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Condo boards everywhere are unprepared for serious repairs

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Re: Condo boards everywhere are unprepared for serious repairs

#81

Post by mooreds »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #66
mooreds wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All I want is for someone to build a HOA portal that isn't horrible. The two I've had experience with were old old school, slow, and super painful.

Is there a need for a portal? A website with the condo’s documents/minutes/spreadsheets/videos seems like it suffices. A forum can also be setup if necessary.

Things I need from an HOA portal:

   * ticketing system with management company
   * way to set up ACH/dues payments
   * ways to look at docs and minutes
   * way to communicate with the board
   * calendar of the board meetings
   * way to communicate with the other owners
Sure, you could put that together mostly with Gsuite functionality, but an integrated modern product would be really great.

Re: Condo boards everywhere are unprepared for serious repairs

#82

Post by mooreds »

mooreds wrote: post #81
lotsofpulp wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there a need for a portal? A website with the condo’s documents/minutes/spreadsheets/videos seems like it suffices. A forum can also be setup if necessary.

Things I need from an HOA portal: * ticketing system with management company * way to set up ACH/dues payments * ways to look at docs and minutes * way to communicate with the board * calendar of the board meetings * way to communicate with the other owners Sure, you could put that together mostly with Gsuite functionality, but an integrated modern product would be really great.

"Why don't you build that, Dan?"

After a few startups, I've learned that you have to love the problem domain to survive the startup grind.

I don't love the problem domain of HOA and HOA management.

I'm also unsure what the sales cycle would be like, so the first step, if I (or anyone else) were to head down the path, would be to call up a bunch of boards and/or management companies and see how they buy.

Re: Condo boards everywhere are unprepared for serious repairs

#83

Post by mooreds »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #70
toomuchtodo wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s the portal, usually has login/auth for unit owners, and backend admin functions for the condo board or their management company.

I do not see a need for login. What could be confidential?

Setting up ACH to pay dues.

Board meeting minutes are not hidden from owners, but probably are not public info. (Stuff like bids and fines are recorded there.)

Re: Condo boards everywhere are unprepared for serious repairs

#84

Post by OnionBlender »

MattGaiser wrote: post #2

I would be extremely reluctant to own a condo because condo boards revert to the mean person's attitude to solving problems of putting it off until it is staring them in the face. Grandparents owned one where the board deferred thousands in repairs until it became hundreds of thousands.

I rent but it feels like I'm just throwing away money every month compared to owning a condo. I used to own a condo but sold it years ago and moved to the U.S. for work. Selling it was idiotic in retrospect considering how much the value would have increased these past few years.

Re: Condo boards everywhere are unprepared for serious repairs

#85

Post by somethoughts »

35fbe7d3d5b9 wrote: post #65
somethoughts wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree here. And its not just America but really just any government in any country. I've come to think of governments/countries as just a very, very extensive, giant home owners association that happens to float its own currency, fund its own schools, etc. The HOA fees are basically taxes and often times fees are accessed by the size of your unit. Thinking from an HOA perspective - you then become comfortable with…

> I've come to think of governments/countries as just a very, very extensive, giant home owners association that happens to float its own currency, fund its own schools, etc. I'm always nervous about this type of reductive thinking. It tends to go wrong for the same reasons that "the government's checkbook should be managed like a household budget!" goes wrong. Your HOA doesn't control the financial systems of every…

Agree and perhaps a better way to frame it would be, countries mostly start out as HOAs and then experience a ton of expansion and scope creep in their charter over the 5-10 centuries of their existence.

> Probably the biggest gap in this thinking: if you don't like your HOA, you can sell your house. In this market there's no lack of buyers and you have tons of options – other HOAs, unencumbered properties, etc. This sucks, sure, but compare it to emigrating to a country that you'd like to live in. It's miles apart.

I'd say this is just endgame monopolization in the market for HOAs. There used to be 100's of independent HOAs in the US in 1700's, they then consolidated to 13 colonies and then 200 years of further consolidation and voila - the country known as the United States.

Re: Condo boards everywhere are unprepared for serious repairs

#86

Post by toomuchtodo »

klodolph wrote: post #74
toomuchtodo wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the condo board doesn’t have the will or the unit owner votes to approve the work, it won’t be done.

Wouldn't it be more straightforward to tighten the building codes? The condo board is already required to perform repairs to keep the building up to code.

> The condo board is already required to perform repairs to keep the building up to code.

A collapsed condo building disagrees.

Re: Condo boards everywhere are unprepared for serious repairs

#87

Post by readflaggedcomm »

JohnWhigham wrote: post #50
giantg2 wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Nobody wants to pay for what is a collective problem." Yet they choose to live in a collective structure. It's essentially another level of government entered into via contract. Maybe they should choose to live in an independent residence if they didn't want that.

It's a nasty sentiment that's inculcated into virtually all Americans since birth; any problem beyond our property line we don't give a fuck about. Hilariously ironic of course for people that choose to buy property in a building owned by someone else.

Taking action beyond my property line might open me up for devastating liability, even if fixing a shared wall works fine. The sentiment at fault isn't keeping to oneself, it's the opposite.

Re: Condo boards everywhere are unprepared for serious repairs

#88

Post by dragonwriter »

somethoughts wrote: post #85
35fbe7d3d5b9 wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I've come to think of governments/countries as just a very, very extensive, giant home owners association that happens to float its own currency, fund its own schools, etc. I'm always nervous about this type of reductive thinking. It tends to go wrong for the same reasons that "the government's checkbook should be managed like a household budget!" goes wrong. Your HOA doesn't control the financial systems of every…

Agree and perhaps a better way to frame it would be, countries mostly start out as HOAs and then experience a ton of expansion and scope creep in their charter over the 5-10 centuries of their existence. > Probably the biggest gap in this thinking: if you don't like your HOA, you can sell your house. In this market there's no lack of buyers and you have tons of options – other HOAs, unencumbered properties, etc. This…

> countries mostly start out as HOAs and then experience a ton of expansion and scope creep in their charter over the 5-10 centuries of their existence.

[citation needed]

> There used to be 100's of independent HOAs in the US in 1700's, they then consolidated to 13 colonies and then 200 years of further consolidation and voila - the country known as the United States.

That’s...not accurate even as a very loose analogy.

Re: Condo boards everywhere are unprepared for serious repairs

#89

Post by klodolph »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #86
klodolph wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wouldn't it be more straightforward to tighten the building codes? The condo board is already required to perform repairs to keep the building up to code.

> The condo board is already required to perform repairs to keep the building up to code. A collapsed condo building disagrees.

> A collapsed condo building disagrees.

That's a really cutesy way of putting it.

My take on this is that the building codes in Florida are perhaps too lax, although I'm not an expert on building codes. From the reports I've been reading, the relevant inspections were to be done on a 40-year interval, and the building lasted less than 40 years (so its first inspection, in service, was never conducted).

This, to me, indicates that if the building was ever up to code, the code was too lax. If the maintenance was done to code, then the code was too lax.

Re: Condo boards everywhere are unprepared for serious repairs

#90

Post by klodolph »

briefcomment wrote: post #22
moralestapia wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the right answer. Some repairs should be mandatory, if the owner can't pay it should be treated as any other debt. If the owner can't afford repairs, it should sell the unit, otherwise the damages are greater for all other owners.

I guess there's the potential problem of the inspector suggesting repairs for the sake of business. Mandatory repairs would likely be gamed unless there are robust checks and balances.

How much of a problem is this? In most places, there are laws regarding the conflict of interest for building inspectors. For example, building inspectors may not be allowed to be involved in the any building business at all, with some exceptions carved out for making modifications to their own home.
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