Life on The Other Side - A Resident’s Candid Take on Condo Living and Community Governance

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Everyone knows that boards and management are the decision makers in community associations—but what’s it like to be on the receiving end of those choices?

In this week’s episode of Take It To The Board, host Donna DiMaggio Berger flips the script with a guest who provides a candid look at life within a condominium association where he believes things are going awry. To protect his privacy and avoid potential backlash, his identity is concealed, and he’s referred to as “Bob.” A retired attorney with four decades of executive-level experience in public companies, Bob brings a unique and thought-provoking perspective to the table.

Bob shares valuable insights into the importance of due diligence when purchasing property, reflecting on his own missteps and lessons learned. His conversation with Donna highlights the vital role diverse perspectives play in shaping the quality of life within shared ownership communities.

The discussion delves into the inner workings of board meetings, with Bob advocating for increased transparency and resident participation. He challenges the rigidity of traditional meeting formats, calling for innovation and decorum to better accommodate the varied demographics in many communities. Special assessments, the impact of meeting formats—virtual vs. in-person—and the balance between accessibility and engagement are all topics explored in depth.

From the responsibilities of board members to the rights of residents, Donna and Bob shine a light on the delicate balance between governance and community harmony. They address challenges like navigating strict community rules while maintaining personal freedoms and ensuring communal safety. Bob’s anecdotes—ranging from frustrations with hiring contractors to the convenience of maintenance-free living—paint a realistic and balanced picture of today's condo lifestyle.

Join Donna and Bob for an enlightening conversation that blends personal stories, legal insights, and practical advice on thriving in shared ownership communities.

Conversation Highlights Include:

• What led to Bob’s dissatisfaction with his Condo Board
• Ways to improve communication channels between the board and the residents 
• Rules or policies that Bob finds unfair or overly restrictive (see if Donna agrees!)
• Bob’s advice to someone considering moving into a community association
• Ways a board can restore trust and improve relationships with residents

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hi everyone, I'm attorney Donna DiMaggio-Berger,
and this is Take it to the Boardwhere we speak condo and HOA.
Every community association ismade up of more than just
budgets, bylaws and boardmeetings.
It's made up of people.
Today, we're diving into theperspective of one of those
people a unit owner.
Often we hear about boards andmanagement making the big

(00:23):
decisions, but how does it allfeel from the other side?
What's it like to be on thereceiving end of the policies,
procedures and personalitiesthat shape a community?
Our guest today is here toshare what it's like to live in
a condominium association wherehe believes things are going
wrong and what he thinks boardscould do better.
It's a rare opportunity to stepinto the shoes of a resident
navigating board decisions andan insightful reminder of the

(00:46):
delicate balance betweengovernance and community.
Now my guest is asked that Irefer to him as Bob in order to
help avoid any backlash fromthis episode.
Bob has been retired since 2017.
He's a former attorney withfour decades of executive level
experience in a variety ofpublic companies level
experience in a variety ofpublic companies.
He moved into a South Floridahigh-rise condominium community

(01:07):
approximately two years ago andhe's had some real challenges
adjusting to what he perceivesto be a certain amount of
rigidity in associationgovernance, as well as a lack of
common sense at times.
It's important to remember thattoday's so-called dissident is
often tomorrow's new boardmember, so keeping an open mind
and engaging in a productivedialogue with your members,
particularly the ones who do notagree with you, is crucial.

(01:30):
So with that, Bob, welcome toTake it to the Board.

Speaker 2 (01:34):
Thank you so much.
I appreciate being here.

Speaker 1 (01:36):
Well, this is new for us.
So you know, the whole premiseof the podcast, bob, is that,
you know, during the pandemic Iwas listening like a lot of
people during shutdown.
We had, you know, during thepandemic I was listening like a
lot of people during shutdown,we had, you know, altered
schedules and I startedlistening to a variety of
podcasts and there wasn't one onthe community association
lifestyle.
So I said why don't I start one?
By the time this episode isreleased, we'll be in our fourth

(01:57):
season and we've had all sortsof different people on the
podcast, but we have not yet hada unit owner.
And, by the way, I wasn'tlooking for just any unit owner.
Okay, I was looking forsomebody with your level of
experience who couldarticulately discuss what some
of the challenges are in theassociation lifestyle.

(02:17):
So I'm excited and I'm sure thepeople listening are going to
be excited to hear from somebodyon the other side of the aisle.

Speaker 2 (02:24):
Great, I look forward to it.

Speaker 1 (02:25):
So let's start out.
So how long have you lived inyour current condominium
associations?
Two years, I said in the intro.

Speaker 2 (02:31):
Yeah, just about two years.
I'm new to South Florida.

Speaker 1 (02:34):
Okay.
Well, what attracted you tothis particular property that
you bought it?

Speaker 2 (02:38):
Oh, a handful of considerations.
First, I guess I would say itslocation.
It's very conveniently locatedto everything that you might
want to have when you choose tolive in South Florida.
So that was good.
The kind of the vintage of thebuilding was an attraction to me
.
It's a relatively new building,so the standards of
construction and the newness ofit all was very attractive.

(03:01):
It's a place that I thought,and I still think, will hold its
value over time.
So, as a, it's a.
It's a big financial commitment, as you know, to buy into a
condominium anywhere really, butcertainly here in South Florida
, and I guess that's about it.
Those, those, those things.

Speaker 1 (03:21):
So I'm going to ask you, bob, how much due diligence
did you do when you were buyinginto this particular
condominium in terms of howstable the board was, whether or
not I mentioned you're anattorney?
Did you have to check the civilcourt docket to see if they'd
been sued or sued?
Had you talked to people in theneighborhood?

(03:41):
What kind if you can walk usthrough other than, like most
people, looking at the view andtheir layout and loving the unit
, was there any sort of duediligence about the association
lifestyle?

Speaker 2 (03:53):
I would say not enough and you're embarrassing
me a little bit by putting kindof that burden, that expectation
on me Not enough.
I was more of a typicalconsumer, I would say Not enough

(04:15):
.
I was more of a typicalconsumer, I would say someone
looking for a nice place to live, the view, the condition of the
unit that I was buyingchallenge even for someone with
a legal background because, asyou well know, those things are
oftentimes indecipherable or atleast they don't communicate a

(04:36):
lot of good, useful, day-to-daypractical information.
I guess I'd say it that wayWith hindsight.
I certainly did not do enoughdiligence myself and I would
recommend to really anybodywho's considering a move into a
community like this that they domore than I did.

