You Be the Judge: Condo Edition

[MotorCityRadioFreak]

Date of Incident: Friday, February 12th- 11 PM

Location of Complainants: Unit #2 of 35 total units. Complainant's condo is located in a middle unit of 4 addresses that are housed within 1 building.

Complainant pays $185 per month in association dues and is in good standing as far as payments.

Restitution Sought: Reimbursement of $600 Electrical Repair completed by electrician.

Disclosure: I happen to be on the condo board for our condo complex and have been for the last 5 years. Each new owner receives a copy of the bylaws for the condo association upon taking ownership of the condo.

Our property manager contacted me this evening(Monday) with details of the complaint from unit #2.

The owner of the unit suffered a power outage late at night on Friday February 12th. When a DTE representative came out the following date and indicated the outage was caused by a bad outdoor breaker, the complainant contracted an electrician to make the repair. This was done under the belief that they would be reimbursed as they contend the prior manager(a year and a half prior) told them verbally that such a repair would be rectified by the complex should it happen in the future. At that time, there was a temporary problem of flickering lights that resolved itself.

This time, the breaker replacement was completed without incident on February 13th by the complainant's electrician at a cost of $600.

Normally, standard protocol is that if a resident believes a problem occurs in a common area(not believed to be owner's responsibility), the management company is to be contacted ASAP. There is both a regular phone number and an emergency phone number for the management to be contacted for an incidents. This was cited in the community newsletter for the winter and spring months as a reminder. Owners may also email the property manager. The involved owner of unit #2 previously had emailed our property manager for an unrelated concern in the fall that been resolved without issue. There was no contact made to the management company by email or voicemail after this issue was discovered on February 12th

After further review of the bylaws, the management company highlighted a specific section which states that owners are responsible for their outside breakers. In addition, the bylaws explain owners may feel free to contact the management if they are unsure if an item is their responsibility or that of management.

In the past, reimbursements have only been issued for owners who have suffered a loss due to a common item failure such as a leaky roof etc.

In citing the association bylaws, the property manager as well as her supervisor have refused reimbursement. The owner of unit #2 was informed that any possible reimbursement needs to be approved by the condo board members and that the request is under further review by us at this time.

The owner has threatened to go to small claims court and sue the association if denied reimbursement. Lawsuits are very damaging to any condo complex as potential buyers view legal action as red flags. This potentially endangers the value of each condo as a result.

Furthermore, the management company has contacted the association's lawyer for his opinion on the matter being a threat of a lawsuit has been voiced.

Assuming that the lawyer leaves the issue at the discretion of the board, how should the board proceed?

[Deleted User 14896]

Reading all that, the owner of unit 2 does not need to be reimbursed. He or she has shown they know how to contact the association. Enough examples they should of known they were supposed to contact the association. And it appears the breaker only feeds one unit. So it's not a common area item.

[Rate This]

What exactly does this outside breaker control and is it directly outside this specific unit?

[Turkeytop]

Interesting: Thanks for posting this.

Our place in Florida is a Resident owned Mobile Home Park. Very similar to a Condo in legal terms. I too am a board member.

Now give me some time to think on this one.

[zzand]

It seems to me that because everything is spelled out in the rules and regs there should be no payback. Having said that it may be easier to just pay it off and keep that red flag from hurting the condo complex.

[Matt]

Interesting: Thanks for posting this.

Our place in Florida is a Resident owned Mobile Home Park. Very similar to a Condo in legal terms. I too am a board member.

Now give me some time to think on this one.

Are you able to attend meetings remotely?

[Deleted User 14896]

It seems to me that because everything is spelled out in the rules and regs there should be no payback. Having said that it may be easier to just pay it off and keep that red flag from hurting the condo complex.

But there's a slippery slope to the association just paying for it. Once it gets around that the association is afraid of red flags, all the condo owners will start bending the rules thinking it won't be enforced.
Pretty soon it looks like Grand Traverse Street in Westland.

[Matt]

He forgot to mention that the resident has a "My governor is a moron" sign in his window and the resident has reason to believe a board member sabotaged the breaker. Said board member was heard saying "I'll teach them, how DARE they disrespect Gretchen?"

/s

[Rate This]

He forgot to mention that the resident has a "My governor is a moron" sign in his window and the resident has reason to believe a board member sabotaged the breaker. Said board member was heard saying "I'll teach them, how DARE they disrespect Gretchen?"

/s

Yikes

[Turkeytop]

Looks to me like your association is on solid ground legally. We get those kind of complaints too at our Park.

. For the sake of maintaining goodwill and avoiding legal costs we usually try to resolve it amicably. On something like your situation we might offer to pay half and the owner pay half. We always specify in writing that such agreements are made without prjudice.

[Matt]

He forgot to mention that the resident has a "My governor is a moron" sign in his window and the resident has reason to believe a board member sabotaged the breaker. Said board member was heard saying "I'll teach them, how DARE they disrespect Gretchen?"

/s

Yikes

The /s was for sarcasm. A lot of times TT provides additional facts after the initial post. I hope my satire attempt does not offend.

[Rate This]

He forgot to mention that the resident has a "My governor is a moron" sign in his window and the resident has reason to believe a board member sabotaged the breaker. Said board member was heard saying "I'll teach them, how DARE they disrespect Gretchen?"

/s

Yikes

The /s was for sarcasm. A lot of times TT provides additional facts after the initial post. I hope my satire attempt does not offend.

Not at all... I was going along with the gag.

[MotorCityRadioFreak]

I talked over the situation with our our board president today. It appears that the owner of unit #2 is also pissed because our previous managers had apparently replaced a bad breaker for his next door neighbor two years ago as an act of good will. Additionally, the owner of unit #2 had called our board president up late yesterday and cussed him out.

The irony and karma of this is that the owner of #2 rallied a coup against our former managers and made accusations that they had mismanaged the complex and were a large reason why the former managers resigned in September 2019. The managers were moving from our complex already but were going to help with the management hunt and had planned to stay managing until summer of 2020. If the coup wasn't started by them and a few others, we as a board would have likely chosen a different management company. We had problems hiring a new management company because a complex of 35 units wasn't lucrative enough for most companies. Our former managers were going to help us find a new management company, but they were done once the 5 vocal Karens (including one actually named Karen) were successful in removing them. They got 2 of their people on the board who have since resigned once they got their pet modifications approved.

[MotorCityRadioFreak]

What exactly does this outside breaker control and is it directly outside this specific unit?

It controls the power for their individual unit only and is in the area of the lock electrical box. DTE Energy does not service anything but the meter itself and the transformers in the area.

This breaker does not control the outdoor protective lights for the garages or near the windows which are considered common elements and serviced by the association and management company.

Mike Oxlong is correct, and that is what our management company has advised. They don't want to set a precedent for others to seeks tons of reimbursements. Ultimately, this situation will likely be resolved based on the recommendation of our lawyer, but I thought most of you would find it thought provoking.

[TC Talks]

I have been a board member on our association for 10 of the 20 plus years I've lived here. Never give in to a crank. The individual in #2 knows exactly what the rules are and is trying to see what he can get.

I am not suggesting that exceptions don't exist, I am suggesting that someone who chooses to threaten a lawsuit when the bylaws are black and white is not worthy of an exception. I would send you a response in a certified letter so there's little confusion should there be a lawsuit.

If he does take you to small claims I would counter sue for any costs so that the next Karen doesn't get a bright idea that suing will actually get them anything but a big bill at the end of the process.

If you have a newsletter, I would publish a reminder about the owner's responsibilities in such a way that doesn't disclose who this is but makes it very obvious that someone who should know better is being a pain in the ass.