Preparing For Kangaroo Court...

Sorry about the lack of posting...

...but we've been working with our lawyer on our presentation at the kangaroo court tonight.
Since, despite repeated requests, the Twat has refused to provide any of the so-called "evidence" against us, we're taking a different tack for our defense, including a witness to events on one of the two days in their list of allegations.

Property Manager Brings In Expensive Lawer in Attempt to Frighten Us

It's been a busy period, but since the Board trolls this blog, we couldn't post info without revealing our plans to combat their immoral, unethical, and most likely, illegal, activities.
After the last post, the Property Manager apparently freaked out, realizing her lack of legal knowledge resulted in numerous, legally-questionable, mistakes in her threats and, instead of using the Board's normal lawyer for such matters, decided to try to frighten us by bringing in a lawyer who charges three times her usual guy's rates.
(The reason for this is that legal expenses incurred by the Board in such matters are billed back to the Unit Owner.
This is usually done in matters involving late assessments, and, as such, is a logical move against delinquent Unit Owners.
But, in this case, it's used as an unethical and immoral weapon against a Unit Owner who, unlike the Board members bringing allegations against the Unit Owner's resident, has NEVER missed an assessment payment.
The fact that the Inept Property Manager deliberately went with a lawyer who charges three times the rate her normal lawyer charges is proof of that.)

A week later, we received a letter from the Expensive Lawyer that read like it was written by a first-year law student after an all-nighter fueled by Classic Coke and Double-Stuff Oreos!
It first admits the numerous mistakes of the previous threats and then issues more threats, including a further, apparently-illegal threat.

...the Board of Directors is hereby holding a fine hearing for violations referenced in the Notices on December 18, 2013 @6:45 pm in the (usual location over a mile from the condo) and intends to levy a fine for no less than $500 for past violations and assess legal fees and costs incurred to date to enforce the Declararion against Unit for the above-referenced violations...You are granted an opportunity to be heard regarding the Notice of Violation.
If you fail to appear at the fine hearing, a fine shall be levied against your Unit in your absence and shall be a lien against your Unit.

If you're legally sharp, you catch the underlying legal problem with the threat.
I'm not revealing it now, because I'm saving it for the hearing, where I'll sandbag them...
More on Monday, and all through the week, including info about the kangaroo court.

When Boards and Their Servants Don't Follow the Law...

On August 5th, we received the following communication...

It has been brought to my attention that your tenant and husband, B continues to be a nuisance at the building.
It has been reported that B is opening the '58 basement windows.
Per the Association's Rules & Regulations, which state in part,
NUISANCES
No noxious or offensive activity shall be carried on in any unit or in the common elements shall anything be done therein, either willfully or negligently, which may be or become an annoyance or nuisance to the other unit owners or occupants.
Please instruct your tenant to desist this behavior immediately.
The Board of Directors has levied a $50 fine and will continue to levy fines until the behavior stops.
The next fine will be $100.

Beyond the three blatant violations of the state's Condominium Property Code documented in that statement (Including the fact that any such action had to be voted upon in an open part of the meeting preceeding the issuing of the fine...which it was not. Both M and I were at the meeting, as documented HERE), the idea that opening a 18-inch by 9-inch vent window of an un-air conditioned basement laundry room by anyone on a hot summer day while doing laundry "may be or become an annoyance or nuisance to the other unit owners or occupants." defies any standards of reasonableness or intelligence...but it is a great way to generate a bit of quick cash for the cash-strapped Condo Board.
Open a window (which anybody can do), say "B did it", and bill for $100!
KA-CHING!
BTW, I'm not a "tenant" (who pays rent), but a "family member/resident" of the unit which M owns.
But then, you can't expect a totally-inept property manager to get little details like that right.

In order to avoid the Board claiming we were in arrears and adding a late fee, we paid the fine with a money order noting "without prejudice" and "under protest" and enclosed a note...

