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Condo, Strata and HOA News

HOA Uses Community Consultation for Peacock Resolution

Leave a Comment Posted by on 21 February, 2012

Just five days ago I chastised Larry Evans and the Fairfield Plantation for unilaterally slaughtering an established beaver colony, and then posting dead beaver mug-shots on their website.

In comparison, I give a tip of the hat and kudos to the Boynton Beach Florida HOA Fox Follow Housing Association. Dealing with issues of a 400 strong peacock flock, the HOA set out a survey to their members soliciting feedback how the HOA should deal with the birds.

With community feedback, which the video indicates 52% of the residents were in favor of some version of keeping them, the HOA has created a great plan moving forward.

Working with residents and almost a score of humane groups – including the Humane Society – they will relocate about 150 of the peacocks. The reduced flock should (1) retain the value in the community for having the birds and (2) reduce the impact – noise, droppings, and other related nuisances – that 400 (!!!) of the birds bring with them.

No mass slaughter, the residents are participating in both the decision and in the resolution of the issue, and an HOA which can proudly move forward saying that the Fox Follow Housing Association – unlike other associations – is focused on building a proud, inclusive, and participatory community. And that would be for owners and wildlife alike. Nicely done!

Community, Florida, Qwerky Condo News, WINNING , , , , , , ,

Colorado Looks to Legislate HOA and Condominium Transparency

Leave a Comment Posted by on 17 February, 2012

Imagine living in a jurisdiction where the HOA or condominium corporation can deny your document requests with impunity. If you live in Colorado, that is exactly what can, and does, happen. State legislation indicates the association can deny providing documents unless there is “proper purpose” for the request.

There is absolutely no way to determine proper purpose, and owners are being forced to hire lawyers in order to get the documents they need. That is totally ridiculous.

Thankfully it looks like HOA regulations in Colorado are going to get a huge overhaul. In 2011 the state started tracking complaints voiced against HOAs – and the information is amazing. Complaints are not focused on pets, parking, and paint – which most people have always assumed. The complaints are about board and associations being closed for review, tightly controlled, and abusive in the use of their power.

From the 2011 Annual Report of the HOA Information and Resource Centre:

An additional and perhaps one of the more troubling complaint types the Office heard was that
the HOA board or manager was harassing, discriminating or retaliating against homeowners.
Many homeowners felt that their boards had singled them out and were arbitrarily fining them
for violations, when they were not in violation; engaging in selective enforcement of covenants;
and precluding them from participating in meetings.

The 2011 Report is a great read – and truly eye opening about the nature of a person’s relationship with their HOA. It’s a well suggested read for anyone involved in condominium and HOA work.

Anyways, it’s always nice to write a blog post about how a group or organization “gets HOAs and Condominiums” and a big, positive, tip of the hat to the Colorado State Legislature in drafting new legislation to address some well needed change.

Colorado, Community, Legislation, Municipalities, WINNING , , ,

HOA Kills Established Beaver Family

1 Comment Posted by on 16 February, 2012

Even though it was legal, posting photos of the dead beavers isn’t the way to win friends and create a great name for your HOA. It’s a great way to alienate your HOA from the rest of the community.

Fairfield Plantation HOA of Stallings, North Carolina, hired a trapper to kill a family of 6 beavers that had resided in the area for several years. The HOA president Larry Evans referred to these beavers as criminals, using the term they had been “apprehended” (nice way to say slaughtered) and that HOA members could see the “mug shots” of the (dead) beavers on the HOA site (now removed).

North Carolina appears to have a healthy population of beavers after their overhunting in 1930s. Reintroduction programs between 1939 and 1956 have brought the population back enough for an extended hunting season to be allowed on beavers.

But at the end of the day, it’s the callous action of the HOA board in failing to realize that a population of beavers, established for several years, is a part of the community. Given that, there were a multitude of other options – including berm building and other activities – that could have let the beavers continue to inhabit and contribute to the community.

With the world of Twitter, Blogs, and other tools of social media – handling this issue so poorly will (justifiably) continue to haunt the Fairfield Plantation HOA and Larry Evans for years or even decades to come. The posting of the pictures, the reference to animals acting naturally as criminals, that’s beyond the pale of proper decorum, civility, and humanity. If one cannot show restraint with the culling of beavers, why show compassion or decency anywhere else in one’s home or business dealings.

Plus, I’m Canadian, so that’s our national symbol your killing.

