Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you need to redirect them through the proper channels while also listening to their concerns and possibly taking them seriously. If they are trivial and inappropriate pay less attention but isn't it possible they have a good idea or two? Something to think about.

In nearly a decade of running our condo association board, 100% of the concerns raised by people have involved spending more money, 0% of the concerns raised have involved cutting costs, and no one ever wants to raise fees or issue a special assessment (nor do I, for that matter).

It is very, very easy to "have a good idea or two" when your good ideas involve spending other people's money. And to get irritated when you are told to raise it through proper channels and your ideas are consistently rejected because people don't want to spend the money.

It is much harder when you are the person putting together budget reports and you need to be able to tell all owners "Here is how much we spend, here is what our ordinary expenses are, and here's another 10k in projects that people have proposed this year that would consume our entire reserve."

Everyone thinks their pet project is the most important thing. Everyone thinks that spending $500 here or 1k there is no big deal. But at the end of the day, if you actually run the numbers on this stuff, you have to choose between low fees and having everything on your wish list. That's why I routinely vote against the "good ideas" of owners who complain constantly about stuff like landscaping and capital improvements. Would it be nice to repaint the foyer annually? Sure. Is it worth raising everyone's fees in our small building by $100/mo. Absolutely not, just ask them!

You can have all the ideas you want but if you don't come in with a plan for how to pay for it, I'm going to be dismissive. If that bugs you, BY ALL MEANS, someone please volunteer for this position in the next election because I don't actually enjoy it. But it must be done and I do it. I'm not here to massage your ego and compliment you on all your brilliant ideas for improving the building, I'm here to make sure we stay solvent and protect my own investment.

YES. This, This, This. I live in a condo, so obviously has an HOA and every year there are new residents complaining about the same things that have been discussed and rejected before because nobody wants to pay for them. One person moved in and was having tons of packages sent to him and had a few stolen and went on a warpath about how we needed 24/7 security etc. He ran for and was elected to a board seat because nobody else wanted the position. Well, he soon realized that no-one wants to pay for 24/7 desk coverage to avoid a few packages being stolen (especially since people who get fewer packages or never had them stolen didn't want to subsidize those that got tons). He also learned that the great ideas his wife had for putting shade on the roof deck had all been considered at length and rejected (it turns out it is a bad idea to have umbrellas on roofs that are totally open because they might fly off the roof and kill someone).

In the end, there are tons of things that would be nice to have in a community- but everyone has different priorities for those and raising everyone's condo fees to pay for all of them just isn't feasible. Obviously it is fine to move in and want to make changes but please consider that maybe these discussions have been had before- it is fine to inquire but don't get angry at the board because something isn't being done exactly as you would want.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you need to redirect them through the proper channels while also listening to their concerns and possibly taking them seriously. If they are trivial and inappropriate pay less attention but isn't it possible they have a good idea or two? Something to think about.

In nearly a decade of running our condo association board, 100% of the concerns raised by people have involved spending more money, 0% of the concerns raised have involved cutting costs, and no one ever wants to raise fees or issue a special assessment (nor do I, for that matter).

It is very, very easy to "have a good idea or two" when your good ideas involve spending other people's money. And to get irritated when you are told to raise it through proper channels and your ideas are consistently rejected because people don't want to spend the money.

It is much harder when you are the person putting together budget reports and you need to be able to tell all owners "Here is how much we spend, here is what our ordinary expenses are, and here's another 10k in projects that people have proposed this year that would consume our entire reserve."

Everyone thinks their pet project is the most important thing. Everyone thinks that spending $500 here or 1k there is no big deal. But at the end of the day, if you actually run the numbers on this stuff, you have to choose between low fees and having everything on your wish list. That's why I routinely vote against the "good ideas" of owners who complain constantly about stuff like landscaping and capital improvements. Would it be nice to repaint the foyer annually? Sure. Is it worth raising everyone's fees in our small building by $100/mo. Absolutely not, just ask them!

You can have all the ideas you want but if you don't come in with a plan for how to pay for it, I'm going to be dismissive. If that bugs you, BY ALL MEANS, someone please volunteer for this position in the next election because I don't actually enjoy it. But it must be done and I do it. I'm not here to massage your ego and compliment you on all your brilliant ideas for improving the building, I'm here to make sure we stay solvent and protect my own investment.

Anonymous wrote:My HOA became a lot less contentious and angry after we got professional management. There is still a president and treasurer etc, but the manager handles the day to day stuff and would field questions about landscaping or whatever.

I'm told we actually saved money the first year because they negotiated better vendor prices. But even if it costs more, it was worth it in people's time and energy better spent.

Anonymous wrote:I think you need to redirect them through the proper channels while also listening to their concerns and possibly taking them seriously. If they are trivial and inappropriate pay less attention but isn't it possible they have a good idea or two? Something to think about.

Anonymous wrote:There can be this "savior" mentality with these public service jobs despite the fact these saviors might in fact be part of the problem. Being held accountable is not the same as being rude, but the saviors often confuse the two.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Term limits would solve this issue.

I am not poster but I am on year 9 in my position and we are supposed to have annual elections. Have not had one on three years as cant get quorum at meetings. We even have to go door to door getting proxies. We also have folks who don’t share info at all.

So if I quit just no one does it. They do like to complain verbally to people over flowers, gossip etc but not actually helpful. And a few of them are crooks who join board and leave. Like the guy who owned a snowplow company wanted is to use his firm and we explain we have RFP process and to bid to insured and license business and he wanted his uses at double cost. One meeting.

Then good people get burnt out.

Anonymous wrote:You can manage this, OP. You just need to be clear about setting boundaries.

Them: Hey, we’re not happy with how the grass is being cared for. Something needs to be done.
You: That would be something to discuss at the next HOA meeting on Sept 6.
Them: Sure. But this is really annoying. Can you get the guy to cut the grass better?
You: Again, this sounds like something to discuss at the HOA meeting on Sept 6. I’ve got to run now.

Don’t get mad. Just keep repeating where they can park their complaints and exit the conversation. Practice your response and say it every single time whether they email, call or stop you in person. I do this for an annoying colleague at work that just wants to process everything (non-urgent) on the go. I simply refer her to the scheduled meeting. Once I figured that out, my stress level and annoyance dropped dramatically.