Getting Personal: How self-interest hurts community associations

Getting Personal: How self-interest hurts community associations

An unfortunate byproduct of human nature is that some people are motivated by their own personal advantage and, sometimes, by their worst instincts, and often choose to pursue that advantage or act on those instincts with complete disregard for the interests of others. For every Mother Theresa, it seems there are a hundred other people whose reflexive response is to be disagreeable when the interests of the community are perceived to be at odds with their self-interest.

In a community association setting, self-interest can manifest itself in a number of ways which can prove to be quite harmful to the community as a whole and certain members in particular. Consider some of the following scenarios:

 -A Manager is asked by some members of the community to provide advice on which candidates they should vote for in the upcoming election. Rather than correctly replying that making those recommendations is not appropriate for the manager, the Manager directs the votes to his or her favored candidates who ensure that the manager receives a holiday bonus each year.

 -The association attorney is asked by the Board president to act on a matter in which the president's interests are at odds with the consensus of the Board.   It turns out that the attorney was introduced into the community by the Board president and has felt a sense of obligation to that particular individual ever since.

 -Directors serving on a "divided" Board start voting as their faction on the board votes rather than voting their consciences. Sometimes members of one faction decide to boycott board meetings to ensure that a quorum is not achieved and association business cannot be handled.  These two factions give conflicting directions to vendors and professionals, creating confusion, inefficiency and unnecessary expense for which each faction then blames the other.

 -An owner intent on harassing or removing a particular board member or members engages in a game of "gotcha" which can include voluminous and repetitive document inspection requests, holding meetings hostage and more nefarious tactics like a negative PR campaign. The catalyst for the anti-board campaign turns out to be the fact that the contractor the owner likes was not chosen for the new renovation project in the community. Even worse, the same owner makes accusations, either openly or anonymously, that Board members are acting in a criminal manner, without any evidence to support his or her allegations, and thereby creates a climate of mistrust and fear.

 -A legislator who previously lived in a condominium association failed to pay his assessments timely and his association commenced legal action against him. Subsequently that legislator proposes legislation to make it more difficult associations statewide to collect delinquent assessments owed to them.

 What do all these behaviors have in common? The people involved are making decisions based on self-interest without regard for others. When board members, owners, professional advisors or legislators allow their personal feelings, grudges and biases to cloud their judgment and inform their behavior the community as a whole suffers. As regards Board members, be assured you will hear disproportionately from those who oppose you as compared to those who support you.  When you devote your time and attention and the community resources to a small but vocal minority, you are allowing your pride and, dare I say, your ego, to prevent you from representing the interests of a majority of the community.

 

 

 

 

 

Donna DiMaggio Berger, Esq

Becker Shareholder, Board Certified Specialist in Condominium & Planned Development Law; CCAL Fellow; Keynote Speaker

7y

Developer counsel create the initial set of association documents. It would be highly unusual for them to include an annual audit requirement given that it would cost the owners money and impact them as well if they continue to own units well after turnover. Developers are often crafting their governing documents with an eye towards moving inventory and not with the long-term operational challenges in mind. Post turnover it can become virtually impossible for many communities to amend their documents. This problem starts at the developer level.

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David Rossiter

Retired IT Consultant and Washington Homeowner Association Expert

7y

Very well said. I've seen scenarios reminiscent of your examples too many times.

Joanne Willoughby

Business Development Executive at Hotwire Communications Ltd

7y

Great article

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Correct me if I am wrong but is it not usually the vocal minority, regardless of the situation, that discover fraud, embezzlement etc. while the majority just ignorantly follow the masses.

Heriberto (ED) Marchand

Licensed Real Estate Broker, Licensed Community Association Manager, WAS LICENSED SERIES 7 (STOCKBROKER).

7y

I agree, this happens! I can add one more: not only can an attorney entertain the BOD Prez, but also there are attorneys that 'hook-up' with the management company!

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