Dear Board of Directors…
This letter is to remind you, members of “the Board,” that you work for us – the owners who elected you.
It is written on behalf of all who own property in a condominium development. We are everywhere – from the Pacific Northwest to South Florida. Canada, too. Different populations; surprisingly same circumstances.
You’re a member of the Board, a “director.” So you know what a condominium is, but other readers of this letter might have misconceptions about your authority, so let’s be clear:
A condo… is a sellable property. Condo owners pay a fee, which covers some maintenance and other costs associated with the property, such as heat, water, sewer, and garbage collection fees…[as well as] special assessments that might arise that would require additional funding. Fees are typically paid monthly and are decided by a board of directors composed of condo owners.
You may be a group of three, of five, of seven, or more. We are ten, a hundred, several hundreds to your one. And yet, you have the power, and we have almost none. You are not good at sharing. You rarely listen to us.
We’re not sure why — insensitivity, unfairness, bad intentions, a lust for power, or the simple fact that it has always been done this way? Why is it that so many (if not most) condo boards disdain the owners they’re suppose to serve?
How Owners React
Some of us ignore you. We come and go, and keep to ourselves, paying little attention to the building or the grounds or even why our monthly fees go up. You love our kind.
Some of us complain about you, but not to you. We talk in small groups, around the pool, in the lobby, or at a secret meeting held in someone’s home. You worry about our kind.
Some of us report you to the State authority that overseas management and governance of condominiums — typically, an agency with little power and few investigators. You wish our kind would sell.
Some of us become frustrated or angry enough to start a petition to remove you. We hire lawyers. You think of our kind as “a cancer” that you’ll do, say, and pay anything to stop from spreading.
But let’s be honest, dear Directors. You aren’t really afraid. Troublemakers are just a bother. The Board doesn’t have to change its ways.
Every year some owners believe it will. An election is near. Several first-timers decide to run. New faces. Renewed hope. Sides are taken. It’s exciting: the Board, or at least some of its parts, will change.
But it doesn’t.
Promises, Promises
Perhaps the problem is built into the institution itself: high-rise buildings or garden-apartment complexes occupied by owners from vastly different backgrounds and cultures.
Many people don’t realize how communal condo living can be, particularly when it comes to finances. They think you just magically pay your condo fee, and everything is taken care of for you… but boy, are they wrong. — “5 Signs a Condominium Association May Be In Trouble“
We live under one roof, use common amenities (often, in bathing suits!), and buy into a shared identity. When we move in, we become part of the “Golden Acres” [fill in your homeowner association name] community. The problem is, there is no shared understanding. What’s “beautiful,” “important,” or “of value” at Golden Acres depends on the eye of the beholder.
Equally important, many condo-dwellers are retired or have earned enough to maintain a second home. That’s why they are drawn to communal living in the first place. Other people take care of the lawn and the painting and call the repairman when things break down.
But what to do once we move in? What of our experience, skills, and all the new-found time on our hands?
Mmmm…maybe I’ll run for the Board. Even more flattering, a handful of owners asks – no, begs – you to take the leap. Why not?
Directors, please think back to that time: when you were “just” an owner and decided to become a candidate. You ran on the promise that you’d be different, more transparent. You promised to change the culture — pull together committees, have more social events, offer an internet forum where owners can chat and make suggestions.
After you are elected, you discover it’s easier to go with the flow. The system resists change.
Otherwise, you risk being shut out, silenced, dismissed, or drowned out by the “majority”directors – three on a 5-person board, four on a seven-person board.
You might kick and scream, threaten to go rogue when the majority refuses to budge. You might let bits of information slip to garner owners’ support and prove you’re on their side. One or two of your fellow directors might agree with you.
But the majority will try to talk some sense into you. They’ll explain that it’s better not to divulge too much information nor to meet too frequently with us owners. Why ask for trouble?
You persist; you’re outvoted.
It happens every year–the divided Board. The majority directors aren’t worried. They are “the Board.” They have the votes. And they’ve got a whole team cheering them on and clearing the way.