Speaker 1 (04:54):
And certainly not meant to embarrass because yours
is, across the board, typicalMost people.
They are looking at certainthings when they're buying in a
multifamily building or a sharedownership community.
They're not thinking 10 stepsdown the road.
So it's not atypical whatyou're describing.
If you knew then what you knownow about some of the challenges

(05:18):
, would you make the samepurchase decision.

Speaker 2 (05:21):
That's a bit of a tough one, I probably would, and
it's not without its challenges, as we're going to get into.
But yeah, I would.
A tough one, I probably would,and it's not without its
challenges, as we're going toget into.
But yeah, I would say, onbalance, I probably would.
I would make this generalobservation about a first time
condo owner in South Floridathat I have been impressed with
the ability of so many peopleliving so close to one another

(05:45):
who I mean they make it work.
I mean, if you think about it,the shared spaces bumping into
people all day long, having tobe considerate of your neighbors
and generally speaking, thingsseem to work pretty well.
We'll get into some of myconcerns as you kind of preview,
so I think I would make thesame decision.

(06:05):
I would say that there arecircumstances with this
particular building, as relateto the physical structure itself
, that I was not made aware of,and I guess I could ask you
whether there was an obligationthat someone in my shoes should
have been made aware of thesethings.
But there are.

(06:25):
I mean, even though it's anewer building, it's less than
eight years old.
There are issues, none of themstructural, none of them are
related to safety.
But nonetheless there areissues here that had I known
about, I might have had a littlemore pause, probably would have
made the same decision, becausethere is a process in place to

(06:46):
address those issues, butnonetheless there were some
things that I didn't know aboutthat I think maybe I should have
been told about.

Speaker 1 (06:54):
Did you buy directly from the developer?

Speaker 2 (06:57):
No, or resale.
No, it was a resale.

Speaker 1 (07:00):
Okay.
So that also sets the stage.
So in new construction,especially here in Florida, we
have people listening all over.
But in Florida we have aprocess called 558 under Chapter
558 of the Florida statutes.
I'm quite familiar with it nowFlorida law that's kind of

(07:27):
designed to pump the brakes on aconsumer's ability to go after
the developer there has to betesting.
Normally with new constructionit's the association that's
bringing the claim on behalf ofthe representative class of all
owners and this does notpreclude unit owners from
directly bringing a claimagainst the developer.
But you bought in resale.
So yeah, I don't know if youused.
Did you use an attorney foryour purchase or just a title

(07:50):
agent?

Speaker 2 (07:51):
Well, I used an attorney to review the contract
and to help with the title andthe closing, but the attorney
either didn't have his view, hisresponsibility to do the kind
of diligence that you're talkingabout.
This building that I'm livingin is in a 558 process itself,

(08:12):
and I did not know about thatuntil I was closed and living
here and went to my first boardmeeting.

Speaker 1 (08:19):
Right, and then you heard all about it and listen
that process.
As you can imagine, developersare not keen on just writing a
check when you come to them withyour problems, so it can be an
often protracted, costly process.
But the first thing and I thinkthis point is really important
is about using the attorney.
Attorney who's handling aclosing, particularly in a new

(08:48):
multifamily building or even anolder multifamily building, is
walking their client throughthose documents, looking to
explain to you how many parkingspaces you have.
Is one of them an appurtenanceto your unit, meaning it belongs
to you?
It cannot be split apart fromthe unit.
Can you assign it out?
Do you have storage space?
Do you have exclusive use ofthat storage space?
Again, do you own it or can youassign it out?

(09:11):
Having counsel at the outset,talk to you about the use
restrictions, you know, Bob, doyou have a pet?
If you do, how many pets do youhave?
What do they weigh?
Do you have emotional supportor service animals?
Do you have a particular typeof vehicle?
All of those things.
I think it's really important.
First of all, I think it'simportant for people to use

(09:33):
attorneys to help them purchaseproperty and to sell property,
Not to take away from realestate agents and title agents,
but it's not the same as havingcounsel walk you through your
legal rights, help you with thatcontract and then help you
understand what you'repurchasing.

Speaker 2 (09:49):
Yeah, I agree with all of that, and I didn't do.
I did some of that, but not allof it.
It wasn't as thorough anddetailed as you're describing
and I would say if I were doingit again, I would take greater
care with all of that for sure.

Speaker 1 (10:05):
So what led to your dissatisfaction?
You know you've been in twoyears.
It's relatively newconstruction you bought as a
resale.
What started you down the pathof having some concerns?

Speaker 2 (10:17):
Yeah, again, I don't want to come across as being
overly critical of anyone and soI wouldn't say that I'm quote
unquote, dissatisfied.
There are some issues that, asyou and I have previously
discussed, and I think whatstarted was really the first

(10:39):
board meeting that I attendedand you know, and it was fairly
early on while I lived here, theboard is made up of a diligent,
pleasant, hardworking,committed group of original
owners in this building, all ofwhom were or are professionals
in their own right engineers,lawyers, things like that and

(11:02):
they're good people.
But I was immediately struck by, I'm going to say, the
formality of the board meetings,the rigidity of the
interactions with the unitowners in the board meetings,
the rules around the rulesaround interactions, which I was

(11:24):
.
I was a bit taken aback.
Prior to moving to Florida, Iwas the president of an
association of a small condowhere I previously lived
different state and it was muchmore relaxed, much more
easygoing, much more interactive, much more, I'd say, you know,

(11:44):
helpful here.
So that immediately set me backand I was kind of like this is
odd.
The president of our board, youknow, holds a gavel.
He outlines the rules underwhich you know the meeting is
going to be conducted.
It's kind of a chillingintroduction to the unit owners,

(12:08):
who are basically told we'vegot an agenda here.
We're going to cover the agenda.
You'll have your time to speak.
It will be limited, but you'llhave your time to speak and
we're in control.
You just kind of follow ourlead and everything will be fine
here.
And I found that to be a littleoff-putting, to tell you the

(12:28):
truth.

Speaker 1 (12:28):
It didn't feel neighborly to you.

Speaker 2 (12:30):
Not at all, not remotely.
It didn't feel neighborly, itdidn't feel particularly
friendly, it didn't feelcollegial.
So, again, I walked away fromit thinking well, that was kind
of interesting.
I wonder if it's like thatthroughout South Florida, in all
of these thousands of placeswhere millions of people live.

(12:51):
As I shared my experience withsome others, I found out no,
it's not always that way, butsometimes it can be.
It certainly is in the placewhere I live.
Sometimes it can be.
It certainly is in the placewhere I live.

Speaker 1 (13:05):
So let's dig into that, because this was your
first introduction really togovernance in the community and
it didn't leave the greatestfirst impression on you, I can
tell you.
You know, our firm representsassociations throughout the
state of Florida, in New York,new Jersey, along the eastern
seaboard.
It's not the same everywhere.