Enclosed are the payments for…
the monthly assessment.
the lawyer's fee for the real estate taxes.
the fee for the so-called "violation" to avoid further misuse by you of the authority of Property Manager.
Note that because you, property manager, violated (ironically) Section 18.4(l) of the Condominium Property Act, we have reported this matter, using your own documentation, to the appropriate agencies (all four of them) and reserve our right to challenge this egrigious and flagrant violation of the Act.

...and sent the payment Priority Mail with Delivery Confirmation, as we always do.
This proved to be a life-saver when, several years ago, the Board's servant tried to hit us up for a late fee and we proved payment was received by her in a timely fashion.
She was forced to retract the fee and apologize.

Yesterday, M received an e-mail at her work e-mail addy (which the Board's servant had been specifically-forbidden to use)...

I am in receipt of your note that was mailed along with the monthly assessment payment, real estate tax appeal payment and the money order for the fine imposed based on B’s violations of the Rules & Regulations previously reported on July 29, 2013 and August 5, 2013.
The Board of Directors has levied a $50 fine which was posted on your account and subsequently paid. 

Per your request, the Board welcomes you to attend the next scheduled Board of Director’s meeting to discuss this behavior and the fee imposed.

The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, December 18, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. at the (location over a mile from the condo).

M forwarded it to me for response, which I did with a vengeance...

As pointed out, since you, Board's servant, violated Section 18.4(l) of the Condominium Property Act, we reported this matter, using your own documentation, to the appropriate agencies (all four of them) and reserve our right to challenge this egrigious and flagrant violation of the Act.

You are assuming it would be at a Board meeting (which, by law, you were supposed to offer us the opportunity to speak at before imposing the fine).

Had you followed the law, you would not be in the position you are in now.

As it is, you failed miserably to do your job and will be held accountable.

We are passing on this after-the-fact attempt to cover-up your failure to the same authorities.
In addition, you were previously specifically-instructed not to contact M at her place of employment due to the time, concentration, and labor-intensive nature of her work.

All commmunications were to go through me, just as you wanted all contact with the Board to go through you.

You failed to follow those instructions.

Arbitrarily-disregarding clearly-established instructions and protocols (both by law and mutual agreement) is not proper behavior for a licensed property manager and is being reported as another, separate, case to the authorities, again, using your own documentation and documentation indicating your failure to follow both the Code and mutually-agreed instructions.

(We archive everything between the Board, property manager, and ourselves.)

Note: the Board is included in this correspondence since you included them.

I would not have included them otherwise.

I follow the rules, even if you don't, servant.

I am not the one without honor in this matter.

Any further attempt to contact M at her place of employment will be considered harrassment and reported to the authorities as yet another, seperate, case.

And that's where it stands.

If the Board's inept servant responds, we'll post it here.

As always, the un-expurgated versions of correspondence can be found at our subscription-only blog.

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What if the Inept Property Manager Arranged for Repairs...and DIDN'T Tell Anyone?

To show you how incompetent our Property Manager is...
This past Monday (August 26th), without warning, workmen showed up and started moving peoples' property off the back porches.
When asked, they told us they were there to "power-blast" the porches clean.
A little odd, but, considering the Manager and Board's propensity for non-communication (we haven't had Minutes for the Board meetings for over a year), not suprising.
The workmen did their job, then left.
People started putting their stuff back on the porches.
Yesterday (August 28th) morning, the workmen returned (again, without warning) and started applying protective varnisn/stain to the wood porches.
Around noon, signs finally appeared in the lobbies, stating...

The Decks will be

cleaned and stained beginning on

Monday, August 26, 2013

Weather permitting the project

should take 4 days to complete

Please remove all personal belongings

prior to Monday

The decks cannot be used until

Friday, August 30, 2013

Thank you in advance for your cooperation

It's hard to "cooperate" on Sunday/Monday when you don't receive notice until Wednesday, but logic has never been our property manager's strong suit...