The Untouchables
Condo boards are supported by a thriving industry that rakes in big bucks by protecting directors. Take the lawyers. It’s no accident that most firms only represent the association – in other word, the condo corporation, which has deep pockets. They advise and protect The Board. Few are interested in owners’ rights.
Just as key, the management companies. They take over your books, handle the office, and tell you not to worry. “You shouldn’t have to deal with owners. Let us do it for you.”
We get it, Directors: You’d rather not be accosted by your fellow owners at the pool or in the lobby on your way out to dinner. You’d rather not listen, not have a meeting, even though by law you should.
And it is true: Some of us owners don’t know when to stop. We insult you and accuse you. We raise our voices and sometimes our fists. You’d rather have a property manager field our questions. You’d rather pay an off-duty cop to insure order at the next unit owners’ meeting.
The way you see it, each of you deserves this layer of insulation. You didn’t just complain about the building; you stepped up. You’re doing the work, willing to take the heat and make the hard decisions. Don’t we owners realize what it takes to run a condo?
Taxation (Assessment) Without (Real) Representation
The irony is, we pay for that wall around you: the lawyers, accountants, election monitors, property managers, support staff. We even pay for director’s insurance – unless you commit an outright and provable crime, we can’t sue you. Some owners try. Most fail, according to one Canadian website.
Easier said than done because, in such situations, board and managers refuse owners’ requests to examine relevant records. Or, yet, records do not exist.
And the Condo Act in Ontario, as it has been interpreted in at least one Court case, has not helped matters at all. Indeed, it has been concluded that owners who even go so far as to successfully obtain condo documents (as the Act allows them to do), cannot use these documents to question board members or even to conduct their own “investigation.” This in effect deprives owners of many of their rights.
In most U. S. cities as well, laws have been enacted to reduce the power of condo boards and management companies and to peel away the layers of protection that can lead to abuse. By all reports, most are equally ineffective. Writer Sondra Rochelle explains why this might be so, at least in Florida:
It is important, first and foremost, for you to understand that those making the laws are lawyers.
Therefore, they have set up a system that requires people to use their services if they want to have any chance whatsoever of standing up for their rights.
This creates more income for lawyers and more financial outgo for unit owners. Furthermore there is no way to know if the thousands of dollars you spend will reap any rewards.
They rarely do.
Dear Directors, We’re Not Saying You’re Bad or Dishonest…
We’re not accusing anyone of fraud or misuse of funds. We aren’t protesting your right to govern, just your selective withholding of information. Nor are we suggesting an alternative form of governance. That’s way above our heads and our pay grade!
You determine how our money is spent, what needs improvement, and who gets paid for the work. We get that. But at least have meetings. Tell us the truth about what’s going on. If a project costs more than you thought, admit it.
We’re not children. We are adults who purchased property. We understand that costs go up every year. Any enterprise can be blindsided by new laws, unexpected fee hikes. We even understand why you might want to candy-coat the bad news. Otherwise, we might start a revolution – and stage a coup.
And for what it’s worth, the biggest problem isn’t that we feel – and are – powerless. When information is hidden, speculation oversteps fact. Gossip becomes gospel. Rumors feed on rumors. Such a climate of secrecy can pit neighbor against neighbor. Opinions are heard as personal accusations.
The biggest problem is that negativity is bad for our health.
So What’s An Owner to Do?
If she’s a journalist, she could write about the problem as a reporter: look at the facts on both sides, research, raise awareness.
She would reveal that she was once a director herself and learned first-hand that good intentions don’t make the road to condo hell any easier.
She would regret her inability to come up with five “takeaways” to remedy the situation.
But she would hope that, after reading this open letter, other condo-dwellers might come forth with their own observations, insights, and suggestions.
And who knows? It might at least start a conversation.
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Note: This piece is not about a particular condominium property. Any real-life resemblance to characters, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Further recommended reading: “The Fall of the American Condominium by Ellen Beth McGill, a real estate lawyer who also knows what it’s like to be an owner.
Been there!!
Even in Santa Fe!