(13:26):
A lot is dictated by geographyand also by the number of units
in a building or in an HOA.
How many people are we dealingwith?
So my smallest community, bob,is five units.
They're pretty calm.

(13:46):
It's only the board and nobodyand nobody else.
Now I've got some communities.
I had one at once upon a time Ihad a huge master association.
I think they had 19 000residents.
So for the super largecommunities you can imagine that
you do have to have a level offormality because otherwise
you'd be there for days gettingto everybody's questions and
their input and what have you?
Your community, is it more than100 units?

Speaker 2 (14:10):
It's exactly 100 units.

Speaker 1 (14:12):
Okay, so that tells me that part of it may be the
size.
The other thing that I'm kindof gleaning from what you said
is not every board is the same.
So if your community has beenaround seven, six, seven, eight
years, you're in the middle of afive, five, eight process.
There's probably been a lot oftension and strain there's also
been.
If you're following the news,you know they will tell you

(14:34):
Florida's in the midst of acondo crisis with all the new
legislation and with thepressures and the rising costs
related to insurance coverage inFlorida.
Maybe that your current board Idon't know how long they've been
in place.
They could be battle weary atthis point.
They could have been bludgeonedover the last couple of years
and the only way they've learnedto deal with it is to implement

(14:58):
a rigid structure.
But it is my recommendation toboards that, first of all, you
let people participate.
So when they said we're goingto let you talk, did they let
you talk while an agenda itemwas being discussed and voted on
, or did they keep the commentstill the very end?

Speaker 2 (15:17):
Kept the comments till the end.
Yeah, how did you feel aboutthat?
Well, I felt it was a missedopportunity to hear what could
be a relevant and useful commentfrom from some members of the
of the association.
Yeah, that's why I felt likemaybe we should hear what people

(15:37):
have to say about whatever itis that we're talking about, and
we didn't always get that therewas opportunity.
There always is opportunity atthe end of the meeting for
people to speak, so that's good,but it's typically after the
formal part of the meeting hasbeen completed, after the agenda
part of the meeting is over.

Speaker 1 (15:58):
Yeah, and I think that's a lost opportunity as
well, and I'll tell you why.
I know there are unit ownerswho think they have to be
consulted on everything and Iwant to talk to you about that
later in the episode but thereare unit owners that also come
up with some pretty great ideasand some good input, so why
wouldn't you before?

(16:18):
What typically happens is youget to the agenda item.
Board member makes a motion,there's a second because this is
a board meeting.
Then you open it up fordiscussion amongst the board
members on that agenda item.
Then you open it up fordiscussion amongst the owners on
that agenda item and then youcall the question okay.
And, as you said, it's anopportunity to hear.

(16:40):
There are some boards that feellike I don't care what anybody
has to say.
I've already made up my mind.
That, in my opinion, is not anexample of a highly functioning
board.
A highly functioning boardshould welcome it.
Now, does there need to be timelimits?
Sure, because otherwise youcould be there all day, and I've
been at many of those boardmeetings, bob, where Mrs Smith

(17:01):
stands up and is talking aboutsomething that has absolutely
nothing to do with the agendaitem.
It has something to do with herpersonally, or something that
happened last year or somethingthat might happen two years from
now nothing to do with theagenda item.
So I think that boards reallyhave to work hard to strike a
balance between letting peoplespeak when it counts, not at the

(17:23):
end after all, the business hasbeen done.
But while you address eachagenda item, does your board
follow Robert's Rules of Order?

Speaker 2 (17:32):
or try to.
Well, they seem to followRobert's Rules of Order.
I can't claim great familiaritymyself with Robert's Rules of
Orders, but yes they seem to.
Someone seemed to pick up thatbook before they took the gavel
and said this is how we're goingto run our meetings.

Speaker 1 (17:48):
Yeah, can I tell you how many meetings I've been to
where they think they'refollowing Robert's Rules of?

Speaker 2 (17:52):
Order.

Speaker 1 (17:53):
They're absolutely not.

Speaker 2 (17:55):
Yeah, yeah.
They probably view them as anexcuse to conduct the meeting
the way that they would like to.

Speaker 1 (18:04):
It's funny because I've seen it both ways.
So I've seen the residentparliamentarian be a member of
the board who thinks theyunderstand the motion process,
or it's been a member of thecommunity who stands up and
tries to say out of order andeverything, unless the governing
documents say you must conductyour meetings in accordance with

(18:24):
Robert's rules of order.
I'm not a huge fan of itbecause, as I said, most people
don't even understand it andrather than making your meetings
shorter, it can actuallylengthen your meetings and make
them more confusing.
Another dysfunction that I seewhen it comes to meetings is
people who stand up and they useprofanity.
There could be the potentialthreat for violence.

(18:45):
You don't have anything likethat in your community.

Speaker 2 (18:48):
Thankfully no.

Speaker 1 (18:49):
Because that makes it less likely that people
actually want to go.

Speaker 2 (18:53):
By the way, our attendance at these meetings is
not great and I think that thetime that I've been here, I'm
pretty sure I've attended everymeeting, unless for unless, for
some reason, I was out of town,but I don't even think that's
occurred.
I think I've attended everymeeting and you know, we
probably don't have 20 percentof the unit owners at any

(19:15):
particular meeting.
You know, and I'm not sure whythat is.
I could only speculate as towhy that is, but that strikes me
as not a great participationrate, although you would have a
better idea than I as to whatkind of the average unit owner
participation is in one of thesethings.

Speaker 1 (19:33):
Yeah, that's not great.
Have you had a specialassessment in the two years
you've lived there?

Speaker 2 (19:38):
No, and I must say the finances of this association
have been well managed.
The reserves are in good shape.
We've not had a specialassessment.
We have had expenses that we'veneeded to seek reimbursement
from the builder for and I'llsay outside of the 558 process,

(19:58):
and that those have beensuccessfully dealt with.
So I think the people who runour board have done a good job
in that respect.

Speaker 1 (20:08):
Well, you'll see more people the first time you have
a special assessment.
I imagine that's when they showup.
Let me ask you do your boardmeetings?
Are they typically in person?
Do they have a Zoom?

Speaker 2 (20:22):
component, or it's both.
They're in person, no Zoomcomponent.

Speaker 1 (20:26):
No Zoom.
So what percentage of yourneighbors live?
I mean, is it mostly resident,owned, or I mean occupied.

