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No, it is not a conflict of interest. As mentioned earlier, the property manager is hired by the board of directors and is required to report to them directly, not through the homeowners directly. The board addresses issues/concerns brought to them by the property manager. That is how it is done. I certainly understand your concerns, but I don't see any conflict of interest like you mention. The only potential conflict as I understand it is with the board president and his actions thus far.
That's what I mean. The Board president is personally making noise complaints against me (since he lives below me), and then is the one that has final say if I disagree or the complaint is false. I have asked for him to be removed from any decision-making regarding complaints filed by him and his wife but these requests have gone ignored.
Probably what you don't want to hear but...try and sell.
Everyone you are involved with sounds unreasonable or horrible and they are in a position of power.
From what you have described I would do the following:
If you like where you live I would:
1) Call the property management company and make it easy for them to provide you the documents (say you will be in the area) stop by and pick up the full documents for your condominium unit owners associations. Condominium HOA By Laws, Declaration, and most recent Rules and Regulations.
2) Contact local County Auditor office and seek the founding documents. Most every state requires these to be filed with county property information department. Usually it is the recorder's Office. The By Laws and Declaration should be available. They may even be available online. (I would think Seattle, land of MS et al would be readily available.)
3) Compare the two documents for consistency.
4) Continue documenting the failure to cite date, time and rules that were supposedly broken.
5) Look up the Washington State Revised Code for Condo Associations, there should be a section that spells out how fines / assessments are to be properly processed.
The disconnect I see (If everything you describe is accurate) is that most any fine usually requires a warning notification with the violation time date and description and citation of the rule that you were not compliant. And then spelling out what the fine will be if you continue being non compliant.
From all you have shared it sounds like a bad situation with a bad set of condo leadership and management.
You may also want to determine if it would be better to find another place, as usually the types of behavior you describe from the downstairs board president will not get any better once you can document the ineptitude and arbitrariness (if that is indeed the case). Good Luck!
I have found when dealing with small HOA's with bad management (board and association manager), and attempts at a nice discussion is futile, contact a qualified attorney who specializes in condos. I have know owners who were able to get things fixed and stop the harassments when their attorney just sends a Litigation Hold letter demanding they preserve everything. Nothing gets a sloppy management company and fiefdom board member's attention than a potential lawsuit. If things are so badly managed, even their own attorney will tell them they are on shaky ground.
Also, the property manager works for the Board. I've seen instances where any communication from a resident to the manager has to go through a Board member.
Parking is a constant issue.
And sometimes the opposite occurs. We've lived in HOA communities that ask you to contact the property management before the Board. Often the PM resolves the issue and the Board doesn't ave to get involved. I've always felt that makes sense - after all, the PM is paid to be the bad guy; the Board are volunteers and our neighbors.
And sometimes the opposite occurs. We've lived in HOA communities that ask you to contact the property management before the Board. Often the PM resolves the issue and the Board doesn't ave to get involved. I've always felt that makes sense - after all, the PM is paid to be the bad guy; the Board are volunteers and our neighbors.
That's the ideal but what I've also seen is that people complain when the manager is the bad guy and the Board gets tired of hearing how he's a meanie.
This was in a townhouse development that started out not enforcing its CCRs (and didn't for years, nor did it get on top of delinquent dues).
When a Board was finally elected that went after the problems they went through 3 or 4 management companies in as many years because of the residents threatening and assaulting the managers. That's when they took over complaint management.
The biggest problems were parking and dues. They had people who hadn't paid a penny the entire time (years) they'd lived there.
Are you sure you're an OWNER? You sound like a renter. Owners say "I bought a condo" not "moved into a condo".
Sell the condo.
IN the interim, retain a lawyer. That means you give them money.
THIS is probably why you're having problems. Randomly CCing FAMILY MEMBERS with your drama??? You didn't even call or write them asking for free HELP? That's hilarious.
"I have copied 3 family members who are attorneys on all of my emails between the property management company but they don’t seem to care."
"I am pretty against talking with the board president since he came to my doorstep and screamed and cussed at me the week after moving in"
This is a very immature point of view, IMO. Treat HIM like a grown up he is. He'd regret the day I MOVED IN, that's for SURE.
Read those documents. Generally HOA documents specify that in order to be on the Board one must be an actual owner of an HOA property. Spouses are sometimes not listed on the deed for a reason -- spouse's poor credit, uncertainty over whether marriage will last, recent marriage and haven't gotten around to the Quit Claim dead business, whatever, .. Either his name is on the deed or it isn't.
Contact an attorney who specializes in HOA/Condo issues and pay her/him to send a Litigation Hold letter to the Board and Mgt. company demanding they preserve all communication related to the various issues you've been involved in, and/or received violation notices about. Also this letter reshould ference the section in the documents that specify that one must be an owner in order to be on the Board.
OP, Do you really want to live like this for the rest of your life? Sell the condo ASAP, even if you have to take a loss. I have been going through the same things as you with a condo board and the property management company for the past seven years. I am selling the condo at a loss, and the settlement date can't come soon enough. I never dreamed that losing money would make me so happy.
If you think they are violating the law, or the condo laws, a good place to start would be to file a complaint with your state's Attorney General's office. You should study the condo bylaws first to make sure you have a valid complaint. If the property management company has a collection agency license and they are doing questionable things, you can file a complaint with the agency in your state that regulates collection agencies. Keep in mind that your condo board tells the property management company what to do, so everything starts with your condo board. And don't expect any sympathy from your property manager because the property manager kisses the condo board so that he/she can keep their job and the management contract will stay with them.
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