What the Board Won't Tell You...

Lots of info, gossip, etc., about the Board meeting and the doings of the Board and their servant as well as news about M and me leaving Claremont, on our private blog.

Subscribers just go and log in.

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Board Violates the Law...AGAIN!

Sometime between 7pm last night and 7am this morning, a notice was finally posted in the lobbies of the buildings about tonight's 7pm Board meeting...though the law requires it be posted at least 48 hours before!
Another example of the Twit and the Twat failing in their responsibilities.
Watch for our summary of the meeting on Thursday.
The preparations made back in March are still in place, so it'll be interesting to see how the Board's minutes (If any. We haven't had minutes mailed to unit owners in over a year) will compare with "real life"...

Board Meeting Scheduled for Tomorrow...or IS IT?

With the last (late as usual) assessment bill, there was a flyer for a Board Meeting on August 14th at the usual distant-from-the-condo location.
However, as of 7am this morning, only 36 hours before the scheduled meeting, there are no flyers in either building lobby...as required by law!
(Notice is supposed to be posted in a "public place" no less than 48 hours before a meeting.)
Has the meeting been cancelled?
Is the Board planning to have it in secret?
What machinations are the Board and their servant planning?
(Note: There have been no Board Meeting minutes issued in over a year, not since the "Security Camera Debacle" detailed HERE.)
We'll be there, one way or another, so be here on Thursday for a follow-up.

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The Meeting (featuring a surprise guest appearance)

The meeting on the 26th was held at the usual location, in the open area of the public library as it was once before, which, as you will see, will lead into an embarassment for the Board, as I'll show shortly.

As the meeting began, the Board's servant introduced someone she claimed was their lawyer.

Though his general description matched the listing on the firm's site, his demeanour and attire didn't quite sync in my mind with a high-powered attorney.

He was then fed a series of prepared questions, most of which he answered correctly, though with a heavy emphasis on levying fines ranging in the thousands of dollars, instead of points of law.

(Though he did mention if the person they fined took the Board to court over the fines, unless they could prove reasonableness [an unlikely event when dealing with this group], they would lose.)

He also claimed that no one but unit owners could attend Board meetings, despite the fact that the Property Manager had actually provided a form letter to M allowing other representatives (such as myself) to attend, meaning either the Property Manager mis-read the law (which would not be a surprise) or the presumed "lawyer" was wrong.

After this 15-minute bit of theatre (which he mentioned was free of charge as a "meet-and-greet", though little meeting or greeting occured), he beat a hasty retreat instead of sitting in on the rest of the meeting, which any intelligent lawyer would've done, in order to see if what his clients claimed was true.

Once the "lawyer" departed, yours truly was ordered out of the meeting.

The problem was that the meeting was in an open part of a public library, which they had no authority to command me to leave.

After some of the usual blustering, the Board sent one of their members to see if the room they normally-used had finally become available.

It wasn't, so they were forced to continue the meeting with me well within earshot...which is not what they wanted.

They discussed a number of mundane matters, and at the end of the short attempt at face-saving, invited questions from attending unit owners.

There was only one (as usual), M, she asked about the fact that no Board meeting minutes had been distributed since last July!

The Board members and their servant all started talking at once about unrelated matters, never explaining why they had failed in their duties and responsibilities.

There's much more, including a point-by-point analysis of the quiz session (and why the heavy emphasis on expensive fines) and the acrimonious aftermath of the meeting at our subscription-only website.

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Board Meeting Tomorrow...

Notice went up this morning, less than 40 hours before the meeting, a violation of the Condo Code (which requires notices to be posted more than 48 hours before the meeting.).
It's at the usual location over a mile away.
The Board and Property Manager are aware that, due to mass-transit budget cuts, the bus M and I use to get to the over-a-mile distant location (we don't have a car) no longer runs after the start time of the meeting, forcing us to pay for a cab to get home.
An obviously-deliberate ploy to keep us from attending, due to M's bad knees.
Despite the unwarranted additional expense and inconvenience, we'll be there to face them down.

