HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - April 22, 2016
Published: Fri, 04/22/16
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Those Pain in the Neck HOA Owners? Appoint Them to Committees
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In this week’s tip, we answer a reader’s question about whether it’s risky to appoint difficult owners to committees.
Surprise, surprise! Our experts unanimously say our reader should appoint these alleged troublemakers to the committees.
“I always say, ‘Keep your friends close and your enemies closer,’” says Brad van Rooyen, a partner at Home Encounter, a Tampa, Fla., company that manages community associations. “There’s always a critic in an association. Every association has somebody who thinks they can do a better job than people currently serving. I say appoint them to the committee and see how serious they are about creating change. The association is made up of a lot of different people. Sometimes giving them insight into what a board actually deals with can shut them up.”
Nathaniel Abbate Jr., a partner at Makower Abbate & Associates PLLC in Farmington Hills, Mich., who represents associations, couldn’t agree more, even to the point of uttering that “keep your friend close and your enemies closer” saying.
“My initial reaction is to appoint them,” he says. “Let the squeaky wheel get the grease. It’s easy to show up at a meeting and cause trouble. But when you get those people involved in the decision making process, they may say, ‘Hmmm, maybe there’s more to this job than I thought.’ I recommend putting them on a committee and making them explain why their idea still works after hearing from everybody else. Obviously, you don’t want somebody who’s just a sociopath or psychopath on a committee because it’ll be counterproductive. But committee members serve at the pleasure of the board.
“Maybe you organize a committee where you shunt these people off to,” suggests Abbate. “Let them do some of the grunt work, like going to the municipality to see what an ordinance requires or talking to contractors to solicit bids and reporting back to the full membership. Don’t give them too much power. But I always try to err on the side of inclusion because sometimes people learn to cooperate that way.”
The key is paving the way to help committee members be successful. Head to our new article, http://www.hoaleader.com/members/1355.cfm, for tips on how to help committees hit the ground running and without rancor.
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
P.S. What are your favorite sayings (from films or otherwise) that apply to leading your condo or homeowner association? Send them to us by hitting reply, or post them in the discussion forum: http://www.hoaleader.com/members/forum/openforum.cfm?forum=3
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Recent articles posted at HOAleader.com:
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Committees: The Way to Silence Difficult HOA Owners?
An HOAleader.com reader asks: "I'm a newly elected president of our HOA, and I'm in the process of choosing committee people and chairs. We have three people in our community who want to serve, but they have reputations of causing trouble on past committees. I surely don't want to set a committee up for failure. My question is: Can I get in trouble for denying these individuals committee access?"
Click here to read full article: http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Committees-Way-Silence-Difficult-HOA-Owners.cfm
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How Not to Respond to Owners with Electric Cars
In this week's tip, we offer advice on what not to say to owners who request to install electric car charging stations.
It stems from an unidentified Toronto condo association's notice to its owners that they can essentially pound sand if they buy an electric car.
Click here to read full article: http://www.hoaleader.com/public/How-Not-Respond-Owners-with-Electric-Cars.cfm
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You'll Have to Address Electric Cars. But Is This Condo's Move the Smartest Way?
An unidentified Toronto condo association has essentially told its owners they can pound sand if they buy an electric car.
It's an approach that confounds Brad van Rooyen, a partner at Home Encounter, a Tampa, Fla., company that manages community associations. "I was recently at Disneyworld, and they have two whole rows of parking that have car charging stations," he notes. "I'm really interested in hearing more about why this condo association isn't going to allow them. It seems a little cart-before-the-horse because I don't think there's any expectation by electric car owners that the association would pick up the cost of the charging and have the rest of the community pay for it."
Click here to read full article: http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Youll-Have-Address-Electric-Cars-But-This-Condos-Move-Smartest-Way.cfm
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Judge Holds Co-Op Responsible for Migrating Cigarette Smoke
In this week's tip, we report on a case in New York that's either alarming or so unusual there's no sense worrying about it.
In it, a judge ruled in favor of--and awarded a gob of money to--a woman who bought a co-op unit in 2006 but never moved in because she claimed smoke from nearby units permeated her unit and made it uninhabitable. The defendant? Her co-op.
Click here to read full article: http://www.hoaleader.com/public/Judge-Holds-CoOp-Responsible-for-Migrating-Cigarette-Smoke.cfm
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New York Decision on Smoke-Smelling Condo Unit: A Siren or an Outlier?
A New York state judge has ruled in favor of--and awarded a gob of money to--a woman who bought a co-op unit in 2006 but never moved in because she claimed smoke from nearby units permeated her unit and made it uninhabitable. The defendant? Her co-op.
Click here to read full article: http://www.hoaleader.com/members/New-York-Decision-on-Smoke-Smelling-Condo-Unit-Siren-or-Outlier.cfm
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