Yet another HOA rant. This will be the last one. Yes, I stepped down. No, she is not speaking to me. Or looking at me (honest ... she was talking to a neighbor and when she saw me, she went behind a bush. I purposely went over to talk to that neighbor). Or communicating (much) with me. Only out of necessity will she email or text.
I had already signed on to be the Spa Manager for two months so we could open that amenity early. I rounded up six volunteers who will check the chemicals one day a week for two months (then the pool opens and some other sucker can coordinate that) and the professional pool guy will come once a week.
Braeden and I went about 10am Easter morning (opening day!) and the spa was filthy and the water was cloudy. We got in anyway and took thorough showers when we went home. I texted to her (Sunday is her day to volunteer) to see what the chemical levels were. Out of whack so I said I would call Phil (pro) to get his advice. (Don't you think a tester would inform the manager IF things were not normal?)
The pro's worker bee came on Monday morning and as I was leaving our parking lot (my building is next to the pool) I saw her out there with him. I waited til after 2pm to see if she would volunteer any info. Nope. So I texted to see if she had gotten any update. She proceeded to tell me the technical details that Pro had told her. Her. Not the Manager.
I had to call her out on that so I texted "I'm so glad I asked you BEFORE I texted Phil as I would have felt pretty stupid asking him the exact same thing" Then, out of the blue, Phil texted me the exact info that she had already given me ... she had texted him to tell him to text me!
I'm done. It's over. She cannot keep herself from being involved in everything.
Coincidentally (not), my request for grass to be replaced was "approved" IF I paid the landscaper $1,027 (for 250 sq feet of sod) for both time and materials. In the past, Owner paid for plants (sod is $150 for that amount) and HOA paid for installation. Nope. That has now changed .... interesting? I think not.
Now I will go back to what my parents taught me ... if I don't have anything nice to say ....
CAUTION - READ AT YOUR OWN RISK
This will be my last blog. My heart is not in it, I struggle to find topics and readership is half of what it used to be. If I have a negat...
-
Bar Codes vs QR codes Believe it or not, bar codes were invented in the early 1950’s and patented in the US and are kinda based on th... -
This will be my last blog. My heart is not in it, I struggle to find topics and readership is half of what it used to be. If I have a negat...
What's the difference between a spa and a pool?
ReplyDeleteSpa is the hot tub or jacuzzi. It takes all of 5 minutes to do two chemical tests and write down the results. But getting people to sign up and help????? like pulling teeth! We have the pro come 3x week during pool season ... but it's a big chunk of change so we try to do the other four days ourselves.
DeleteYou'd think if people like using the hot tub and jacuzzi, they'd want to help test. It must also be a health issue.
ReplyDeleteWe have one person who uses spa EVERY night, is not employed and when asked DIRECTLY, in person, just said "no". Many owners think buying a condo means they have many many minions to do things for them ...
DeleteI don't understand why in the world you want to be involved in this kind of stuff. Your life should be calm and relaxed--Oh, wait. That's what my life is like and I'm bored outta my gourd. LOL Okay--carry on!
ReplyDeleteI like to do my fare share of helping (and keeping my monthly fees low). But the politics will now keep me in the distance I'm glad I have my little BUSY family and 30 years of friends!
DeleteI can see where there are two mindsets working against each other. Those who are willing to do a few chores to keep the fees low and those who don't care about that and moved from a house to a condo so they didn't have to do chores. No happy meeting of the minds will ever come together in that scenario. It's been an education reading your condo wows.
ReplyDeleteAnd apparently many HOAs are even worse! A couple in Hawaii sued (and won millions) as the Board and HOA minions keyed their car, stole things off their property, etc. What makes people so mean?
DeleteSo many of us are staying in the background because of the gossip ... our fees will continue to increase because we pay exorbitant prices for vendors that the management company recommends ... instead or more affordable choices. They hire their OWN "service division" to remove styrofoam vent covers (at $65/hour) vs having our handyman doing it ($25/hr) "because of liability issues".
We sort of have an HOA here, but it's very pared down. We paid much more at our last house, and the HOA was involved in much more: gym, building a new playground, tennis courts, caring for pool/spa, they built a skateboard ramps and trail, and on and on. They were always putting in something new. Very expensive. I now live in a small neighborhood. No pool, no other amenities (there is a recreation club across the street with pool, tennis, etc. that we could join). For this community, our annual dues are only $100. That covers planting flowers at the entrance and one other place and maintaining them, and there is snow removal. That's about it. This is not the community for someone who wants a lot of amenities. That's for sure. We occasionally get a note about something of interest, but no newsletter. No frills. I don't miss anything, but I would like a community building where neighbors could get together to play cards, work puzzles, etc. I think it might encourage socializing and getting to know your neighbor.
ReplyDeleteThey don't deserve you!
The Maui neighborhood also has an HOA ... $600 a year. We have to pay for electricity for street lights! And landscaping of community areas (lots. But oh my the politics there! HOAs are not usually a good thing. In my humble opinion. I like our little committees here in Oregon ... good way to meet some neighbors. We do have a small library/puzzle room. We tried organizing game night but it wasn't a big draw. Several neighbors host Bunco or bridge once a month for friends who live elsewhere.
DeleteWe added stronger wifi so now we can use it in the pool area and our undercover patio area. I do enjoy having the pool, spa, clubhouse rooms and a guest suite for $50/night. The complex is really aging though ... attic exhaust system was ill thought out and now some buildings have mold. The irrigation system is a maze of add ons and needs revised and replaced. Last year we rebuilt the pool, spa and surrounding area Big ticket items.
I think I'll just be background noise here for a year or two.