Yikes!!!

Written and Posted by Neil Moore 

The frustration of dealing with your HOA board of directors is a common problem across the United States. Here is a list of the most common problems associated with HOA's .

Fraud by Property Management and Condo Board of Directors. This tops the list. There is a constant stream of corrupt officials being caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

Proxy forgery by Board of Directors this is particularly prevalent with absentee HOA board members.

Changes to By-Laws and using forged proxies to approve.  Especially when elected officials do not attend meetings or the board is dominated by a few people 

Lack of communication from Board of Directors. We hear this complaint all the time 

Lack of transparency by Board of Directors and Property Management. Directors keep residents in the dark for fear of exposure of incompetence or mismanagement.

Misuse of Reserve Funds. commonly employed for "special"projects by officials.

Special Assessments and no explanations. This is used as an excuse to raise condo fees, sometimes to cover shortfalls in the budgeting caused by mismanagement or outright fraud.

The increase of Maintenance fee and no explanations.  The real reasons for raising fees may be unacceptable.

Conflicts of interest with Service Providers.  Service providers have been known to overcharge , especially when they have to kick back to the contract holders.

Conflicts of interest with Superintendents, Property Management . Hiring family members or friends as managers is not a good idea. These positions should be awarded at arms length to avoid underhanded collusion.

No bidding process by Board of Directors in awarding contracts. it gets expensive if contracts are awarded without competition, and leaves the door open for corruption.

Board of Directors refusing to reply to Owner's correspondence. it's either corruption or laziness, either way, it's unacceptable 

No notification relating to servicing units ie. fan coil replacement etc. Someone's brother in law might need the extra cash for doing work that is not needed or approved by the owners.

Unauthorized entry without notification. You don't want anyone poking around in your home without your knowledge or consent.

Noise issues and other complaints are not investigated. in many cases, the complaints are lodged against the "in crowd" and are hard to pursue or get any relief.

Manipulations and deceit by Board and their supporting Condo Owners. It may not be just the board members who are incompetent or corrupt, the people supporting them and voting for them may have a stake in the game 

Fees attached to the unit for payment with no explanation. This is a great way to get some extra cash to hand off to friends or family members in the form of inflated contracts.

Implementing Rules and Regulations without notification to Owners. Rules are sometimes implemented as a way of punishing or deterring owners from speaking up.

Abuse of Power of Condo Board Members and Property Management

 The reason there is apathy among Condo Owners. Fear of retribution from Board of Directors. It can be anything from a refusal to include owners in decision making or membership on committees to outright harassment.

Smear campaigns if a Condo Owner complains. then ostracizing  or ridiculing are among the ways directors deter owners from attending meetings. labeling outspoken people as troublemakers or in the case of Century Village " malcontents ' is another tactic commonly employed by unscrupulous directors.Discrimination and slander go hand in hand with smear tactics.

Owners feel Powerless and have  no easy way to protect their rights. it can be expensive and time-consuming  to assert your rights through the courts. Owners either don't have the money or don't want to get involved in a long and contentious lawsuit.

Harassment and defamation of character. When you can't defend the issue , attacking  the character of the person raising it is a good way to avoid the complaint.

If any of this sounds familiar to you, you can take small comfort in knowing that you are not alone. The problems listed here are very prevalent among condo owners,The only way it can change is for honest and well-meaning people to get involved and monitor the activities of the board,then speak up and to listen when others raise issues that affect  you.

None of this applies to Wellington A, for sure!

And then there is the towing situation!!