Speaker 2 (20:33):
I think it's.
I don't know the exact numbers,but it's certainly.
I would say the vast majorityare owner-occupied people who
own live here, although some areunder lease to the outside
parties, but not maybe 20%.

Speaker 1 (20:52):
I mean that's interesting to me because most
of the clients I deal with nowafter the pandemic they
continued allowing a Zoomcomponent for meetings to
increase participation, becauseespecially in South Florida
you've got a lot of people forwhom this may be an investor
unit or it could be a secondhome, vacation home, that type
of thing.
So that's interesting that yourmeetings are only in person.

(21:15):
Did you go through an interviewprocess when you purchased?

Speaker 2 (21:19):
I did not.
I just filled out a form askingme some basic information about
myself.

Speaker 1 (21:24):
Filled out a form, paid a fee, no interview.
Was there a welcoming committee?
Did anybody tell you welcome tothe community?
This is you know a few things.

Speaker 2 (21:34):
No, I had a meeting with a member of the management
company before coming here,before moving in, not before
closing, before moving in, wherewe went over kind of the way
the building works and thingslike that.

Speaker 1 (21:46):
So really your first entree was the board meeting you
went to.

Speaker 2 (21:50):
Were there any?

Speaker 1 (21:51):
social events between move-in and when you went to
that board meeting.

Speaker 2 (21:55):
No, not in that case, and there aren't a lot of those
here, but there are some.
I've gone to some, but not allof them.

Speaker 1 (22:02):
Yeah, you have recreational amenities though
pool workout, we do.

Speaker 2 (22:06):
We do.
I should have mentioned that,as one of the attractive
features of this property werethe amenities of the building.
Very nice.

Speaker 1 (22:12):
What other communication channels are there
?
I mean website, any socialmedia pages for the community, a
newsletter.

Speaker 2 (22:22):
We get a weekly kind of report, operations kind of
report from the management,those who run the management
aspect of the business.
We hear periodically from thepresident of the board on issues
that are topical and importantand of interest to the community

(22:42):
, and that's pretty good.
We have the meetings, of course, and occasionally social events
and, of course, bumping intoone another around the building.

Speaker 1 (22:55):
Have you made friends , Bob?

Speaker 2 (22:57):
Well, yeah, I've met some people and made it doesn't
sound so great.
I've actually, because of someof the concerns I've had, I've
gotten to know the president ofthe board reasonably well
because he and I have had acouple of private conversations
about things here.
And I will say this these arepositions that are challenging.
Every year at budget time I aska question if there's been a

(23:21):
pay increase for directorsbudgeted into the upcoming year,
as a joke, of course.
And so these people arevolunteering their time because
they care and they want to havea nice place to live and, at
least in the case where I live,they're quite committed and
diligent and it's a bigresponsibility and I'm sure it
consumes a lot of their time.

(23:41):
So I don't really envy any ofthat.
To tell you the truth, now thatI'm kind of past that in my
life, well, you've done enoughof that.

Speaker 1 (23:50):
You were a corporate attorney for years.
And you mentioned, you were onyour own board in another state.

Speaker 2 (23:57):
Yes, yeah, I've had a lot of that in my life.
Unfortunately, I was being paidfor it at the time, but so I
don't want to be too critical ofthese slopes.
They're working hard and I knowthat they care about their
community.
It's good.

Speaker 1 (24:15):
Yeah, I think that's a really fair way to put it what
you said.
So a lot of look the boardmembers and I have to encourage
board members who are a littleless formal than what you're
describing.
In your community, bob, I'vegot board members who want to be
popular at times and they wantto be everybody's friend and
they're not making some of thehard decisions that they need to
make.

(24:36):
Okay, maybe I should send someof them gavels, but they don't
have the gavel.
They're not making those harddecisions.
But what they have to understandis they are fiduciaries.
The unit owners are not.
So they are sitting in aposition as a fiduciary where
they have certain obligationsand they have to enforce the
rules and the statute.
That doesn't mean we're goingto get into some overly

(24:57):
restrictive rules, but rightdown the middle you know a board
need.
Board members need tounderstand that they are in a
different capacity than justsomebody who is a non board
member in terms of what they canand cannot do.
I think the way youcharacterized it was really
incredibly fair.
That being said, you understandthey're volunteering, but they
have obligations as well and oneof them is to help to listen to

(25:20):
you as a member when you havean issue.
What are some of the issuesthat you've talked about with
that president?

Speaker 2 (25:27):
I would say they're somewhat mundane but important
we're living in a community andthey relate to the conduct of
meetings.
They relate to the level ofrespect people are given for
their points of view.
They relate to the level ofrespect people are given for
their points of view.
They relate to the need forthere to be greater flexibility

(25:52):
in communications.
I mean, I think people want tohave, you know, like a
conversation about their lifehere, because after all, it's
our, it's our home, and theywant to feel as though they're
being heard.
And so I've talked with him andother board members about these
things.
I've had a couple of particularissues with the management

(26:13):
company.
Now, I know that's not theboard and I know the
responsibilities of the boarddiffer from those of the
management company.
But you know, just again, itrelates to our home and the way
we're treated and the way wefeel living here.
I'll give you one crazy example.
I had a guest park his car inone of my spots and I failed to

(26:40):
get a short-term permit for thecar right.
So the car is there and I comeback from wherever I was and
there's like a pre-printed note.
You know, the rules requirethat all guests have a temporary
parking permit, like that right, and failure to adhere by the

(27:01):
rules could result in some sortof fine.
Or we're going to tow the car,something like that right, and
failure to adhere by the rulescould result in some sort of
fine, or this you know.
Or we're going to tow the car,something like that.
All you know, somebody likewent around saw there was no
permit, put this, you know, kindof obnoxious note on my
friend's car.
Now I think that could have beenhandled in a different way.
The people who run, who are inthe management side, know it's

(27:25):
my space, they know it's not mycar.
Someone could have called me,said hi, bob, we noticed that
there's this car.
You are aware that the rulesrequire that and we really
appreciate it if you would takecare of that at your earliest
convenience, if you would takecare of that at your earliest
convenience.
And I just have to tell youthat would have been a much
better way of handling it and itwould have been probably easier

(27:47):
for the management company.
But no, you know.
So it's things like that it'sactually little things like that
, that kind of get under my skina little bit from time to time
and again that add up.
And, of course, it's my house.
This is our house.
I'm an owner, so think aboutthe word owner.

(28:10):
Right, I'm an owner.
I own my unit, yes, but I alsoown a piece of the common areas
as well, and I don't always feelas though we're treated like an
owner.
So I would like to be treatedlike an owner, respectfully.
Oftentimes I feel as though,whether it's the board or the

(28:31):
management company, they're morelike code enforcers as opposed
to facilitators of making this anice place for everybody to
live.
Do you know what I mean?

