As a property manager – I am always the messenger. I know that I do not always get to give you the answer you want to hear. I would much prefer to be the good guy and swoop in to take care of your issue – return your towed car, fix your leak, clean up after your neighbor’s pet, pay for your interior repairs, etc. (Ok…well I would prefer not to clean up after your neighbor’s pet – but you get the idea).
The problem with that is that while that may seem to help you in the short run, it does not serve the whole community Association in the long run. As the manger, I have a fiduciary responsibility not to serve the individual owner but the community. The specifics of how I perform that service are not up to me, as I take my directive from your elected Board of Directors.
As homeowner, you elect volunteer members to serve on your Board of Directors each year. These volunteers do their best, day in and day out, to balance the needs of the individual owners with the best interests of the community as a whole. This Board is responsible for making sure that owners and the Association – meet their obligations as set forth in the governing documents. This is no easy task!
Why should you care about this? Well…because you are a stakeholder in the community. Imagine if your Board went around giving every owner everything they asked for…
- “Of course we will send the plumber right over to unclog your sink”
- “I am so sorry you do not have anywhere to park – we will have a new parking garage designed and constructed”
- “It is terrible when people do not clean up after their pets – so the Board has hired a full time site cleanliness engineer to clean up after all pet residents”
- “I can’t believe that you didn’t hear about the Board meeting tonight – well from now on, the maintenance person will go to all 228 doors to advise each owner of the upcoming meetings”
Who would pay for all of that? You would!! That would amount to quite a hefty Condo Fee, I can assure you!
So please remember not to shoot the messenger. These covenants and rules provide necessary boundaries to ensure the equal treatment to all owners and protect your bottom dollar.