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.
To become a subscriber and receive a password, just email a request to claremontwhistlebloweratgpantsmail.com. (change "at" to "@" and take off "pants".)

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...

Send an e-mail to claremontwhistlebloweratgpantsmail.com,

substitute "&" for "and" and take off "pants".