Condos in decline
A condo corporation is more than a real estate property; it is a
community
consisting of a handful to a few thousand people. This community can
decay morally and politically, as well as physically, and the effects
can
be just as bad, maybe worse.
Democracy's
failing
Many condo owners will accept corruption,
incompetence and sloth from management and the board provided that low monthly fee
increases is their cut of the action.
This is the weakness of
democracy. The only tools to fight a drive for low-fees is the
directors' character and grit when standing up against the fee-cutters
and the support from the
majority of owners collectively in refusing to allow the low-fee mob
drain the condo's
treasury.
Moral decay
There is an ethical role that the board requires and this moral high ground is corrupted when
the directors show contempt for democracy, dabble in petty
corruption, act as Condo Nazis and show contempt or rudeness
towards the owners. Engaging in election fraud or threatening owners
with legal costs makes it much worse.
It is also common for a board not have the
courage to stand up to the owners by stating that the condominium is a
corporation that needs to pay its bills and have sufficient savings to
pay for expensive repairs and replacements as they arise and the owners
have to foot the bill.
Furthermore, if some owners do not want to pay or cannot afford to pay
their fees, then they need to be told that they have to sell their
units.
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