Community, FAIL, North Carolina , , , , , ,

Mixing Board President and Management Company President Roles Led to Fraud

Leave a Comment Posted by on 14 February, 2012

If there is one easy piece of advice I can offer condominiums – always use an unrelated management company to manage your books. While this won’t eliminate fraud it most certainly cut down on it.

For owners in the Lovers Key Condominium, Estero, Florida – this lesson came with a rude shock: $291,500 stolen from the association’s funds by past president Charles Bennett III, and past vice-president Kenneth Marwick. In this case Lovers Key Condominium also used Bennett’s property management company, EID Management & Realty, to operate their condominium.

When the president of your board is also the owner of the management company you contract, it is too easy for bad things to happen.

In this case both Bennett III and Marwick have pleaded guilty to first degree grand theft charges. Both have been sentenced to prison time and following probation.

Being in the role of both control of the condominium board and the management company they were able to funnel money into companies controlled by the two men, all of them unrelated to association activities. (video)

As more and more money sits or flows through condominiums and HOAs, we need legislation that forces boards and management companies to be non-related. The use of two eyes – the boards Treasurer and a management company is a powerful way to keep the books legitimate and funds safe, and that relationship needs to be kept separate.

Crime, Florida , , , , , , ,

Residents Charged with Forging HOA President’s Signature, Stealing Gates

Leave a Comment Posted by on 13 February, 2012

There will never be a shortage for the “dumb things residents do when frustrated” file on CondoFeed. Take for example Desislava Gliha and her husband John Gliha. Desislava was caught on camera buying a money order. Nothing illegal in that, unless you then forge the HOA president’s signature on it, and then use it to pay for the removal of the gates (you know – the gate part of a gated community).

Both Desislava and her husband have been charged with forgery and grand theft regarding the gate removal.

Local news video here.

As always, there’s a history of years of dispute between the owners and the HOA board, and as often happens one side (and HOAs can be asinine and juvenile as well) decides that some “real action” must be done.

Such happy news though, the gates were found and remounted, perfect for the Gliha’s to drive through when returning to their Bristol Estates home after posting bond.

Crime, FAIL, Florida, Qwerky Condo News , , , ,

Do You Have Subway Collision Coverage in Your Insurance Condominium Rider?

Leave a Comment Posted by on 10 February, 2012

Not being an insurance expert, I’m not certain what type of coverage your condominium could use to help protect it against wild and untamed subways rampaging across the crowed city skyline. As seen below, this Lo Ovalle, Santiago, Chilean condominium, and 4 cars, was not exempt from these savage attacks.

Apparently this was a high-speed test of the line after the rails had undergone some repair. As such, the train had only the driver on it – who escaped with only minor injury.

Chile, FAIL, Insurance, Qwerky Condo News, Saftey, Santiago , , , ,

Condo Loses Court Case, Considers Fining Defendant Anyways

Leave a Comment Posted by on 7 February, 2012

Gateway Plaza Condominium Association, Vail Colorado, has been unsuccessful in preventing the Arthrex company from opening a surgical training centre in their complex.

The complex, a mixed use building, holds 9 residential condos and about 9 current commercial tenants (realtors, a couple marketing/media companies, designers, financial advisors, and some home contractors and an upscale restaurant). The space Arthrex is looking to utilize previously held a medical office with OB/GYN and ear, nose and throat doctors.

Charles Lipton, president of the condo association, in what I can only read as an act of pettiness and donkey-ness, has indicated the board will examine fining the company for every day it runs the surgical training center. This is a classic example of a board looking at its quasi-judicial powers, and the ability to be their own judge, jury, and executioner (as the real courts didn’t award them their court case) to sledgehammer whoever ticks them off or fails to meet their level of decency.

Hey, if you don’t win in a actual, honest to goodness, real court – you might as well utilize your divine right of condominium to correct that!

Arthrex’s cardinal sin – the surgical (note “surgical”) training lab will utilize parts of actual cadavers. Specifically, the training will use human joints in educating surgeons on orthopedic procedures.

It’s not like the training lab is serving Soylent Green. There’s already a restaurant in the complex.

By-Laws, Colorado, Qwerky Condo News , , , , , ,

Compulsory Board Education for Condominiums, Strata and HOAs

Leave a Comment Posted by on 6 February, 2012

In 2008 Florida enacted mandatory education for condominium boards. From some accounts the move has been an overwhelming success, and to others it has been simply more paperwork.

Having argued that the housing represents the largest asset, and form of enforced savings, that all but a few people will ever have – extra diligence and care should be taken by boards in managing condominium and HOA complexes. A poorly educated board can cause significant hardship to a huge amount of people, and jeopardize their financial well-being with only a few poor decisions.

