the culprit is married to the owner of the management company, he is just as bad for allowing it. This management company's feedback tells others to stay away from them and if you have them, get rid of them. This management company actually sent me fake insurance forms saying the roofer had insurance and after calling a few time, the owner of the insurance agency screamed at me so loud that I didn't understand what he said and he hung up on me so I am sure anyone who may scream at another has reason for it like getting caught giving out forms that are not true. If anyone knows a great lawyer who will take his share out of the winnings I receive if I sue everyone involved, please have them write to me through this. I happen to have a passion to make this a better world for our youngsters of today and my first attempt is going to be to see this management company go out of business for doing things that are criminal along with the board members involved.

This is an ongoing feud between Chilly and the PM and the Board too. Something is rotten. Chilly needs to leave the condo or spend a lot of money on lawyers.  
 
Harold

Quick question..you have a board, you have a property manager and the property company owner is married to the property manager..HUH? That to me would be a RED Flag of 'conflict of interest' and yields too much power! I would ABSOLUTELY check your bylaw docs and state condo laws! Did the majority of the board, (how many) vote in this property management company or already there on premises? How many condo units? 
 
Now, the light bulb question!Is the light bulb considered part of the common areas? Is it outside or inside..depending on if you are living in a multiple building, the inside common areas would include the buildings hallways, walls, lights, etc, not your responsibility. If outside, in common areas, it too, is not your responsibility. Does it say anywhere in your condo docs, that it is your responsibility? By law, the property manager cannot kick you out from use of common areas like the pool, etc, if the bulb was replaced, (it, supposedly being your responsibility) or if was not your responsibility in the first place..What was the cause of the bulb to not function?..just a wear and tear burned out issue? How much is the bulb?..and again, most importantly check out your condo docs,does it specifically say 'condo owner is responsible for replacing light bulbs'? If it doesn't, the questionable alliance of husband and wife, (prop. mgt owner/prpty mngr)can go pound sand! You do not have to use your $ for an attorney..try the BBB, look up your state's abbreviation like MN, (Minnesota)and attach DOJ, like MNDOJ, And State Status, ex: Minnestota State Status on web all using property management's name! They may back off real quick if you find something 'quirky'. Hold those as your 'ace cards', ask to be on the agenda at board meeting..and question any findings.Use these as your power of information, (they are legal docs, except BBB) and you may gain "NEW RESPECT" from prpty owner/manager. Hope this helps.

An additional comment: CAUSING A RUMPUS and consequences! This is NOT legal! I have had many an issue when attending board meetings, on the agenda and asking calmly relevant questions. At one, the prpty mgmt rep told me to leave and never to attend again. I immediately called my attorney and he said, "Not Legal", since I own part of the condo complex, pay fees on time, I have every right to attend, whenever I want these open board meetings! They are playing games with you, restricting you from 'common' areas that you are contributing to. Research those above sites I mentioned..and fight fire with informed fire!