Condo Assosication that doesn't follow it's own by-laws

I recently ( 1.5 years ago ) moved into a condo populated mostly by older people. I found out at the annual meeting that the group has not been following their own by-laws for 20-30 years. The issue of replacing the roof just came up this year and the process for paying for it was questioned. I pulled out the by-laws to see how these situations are supposed to be handled but was quickly told by the older residents that "we don't use those, we've always just done things our way". I also find out that there is no reserve fund to pay for large or emergency repairs and thus the association is asking that we all chip in our share, a lump sum of $2,000 by next month. Fresh out of school I don't have that kind of money especially after buying my first place. After further reading the by-laws it looks as though all payments are supposed to be through the raising of monthly dues and NOT large asessments. I found other people who agree with me in the condo but we are in the minority. In our case the by-laws appear to be on side since nobody ever took the time to change or amend the by-laws to coincide with the way the assosication was doing business. To change the by-laws they would need over a 75% vote from all the owners. As it stands they only have 66%. The 33% of us that do not want the by-laws changed are all newer members and none of us are on the board. It really appears as though this association has been running on the bare minimum for a long time and many things are in need of repair and better upkeep. Since there is no reserve it seems like the best solution would be for the association to get a loan to fix all the immediate needs and to get a reserve started. How do we enforce our by-laws and start making improvements when the majority is controlled by older people who are afraid of the words loan and due increase.

What state r u in? Yes you need to make some changes and quick. The first thing I would do is check the Association's finances. Where have the fees been going? Who is the treasurer? Sounds like the Board is running this like a thuresday afternoon bridge club! The Bylaws MUST be followed or U R headed for a big legal problem.. Been there -done that!

Hi Eric:

I'm sorry that the news on your condo is not good. Question: they are "asking" or "telling" you that you have to chip in $2000? If they are asking, and it isn't required, I would be hesitant to do so.

Unfortunate lesson for the future: when buying into a HOA, it will pay off good dividends to ask the seller for a copy of the reserve study, documents, minutes from the last year or two or three, balance sheet, and study them to see if your purchase would be into a community that would be in good health, financially, and in its governance.

In the meantime, it would be wise to see if the disclosure from the previous owner was accurate - get copies of minutes of meetings, see if any assessment had been proposed, etc. and if so, was that disclosed to you? If they knew an assessment was coming and didn't disclose it, then you may have some legal recourse against your seller.

If it's required then you'll have to figure out either how to scrape it together, ask for a payment plan, or find someone to borrow the money from.

In the meantime, anything that the Board did in violation of its documents may expose them to personal liability, if they are not covered by the association's Directors & Officers insurance, which may or may not cover them if they have been operating in violation of their documents. It may pay to sit down with a lawyer to discuss your options.

Good luck, I think you may need it!

JPM