Condo Media - September 2012 - 18

ASKED & ANSWERED

Not Getting it Done
Taking Responsibility

Q A

QUESTION: The board in my self-managed condominium isn’t doing a good job of keeping up with common area maintenance and repairs. The trustees make only token efforts to address owners’ complaints or don’t respond to them at all. Other owners complain about conditions, but don’t know what to do and are reluctant to confront the board. Do you have any suggestions? ANSWER: We do have some suggestions, but they will require getting past what seems to be the most

serious problem confronting your condominium — not the management (or mismanagement) of the association’s affairs, but the apparent refusal of unit owners to assume responsibility for dealing with the situation. • Condominium trustees have a fiduciary responsibility under the state condominium statute to preserve and enhance the value of the community. Proper maintenance is part of that responsibility and all owners have a vested interest in making sure the trustees fulfill their obligations.

• As a first step, if you haven’t already done so, try to initiate a conversation with the board to ask if there are problems of which owners aren’t aware and offer to help solve them. If that doesn’t open the communication door, send a letter to the board signed by the other dissatisfied unit owners outlining your complaints and demanding that the trustees do what the statute requires. If the trustees don’t respond, or if you don’t like their response, have an attorney send a letter on your behalf. If the implied threat of legal action doesn’t get their attention, then you can try to obtain the required vote of unit owners to remove these trustees from office, or wait for the next election and elect a more responsible group of owners to the board. • If you don’t have enough votes to take either of those actions, then you and other owners who share your concerns will have to go to court and ask a judge either to remove these trustees or issue an order requiring them to fulfill their management responsibilities. • But if you’re not willing to fight the trustees — or if the other owners aren’t willing to join in the fight — then your only options are to live with the problems you’ve described, or sell your unit and buy another one in a condominium where owners understand what it means to live in a self-governing community, and behave accordingly. CM

18

CONDO MEDIA • SEPTEMBER 2012



Condo Media - September 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Condo Media - September 2012

Condo Media - September 2012
Contents
From the CED’s Desk
Editorial Board
CAI News
CAI Regional News
Asked & Answered
Homeowner’s Corner
Insurance
Pest Management
Maintenance
Reserves
Vendor Spotlight
Legislative Update
Self-Managed Association Boards
Volunteer Spotlight
CAI-NE 2012 Fall/Winter Service Directory
Advertisers Index
Classified Service Directory
The Lighter Side
Condo Media - September 2012 - Condo Media - September 2012
Condo Media - September 2012 - Cover2
Condo Media - September 2012 - Contents
Condo Media - September 2012 - From the CED’s Desk
Condo Media - September 2012 - 3
Condo Media - September 2012 - Editorial Board
Condo Media - September 2012 - 5
Condo Media - September 2012 - CAI News
Condo Media - September 2012 - 7
Condo Media - September 2012 - 8
Condo Media - September 2012 - 9
Condo Media - September 2012 - 10
Condo Media - September 2012 - 11
Condo Media - September 2012 - 12
Condo Media - September 2012 - 13
Condo Media - September 2012 - CAI Regional News
Condo Media - September 2012 - 15
Condo Media - September 2012 - 16
Condo Media - September 2012 - 17
Condo Media - September 2012 - Asked & Answered
Condo Media - September 2012 - 19
Condo Media - September 2012 - Homeowner’s Corner
Condo Media - September 2012 - 21
Condo Media - September 2012 - Insurance
Condo Media - September 2012 - 23
Condo Media - September 2012 - Pest Management
Condo Media - September 2012 - 25
Condo Media - September 2012 - 26
Condo Media - September 2012 - 27
Condo Media - September 2012 - Maintenance
Condo Media - September 2012 - 29
Condo Media - September 2012 - 30
Condo Media - September 2012 - 31
Condo Media - September 2012 - Reserves
Condo Media - September 2012 - 33
Condo Media - September 2012 - 34
Condo Media - September 2012 - 35
Condo Media - September 2012 - 36
Condo Media - September 2012 - 37
Condo Media - September 2012 - 38
Condo Media - September 2012 - 39
Condo Media - September 2012 - 40
Condo Media - September 2012 - 41
Condo Media - September 2012 - Vendor Spotlight
Condo Media - September 2012 - 43
Condo Media - September 2012 - Legislative Update
Condo Media - September 2012 - 45
Condo Media - September 2012 - Self-Managed Association Boards
Condo Media - September 2012 - 47
Condo Media - September 2012 - 48
Condo Media - September 2012 - 49
Condo Media - September 2012 - Volunteer Spotlight
Condo Media - September 2012 - 51
Condo Media - September 2012 - 52
Condo Media - September 2012 - CAI-NE 2012 Fall/Winter Service Directory
Condo Media - September 2012 - 54
Condo Media - September 2012 - 55
Condo Media - September 2012 - 56
Condo Media - September 2012 - 57
Condo Media - September 2012 - 58
Condo Media - September 2012 - 59
Condo Media - September 2012 - 60
Condo Media - September 2012 - 61
Condo Media - September 2012 - 62
Condo Media - September 2012 - 63
Condo Media - September 2012 - 64
Condo Media - September 2012 - 65
Condo Media - September 2012 - Classified Service Directory
Condo Media - September 2012 - 67
Condo Media - September 2012 - 68
Condo Media - September 2012 - 69
Condo Media - September 2012 - 70
Condo Media - September 2012 - 71
Condo Media - September 2012 - The Lighter Side
Condo Media - September 2012 - Cover3
Condo Media - September 2012 - Cover4
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