Previously-Unannounced Meeting!

A notice posted in the lobby listed a Board meeting on May 15th.
This is curious for several reasons...

• 1) It's only two months since the last meeting. Usually they're three months apart.
• 2) It's at the usual location over a mile away. The Board and Property Manager are aware that, due to mass-transit budget cuts, the bus M and I use to get to the over-a-mile distant location (we don't have a car) no longer runs after the start time of the meeting, forcing us to pay for a cab to get home. An obviously-deliberate ploy to keep us from attending, due to M's bad knees. Despite the unwarranted additional expense and inconvenience, we'll be there to face them down.
• 3) The year-end report contained a number of inaccuracies or (ahem) fallacies. We reported a couple of these in our previous post. Combine that with the failure of the Property Manager and Board to provide minutes for the three meetings since September 2012, and it looks like somebody's trying to cover their collective asses.

We have suspicions as to what, exactly, is going on.
Check this public blog for the leads, and our subscription-only blog for full details on the 16th.
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The Return of an Old Problem Part 6, And the Property Manager's...Interesting...Grasp of Mathematics!

The plumber finally arrived on Thursday, over a week since we requested his services.
To his credit the work was done swiftly and efficently.

On another matter, the year-end report for 2012 finally arrived a couple of days ago.
Among the other fun factoids, according to our property manager...

A money market account had a balance of $17,527.52.
The current interest rate on this account is .01%.
The total interest income was $7.00.

Really?
A money market account with only .01% interest?
And .01% of $17,527.52 is $7?

...operating expenses in 2012 were budgeted at $48,479.
Actual expenses were $56,807 or 83% over budget.

$56,807 is 183% of $48,479?

At December 31, 2012, there were no past due assessments from one unit owners.

So, 1 unit (out of 13) is up-to-date with assessments?
What about the other 12?
It goes on, but you get the idea of how incompetent this woman is...

The Return of an Old Problem Part 5, Late Assessments...and a Humorous Note!

Since I hadn't heard back from the plumber since our brief conversation on Friday, I called him on Monday, April 22nd...and got his voicemail.

So I e-mailed the property manager the following...

It's now been a week since we informed you of the plumbing problem.
As of the posting of this e-mail, I have not heard back from (the plumber) since I reached him at 4:15 pm on Friday, April 19th, 2013.
He said he'd call back a half-hour later.
He did not do so.
I phoned him yesterday, Monday, April 22nd, at 5 pm and got his voicemail.
Left a message, but, as of now (almost 24 hours later), received no response.
If your chosen plumber is unavailable and you cannot provide another in a timely manner, I will secure another and bill you for his/her services.

Less than an hour later, I received the following e-mail from the plumber...

Hi All,

 I am available after my second call tomorrow about noon tomorrow or perhaps Thursday if that works. Of course if you have water on the floor you should have already called. Call my cell if you need me.

I responded...

Early Thursday morning will be fine.
The water hasn't crested over the top of the shower stall pan...yet.

BTW: If you remember, we spoke at 4:15 pm on Friday, April 19th.
You were doing a job and said you'd call back a half-hour later.
Probably because it was a difficult task, you lost track and didn't call back.
I phoned you yesterday, Monday, April 22nd, at 5 pm and got your voicemail, but received no response.
Again, odds are you were involved in some labor-intensive task and couldn't answer.

He confirmed for Thursday morning, and that's where we stand as of now.

On a side note, we received the assessment bill (late, as usual) along with a short (3-page) financial statement as well as a one-page "Year-End Status Report" containing an average of one typo per line.

(At least I hope they're typos, otherwise our idiot property manager can neither spell nor count!)

And, of course, we still haven't received the September 2012, December 2012, nor March 2013  Board meeting minutes.

We'll go into that tomorrow.

