Schooled

[susandennis]

I bought this condo in December of 1991. It had just been converted from an old railroad warehouse. At the time they had sold about 20% of the 108 residential units. Now one rarely comes on the market and is sold fairly quickly when it does. About six months ago there were a couple that changed hands, one just down the hall from me. A very annoying brainless real estate agent sold her own unit and moved out. Buh Bye.

Last night was the monthly home owners meeting. These usually go very smoothly and last under an hour. We are blessed right now with a board president who is sharp as a bespoke chef's knife. She was once the CEO of Aldus and is now a consultant and knows her shit. Especially her managing people shit.

We have a rule backed into the incredibly-difficult-to-change bylaws that says if you want to change flooring from the wall to wall carpet, you must meet certain standards and you must have the permission of the owners in the unit below you.

Turns out the very annoying brainless real estate agent promised the buyers of her unit that they could replace the carpet with hardwood floors. And then, after they took ownership, they remembered to ask the owners below them and whaddya know... the owners below them said NFW.

And the resulting fan+shit came to the HOA meeting last night. It was not lovely.

There have been at least a couple of cases when permission was granted and the results were horrible. There's a family down the hall with an obnoxious little girl who possesses lead feet which she used to drive the guy below them mad. They very nearly ended up in court.

The people above me asked my permission once and I said no thank you. Fortunately, they decided to move instead and the people who bought their unit have never asked. Preventatively, I sent an email to the building manager for my file saying that I do not and will not grant permission to the unit above me. Just in case.

The new people last night don't even live there. They bought it for their daughter and her husband who where also there last night with the chickadee who sold the unit. They were trying to convince the board to change the rule since they can't convince the guy below them. It was a circus of stupidity.

The board president let it go on longer than it needed to and then spent a good 10 minutes nicely shutting it down. I was ready to take a poll on who had a weapon nearby. I feel guilty now and again for never serving on the home owner board. After last night, I think I'm good for about another 25 years of non serving.

1. read the rules before you buy
2. don't believe your obviously brainless real estate agent
3. want to do what you want? buy a house - but make sure it's not HOA controlled.
4. read the rules before you piss off everyone who attends the HOA meeting - you had a slim chance before. now you have people actively working to ensure you live on carpet for the rest of your days.

Love, your new neighbors.

Comments

[fj.livejournal.com]

Did they even come up with a good reason why the rule should be changed?

[susandennis]

They want it changed because they want hardwood floors. They said the current rule was arbitrary and did not prevent someone installing the cheapest carpet which would be more of a sound issue.

He had a lot of science and some good points that, had he made them nicely and appropriately could have moved the needle forward but he blew the shit out of that option.

Changing the rule takes 76% yes votes.

Sadly, we also need to move to email for communications like voting. Cheaper, easier and more accessible. That will also take 76% yes.

I'm pretty sure we could not get 76% yes if the question was 'do you want to live past today?'

[allanh.livejournal.com]

The real reason they want it changed is that they didn't bother to READ the CC&Rs (Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions, for anyone who hasn't ever bought a condo) before they signed the contract. Or, worse, they signed the contract space which said they did. Tough shit.

When Randy and I bought our place, we spent TWO DAYS reading the CC&Rs separately and then together, to make sure we understood what was and wasn't allowed.

This is why we both yell "NO GAZEBOS!" (deliberately mispronounced as "gayze-bows") at each other whenever we perceive a neighbor doing something against the CC&Rs...because that No Gazebos rule was in the CC&Rs. We also can't replace any windows unless they're the exact same make and model and appearance as the originals without going through the Architectural Committee.

However, not having gazebos and needing permission to replace windows are rules we both felt we could live with...along with the other 130+ CC&Rs that our real estate agent strongly suggested we read before we bought.

Maybe they'll get frustrated and sell the unit to someone who'll read the CC&Rs before buying. :)

[susandennis]

I should look up who the guy below him is and send him a sympathy/thank you card.

[one-raido.livejournal.com]

I was on my HOA board for a while. Didn't seem very productive. We are townhouses, so not a lot of inside rules. Lots of outside rules, but fairly relaxed.

[bitterlawngnome.livejournal.com]

God, the drama. Ugh.

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

This is exactly why I decided I no longer wanted to manage HOA's. Very few folks who buy into an HOA (Condo, townhouse or single family home) bother to check out the documents that come along with ownership. Carpet is really the only choice to block noise if construction didn't take care of the possibility.

[gfrancie.livejournal.com]

See, always always look through all the details of the paperwork. Ask loads of questions when you look to buy a piece of property, and then have another person look through things again.
I always knew I wasn't an HOA sort of person, so I don't buy such properties. People should know that about themselves.

[ciddyguy.livejournal.com]

This is one reason I dislike HOA's in general, even if well intentioned, some just go overboard, some not enough, and then don't plan in contengencies and then socks everyone with an HOA due increase, a big one for a repair they suddenly need that they could have prevented or something along those lines.

And this goes for neighborhoods with HOA's as well. Prisonbitch has had so many issues with his HOA (he lives in such a neighborhood) that he has had to hire bodyguards to protect him because of issues with at least a couple of the thugs that live there.

Me, no thank you.

So I'm concentrating a small house instead in my search for a home.

[susandennis]

Different strokes ... I would NOT live in any housing that did not have a ruling HOA. Many are not run well. I make sure, before I buy, that I am not buying one of those. A well run HOA enables me to live comfortably, easily and safely.

[kyrielle]

I had a truly horrible experience with an HOA in a single-family-house neighborhood. (But it involved an approval they rescinded after we did it, which is just...no way.)

But I have to say, the one in Susan's condo appears to be well-run and reasonable for the situation, as much as possible for such a beast.

Rules exist for a reason, and if I don't want to live by the rules of a community, then I don't want to live in that community - but it doesn't mean I get to go in and just trash them.

This guy is lucky his SCIENCE! about the carpet didn't result in *new* rules specifying minimum depth and quality of replacement carpet.

[kyrielle]

I should add, I would _absolutely_ have suggested such new rules, just to watch him twitch, had I been in that meeting.

It's possible I don't play nice with others.

[susandennis]

It was exceedingly tough to keep my own mouth shut. I was only able to do it because Sandy had such good control of the meeting and while saying all the right things to him, it was very clear she shared my thoughts but with the power to implement them!