Speaker 1 (28:49):
Well, I do and I can tell you.
I do have some clients wherethey have concierge level
service.
So just what you are saying.
They treat it almost as afive-star hotel where the owner,
the customer, the owner is kingand they would have called in
that instance.
I totally get what you'resaying.
I'm going to push back a littlebit because there could be some
.
You do own.

(29:09):
You own your white box, yourfour walls and you own a pro
rata share of the commonelements, all those lovely
amenities and everything elseRight.
But you also have competinginterests from your co-owners.
This is why it's a sharedownership community and I'm sure
with 100 units you owners arenot all on the same page.
I can tell you this fromexperience, especially in South

(29:31):
Florida.
We have very diversepopulations in our shared
ownership communities.
We've got people coming fromother countries with different
expectations.
Sometimes the condominiumexperience in Florida is their
first experience ever, bob, withliving in a shared ownership
community.
They don't even have thefoggiest notion of what the

(29:52):
covenants are, that they're acontract.
I remember one time a womanstood up at a meeting and she
said well, if I don't pay myassessments, you can't do
anything.
It's my homestead property.
And she was telling otherpeople this too and I'm like
that's absolutely not true.
And in Florida, if you don'tpay your assessments, you will

(30:12):
be foreclosed, leaned andforeclosed.
That was a shock to her.
So my question to you my littlebit of pushback, because I
always think that approachingthis in a courteous, civil
manner if you can do somethingwith a phone call, that's the
best starting point.
But what do you say to theother owner on the other side of
the aisle who wants that codeenforcement I bought here.

(30:35):
I don't want Bob's guestparking there, that person who's
noticing everything that'scoming into and out of your unit
and what you're doing in thegym and that's the resident
busybody who's noticingeverything that's coming into
and out of your unit and whatyou're doing in the gym, and
that's the resident busybodywho's calling the manager or the
board and reporting on you.
I mean, it goes just beyondboard versus owners.

Speaker 2 (30:53):
There's a lot of competing interests, do you
agree?
Yeah, yeah, 100%.
I agree with that.
And of course, everyone's pointof view and preferences should
be given some consideration.
And you're talking about thisnatural tension between those
who are in charge of, kind, ofmaking the building run as it
should and those who actuallylive here and trying to do so in

(31:15):
a peaceful and quiet way.
And I appreciate that thattension exists as well.
But maybe that's where, youknow, some leadership and common
sense and comity is required.
You know, and you can say tothat persnickety person who you

(31:36):
described you know we'rehandling it, appreciate what
you're saying, take a deepbreath.
We're going to ensure that therules are followed.
We're just going to do it in akind of a just a respectful way,
that's all.
And you don't always get that,you get this.
It feels like, you know itfeels like too often if you've

(31:58):
ever dealt with, you know, thefederal government of the United
States over something.
It's a big bureaucracy andyou've got the board and you've
got the rules and you've got thecondo docs and you've got the
management people and you've gotthe lawyers and you've got the
insurance brokers and you've gotall these, this whole machine.

(32:19):
We've created this machine likemachine.
We've created this machine andin the middle of all that are
the owners, but it's like theowners almost don't matter, it's
the machine that matters.
Do you know what I'm saying?
And that's the frustration, tobe honest with you, and I think
that's the nature oforganizations, nature of
bureaucracies.
I get that, but if there werean awareness of that dynamic

(32:44):
among everybody, like we don'twant to become that, if you were
to ask people, ask anybody,they would say, oh, we don't
want to become that.
No, of course not, but we'vebecome that.
So that's a little bitdiscouraging, to tell you the
truth, and it's not going toruin my life.
I'm not looking to sell my unit, I'm not, like you know, it's
not like that.
But it could be better, is whatI'm saying.

(33:06):
It could be more cordial, morefriendly, more inviting, more
collaborative, more, you know,like that, as opposed to we're
the compliance officers.

Speaker 1 (33:17):
The term condo commando came about for a reason
, Bob yes.

Speaker 2 (33:23):
And when I first heard it, when I first heard
that a reason, Bob, yes.
And when I first heard it, whenI first heard that I thought
that's perfect.

Speaker 1 (33:30):
Well, is there truly a way to avoid?
Let me ask you, as somebodywho's been a corporate attorney
for decades and you know what.
These are corporations.
Right, these entities arecorporations.
They're not operatingfor-profit businesses, they are
operating private residentialcommunities.
Is there truly a way for theshared ownership communities?

(33:50):
of a certain size out, a freejail card for the very small
communities for the most part,where they can opt out of
certain things election protocoland other statutory

(34:11):
requirements.
Is there truly a way to avoidbeing a machine if you're trying
to run a multifamily building ahigh-rise?

Speaker 2 (34:21):
building?
Probably not altogether,because part of the reason
people are able to live withoutattacking one another, you know,
is because rules have to beapplied, and they have to be
applied consistently and fairly,for sure.
But on the margin, I would say,maybe more than simply on the

(34:46):
margin, I would say yes.
Yes, I don't want to go throughmy little speech again about
how we can, all you know,interact a little more.
You know in a better way, but Iwould say it, you know, whether

(35:07):
it's members of management ormembers of the board, too often
people kind of use thisstructure that we're talking
about as a way or as an excuseto kind of blow people off.
You know what I mean?
Oh, I can't.
I couldn't do that.
I had somebody here tell meabout something that I was

(35:29):
complaining about.
The response was I could neverdo that.
I had somebody here tell meabout something that I was
complaining about.
The response was I could neverdo that.
Our insurance broker wouldnever let me do that.
And just speaking those words,our insurance broker, you know
what are you talking about, andso I understood the point.
But it seemed to be kind ofmisplaced when that particular

(35:53):
circumstance that I can sharewith you could have been handled
in a different way.
As opposed to saying you knowour lawyer, our insurance broker
, somebody like that would neverallow me to do something like
that.

Speaker 1 (36:05):
The perfect segue into the type of professional
advisors that an associationdecides to hire and surround
themselves with can make orbreak a community.
Okay, I have seen a lot ofcommunities recently because
again we're in crunch mode here.
We've got looming deadlines inFlorida for engineering and

(36:27):
reserve funding, so I have seenboards want to almost hide
behind their professionaladvisors and say you know, the
attorney says we have to do that.
I've actually seen a clientwrite that we didn't tell you to
do this.

Speaker 2 (36:40):
Yeah, you probably, you probably been, you've
probably been someone's excusealong the way.

