Condo drama of the highest order
Ask Mr. Condo
21 April 2015
H.H. from outside of Connecticut writes:
Dear Mister Condo,
We had a pipe freeze of our sprinkler system in a unit that was under
foreclosure. The Property Manager took no preventive action prior to a
severe cold snap to ensure the utilities were on in the foreclosed
unit.
The Property Manager resigned effective 4/30/15 during a heated
Board meeting when he was trying to gain control over the repair and
reconstruction of the common area and 5 damaged units. He reiterated
his resignation in an unauthorized email he sent to all the owners and
negatively spoke about some board members.
He has since garnered
supporters and shopped around a petition for owner signatures for two
actions:
1) to remove 2 of 7 Board members who scrutinize his
performance and
2) to retain his services.
The President of the Board
of Directors is suspected to be involved with the petition. The
Secretary also involved with the petition gets periodically employed as
a handy man by the association and has maneuvered to providing
management of the freeze repair without going through any bidding or
review process.
There has been discussion of conflict of interest but
little action to fix the situation. The Secretary refuses to share the
petition and signatures with the other Board members. The President is
refusing to follow the by-laws and hold a meeting to discuss the
petition.
We are in the middle of soliciting bids for a new management
company.
I’m the Vice President and I am one of the targeted Board
members named on the petition.
Do you have any advice on this craziness
other than thank the owners who want my resignation and wash my hands
of it?
Mister Condo replies:
H.H., that is quite a drama your association has going on there.
Backroom dealing, conspiracies, political maneuvering, personal
agendas… Get me some popcorn; I want to see how this movie ends!
Sorry to make light of such a serious subject but emails like yours
always have me shaking my head in disbelief over how far astray basic
community association governance can go when the wrong people get into
office.
Let’s start with the Property Manager. If he has resigned and
broken his contract with the association then he needs to be out of the
picture.
Property Managers are not allowed to petition association
members for anything unless under direct order from the Board to do so.
Based on what you have told me, I’d contact an attorney and threaten
with a lawsuit if he does not cease and desist at once any and all
further involvement with this association unless he is offered a new
contract.
The old contract is now broken with his resignation.
Depending on your state, you should also report him to the Department
of Consumer Affairs or other government agency that oversees Property
Managers. If you live in a state that requires licensing for Property
Managers you may even ask that they revoke his license based on this
behavior.
The impropriety exhibited by your Board Secretary borders on criminal
and is another matter for an attorney. Awarding of jobs without bids is
likely not allowed under your by-laws. The Secretary who is receiving
money from the association for Handy Man work may be in violation of
your by-laws and even local law.
This is another item for an attorney to
bring suit if necessary. I am not sure what your President has done
exactly other than behave unethically if he is working outside of the
association by-laws.
Legal action aside, this has become a political “battle royale” within
your association.
If enough association members are fed up with these
shenanigans, a recall election should be sought. Depending on your
state and your bylaws there is a specific procedure to follow.
If
typical residents aren’t fed up or they just don’t seem to care, I
would resign from the Board and pay close attention to the dealing and
actions of the Board.
Clearly, I wouldn’t want to serve on such a
suspicious Board and I would want nothing to do with this personal
agenda-driven Property Manager.
But you may be in the minority and
there may not be too much you can realistically do about it. You can
seek your own attorney to bring action against the Board for
improprieties and violations of the association’s governance rules.
If
your state has an agency concerned with the dealing of Boards and
Property Managers you should most definitely gather as much evidence as
you can and report them.
Condo associations are businesses and, as
such, have to be run in an open and legal environment. If they are not
doing so, well-meaning unit owners like you can bring them to justice.
Good luck and please keep me posted.
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