Condo Association Management Blog

Check your documents, Usually there is a conflict of interest that you can't have members from the same household on the same committee. You can have one on the BOT and the other on another committee ie. ARB. Do you have a management company? What do they say?

You seem to be saying that this one couple holds three positions on the board. I could understand that the couple could each hold one position each. Is the proxy also holding a position? If so does your decs allow an out of state owner to be on the board, even if so, this is not a proxy position. The out of state owner cannot delegate his position to this couple. 
 
 
 
Regardless of who is running the board, lack of communication of what is going on regarding the finances of the association is a red flag. The best defence you or any other owner has is to make sure you get copies of board bank statements monthly, copies of invoices, and receipts. It is all about money. The more owners know about the money, the less likely it will "walk".

It would be great to find an easy response to thie issue. After all, it is common. A small community is like a small family. It's just hard to get along sometimes. This situation can take a lot of joy out of your life. Get together with any owners that feel the same as you do. Hire a good REAL ESTATE Attorney. Someone that specializes in Condo and HOA issues. For a few hundred bucks each, you can find out your options. If you still aren't happy, move on. Sell your condo and purchase a single family home. Condos are not for everyone.

How this is most likely seen in the eyes of the law is that you are not dealing with a married couple, you are dealing with owners of three units. While it is unlikely that a married couple owning one unit would not be able to serve on the Board at the same time, an owner of each of the units owned by the married couple most likely can, but check your governing documents and state law to see how it is worded for you. Ours say that only one person PER UNIT may serve on the Board at one time.  
 
The job of president and secretary usually can not be filled by the same person according to parliamentary procedure, and may well be spelled out in your Association's governing documents and state law as well. 
 
As for conflict of interest, that has to do with a Board member voting on an issue that directly effects that individual or the unit he owns, or the vested interests of an individual Board member. Try doing an internet search on conflict of interest and see what you can learn about it and how it may or may not apply to your situation. It will also give you a good starting point if you choose to talk to an attorney. 
 
As for what the couple is doing as Board members, the issue is not whether or not they are married, the issue is what what they are doing as Board members, which would be the same issue if they were unrelated individuals each owning their own unit and did a lousy job while serving on the Board. That is what needs to be addressed with an attorney in my opinion.

Hey, it seems like we are from the same association in West New York, New Jersey. Isn't it the case? I can't believe this is just a coincidence, all these details!!!  
 
In our association this couple also hired themselves to do all management works and PAYING THEMSELVES SALARY!!! BTW they increased this salary twice during the last few years, along with increasing association fee. It is hard to find how they spend association finances: no receipts, invoices, nothing. Personal checks without specifying what was done for the money is the best you can find. It looks like they took full advantage of our association! They do not let anyone else to be in the Board despite out ByLaw tells it should be 5 (!) persons in the Board.  
 
This is unbelievable, this is conflict of interest, but no one cares: neither State Division of Homeowners Affairs nor General attorney. 
 
They want us to invest a lot of our money in expensive Attorney to fix this glitch in the Condo Association Law. BTW, we tried to find affordable lawyer who is interested in our case, but we failed.  
 
That's why our few neighbors prefer to stay away and pay as much as this couple want, because it still less expensive than attorney and court (and we will need to pay ALL court expenses, for BOTH sides!!!!).  
 
We are going to write our governor Chris Cristy to see what he think about out situation. They HAVE to create a solution for this type of problem. We are not very reach, but we are paying all fees and taxes, and we need protection.  
 
This is a time for Lawmakers to think it through and create Condo Law that works for people.  
 
I've heard that they planned to organize sort of "bank" where all association will forward all association papers. Then Division of Homeowner protection will have an easy access to the condo Documents. I believe it brings another level of control that ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY in the situation similar to ours.

2 of the 5 board members held a meeting and decided to give the Property Manager a 2 year contract. The 2 board members signed the contract along with the sister of the property manage. The other board members did not know that a contract was being issued. Does this smell or what???

What state are located within?

Your state condominium act should be reviewed for pertinent information. What state are you located in?? I'll look for you

These things are very real. I sent a letter to the state proving that the board signed a paper literally agreeing to break a Florida statute concerning staggered elections. The State's position was "since the board eventually fixed the issue" they would not do anything. They also illegally borrowed from a reserve account. Then they assessed us to pay it back. That was also OK with the state. The statutes are a joke.