Speaker 1 (36:44):
Yeah, quoted and misquoted, I'm sure.
I'm sure I have, because youdon't need to hide behind
counsel.
You don't need to hide behind.
You know well, with engineersyou do.
You don't want to substituteyourself for your engineer when
it comes to life, safety orengineering.
You let that professionallawyer told you to do something.
It may be we as a board you'veelected us and we've met We've

(37:13):
relied on professional inputfrom professional advisors and
this is what we decided to do.
But some boards do like to hidebehind professional advisors
and some do misquote thoseadvisors.
That gets into the dangerterritory.
I hear what you're saying.
That gets into the dangerterritory.
I hear what you're saying.
Also, the experiencedprofessional advisors can help

(37:36):
boards navigate these waters alittle better, right?
So if it's not a big deal, andthey call, I'll give you a few
examples.
Bob, I've had clients want meto make a mountain out of a
molehill and I refuse.
Good for you.
No reason you need to send thisletter.
Pick up the phone, talk to thisperson.
If you still can't get anywhere, then we'll.

(37:56):
Then we'll discuss your legaloptions.
But you don't go to defcon oneover something minor and so.
But everybody's different,every law, as you know you're a
fellow member of the bar.
Some lawyers, they're goingstraight to defcon one yeah, I
don't like, I don.

Speaker 2 (38:12):
Yeah, I don't like lawyers like that.

Speaker 1 (38:13):
Yeah, I don't know if it's the bill.

Speaker 2 (38:15):
And I was never a lawyer like that.

Speaker 1 (38:17):
Right, nor am I.
So there's a lot of times we asattorneys we can help steer
this and we can help calm thewaters right.
And there's other times whereif you're dealing with an
attorney who wants to stir uptrouble, they're going to
ratchet it right up.
And same thing with managementcompanies.
Management companies can also avery experienced manager or

(38:39):
management company can tell aboard look, you're kind of
heading off the wrong path here.
Here's what you need to do,here's what here's been our
experience with this particularissue.
And if they have questions, letme contact the attorney, let me
see what the attorney says.
Is, you know, really the bestidea here?
So professional advisors againcan make a break For the

(39:02):
self-managed communities wherethey don't have attorneys, they
don't have managers and it'sreally just the people on the
board who may be shooting fromthe hip.
They don't have managers andit's really just the people on
the board who may be shootingfrom the hip.
That's where you can reallywind up becoming a truly
dysfunctional community.
Nobody likes to go to boardmeetings.
The board hates going to it.
You've got to have securitythere because everybody's

(39:24):
threatening each other.
You can't get access to thebooks and records.
You have some concerns aboutwhat's going on financially.
You may be subject to specialassessments.
There may be deferredmaintenance and repairs.
I mean, that's the worst casescenario here.

Speaker 2 (39:40):
Yeah, that sounds awful yeah.

Speaker 1 (39:42):
Do you have a good handle, Bob, on what your legal
rights are as a Floridacondominium owner?

Speaker 2 (39:48):
No, I don't.
I would say I do not.
I try to apply my experienceand my legal training, but I
have not chosen to, and I thinkthis is something that I should
do.
I've not taken the time toreally verse myself in all of

(40:08):
that, and I think that's animportant thing for unit owners
to take on a responsibility likethat.
So that's maybe one that wouldbe one suggestion that I would
make to unit owners out there,and I also believe there's a bit
of an impediment to that, andthat is, you know, for a, for

(40:28):
let's just say, an elderly,perhaps retired, non lawyer, to
pick up these, these docs, andtry to understand all of that,
to understand their rights andwhat the obligations of the
board are, and all of that,under Florida law is a challenge
.
I mean it's a challenge, is achallenge.

(40:56):
I mean it's a challenge, and soI was kicking around the idea
and you may tell me that such athing already exists.
Is there like a plain Englishrecitation of relevant Florida
statutes, relevant Florida lawas it relates to the rights that
a unit owner might have and theduties and obligations that
these other owner might have andthe duties and obligations that
these other people might havelike plain English, like
something that someone can sayhere.

(41:17):
Read this.
This will give you a good ideaof how all of this is supposed
to work.
If you want to go through allthe documents, they're right
over there and you can do that.
But check this out, somethinglike that would be great.

Speaker 1 (41:32):
We do.
We do have that in Florida andI was going to ask you if you
got it.
There is a statutoryrequirement under Chapter 718,
which is the Condominium Act inFlorida which requires you to
receive what's called a Q&Asheet, a question and answer
sheet, and there's severalquestions on there.
You know, what do I owe on myunit?
Am I subject to a masterassociation?
Are there any use restrictions?

(41:53):
And that's where they would say, yeah, you know, parking, guest
parking.
There may be leasingrestrictions, so that form
exists.
It sounds like you didn't getone.

Speaker 2 (42:03):
Well, I might.
I don't know whether I got thatform per se.
I did get a there's a littlelike a welcome booklet that
probably had some or all of that, and I read it.
That's probably what that was.
Yeah, you know.

Speaker 1 (42:16):
welcome to where you're living here's the way the
community works, that kind of athing.
So but forget about thegoverning documents, bob,
because the developer's attorney, they all work off of the same
basic form set of, you know, thedeclaration of condominium, the
articles, the bylaws, prettymuch routine standard set of

(42:37):
developer documents and they'refilled with legalese.
And, by the way, when you'vegot association attorneys like
me, you have a handful of us inthe room reading the statute,
reading the documents, we'llcome up with various
interpretations.
Sure, so if we can't even agreeon what these things mean and
we've got the benefit of decadesof understanding, decades of

(42:59):
case law in Florida and the codeand the arbitration cases, how
can we expect average?
unit owners and even boardmembers to understand this.
Now in Florida, given all thatwe're dealing with with our
shared housing stock, boardmembers now are subject to
pretty robust educationalrequirements.

(43:20):
Condo board members have totake four hours of educational
training for board certification.
They have to take an hour everyyear after that in between Our
firm, to take an hour every yearafter that in between Our firm,
the state, other firms.
They put on these classes.
I will tell you, in the classeswe put on, the classes I teach,
we do go through all the commonstuff, common sense stuff.

(43:41):
You and I have talked aboutcommon sense.
Where is it gone?
You know, don't make peoplewait until the end of a meeting.
Let them address it as theagenda progresses.
Things like communicationchannels, budgeting document,
inspection requests, navigatingdisputes, all of those things.
So we do have board members inFlorida who have to attend

(44:04):
training.
Do you think it would help ifthe owners also had to attend
some sort of classes where theycould understand their rights
and then also understand how tointerface with the board?
Perhaps Absolutely.