The Return of an Old Problem Part 4 and Bill to Property Manager for Services Rendered

On Friday, April 19th, around 3:45 pm I received the following e-mail from the property manager...
Dear B,

It is my understanding that (The property manager's favorite plumber) left you a message to schedule an appointment to correct the drainage problem that you reported.
Please confirm by return email that you have connected with (plumber) and scheduled a time.

Please note that you have been notified in prior communications - all Association business is to be reported to the management office and not the Board of Directors directly.  You know the email.

Thank you in advance for you (sic) cooperation.

I e-mailed back...

Dear Mara:

(Plumber) called today, April 19th, 2013, at 1:37pm
There was no contact before then.
I will call him back and schedule a time

Please note that you have been notified in prior communications that all matters regarding maintenance and repairs are to be reported to me and not M, who is busy with detail-intensive work and cannot be disturbed with these matters, which she entrusted to me.
You know the e-mail.

When you play by the rules, I'll play by the rules.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

You'll note the plumber called only two hours before she e-mailed me.
I called the plumber, who was in the middle of a job and told me he'd call back ASAP.
As of Monday morning, March 22nd, I'm still waiting...

In an unrelated note, welders arrived to fix the gangway front gate.
They banged on my door and asked me for access to the laundry room so they could hook up their tools.
I'm billing the property manager for my time, since the matter isn't of concern to me and is not my responsibility.

The Return of an Old Problem Part 3

Having not heard from the property manager, I emailed...

As of end of business on 4/18/13, haven't heard back about a repair date since your response on 4/16/13 that you had not received our initial request posted to your website on 4/15/13.
So, no plumber until Monday?
Hope we don't get overflow before then...

Of course, if we do get overflow, we're making an emergency call to a plumber and billing it to the property manager.

The Return of an Old Problem Part 2

Since a day after posting to the property manager's website, I had not heard back, I emailed the following...

Since I haven't heard from you in regards to the problem we contacted you about at your maintenance/repair page yesterday, I'm following up to see if you, in fact, received the request.
Please note: M is not available to deal with this, as she is busy with major detail-intensive projects at work and cannot be disturbed.
If you have any questions, please call me at home or e-mail me at this addy to make arrangements for access.

Our less than forthright property manager responded...

I did not receive your request - please forward to (email address)

I followed up...

I suspected your website would not function after checking the coding.
This confirms it.
We wrote about the pre-existing condition:

I then repeated the post.
As of now, almost a full day later, and two days since my initial post, I have not heard back about scheduling a plumber.
Typical performance for our property manager.

The return of an Old Problem

With an old plumbing problem rearing it's head, M contacted the property manager via their website's maintenance/repair request page...

The ongoing problem with backup from washing machines on the East line of '60 N Claremont into our bathroom (dating back to 2009) is recurring once more.
It re-started about a month and a half ago with a little foam, but has been progressively getting worse.
The backflow of suds and water almost fills what is now a shower stall with only a 2" depth instead of a bathtub, and probably will begin overflowing in the next week or so.
We suggest you contact a plumber and let us know when he can be here to roto-rooter the problem, as has been done several times previously.

I will not be available to deal with this so, if you have any questions, please have the plumber call B at xxx.xxx.xxxx (cell) or xxx.xxx.xxxx (home) or e-mail xxxxxxxxx@gmail.com to make arrangements.

Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter.

We'll let you know what the response is, and if our property manager actually follows instructions for a change.

The Claremont/Ox-Bow Incident...One Year Ago Today

One year ago today...

M and I were having dinner tonite when there was a knock at the door.
I opened it and a hulking figure loomed over me.
I recognized him as one of the Board.
In a rumbling voice, he demanded that M come out and talk to the assembled Board and their servant, the Property Manager, in the building's lobby.

M, afraid, due to the mencing presence, unwillingly complied, and for the next half-hour they hounded, threatened, whined, and tried to cajole M...

