The Riot

I am in Denver at a meeting.  I have 13 minutes to complete this post:  my session starts at 8:00. 

I live in a condo.  It's only 24 units (which is the biggest problem we have; that's too few to have enough lunatics to get passionate about governing as a Board of Directors).  Our Board has been a joke since I moved in in 1997.  Nobody has been willing to step up to the plate except for one tired, old, cantankerous Kiwi (from NZ) and a handfull of weary women who join him only if he agrees to make all the decisions and they don't have to do anything.

In essesnce, my condo is a little kingdom with the Kiwi as King. 

Now, I'm not a democracy or death kinda guy.  In fact, I think kingdoms and queendoms and even dictatorships are preferable if the one at the top is enlightened, informed and values the opinions of others.  Our Kiwi is a tyrant.  He makes and implements decisions all by himself, without even consulting the old ladies he surrounds himself with. 

For years he's consistently made bad decisions -- decisions that adversely affect the value of our condos.  Right now, in my neighborhood it's almost impossible to find a condo for less than $500,000 -- and that's probably a one bedroom and is most certainly under 1000 square feet. Our units, which are all two bedroom and range from 945 square feet to 1148 square feet take weeks and weeks of marketing to eventually bring prices in the $425,000 range. 

We lag the neighborhood because of cosmetics:  our color scheme is '80s sea foam green and beige;  our landscaping has not been updated since the building went up in '85; the lighting (which was probably chic at the time) is merely industrial by today's standards. 

Our Kiwi thinks his job is to accomplish repairs and maintenance only when absolutely necessary and then only in the most inexpensive way.  Therefore, nothing has been updated in years:  hence the low ball prices. 

For sometime we've talked about painting the trim around our building.  It's quite faded with 20 years of San Diego sunshine.  Everyone was excited about the prospect of changing our tired old color to something fresh and new. It wouldn't cost any more and would give such a boost to our place. 

The last homeowner's meeting resulted in a passed motion to get color samples and let each homeowner vote on what they liked best.  How democratic!  But in a quickly called 'emergency' meeting a week later, the Board (read:  the Kiwi) decided to override the homeowners and paint the trim the same old tired color. 

It's such a stupid decision I can't even fathom the logic in it -- if there is any.

And my 13 minutes is up.  Gotta go.  More on this saga later . . . and it really does end up as a riot. 

**********

When I heard about the emergency meeting and the snap decision to deprive homeowners of the vote that had been promised to them, I began to slowly seethe.  I seethed from 8pm Thursday night until 8am Friday morning.  Then I flew into action with the best weapon I have:  my ability to communicate and pursuede in print.  I wrote a calm, succinct two page letter to all of my neighbors telling them what had happened and urging them to talk with me and each other, to unite and demand the voice they'd been promised.  I distributed the letters to all homeowners, including the evil Kiwi and his harum of harpie supporters. 

The letter was not just a condemnation of the current regime and a call to action over the color issue.  It was also a blast at the rest of us who have sat placidly on the sidelines for years, content to put up with bad leadership rather than exert the effort to become involved.  I challenged us all to use this event as a catalyst to take control and become involved. 

My phone began to ring almost immediately.  People were volunteering, jumping on board, expressing their outrage, asking how they could help.  One of my neighbors decided to take the fight to the next level and circulate a petition demanding a vote for every homeowner.  She scurried from door to door and soon had 16 signatures -- a perfect 2/3s majority. 

But this morning we were all awakend by the roar of a huge flatbed truck. 

The painters had arrived with a cherry picker cat to begin painting.  The Kiwi ignored our petition, refused to look at it in fact, and had them out there with their ugly sea foam green paint.  Word quickly spread through the building.  Soon there was a gang of about 8 homeowners standing between the painters, the Kiwi and the building.  Threats were made on both sides, mostly between King Kiwi and my Bob, with whom he's had problems in the past;  and then the issue of a contract with the painters came up.  There was none.  The Kiwi had never signed one.  On discovery of this key fact, the painters loaded their cat back on the truck and left.

Kiwi continued to rail for awhile, finally shouting, 'Fuck you all!  I'm getting a lawyer!' and storming off.  The riot was over.  The good guys had won. 

We now have the task of overthrowing the Kiwi and his harum of harpie parrots.  It should be easy with the ire he's stirred up over painting.  Soon we'll have a new board, a new color and a small group of disgruntled residents hating to live here. 

