Incompetent Board Members

Hello you all,

My condo is in Atlanta and the whole community is for sale. My patio wall was hit and for over 6 months was broken. I rent my place and my tenant never goes outside so I didn’t know But when I found out Myself I got it fixed within days. I knew We had a Big problem somebody could get hurt or killed ( people walk and park right by my patio wall.

The board this year hired a third party to monitor rental we never being told we will be charged and Asked if we do so , I offered to do it.The President didn’t respond about it either .When I asked again, he says first The board doesn’t have the time they are only 3 people, in other email is a common practice not true I have that property for over 20 years.

The rent went up never being told I think is because we all have to pay for a car got damaged with my broken wall. I told them I want to be in the board next year he says they don’t need more board members . What does it tell you? In opinion ,there something fishy going on . Please, advise what I need to do .

Thanks 🙏

What Cathy said. From your post count, you’re new to this website (Welcome!) and there are a lot of conversations, old and new, on a variety of association issues. In nearly all of them, I find several takeaways over and other, which may help with your community. Here are just a few, with one person's comments:

1. READ YOUR DOCUMENTS! That’s a key to Cathy’s first comment – you should know what the board is supposed to do, what the association is responsible for vs. homeowners, rules regarding the use of the common areas (e.g. parking lots) and much more. How can you assume the board is incompetent if you don’t even know how your community is supposed to be run? Do you even know what the board is empowered to do or what homeowner responsibilities are? You should find a lot of that information in your documents.

2. The documents will tell what the association is responsible for vs. individual homeowenrs, but remember, you and your neighbors co-own the community’s common areas, like parking lots, and apparently, the patio walls. After you see what the association’s responsible for, ask if it has master insurance covering those areas. Check that against your insurance coverage, which should be landlord-tenant, not a regular homeowner's insurance policy. If you don't get the right policy and something happens inside your unit, the insurance company might not pay because the unit isn't being used in the way it was intended. That's also why you should insist your tenant get renter's insurance and periodically check that it's still current - if your tenant does something that damages your unit, you'll have a way to file a claim. You can also check that policy against your landlord policy and the master association policy to ensure there's no duplication of coverage.

PS: the correct word is assessments, not rent. Assessments are paid to cover the association’s bills for maintaining its assets, and you're legally obligated to pay them as a member of the association. Sometimes people try with withhold assessments because they're unhappy with the way the association's being run - and that always backfires, so don't try it.

3. You also said the assessments are increasing and you think it’s because “we all have to pay for a car that got damaged with my broken wall.” Don’t assume anything about association finances – it’s YOUR responsibility to know what assessments are being spent on and why they have to be increased (much like your expenses you usually pass on to whoever’s renting your unit.) This isn’t a block club; this is a non-profit organization that should be run like a business.

When was the last time you looked at the annual budget and monthly income/expense statements? Does the community have a reserve fund? When was the last reserve study done? Don’t know what I’m talking about? Use the search key on this website to look up old conversations (and a few recent ones) to get a nice overview. Bring your questions back to this conversation – better yet, go to a board meeting and ask the president and everyone else on that board.

4. Regarding owner-landlords, I have to say I personally take a dim view of them because they rarely, if ever, get involved in the community, don’t educate their tenants on community rules and yell the loudest about assessment increases because it cuts into their profits. Then, they act shocked, shocked, when stuff happens. That said, I did meet several responsible owner-landlords during the 10 years I was on the board, so I hope you will be one of them.

That starts with making regular visits to your home. Don’t assume your tenant will tell you everything – I find it quite strange this one didn’t tell you about the wall – at some point, he/she should have seen it. Time for you two to have a chat. Remember, he/she doesn’t own the unit anyway, so when shit goes down, he/she can simply leave at the end of the lease, so why should the tenant care if you make money?

By the way, it’s not the association’s job to ensure you make money either – you made a business decision to rent out a home in a homeowner association, so if you feel the leadership is lacking (and it probably is in several spots), maybe you can volunteer to do certain tasks. I know they said no to you monitoring the rentals, but as you educate yourself on what’s going on in the community, you might find another way you can help. Tell the board what your skill set is and what they need and build from there. If they still say no, keep yourself informed, attend some meetings and introduce yourself to your neighbors (that’s what they are, even if you don’t live there). That could open other opportunities to serve.

Unfortunately you'll have to run for a seat if you want to serve on the board. It would be counterproductive to have an even number of board members serving (tie votes would be impossible to break).

Hopefully the person that the board hired is helpful. If not, you could try to discuss that specific issue at an owners meeting.

Boards seldom can create new board positions on the fly. Those numbers are spelled out in the bylaws, and an amendment would be required.

Also, it's inappropriate for a current landlord to monitor the community's rentals because that person has a conflict of interest. This is why boards either do it themselves or hire an outside party (who of course needs to be paid).

It's an interesting question whether that cost should be paid by the landlords or by the entire community. Pretty sure it would have the be the latter. First, the number of landlords won't be consistent even if there is a rental cap in place, so it's impossible to split the cost evenly. Second, it's in the entire community's best interest that rentals be monitored and the rules be enforced. (The owner-occupants will be upset about this and will question why they should have to pay for somebody else's money making activity. It's a valid point. This is why I say that the interests of the owner-occupants and the landlords do not always coincide and in fact conflict at times.)