To that, I fully support some sort of mandatory education process even though this is a volunteer, non-profit organization. I recognize this education requirement is more restrictive than business boards which have no mandatory requirements.

It is important to realize that this is mostly an issue for self-managed condominiums or those that don’t retain a paid manager at their board meetings.

A condominium management company fulfill the need for mandatory education. Management companies (generally) have exceptionally qualified individuals who know the local and federal legislation, and are trained in manners of ethics and process. They act as an in-person book of knowledge for boards. They are the best resource (and are worth a lot of the management contract cost) for a board.

But for those that don’t have a manager at their board meetings, training of the members is essential.

For disclosure, I serve on the Canadian Condominium Institute’s National Executive; teach condominium board education classes through the CCI, and our Ontario chapters in conjunction with ACMO have presented opinion to the provincial government supporting director education.

By-Laws, Financial, Legislation , , , , , ,

Condos Can Equal Free Fuel for Electric Cars

1 Comment Posted by on 31 January, 2012

Three years ago, when I was president of a 107 unit condominium, I suggested that we may have to take steps to regulate the electrical outlets in the underground parking. I was assuming that at some time an owner would buy an electric car and plug in at night. As electric charges for all common AND titled spaces were paid out of condominium fees (no individual meters) for that condominium, I wasn’t about to have someone freeload their “gas” off the rest of the owners.

I was scoffed and laughed at (awww, poor me!).

Well, Mike Nemat of South Keys condominium, Ottawa Ontario, was doing just that – slipping his power cord into a common property wall socket for his 2012 Chevrolet Volt. Now, once he got caught, he’s been offering to pay $50/month for the right to plug in (he estimates the actual electric bill is about $24/month).

The board is having nothing to do with it, and requires Mr. Nemat to install a $2000 meter to continue his siphoning ways. That’s not going well with Mr. Namat.

The board is within their power to demand a separate meter. Indeed, they’re well within their rights to deny Mr. Nemat access to any electricity served through the common property – and unless the condominium’s by-laws are really poorly written, they should back up the board on that fact.

While I am all for getting off the monkey’s tail of fossil fuels – older, and even newer condominiums – aren’t designed for electric car charging. All new construction moving forward though should have parking stalls that, at minimum, have the wiring and sufficient grid to power every car at once – even if they’re not activated or metered till sometime in the future. Retrofitting will be a pain.

Mr. Nemat should in all honesty have approached his condominium board first before buying his car. It’s much like new owners who buy a condo already possessing a vehicle that’s longer or taller than the by-laws allow, and then complain about the board preventing them from using their titled parking spot. Too bad.

By-Laws, Crime, Ottawa, Qwerky Condo News , , , , , , ,

Multi-Housing Development OK If Not For The Poor

Leave a Comment Posted by on 30 January, 2012

Residents of the Woodbridge HOA in Sachse Texas have begun to complain that a proposed low-income block will mar their community with lowered property values, an overloaded school system, and a general discouragement of new business.

Sachse is an affluent neighborhood – only 6.5% of the community lives below the poverty level compared to a state average of 17.2%, and their median household income is 70% higher than the state average.

For a zip code that has over 21,500 residents – adding some 350 people (100 low-cost rental units x 3.46 average household size for the region) – increasing the population by 1.6% of low income individuals won’t have any substantial change to the area. Indeed, this might raise the total below poverty individuals to 1750 (including what the residents claim will be 200 new children) or so individuals in the whole community.

Indeed, at that level of “new poor”, along with the location of area – which has been zoned for apartments and commercial development for 10 years – is relatively isolated from the single detached units (you don’t have to drive through the neighbourhood to get to the proposed development), no traffic impact. Indeed – most residents could continue living their lives without ever seeing an actual low-income resident ever step foot on the sidewalk in front of their house. (Though watch out – Google street view shows a suspiciously low income looking van for sale in the Woodbridge community, along with a lot of generic low-cost, 10 year old appearing, cars.)

So – (1) the amount of development, location, and growth on the community should have negligible impact on property values, (2) the area is 70% more affluent than the region so their already have enough of a school tax base to cover new students, and (3) apparently low-income residents drive away discourages new business. That’s so silly I don’t have a better remark.

In a country that welcomed immigrants with the words “Give me your tired, your poor” – they should update it with the tagline “as long as they live far away from me”.

Community, Developers, FAIL, Texas , , , , , , , ,

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