S.C. from Litchfield County, Connecticut writes:
Dear Mister Condo,
How to get the few unit owners who always look for something to complain about to come on board and enjoy our beautiful and well-run community?
Mister Condo replies:
S.C., I am glad that you fell you have a beautiful and well-run community. That is the billboard promise made to entice new owners into any condominium or HOA community association. However, you can’t choose who lives there and you can’t choose how they will behave. If you have nitpickers and constantly whiny residents, all you can really do is listen to their complaints and determine whether or not they have merit. It is also important to understand that there are just some people who run off of negative energy and prefer the role of Debbie Downer. They choose to see the grey in every cloud regardless of how much sunshine surrounds it. You could try holding some community events – picnics, pool days, community strolls – to try to showcase the good of the community. You might convince them that all is well but my guess is that the picnic food won’t be good enough, the pool day party was too cloudy and the community stroll will give them a backache. In other words, grin and bear it. Enjoy your beautiful and well-run community and try to tune out the neigh Sayers. All the best!