L.A. from Broward County, Florida writes:
Dear Mister Condo,
My condo is 800 residential units. The association fired the manager in march of 2021 and never hired another manager. The Association never tells us who they are hiring for any of the major jobs and we have major problems there to resolve. The roofs need to be changed, the concrete is all cracked, the rodents are everywhere and they don’t have money for anything according to them. Who should I contact to make them get another manager and for them to let us see where our money from maintenance goes? Please help.
Mister Condo replies:
L.A., I am sorry that your condo Board isn’t communicating properly with you and the other residents of your large condominium. The people to contact is the Board. You have done that and not been satisfied with their response. One of the great things about living in a condominium is the power of the vote. If you don’t like how the association is being run, why would you and your fellow unit owners continue to elect these people to serve. With 800 units, you should have a vast pool of talent to choose from. It is time to speak with other disgruntled unit owners and elect Board members who will serve the best interests of the constituents. If money is a problem for the association, the common fees will need to be raised. If there is inadequate money in the Reserve Fund, common fees will need to be raised. If professional management is needed, more money will be needed to pay for that personnel and common fees will need to be raised. Do you see a pattern here? Your common fees are far too low, maybe $100 of dollars less than they need to be. Running for the Board while sounding the alarm on money can be an uphill challenge as many unit owners will not vote for a person saying they will increase common fees. However, as the recent tragedy at Surfside has shown us, deferring maintenance because “there is no money” is not the way to go. It had deadly consequences. Sound the alarm before it is too late for your association. Run for the Board and find like-minded folks to also run and support your run for the Board. Turn your association around before it is too late. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. If you don’t get better people on the Board and address the issues, nothing is going to change. In fact, it will get worse. Good luck!
Condo living should be exactly what it costs. In other words the budget needs to match what the needs of the structure are. The reserves need to match what the needs of the structure will be. If the price is too high then you can rent and see your money go up in smoke every month. Condos are not just about living in an apartment like a renter but being part of a business where your investment appreciates. It may cost more than rent but remember you are making a deposit into your savings with every mortgage and assessment payment. Be smart and fund your reserves or your are paying for an investment that will depreciate.