Condo Problem-Solving

[ripley]

Some hypothetical problems to start this off:

1. Shortly after a second-call AGM, your condo committee and manager have bailed, leaving a disorganized, polarized population to deal with a raft of problems and skeleton staff. What do you do?

2. There is a mentally ill owner in your condo who habitually attacks and harasses other owners and the staff both verbally and physically. A dangerous as well as expensive situation. What do you do?

3. Your condo committee is cutting services in order to save money, thereby decreasing your quality of life and the value of your property. What do you do?

4. At your AGM, nobody volunteers to serve on the committee. What do you do?

Additionally, what do you do without initiating a "movement" or becoming a "rabble-rouser". What motivates a large and varied population to pull together?

[johninbkk]

Sell and buy a home....

[ripley]

Should have mentioned: These are proposed as individual problems, in other words not all happening to the same condo!

[trogers]

Problems (1) and (3) are due to many condo units being unoccupied, probably caused by a location that is not so desirable and a class of residents/owners who do not care about the state of things.

I have always warned people looking to buy a condo to watch out for location and the class of people owning and using the space.

[ripley]

I'm not sure how a person would go about gauging the class of people inhabiting the space. You find an attractive, clean place in a good location - most people reckon they're okay in that regard. Examining the Minutes of AGMs before buying is always a good idea as a double -check.

This Topic opened with some of the worst problems a condo can have. Maybe they're impossible situations and the only solution to most of them is to get-the-hell-out, I dunno. They're real posers, certainly. Has anyone here had similar problems & seen them handled successfully. A condo community is a complex thing, capable of throwing out curve balls you never expected And once you've invested your hard-earned, it's not that easy to get it out again if the problems are serious.

It would be interesting to hear what problems people have encountered in their own condos and how they approached and solved them. What worked & what absolutely didn't?

[pkrv]

ripley

I'm not quite sure what you are saying. For example a condominium could:

1) Come under tactical nuclear attack from multiple nations

2) Be subject to earthquakes from a vast number of volcanoes

3) Be specifically targeted by bird flu (of the virulent nature)

4) Have your mum visit.

Look this is dead easy there are two components to management of a Condominium - the management company who work for you and the independent Juristic person/team who also independently works for you.

Work out who they are - and make sure everyone knows what is happening (apart from the visit by your mum to make sure you are OK. That is often sort of embarrassing)

Some hypothetical problems to start this off:

1. Shortly after a second-call AGM, your condo committee and manager have bailed, leaving a disorganized, polarized population to deal with a raft of problems and skeleton staff. What do you do?

2. There is a mentally ill owner in your condo who habitually attacks and harasses other owners and the staff both verbally and physically. A dangerous as well as expensive situation. What do you do?

3. Your condo committee is cutting services in order to save money, thereby decreasing your quality of life and the value of your property. What do you do?

4. At your AGM, nobody volunteers to serve on the committee. What do you do?

Additionally, what do you do without initiating a "movement" or becoming a "rabble-rouser". What motivates a large and varied population to pull together?

Edited February 27, 2011 by pkrv

[ChiangMaiFun]

I have noted that at several condos owners moan and groan but won't stand for election - som nam na! if you want change you have to be involved!

[trogers]

I have noted that at several condos owners moan and groan but won't stand for election - som nam na! if you want change you have to be involved!

It is human nature. Easier to criticize. And these same people cannot offer solutions. In an AGM, my method of shutting such people up is to offer to second them for election.

[pkrv]

I have noted that at several condos owners moan and groan but won't stand for election - som nam na! if you want change you have to be involved!

It is human nature. Easier to criticize. And these same people cannot offer solutions. In an AGM, my method of shutting such people up is to offer to second them for election.

That trogers was very, very good - now added to my arsenal.

Edited March 5, 2011 by pkrv

[ripley]

Nothing could be easier than to "volunteer". Question is: Volunteer to do what?

[pkrv]

Nothing could be easier than to "volunteer". Question is: Volunteer to do what?

Work, and Work Hard.

[thaiwanderer]

Nothing could be easier than to "volunteer". Question is: Volunteer to do what?

Work, and Work Hard.

With an appropriate work permit?

[pkrv]

Nothing could be easier than to "volunteer". Question is: Volunteer to do what?

Work, and Work Hard.

With an appropriate work permit?

Good point - I am not entirely sure about that one. I have been asked to do so but do not feel that the limited time I am over meant that I could do a good enough job. However I do 'work' in Thailand as a I do protect our property - and no our condominium is not without incidents one of them had to be headed off, as it could have spiralled out of control and been a very serious threat indeed.

Edited March 8, 2011 by pkrv

[ripley]

So - how 'bout telling us about your spiraling incident & how you managed to control the serious threat?

This is, after all, what the Topic is about..

[ripley]

Maybe a better definition of this topic is required.

The topic isn't meant to be a forum for complaints, character assessments, or even for questions regarding Condo problems. There are other Topics for these purposes. This is a site for describing problems and issues we've encountered and how we tackled them. What worked and what didn't.

The purposes are 1.) To assist other condo owners 2.) To offer extra information to owners and potential owners about problems they may encounter and how to deal with them 3.)Indicate thru example when to act, how to act, and when to let things sort themselves out. 4.)Methods, rewards and consequences of direct involvement in condo matters

[thaiphoon]

1 off-topic post has been removed.

[ripley]

Interesting to note that no one on TVF has or has had any problems worth reporting with their condo! Or that, for any problems which may have arisen, no creative solutions have been found. Now we all know where we are!