Speaker 2 (44:17):
I'm not sure you can make it mandatory, but make it
available to people 100%.
That would be helpful, yeah,but again, if you know I would,
I would say a few things to theunit owners which are based on
common sense, which is thingslike get involved, speak up, ask
questions, be pleasant, youknow, and be curious and be

(44:42):
engaged, and all of that wasreciprocated by the other
parties involved.
I think that would go a longway to making all this a little
more conducive to you know, afriendly environment.
You know what I mean.
But I think something like thatfor the benefit of unit owners

(45:05):
would be great.

Speaker 1 (45:08):
This is even true, let's say, not even in our work
life or dealing with yourcondominium.
Let's just talk about dealingwith our families.
If you come out of the gatethrowing haymakers and now
you've got a problem, you canalways escalate as you go, but
once you come out hot, it's hardto cool.
Now the other side entrenchesand that's where I've seen

(45:30):
owners who have legitimatecomplaints and they have
legitimate concerns but becauseof the style they've used right
out of the gate, the threats,the you know sometimes crazy
conspiracy theories that are wayoff base the other side in
trenches, off base, the otherside in trenches.
And I always say to myself ifthey only come out different,

(45:54):
they can always escalate.
You know, and we can talk aboutthe rights.
Florida has a lot of resourcesfor owners.
There's a lot of rightsassigned completely to owners
under the statutes that a lot ofowners don't even know about.
We've got a division that has acomplaint bureau where you can
file an administrative complaint.

(46:14):
We have an ombudsman that youcan contact.
Of course you're dealing withmore bureaucracy, but the
complaint division I've seenmany association members file
complaints and they get to themand they do address them.
But I don't recommend you canalways hire an attorney to file
for arbitration or go tomediation or go straight or go

(46:34):
to litigation, depending on thenature of your dispute.
But I don't recommend any ofthat until you first attended
board meetings, you first try togo through the proper channels
and do so in a respectful manner, and then you can always
continue to escalate if you'regetting nowhere.
Where I think a lot of unitowners shoot themselves in the

(46:55):
foot is they just come out hot.

Speaker 2 (46:58):
Yeah, and you see that here I think you know
you're kind of preaching to thechoir here I think that that
approach that you're describingis incumbent upon unit owners,
particularly given the realitythat we live in this shared
space and that we have a sharedeconomic interest in this space

(47:19):
as well.
So, yeah, I mean that's good,reasonable, common sense advice
and I've seen people, even in myshort time living here, where
people have been initiallybelligerent, aggressive,
accusatory, all of these things,and of course that just creates

(47:40):
resentment between two peoplewho are talking to one another.
That's never a good thing.
So I hear you and I agree withyou.

Speaker 1 (47:50):
Would you serve on the board in your?

Speaker 2 (47:52):
community.
You know I have thought aboutthat.
Would I, Would I If drafted Iwill not serve?
No, no, I easy for me to saythat I really don't have an
interest in that.
I probably would if I wereencouraged to do so.
And you know there were, therewere an opening and all of that.

(48:13):
But I don't minimize thesignificance of the
responsibility and I admirepeople who take that on.
So, and it's a big time sinkfor people and not to mention a
hassle in many respects.
So I don't know, it wouldn't bemy favorite thing to do, to
tell you the truth.

Speaker 1 (48:33):
So I don't know I wrote a blog years ago and I
used to get a lot of input.
People love the topics.
I wrote one post that got.
That garnered me hate mail andthat was my suggestion.
It was kind of atongue-in-cheek suggestion that
we implement a jury duty stylewhen it comes to condo boards,
where if your number comes up,you're going to serve on the

(48:55):
board.
And people went crazy.
A lot of the owners who do havecomplaints.
One of their complaints is theycan't get on the board, that
this board has been in placeforever, this board president
has become a dictator and theycan't get in.
So that's sometimes.
The frustration on the part ofthe owners is that they've been

(49:16):
subject to the same governancestyle for decades because the
same board continues to get inAnyhow.
My suggestion of using a jurystyle system it didn't get a lot
of likes.

Speaker 2 (49:29):
Let me put it that way that's kind of I can see why
that's kind of I can see whythat's kind of high risk.
The truth you end up with likethree jurors who shouldn't be
jurors, right, that's not, andno one got to vote on them.
It's just like a lottery ticketyour turn.
That's maybe not the best thing.

Speaker 1 (49:44):
And I understood at the outset of our conversation
when you said you want to betreated like an owner Right of
our conversation when you saidyou want to be treated like an
owner.
Right, you're an owner.
It's not like you're an inmatein this facility.
You chose to buy in thiscommunity.
I'm sure you paid a decentprice for your property, but the
directors are.
The board members are ownerstoo.
Why do you think there's adivide between?

(50:08):
I mean, that's my question.

Speaker 2 (50:12):
Well, I think, first and foremost, they see their
duties as a real, significantresponsibility that they have to
their community and they wantto be sure that the property is
being run in a way that'scompliant, right and, you know,
I guess, in a way that theywould like it to be run, given
that they're also so unit owners.

(50:34):
But again, I think I said thisearlier Too often people look at
themselves as an enforcer ofrules as opposed to a
facilitator of, you know, commonliving, you know to make things
go smoothly for people, and Ithink, if finding that balance,

(50:57):
I would say, is not easy, butit's not unattainable by any
stretch of the imagination, Ithink it takes a person who has
a good perspective and exercisessome good judgment and is a
nice person.
Not that not that the peoplewhere I live are are not nice
because they are, but you knowsometimes that balance is, is,

(51:18):
is is lacking and people viewthemselves more as, like I said,
you know, an enforcer of therules, you know the compliance
officer for the condo.
That's no fun.
I don't want to, I don't wantto be on the receiving end of
that.
You know what I mean.
It's like I just want to enjoymy space and my shared space and

(51:43):
in a way that's, you know, kindof smooth and and and a little
more easygoing.
I guess I'd say it that way.

Speaker 1 (51:50):
What's the craziest rule, the most overbearing rule
you think you've been subject to?

Speaker 2 (51:55):
Well, you're going to tell me that this is not so
overbearing, and you're probablyright.
But I needed to have arepairman for an appliance come
into my unit and repair myappliance.
So I knew who the repairman was.

(52:16):
He's like a one man shop with atruck, little businessman.
And I called him and he waslike sure, when would you like
me to come?
And I told him and we agreedthat we would meet in the lobby
and I would escort him up theelevator, walk down you know a
short hallway into my unit.

(52:37):
He grew up there.
Well, I made the mistake, orsomehow, mom.