And I'm proud to say it all started with my letter.  In some silly fashion it is one of those great declarative documents that drives the complacent to action, like the Declaration of Independence or the Magna Carta.  Hell, I"m so proud of it, I'll reproduce it here:

May 14, 2005

Dear Neighbor,

Have you noticed how difficult it has become to sell a unit at XXXXX Condos?  Have you noticed that, in one of the hottest close-in neighborhoods in San Diego, where homes sell in a matter of weeks if not days, the For Sale signs go up in front of our building and sit and sit and sit?  Have you noticed that it is almost impossible to find even a one bedroom condo in the neighborhood for less than $500,000 --- but that we're having difficulty getting $420,000 for two bedrooms? 

There is a reason for this. 

Our building is cosmetically outdated and generally run down.  It looks to the world as if it was put up in the 80s and never touched again.  Even the cheap apartment-to-condo conversions occurring in the neighborhood look better and sell for more. 

Every one of us could have $50,000 - $100,000 more equity in our homes if we came together to do some simple cosmetic updating at XXXXX Condos.  I don't presume to know what that is - and a committee of homeowners would probably be best at outlining improvements - but having worked in the real estate business for over 30 years I know it is remarkable what a little paint, landscaping, lighting and cleaning can do to boost value and create demand. 

Painting the Sea-Foam Green stripes that circle our building has been a topic of discussion here for some time.  Not only are they an 80s era color, they are sun faded and make the building look old and run down.  At the last general homeowner meeting a decision was made to have Frazee Paint photograph our building and come back with color suggestions for the stripe that would give us a more current look.   Each resident was to vote on the color they thought was best.  The Association would paint the stripe and each of us would be responsible for painting our balcony railings and outside doors to match - which is not difficult and can be accomplished inexpensively. 

But a week later in a quickly called 'emergency' meeting, our Board of Directors decided to overturn that decision, to deprive the residents who elected them of a voice, and to simply over-paint the stripe with another coat of Sea-Foam Green. 

This is, of course, the quickest, easiest and least expensive solution.  It is consistent with our pattern of always grabbing at the quickest, easiest and least expensive solution - a pattern that has put each of us tens of thousands of dollars behind in property value.   It is certainly NOT what the homeowners at XXXXX condos agreed to. 

There are two problems here.  First, we as homeowners have been utterly focused for years on keeping our HOA fee as low as possible.  We tend to only increase it for emergency purposes and then usually in the form of a special assessment of some kind.  Rather than invest an extra $25 or $50 or $100 a month in boosting our property's value, we have chosen to let our building deteriorate around us.  When repairs are needed, we never seem to have any money. 

Second - and I hate to say this - we are a very apathetic group.  Few of us have ever been willing to step up and become involved in the day to day management of our community.  And the few who have stepped up from time to time have been beaten bloody by the complainers, the demanders and the ones who are terrified of spending an extra dollar or two on the place.  As a result, we have an autocratic board, elected by default, operating in a vacuum and repeating the incredibly expensive errors of the past. 

Is it any wonder that our building looks tired, rusty, dirty and Sea-Foam Green old?  Is it any wonder that in 20 years the landscaping has never been revitalized?  Is it any surprise that repairs have been made to the spa three times in the past five years to avoid condemnation by the county but we've never spent a dime on the replastering that would transform it from an eyesore into a value-increasing asset?   Is it any wonder that we continue to abdicate leadership of our community to the same weary residents over and over? 

Regardless what you think of me, my spouse, our dog, our music and noise, our clutter in the garage and the mess outside our door, the message I bring you is true and correct.  We are at the end of the line in terms of property value at XXXXX Condos.  We are at the point where we will not only lag the neighborhood but will also begin to decline in value if we don't do something different. 

What am I suggesting?  Involvement.  Call me; call each other; talk about it; make your opinion known; stop the Board from violating the decision that was made at the general HOA meeting.  Demand a voice, demand a choice.  Come out of your home and join the rest of us timid souls in doing the one thing we ought to be doing as a community:  preserving and increasing our property value. 

This has not been an easy letter to write.  Despite what you may believe, I actually like everyone here:  all 24 units worth.  But I'm very tired and frankly ready to move on.   When Bob and I put our place up for sale, I want it to sell quickly for something close to market value. . . .  Don't you?

Thanks -

JazzDing