I just need to vent!

We have a current Association president who said she doesn't have time to read through the covenants to determine if an Alteration request is in compliance. The board approved an alteration request which is clearly in violation of the covenants. The board is a rubber stamp board who does whatever the president suggests.

I am so frustrated regarding the attitude of this president and board. Isn't that what the Board is supposed to do? Enforce the Covenants????? That's what the Bylaws say.....but these people seem to think that it is just ink on paper and has no meaning......

I know, I know....the only alternative is to move or serve on the board. Been there, done that as to the board thing.....this board has lapsed back to its old "see no evil" stance and dismantles everything that was put in place.

Whoever reads this....thanks for checking it out.....I needed to put this down in writing to deal with it!

GeraldT

You wrote:

Often it's more frustrating because you are then obligated to meet with irrational people with no foresight.

GeraldT....

Yep! That is one profound, insightful summary of what I'm dealing with. Carefree living.....protecting property values???? ahhhh, yes.....HOA's! Uh huh.....

Yes, venting to fellow HOAer's (if there is such a word) helps.

Joyce

SwanB

Thanks for the chuckle......the people probably don't know any more about commas than they do HOAs, so I think you'll be safe! (grin)

In my 5 years as a first time condo owner and now board member for a 244 unit beach resort, I can honestly say, NOT IN THIS LIFETIME!

You just can't make 244 owners happy all at the same time. Try adding a major renovation that requires all your outside walls to 4 feet inside the unit to be removed and construction dust and noises for 3 years on top of all the other things that could go wrong. And of course, there are those who will never be happy with the quality of the work completed and blame everyone except the contractor. And then there are the people who blame everything on the contractor, including the non working electrical switch on the other side of the condo from where the work took place. How some people thrive and live on dreary and complaint filled days is beyond me.

In my short 5 years, I've seen an HOA president indicted on 8 felony counts from misuse of power to embezzlement. Cliques on the board that makes things happen their way instead of what the homeowners want. And worse yet, 20 years of neglect on the buildings themselves, requiring an $80,000 to $95,000 plus assessment for each owner (depending on the sq footage).

Like another poster said, all we can do is put on our happy face and wear our anti-negativity shield and hope the shield works long enough for us to retire from the board with some semblance of sanity. The trick is to keep from getting gray hair. I simply hang out with those with positive outlooks and deal with everyone else via email. Plus I look forward to the end of summer 2007 when my wife and I plan to start building our dream home on 2.5 acres in the middle of farm country, out in the sticks, where HOA will become one of those 4 letter words that aren't allowed.

By the way, for the board president who doesn't have time to read the documents for the association, please don't tell her how good life is in the middle of farm country, out in the sticks. I'm trying to get away from ignorant people!

MichaelA1