Speaker 1 (52:44):
I know where you're going with this.

Speaker 2 (52:45):
Go ahead.
The building, you know.
Police, you know, got wind ofwhat I was attempting to do and
I was told I couldn't do thatunless this gentleman was able
to offer proof of insuranceliability insurance, workers'
comp insurance, auto insurance.

(53:05):
The only thing he didn't haveto provide was life insurance,
you know, but you know, and ofcourse he didn't have to provide
was life insurance, you know,but, but you know and and and,
of course he didn't have, hedidn't have workers comp
insurance.
And he says to me I mentionedit, all of this to him he's like
I don't, I don't have it.
And we ended up working it out,but not without some
consternation along the way.

(53:27):
And you know, my thought aboutthat is he was using the common.
He walked in the front door ofthe building.
He got on an elevator commonelement, common element got off
the elevator, walked down ahallway common element.
I let him in my place and thatwas it.
What he does in my place is mybusiness, right, but it but it,

(53:50):
but it was just like you know.
So now he's got to come backnext Tuesday until he can figure
out how to do the complianceand provide the certificate.
And I was, I'm just like Iunderstand why I do.
I understand it, but it juststruck me as really overbearing
because I probably wrote thatrule and I'm going to tell you

(54:12):
why.

Speaker 1 (54:14):
Ok, the guy walks in the lobby.
He trips, I know Now.
He manages to scramble into theelevator On the way up.
He punches somebody in the facebefore he gets off at your
floor.
He goes to your unit.
He punches a hole in the commonelement pipe, which now floods
five floors below.

(54:35):
By the way, I once did have aplumber in the unit.
All he was doing was he?
All he was supposed to do washang a fancy sink.
So it's a hand up hang a fancysink in the unit.
It was a 10th floor unit, veryupscale, sunny isles condo.
He did.
I think it was close to$500,000 in damage in the units
below because these were allextremely expensive units.

(54:58):
So to your point, I get yourpoint.
I probably wrote a rule likethat because, again, what you're
doing in your white box in yourunit, it really can.
What that guy does in there, itcan impact the structural
integrity of the building.
We've had people drilling intothe slab, doing work on the

(55:19):
window, I mean doing all sortsof crazy stuff in these units.
That's the balance, though.
You see, you may have a greatguy who was just coming to hang
some wallpaper and do nothingthat's going to impact, but your
neighbor next door might bedoing something entirely crazy.

Speaker 2 (55:33):
Yeah, and so I kind of thought that that would be
your reaction to my example, andso I do understand, I do.
Nonetheless, it's still.
I think my comment still holds.
I mean, this person, forexample, didn't have a hammer,
didn't have a drill, didn't havea screwdriver, didn't have a
drill, didn't have a screwdriver, didn't have a saw, didn't have

(55:53):
a nail, didn't have any of that.
I mean, it was like it wasn'thanging wallpaper, but it was
like the next least invasivething.
You know what I mean.

Speaker 1 (56:01):
You know, there's a case in Florida, a seminal case,
that basically says your houseis your castle.
You are king of your fiefdom,unless you live in a shared
ownership community and thenyou're basically a serf and
you're subject to majority will.
I mean, I do want to ask thatquestion because, listen, you
chose to live in a multifamilybuilding.

(56:22):
Is that because of there'sreally not that many other
housing options out there thataren't inside the framework of a
mandatory association?

Speaker 2 (56:38):
Well, there are plenty of single family units
throughout South Florida, and sothat really wasn't my
motivation for wanting to livein a condominium.
My motivation was I like totravel and I like to not worry
about mowing the yard and I liketo know that when I need a new
roof, you know it'll be handledwithin the confines of the

(56:59):
homeowners association.
And it's like that.
I close my door and I go awayfor a week or two weeks and when
I come back, everything isexactly as it should be and I
open my door and there I am, inmy house.
I didn't have to do a thing.
That's why and I'm sure that'swhy most people live in

(57:19):
condominiums.
So that's why but again, thereare tradeoffs, because I say to
myself a little bit now, gee, ifthis were my house, I could
leave that door open.
I could, you know, I couldinvite my you know the guy who's

(57:39):
hanging my wallpaper to come inat eight o'clock on a Friday
night, if I wanted to.
You could hang your beachtowels on your railing.
I could hang my beach towels onmy railing, right, I could put
plants out there.
I wouldn't have to.
Every time we get a hurricanewarning, I wouldn't have to
bring every pillow that's outthere in all of that stuff.
You know all of that, and ifand if it, and if a chair blew

(58:01):
through my window and my on myback porch, well that's my,
that's my responsibility,whereas now they put the fear of
God into you, of course, youwhat all the rules say, and
we'll be watching, kind of athing, and that's anyway.
You know, I think, I thinkwe've, we've highlighted the
like this tension that I, that Ithat I talk about, that's a

(58:25):
very, very real thing.

Speaker 1 (58:26):
The point about turnkey I will just say this
because this has been kind of arunning theme on the podcast as
we try to unpack all thedifferent new obligations
related to life in a Floridacondominium and the increased
assessments.
People who bought in condos Bobcoastal condos in the 50s, 60s,

(58:49):
70s they also thought it was aturnkey lifestyle, right, but
what they weren't thinking aboutwas all the costs that went
into maintaining these buildings, particularly in a
geographically vulnerable arealike South Florida, frankly,
anywhere along the Floridacoastline.
So it's really not as turnkeyit also is.
You know, I don't know if youlove the color of your building

(59:10):
right now might not be thatcolor in four years if the
majority of the people decidethey want to make it something
that you don't love.
So it is a trade-off, but I dowant to thank you so much for
giving your perspective.
Do you have any last words forpeople who are listening to this
episode and nodding along andsaying that I'm having a similar

(59:32):
experience in my condo?

Speaker 2 (59:35):
Yeah, I would just say hang in there, be involved,
ask questions, be respectful andcordial to not only your
neighbors but to those who arein charge of running your home.
And, on balance, it's certainlya good way to live.
And I'll end with something Istarted with, which is that I'm

(59:56):
impressed that so many people,in such a compressed space, can
live with great respect andcomedy amongst one another, and
that there aren't more peoplelike doing bad things.
So that's, that's a good thing.
On balance, it's a good.
It's a good, it's a goodarrangement.

Speaker 1 (01:00:11):
Well, Bob, I want to thank you and contact me when
you're on your board, okay.

Speaker 2 (01:00:15):
Yeah, I will.
Thanks for your time.
It's very nice to be with you,take care.

Speaker 1 (01:00:21):
Thank you for joining us today.
Don't forget to follow and rateus on your favorite podcast
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