HOA Fun

Tuesday was the annual HOA meeting. Since the monthly meetings fall on a Tuesday, SMOLT! takes precedence. But I do occasionally show up and always attend the annual meeting.

A few weeks ago the budget was mailed to all the residents. It was not pleasant. Well, as you might know the economy has not been going very well. We have several people in financial crises, one foreclosure … several in pre-foreclosure. Most are people who bought their units with 100% financing, Adjustable Mortgage and as the rate resets they just cant afford the payments. When people are struggling to keep their home, paying the hoa dues are not high on their list. Just like the rest of the county, houses are not selling so trying to get rid of their units is not really an option. A few of the units have been empty for months, with just a relator sign in the darkened window. I see one every day as I drive in and every now and then its a new realtor sign.

The HOA has a very large deficit, mostly because people are not paying. About 12% of the residents. So to combat higher cost in utilities, repair and non-payment, our rates are going up almost 20%. We had a special assessment a few months ago as well. *sigh* It is frustrating. I feel sorry for the people in danger of losing their homes, or those who already have, yet their actions are affecting the entire complex.

So along with the sad budget, an anonymous letter came in the mail. Mailed to all residents in the complex, it was a 3 page diatribe about the evils of our HOA president.

1. I have no respect for anyone who is to chickensh*t to sign their name.
2. It was pretty much crap. They were angry about rising costs so they wanted to blame a single person. This guy has been HOA president for over 4 years, a thankless PITA job. They only started complaining in the past year as the rates when up.
3. They made it personal. He doesn’t work in a vacuum, if you are unhappy with the HOA management, show up at the meetings.

The meeting this week was also a call for nominations, one placement was for the current President. Did any of the authors show up? No. Did anyone nominate themselves or *anyone* else for the position. No. Out of 160 units, there were about 30 people at the annual meeting. I feel if you don’t care enough to show up at the meeting then you lose your right to bitch.

Since I created their web page, they all seemed to know my name. I was requested to be at the next meeting to be the vote counter to make sure everything was legit. Even though there are 2 slots open and 2 people nominated. Yet, people will still bitch. They did last year. And they will next year as well. Another frustrating element, we are one of the better complexes, how are the rest fairing?