Subscribers (including unit owners and residents who are already subscribers) can read the complete, un-edited version of this article, posted one year ago at our subscription-only blog.
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It's April Fool's Day...

...so here's a middle-finger salute to the biggest fools I know...

The Twit

The Twat

The Tart

and

The Eunich

otherwise known as 

the Board and Property Manager.

Check out our subscription-only blog for details about how each of them earned their nicknames...

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Board Meeting 3/20/13

One of the Board members didn't show.
Though they made light of it, the others were obviously concerned.
He's "missed" previous meetings and there's rumors of a rift between him and the others.
The Twit made light of the fact he hasn't yet produced Minutes for either the September or December 2013 meetings, breezily announcing "Don't worry about it." when asked.
It was announced that the already-late 2012 Financials will be sent with the April assessments.
(The March assessments were handed out to attendees, so non-attendees won't receive theirs by mail until at least the 22nd or 23rd in typical inept Fox Management fashion.)
Though it was announced publicly that there were no delinquencies, the Board rushed through the meeting as if to get rid of us so they could discuss matters in "private".
Unfortunately for them, the room was not as private as they might have wanted, since we arrived there before any of the others and were able to "prep" it.
Readers of our private / unexpugated blog can read the details now.
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Meeting? What Meeting?

When we received the on-time (but still less than 10 days before required payment) assessment in February, there was a notice enclosed about a Board Meeting on March 20th.
The Condomimium Code requires that the notice be posted in "public areas" (like building lobbies) no less than 48 hours before the meeting.
As of this posting on the morning of the 19th, less than 36 hours before the scheduled meeting, there's no notice posted anywhere!
Another failure in a long line of screw-ups by the Twit and Property Manager.
Since the Board was stopped in their attempt to leech $10,000 out of the unit owners with their fradulent "vandalism" scare last September, they've been skittish about even speaking to unit owners, especially us.
Will they attempt to hold the March 20th meeting in secret, hoping that no one bothered to read the notice in the February assessment folder?
Keep reading, fans!
There's more lunacy to come!

UPDATE:
Returning home around 8pm, M and I saw a notice finally posted in the lobby, less than 24 hours before the meeting.
Another example of the Twit and the Twat failing in their responsibilities.
Watch for our summary of the meeting on Thursday.

Assessment Arrives "On Time"...but Late!

The assessment bill arrived on Wednesday, the 20th...without Board meeting minutes from either September or December, 2012!
But, since February only has 28 days, the assessment's arrival on the 20th leaves only eight days to avoid a late charge!
It's a clever stunt by the property manager, who can claim "Well, you got it by the 20th! What are you bitching about?", while leaving less than ten days to pay the bill!
Fear not, reader, she's not as smart as we are.
Payment is being sent today, with delivery confirmation.

As to why there's no meeting minutes...either the Twit is totally-incapable of writing a couple of coherent paragraphs, or he's afraid to put anything on paper because he knows he'll be called out on any lies he presents.
It's certainly not due to lack of time on his hands, since he's apparently underemployed judging from the amount of times I see him here in the afternoon.

Assessment Arrives Early, but the Minutes DON'T

The assessment bill arrived on Saturday...without Board meeting minutes from either September or December!
As to why there's no meeting minutes...either the Twit is totally-incapable of writing a couple of coherent paragraphs, or he's afraid to put anything on paper because he knows he'll be called out on any lies he presents.
It's certainly not due to lack of time on his hands, since he's apparently underemployed judging from the amount of times I see him here in the afternoon.

MORE rodents due to the property manager's cheap solutions to the vermin problem

One of our neighbors in the condo (with children) has both heard and seen rodents in her unit over the past few weeks.
Considering the kids' health is endangered, it'll be interesting to see how quickly our inept Property Manager and inert Board react to her request to have the problem solved, not to mention if they'll do a Band-Aid approach or actually deal with the problem of vermin (not counting Board members) tunnelling in...