silly request

Started by JM9 • 5 replies • 1281 views

💬 Join us to post & get advice from 50,000 HOA & Condo leaders.

⚡ Takes 30 seconds

Already a member? Log in

JM9 (Wisconsin)
Posts: 7

Posted:

We are a condo association in Wisconsin, as President of the Board I was just confronted by a resident of the complex to address an issue he has with his patio. The unit was bought about 2 years ago and it came with a patio decorated with cobble stones instead of the standard cement slab like the rest of the lower units. Apparently 10 years ago the owner at the time got special permission to install this “decoration” on the patio.
This “new” owners think the condo association should be responsible for taking out those stones because they don’t like them and they cannot put patio furniture as it wobbles all over the place due to the irregularity of the surface of the stones.
Personally I don’t think the association is responsible for altering the patio, not only because there is nothing wrong/dangerous about the surface/condition of the patio; but also because that is the way they bought the unit with that patio as it is with the stones set in. Of course the owner thinks he needs that taken care of ASAP as it traps water/snow/dirty and it is hard to clean, overall they are fed up with it.
Please advise how this is even possible to think the Association is responsible for something that is NOT in need of repair and was pre-existing?

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,061

Posted:

JM9,

The new owner received permission from the Association to change the patio. I suspect that it was at that owners expense. The new owner purchased the property with that patio. If the new owner desires to return the patio back to the way it was (and there is nothing else indicating a need to replace the patio), this should be at the expense of the owner.

You should go through your Association records to verify who paid for the initial change. If the Association did pay to change the patio then the Association should pay to change it back (but I don't expect that to be the case).

Don't fault the new owner for asking. Just provide a politely worded "request denied" letter.

Tim

JanetB2 (Colorado)
Posts: 4,219

Posted:

Hi JM:

I agree with Tim. You might in the polite "request denied" letter let the homeowner know in the future when the patio must be replaced, that they will at that time have the option of choosing between the two current patio design options.

This is a good example to others on this site of why an HOA should not stray from the association documents. What may seem like an OK idea at one time can end up causing issues in the future.

JM9 (Wisconsin)
Posts: 7

Posted:

I appreciate your responses to this other query from me.
Since the Board has no formal record of the petition from this unit owner and obviously there is no written record from the former (now deceased) President that implies the promise from the Board to refinish his patio.
I am going to send the unit owner a letter requesting to put his request to refinish his patio, and then submit the request to the Board for consideration. Once we have this in writing, we can send his the aforementioned “polite” letter denying his request.
I really appreciate your kind responses to my queries. :-)

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,061

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By JM9 on 05/12/2011 6:43 PM

Since the Board has no formal record of the petition from this unit owner and obviously there is no written record from the former (now deceased) President that implies the promise from the Board to refinish his patio.

Now you also have an example of how important record keeping is. You might want to look into adopting a record keeping resolution.

Tim

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,061

Posted:

Shoot, I hit the wrong button before I had finished by thought.

I wanted to let you know that I discovered a similar record keeping issue within my Association and developed a record keeping policy for both the Board and our Architectural Committee. The document exceed the limits of posting them here. However, if you would like a copy to use as a guide or not, feel free to contact me at [email protected]

Tim

🎯 You've read this entire discussion

Join the conversation with 50,000 HOA & Condo Leaders:

✓ Ask follow-up questions
✓ Share your experience
✓ Get expert advice
✓ Access 350,000 discussions

Create Free Account →

⚡ Takes 30 seconds

Already a member? Log in here